Smartphone Competition and Lower COGS Put Pressure on Average Selling Prices

To date smartphone leaders Apple and Samsung which dominate the high-end of the global market for feature-rich devices have has pricing power over suppliers and consumers alike. Now that devices announced at the Mobile World Congress are arriving in stores at roughly four times the price of my current phone, they seem a lot less desirable. An unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge costs a whopping Rs. 56,000 ($840) in India; in the US, the LG G5 is set to go on sale for about $645 next month. The advantages they offer over significantly cheaper models aren’t exactly negligible, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justifiy the difference in cost. Good design, snappy performance and commendable build quality – everything we’ve been used to paying top dollar for – are steadily becoming the norm for smartphones, much to the delight of those of us who have to buy phones off contract and unsubsidized. Friends, family and followers often ask me to recommend the next phone they should buy and of late, I’ve been pointing them towards cheaper devices without having to worry if they’ll find it lacking. That doesn’t mean gadget aficionados shouldn’t buy a flagship anymore – if there’s a phone out there that catches your eye and has you reaching for your wallet, go for it. But just know that if you’re low on cash, there are options out there that are almost as good for a fraction of the price. How will these trends affect both consumer demand and vendor profitability? Share your thoughts here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Apple iPad Pro: Does This Device Set Apple Apart From Other Tablet Vendors?

Last year Apple launched the largest iPad in its history. The new iPad Pro reduces the screen to the more traditional 9.7-inch size, add an even better camera and screen, and you've got the new 2016 iPad Pro. It starts at $599 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model -- and it's the iPad. The keyboard's comfy. It's not backlit, but one can guess the keys by touch pretty well. The display is beautifully crisp and vibrant. And it runs a magic mix of work tools and fun stuff. Some have used the Air 2 and a Belkin keyboard case as a go-to for a while now. It's a compact, convenient combo. The new iPad Pro delivers a fast processor; a bright, antireflective display; support for Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories; better, louder speakers and top-notch cameras, in the same exact body as the iPad Air 2. A higher price, plus expensive accessories. Less RAM and a slightly slower processor than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. iOS still limits overall flexibility of this iPad.It's still not a full-fledged laptop killer, but the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is the best iPad ever made -- a near-perfect balance of tablet power and portability.  Do these modifications make the iPad Pro the hands-down choice for new tablet buyers? Share your preferences with the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Will Three's Planned Merger with 02 Finally Happen?

The saga continues with Three’s planned merger with O2. The Competition and Markers Authority (CMA) in the UK has said this week that it has “serious concerns” over the merger, and has made the European Commission aware. There’s always been a hesitance over this merger of the two operators, particularly since BT acquired EE last year. The O2/Three deal would leave the UK mobile market with just three large operators (the other being Vodafone), a move that Ofcom and the EC are debating would leave it with a lack of competition. This is worrying as there are fears the market might stagnate and potentially set consumer prices high. Now that the CMA has waded in, things look a tad bleak for CK Hutchison, Three’s parent company. In wanting to combine Three and O2 it would make the entity the UK’s largest operator, but the EC has until 19 May to decide if it will allow the deal to go ahead. Three still wants to buy 02, but Ofcom's CEO Helen White isn't happy - so much so, she recently openly expressed her misgivings in The Financial Times' letters page ahead of a preliminary ruling from the European Commission. We look at how the deal, which would make Three the UK's largest mobile network, could affect consumers. After all the press and hype will this merger finally take place? Share your predictions with the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Unroll.me: Does This iOS App Truly Help Reduce Unwanted and Unsolicited Email?

