Tablet sales slow in absence of new iPad model: IDC

Sizzling hot tablet sales have cooled a bit but should re-ignite with the release of a new iPad model later this year, market tracker IDC reported on Monday.

The International Data Corporation report came as research firm Forrester forecast that tablet sales would rise rapidly worldwide in the years ahead.

Global tablet shipments in the second quarter of this year declined 9.7 percent from the prior three-month period, according to IDC.

However, tablet shipments climbed nearly 60 percent to 45.1 million units when compared with the same quarter a year earlier, IDC reported.

A quarter-over-quarter slowdown in sales was expected given that Apple did not unleash a new version of its coveted iPad early in the year as it had in the past, according to IDC analysts.

"A new iPad launch always piques consumer interest in the tablet category and traditionally that has helped both Apple and its competitors," said IDC tablets research director Tom Mainelli.

"By the fourth quarter we expect new products from Apple, Amazon, and others to drive impressive growth in the market."

Worldwide tablet sales will reach 381 million units in the year 2017, with business accounting for 18 percent of the purchases, according to a Forrester forecast authored by JP Gownder and Michael O'Grady.

"We believe tablet sales and penetration will continue to grow rapidly," Gownder said Monday in a blog post.

"In developed markets, they will streak past 'mass market' status to become what we term 'mainstay' devices - a third form factor carried by most online consumers."

Apple shipped 14.6 million iPads during the second quarter of this year in a 14.1 percent drop from the same quarter last year, according to IDC.

Meanwhile, sales of tablets grew for Apple rivals Samsung, Asus, Lenovo, and Acer, market figures showed.

"The tablet market is still evolving and vendors can rise and fall quickly as a result," said IDC mobility tracker program manager Ryan Reith.

"Apple aside, the remaining vendors are still very much figuring out which platform strategy will be successful over the long run."

While Apple remained the top tablet maker, Google-back Android mobile software used by a variety of the California company's competitors accounted for 62.6 percent of the market in the second quarter, according to IDC.

"To date, Android has been far more successful than the Windows 8 platform," Reith said, in a reference to Microsoft operating software.

"However, Microsoft-fueled products are starting to make notable progress into the market."

About two million Windows-powered tablets were shipped in the second quarter in an increase of more than five times from the same three-month period last year, according to IDC.

Microsoft on Monday knocked $100 off the price of high-end versions of its Surface tablet, which is competing against Apple's iPad and devices that use Google's Android system.

Android 4.3 update - Rolling out to HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play editions

Google released the next iteration of Android operating system dubbed as version 4.3 Jelly Bean with the launch of its next generation Nexus tablets last month. The update was first rolled out to Nexus devices, with word that the Google Play editions would be next in line.

AnandTech claims both the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 from Google Play are currently receiving OTA (over-the-air) update notifications. For the Samsung Galaxy S4 the update is around 150MB and for HTC One it's 180 MB.

The update lands in immediately after both HTC and Samsung released the Android 4.3 kernel sources online, according to the site. The Android 4.3 update for both devices have been developed by the OEMs and have no changes to the user-interface.

When Google announced the Google Play Edition devices, it promised quick updates on the device and a complete stock Android experience. With this update the Google Play Editions of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One joins the list of devices running Android 4.3 that only included Nexus devices until now.

The Android 4.3 update comes with some new features like restricted profiles which enables users to restrict app usage and content consumption on an Android device, dialpad autocomplete that adds the autocomplete feature in the dialpad suggesting contact names or phone numbers when users start keying-in something, keyboard and input which now comes with an upgraded algorithm for tap-typing recognition that makes text input easier while chatting via messages or even while composing emails and new camera UI that offers a new updated Camera app that features a new arch based menu which makes it easier to control and switch camera settings.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Release Date, smart watch on September 4: Report

Samsung may unveil the next generation Galaxy Note device and its rumoured smart watch at an event on September 4.

A report in The Korean Media, first picked up by Techkiddy notes that Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note III on September 4 at Berlin. That is two days before the IFA conference kicks off in Berlin, Germany, the event where the original Galaxy Note and its successor have been unveiled in past years.

According to the original report, Samsung will also use the event to unveil its wearable computing device - most likely a smart watch - giving it a head start over arch rival Apple, which is widely tipped to unveil its iWatch soon. Sony recently unveiled SmartWatch 2, a wearable companion for Android devices.

There's no fresh information in terms of specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Note III, or the smart watch. As per earlier reports, Galaxy Note III will come with a 5.7-inch full-HD AMOLED display. It will reportedly be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor alongside 3GB of RAM and run on Android 4.3, the latest iteration of Google's operating system. In terms of camera, Samsung's latest phablet is expected to sport a 13-megapixel rear shooter.

Samsung recently unveiled the Exynos 5420 Octa processor, so the Galaxy Note III may be powered by Samsung's own processor in some markets, and the Qualcomm chip in others, similar to the strategy it followed with the Galaxy S4.

ITC delays word on whether Samsung infringes Apple's patents

The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Thursday it would delay a decision on whether some mobile phones and tablets made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd infringe on Apple Inc's patents.

The decision had been expected on Thursday but was put off until August 9. No reason was given for the delay.

The ITC is a popular venue for patent infringement lawsuits since it has the power to ban the importation of devices that infringe on patents.

