Mobile Breaking News You May Have Missed, April 2013

April 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

What You Might Have Missed in Mobile This Month

Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. Austin the Next Fiber City

After the successful rollout of Google Fiber in Kansas City, it was only a matter of time before the next city was announced. Let’s see how Austin does!

2. Apparently Teens Love Phones

This will probably come as a shock, but teens love smartphones! Reports say 91% of teenagers will buy a smartphone for their next phone, up from 86% last spring. 62% of those say they will buy an iPhone, showing Apple’s stranglehold on the young.

3. S4 in May

Coming this May (possibly as you read this) – the S4 on Verizon! Finally! For whatever reason, Verizon took their sweet time bringing the new Galaxy phone to its customers. Better late than never, I guess?

4. Google Now

Do you use Google Now on your Android device? Get ready to enjoy it on Google.com as well! It may even be an alternative to iGoogle so expect some big changes in the future if it does well.

5. Google Glass Specs

“Specs” for Google Glass? Get it? Ah, well. Here are some of the numbers behind the potentially revolutionary Google project – will you pick one up?

6. Glass NYT App

Speaking of Google Glass, want to get a little preview of what to expect? The New York Times has already launched its app, and you can take a look at how it will work way before you’ll ever get the wearable computer.

7. New iPad to be Thin & Light

No word is out about the fifth generation iPad coming this fall, but some reports say it will be the thinnest and lightest tablet yet. Soon you’ll be able to keep your tablet afloat in front of you with a strong breeze!

8. Android Takes 64% of Sales

The Android isn’t exactly hurting – 64% of all smartphone sales in Q1 of 2013 are Androids, further securing the company’s growth as the world’s most popular platform. The Windows Phone continues to gain ground, however.

9. Facebook Home Comes Out, Immediately Fails

It was supposed to be a fun, Facebook centered home screen option for your Android phone, but it ended up a disaster. Facebook Home immediately received tons of negative reviews and downloads dwindled down to nothing. A rough start.

10. Blackberry Q10 Hits FCC

Earlier in April the Blackberry Q10 was at the FCC receiving extensive tests for approval. Word is it will be officially out on April 30th but no actual confirmation. Heck, you might even be reading this via your own Q10!

Did we miss any big news from March? Let us know in the comments!

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Where in the World are Android Devices Showing Up? [Infographic]

April 10, 2013 by 24 Comments

Wondering just how worldwide the Android brand has become? We assimilated data from all over the world to bring you this infographic that may surprise you!

(Click to enlarge)

When in the World are Android Devices Showing Up

Embed this infographic on your own site!

Have A Fat Blog? (600 px Wide)

Have A Skinny Blog? (500 px Wide)

Filed Under: Mobile Cool, Mobile News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mobile Breaking News You May Have Missed, March 2013

March 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

What You Might Have Missed in Mobile This Month

Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. The Blackberry Recovery

Blackberry’s Hail Mary pass seems to have worked as they made over $94 million revenue and shipped over 1 million Blackberry 10 devices in Q4. Whether or not this upswing stays is another thing, but this is a good sign for the company.

2. Cheap iPhone Rumor #83297489

It’s happening, it’s not happening – every day or so the story changes. The latest rumor has the cheap version of the iPhone coming out in August. Is it true? We’ll just have to wait and see.

3. Nexus 5 – Too Much Too Soon?

Excited about the Nexus 5? Think it’s going to be the greatest thing since the Nexus 4? You might be a little premature, in that literally everything you’ve heard may be completely untrue.

4. Lockscreen Security Bug

Smartphones are having some security issues, and one of the latest in March was the lockscreen security bug with Samsung Android phones. The exploit lets sneaky people into your phone with a series of spy-worthy button presses.

5. Car Apps

Tired of playing with apps on your tablet or phone? In a few years you’ll be able to play Angry Birds 19 with an app in your car! Looks like we have some work to do when customers start shopping at your store from their windshield…

6. White House on Unlocking Phones

Surprises all around when not only did a petition to the White House to investigate unlocking phones get enough signatures but the White House actually agreed customers should be able to do so! Next step: an investigation, and what it means for businesses everywhere.