The Unroll.me app tries to help by making it easier than ever to unsubscribe from mailing lists and keep in touch with the ones you love. The web app is powerful, but its mobile app is an even better way to clear clutter from your inbox. The Unroll.me iOS app brings a Tinder-style interface to your email inbox. Once you’ve logged in using your account credentials, you swipe left on a message to unsubscribe from ones like it, swipe up to add these messages to a daily digest, or swipe right to keep them as they are. If you can swipe, you can blast through your inbox like never before. And there are no awkward dates to go on afterwards either. This app Consolidates newsletters and subscription emails into one summary message. Supports Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo! Mail, iCloud email, and more. Lets you unsubscribe from unwanted email lists en masse, however, it Supports one email account at a time. When messages are snatched from GMail to Unrol.me new emails are not easily noticeduntil you read their email digest. This may create problems for email confirmations, password resets and time-sensitive messages. A related situation is that you’ll notice one-off messages tend to get snatched by Unroll and don’t hit your inbox at all. One trick I’ve learned is to check for messages in the “All Mail” folder of Gmail. Just how effective can the Unrol.me app be in eliminating unwanted and unsolicited emails? Share your thoughts with the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Apple Unveils Its Latest MacBook - Can It's Market Luster Be Restored?

Today Apple released a set of updates to its ultra-thin and light laptop portfolio, including an extra hour of battery life, newer processors, better graphics card, and faster flash storage. The starting $1,299 model for the 12-inch MacBook now comes with the latest 1.1 GHz Intel Core m3 processor and 256 GB of flash storage. The $1,599 version comes with a faster 1.2 GHz Intel Core m5 processor and 512 GB of flash storage. Apple started selling the new MacBooks through its website on Tuesday and said they will be in Apple's physical stores and other retail stores on Wednesday. The company unveiled its redesigned laptops last year, touting their slim profile, fanless construction, Force Touch trackpad, and universal USB-C port. The body of the MacBook is tapered like the body of the MacBook Air. From $1299 the new MacBook is thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air with a 12‑inch (diagonal) LED‑backlit Retina display, an 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3, 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m5, or 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core m7 processor, a turbo boost up to 3.1GHz, up to 10 hours battery life, up to 512GB flash storage, weighs 2.03 pounds and is vailable in rose gold, space gray, gold, and silver. The MacBook is not as powerful as the MacBook Air, however, and it carries a heftier price tag. Can the new McBook recapture some of Apple's luster in the highly competitive laptop-notebook market worldwide? Send us your comments here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

The Future of Smartphones - Merging Mind-Control Texting to Hologram Calls

What does the future hold for the confluence of smartphone and complementary technologies? George Lucas had the right idea. Holograms would be the natural evolution of video calls, capable of enhancing interactions by conveying all the nuanced body language that you just don't get on the grainy, 2D, 720p image of a person's face. Of course, the scope of hologram-emitting displays goes far beyond Skype and comedy re-enactments of Princess Leia begging Obi-Wan for aid. Such capability could create truly 3D maps, prototype models for designers or just a hugely enlarged display. Why squint at a 4.7in screen when the same content could be beamed outwards on a much bigger, easier to read scale? Holograms could also lend some much-needed personality to digital assistants by giving them an actual form. There's no way anyone could miss a Siri reminder if they're simultaneously greeted by a frazzled and overworked personification in 3D, angrily stomping around with a 'MEETING AT 3:30' placard. Which other technology plays are awaiting for our beloved smartphones? Send us your predictions here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Smartphone Camera Rankings - Which Vendor Comes Out on Top?

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge ranked as best in-class. Its 12-megapixel dual-pixel sensor is a first in smartphones, enabling superfast autofocus so you never miss a shot. Large 1.4-micron pixels and a wide f/1.7 aperture let in more light than before for bright, vivid and sharp photos especially in low-light conditions. The Apple iPhone 6s Plus has 12-megapixel camera with 1.22-micron pixels snaps bright, colorful pictures with high contrast and clear details. The camera is very good at capturing skin tones accurately, even in low light. Optical image stabilization (only on the Plus) helps you snap sharp images each time. Plus, the cool new Live Photos feature lets you catch a glimpse of movement during that shot. The LG G5 brings twice the fun with a dual-camera setup on its back, but the real star is its secondary 8-MP lens that shoots at a 135-degree wide angle. You can easily switch cameras on the fly to choose between the standard 16-MP cam, which is a solid shooter, or its wide-angle companion. The Galaxy S6 and wrap it in a nearly indestructible body. That's what you get in the S6 Active. In addition to enduring drops down a staircase and smacks against a banister, the S6 Active also survived being submerged for 30 minutes. Finally, the new HTC 10 has a seriously upgraded camera that could take on the big boys. The camera's 12-megapixel sensor features large 1.55-micron pixels that, paired with a generous f/1.8 aperture, lets in more light for brighter, clearer pics. Share your picks for the best smartphone camera on the market today with the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

The New HTC 10 - Does This Device Spell Victory or Defeat for this Smartphone Maker?