The delay comes as the same companies - which are waging legal battles in some 10 countries - await a decision from the Obama administration on whether to stick with an ITC decision finding that some Apple devices infringe a Samsung patent. That decision is now due.

The ITC ruled on June 4 that some older iPad and iPhone models made to use AT&T's network infringed on a Samsung patent that allows the ability of devices to transmit multiple services simultaneously and correctly through 3G wireless technology.

If the decision is upheld, the import or sale of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G distributed by AT&T would be banned in the United States.

The case delayed on Thursday at the International Trade Commission is No. 337-796.

A customisable Android smartphone, Google unveils Moto X

Motorola on Thursday unveiled a new smartphone that consumers can personalize with a choice of colors and materials, hoping to stand out in a crowded market and justify the $12.5 billion that Google Inc paid for the ailing handset maker.

The highly anticipated "Moto X" marks the cellphone maker's first flagship device since Google bought the company in 2012, and is its latest attempt to break into a smartphone market dominated by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics.

The phone's customization options are a novel touch which may appeal to fashionistas, analysts said. But some analysts questioned whether the Moto X offers the kind of technological breakthroughs that will vault Motorola back into the top rungs of the mobile rankings.

"We would have expected magic from somebody like Google, and this is not magic," Roger Entner, an analyst with Recon Analytics, said.

"Motorola could have done this without Google equally well. Or for that matter, another hardware manufacturer not owned by Google could have made this phone," he said, citing the phone's average hardware specifications.

The Moto X will go on sale in the United States at the end of August or the beginning of September for a suggested retail price of $199.99 to customers who sign a two-year contract at five of the biggest U.S. mobile network operators.

Google faces a steep climb in its effort to revive Motorola, which once claimed the No. 2 spot in the global phone market but according to research firm Strategy Analytics now commands a mere 2 percent market share. Shut out of the Apple-Samsung battle, Motorola competes with other smaller players such as HTC, Nokia and BlackBerry.

Motorola is betting that it can win over consumers by offering a huge palette of colors to personalize their phones, as well as unusual phone materials such as wood.

"They're not playing the 'mine is bigger than yours game,'" Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis, said. "Their approach is that this is what consumers actually need.

"I have no doubt there are people who want to customize their phones. The question is how many of them," Greengart added.

AT&T Inc, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service provider, will have exclusive rights to let its customers customize the phone from a selection of 18 colors for the back, two for the front and seven accent colors for an undisclosed time period.

While AT&T will allow customers to customize their phones, rivals Verizon Wireless , Sprint Corp, T-Mobile US and U.S. Cellular will only be able to offer black-and-white versions of the device.

In order to promise delivery of customized phones within four days, Motorola had contract manufacturing partner Flextronics International Ltd build a factory in the United States.

Sony Xperia i1 Honami spotted again in leaked picture view insight this blog

Sony's much-hyped alleged upcoming flagship smartphone, Xperia i1 Honami is in the news again.

A Vietnamese Xperia fan club has posted a purported picture of the alleged upcoming flagship device. The new leaked picture shows the rear panel of the smartphone. The back panel shows the camera housed on top left side of the device with a XX.XMP code printed along with the camera, which is said to be 20-megapixel.

Another technology site, Android Beat claims that the reason the device is showing 'X' along with the camera is probably because it's a prototype device. It is likely that the Japanese major is testing the camera of the next flagship smartphone and what will launch may be different than what is being currently tested. The company can use a different-sized camera sensor and not essentially 20-megapixel camera.

Sony is said to be holding an event in September at Berlin where it's widely expected that the world will see company's next flagship smartphone.

The Xperia Honami has been in news for some time now thanks to regular leaks that have appeared online.

Earlier, we reported that the Xperia Honami has been spotted in some images that reveal the design, form-factor and the user-interface of the device. The images that were posted suggested that the Xperia Honami phone follows the same design - complete with squared edges and corners - seen in the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL and Xperia ZR devices, launched earlier this year.

Another report claimed that Sony Xperia i1 will come with a 5.0-inch display with 1080p resolution. It will be powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM. The most-talked about specification is its 20-megapixel Exmor RS camera that would also feature Sony G-lens and BIONZ image processor which are usually found in some of Sony's digital cameras.

The device is also said to come with IP57 certification which means it is dust-and water-resistant.

Microsoft Surface sales figures paint a sorry picture

Microsoft Corp's Surface tablets have yet to make any profit as sputtering sales have been eclipsed by advertising costs and an accounting charge, according to the software company's annual report.

The two tablet models, introduced in October and February to challenge Apple Inc's popular iPad, have so far brought in revenue of $853 million, Microsoft revealed for the first time in its annual report filed with regulators on Tuesday.

That is less than the $900 million charge Microsoft announced earlier this month to write down the value of unsold Surface RT - the first model - still on its hands.

On top of that, Microsoft said its sales and marketing expenses increased $1.4 billion, or 10 percent, because of the huge advertising campaigns for Windows 8 and Surface. It also identified Surface (Review I Pictures) as one of the reasons its overall production costs rose.

The Surface is Microsoft's first foray into making its own computers after years of focusing on software, but its first attempts have not won over consumers. By comparison, Apple sold almost $24 billion worth of iPads over the last three quarters.