HTC, the Taiwanese electronics firm has launched its latest flagship smartphone, the HTC 10, as it looks to revive its struggling device sales amid intense competition. Some of the key specs include: A 5.2 inch quad high-definition display, runs Google's Android Marshmallow, comes in a 32GB or 64Gb variation, has a 12 megapixel main camera with 4K video recording, and its battery is able to charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes. The HTC 10 will be available from April 2016 in four colors: carbon grey, glacier silver, topaz gold and camellia red, according to the company. But the Taiwanese firm is launching its latest product amid a slowing smartphone market, increased competition, and struggles with its own brand. HTC posted a 3.4 billion new Taiwan dollar ($98.9 million) net loss in the fourth quarter of 2015 due to slowing smartphone sales. HTC's devices used to have popular appeal but have lost ground significantly to Aple and Samsung, whose new S7 series has proved very popular. So now for the big question: Can the HTC 10 give the firm a strong foothold in the global smartphone market or does this device simply prolong its inevitable demise in this sector? Send your predictions to the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Blackberry: Can New Android Smartphones Save the Company from the Abyss?

Blackberry to launch two less expensive Android phones.The smartphone maker plans to sell two new Android phones at a lower cost than the Priv. This Canadian vendor is planning to launch two mid-range Android devices this year in what analysts are calling the "last opportunity" for the firm to get it right in handsets. This comes after the company admitted that the Priv was too expensive. In an interview with Abu Dhabi-based publication The National, BlackBerry chief executive John Chen said there would be one Android handset this year with a keyboard and one full touchscreen, but gave no timing on when they would be released. Last year, BlackBerry launched its first device running Android called the Priv. It was aimed at the high-end market where the likes of Apple and Samsung play. But Chen said that it was too expensive. "The fact that we came out with a high-end phone (as our first Android device) was probably not as wise as it should have been," Chen said. "A lot of enterprise customers have said to us, 'I want to buy your phone but $700 is a little too steep for me. I'm more interested in a $400 device'." BlackBerry has struggled in recent times to make its hardware business profitable. In its fiscal year ending February 29, BlackBerry reported a 39.8 percent year-on-year drop in hardware revenue. It said it recognized revenue related to approximately 3.2 million BlackBerry handheld devices in fiscal 2016, a large drop from the 7 million the previous fiscal year. Can Blackberry resurrect its smartphone business and remain a viable entity or will the company simply fade into oblivion? Share your comments here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

WhatsApp IM Tool Approaches 1 Billion Users

Instant messaging service WhatsApp is seeking to reassure its users about their privacy by encrypting all messages sent via its app. In a blog post written by WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum on Tuesday, Koum explains that every conversation on the messaging service, whether it be a private or group chat, will have full end-to-end encryption, thus making the recipient the only person who can see the message. "No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us," writes Koum, in his blog on the WhatsApp website. "End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private – sort of like a face-to-face conversation," said Koum. Koum is the CEO of WhatsApp, the mobile messaging startup Facebook for $19B USD earlier this year. He’s disappointed because his company’s mobile app has only reached about 990 million people. On stage in Germany, he was hoping to announce a billion. But as disappointments go, it’s a small one. WhatsApp—a quick, easy, inexpensive way to trade text messages and photos—is now the second-most popular app on Earth (not counting the apps Google and Apple bundle with their own mobile operating systems). Only Facebook’s own app reaches more people. Since Facebook purchased WhatsApp—and many questioned whether Mark Zuckerberg and company had grossly overpaid for the startup—the audience has more than doubled for Koum’s creation, which he developed in 2009 with his old colleague Brian Acton. Let's here from any WhatsApp users about the value they receive from this innovative app. Kindly send your feedback to the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/