7. LTE on its Way

T-Mobile announced earlier this month the LTE is on its way, and by the time you read this they should be around the country. They’ve also included a nice update on the Galaxy Note 2 software updates.

8. Google Glass Apps

More information is coming out about Google Glass, including the programs and apps it will run. Power hitters like Gmail (obviously), New York Times, and Evernote are some of the first to announce support. Who knows what’s to come in the future?

9. Wireless Charging

Plugging in your phone to charge is and always will be a pain. Luckily several companies out there are plugging away at creating the proper tech for wireless charging, with one company sponsored by none other than AT&T.

10. Hate Your Phone?

Do you hate your mobile device? You’re certainly not alone, at least according to mobile video service Vuclip. A survey of more than 120,000 users revealed 48% of people hate their current device. With so many options out there, it may just be a case of “grass is greener.”

Did we miss any big news from March? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Mobile News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mobile Breaking News You May Have Missed, February 2013

March 1, 2013 by 1 Comment

What You Might Have Missed in Mobile This Month

Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. Unlocking Petition 

Remember in late January unlocking your phone became illegal? Smartphone fans everywhere immediately started a petition to make the White House take a look at the ruling, and the required amount of signatures (100,000!) was reached. Now we wait for the response.

2. Blackberry Delays

Unsurprisingly, the weeks following the Blackberry announcement have been full of turmoil, ups and downs. Pre-orders were going well but news came out they were pulling out of Japan and possibly Korea, and then there were the delays. However, all this news may just be buzz building schemes.

3. 128GB iPad

Apple launched the 128GB iPad just ahead of Microsoft’s launch of the Surface Pro. Although the two devices aren’t really meant to be competitors, you know there was something behind the timing of the release! 

4. World’s Smallest Charger

Tired of carrying around those burdensome chargers? LG aims to fix that with the world’s smallest charger, soon to come out in South Korea. It will eventually spread globally, giving everyone a chance to charge on the go without having to carry an extra bag just for the charger.

5. End of Texting?

Are we seeing the end of texting? Apps are outshining SMS and since text messaging is such a high extra cost we could see the end of it in 2013. Soon, look for all those “k” messages to be on Twitter or Google Talk.

6. LG Optimus G Pro

The upgrade to the Optimus G is around the corner, and man is it looking good. A giant 3,140 mAh battery tops the list of awesome but also includes a 1080×1920 full HD IPS-LCD screen and 32 GB of internal memory PLUS a microSD slot for cards up to 64 GB.

7. GPS Might Not Suck Soon

Every used your GPS in the city and found yourself more than a little lost? There are a ton of things that can interfere with your signal, but soon that may be a thing of the past. Geocaching just got a whole lot easier!                                                                                                                    

8. Surface Pro Sells Out…Sort Of 

Great news for Microsoft as the Surface Pro sold out relatively quickly…perhaps a little too quickly! Allegedly the shortage was simply due to there not being enough stock, and it’s kind of a “false sellout.” Still, it looks like the Surface is here to stay.

9. Android Takes iOS in US 

Perhaps Apple doesn’t have the stranglehold over the US everyone thought? Despite reports in the beginning of the year, Android has now taken over the top spot over Apple at 49.9 to 45.9 percent sales. Naturally, this could change at any point.

10. Google to Open Stores

Not content with owning the Internet, Google now wants to open physical stores around the world. However, some fear the company is biting off more than it can chew, and they should stick with what works for them.

Did we miss any big news from February? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Mobile News

Breaking Mobile News You May Have Missed 2/01/13

February 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. Unlocking Now Illegal

Just picked up the hot new Android or Apple smartphone and want to unlock it for your own purposes? Be prepared to break the law, because this action is now illegal. Will you do it anyway?

2. Blackberry 10 Review

RIM (now just Blackberry) officially launched the Blackberry 10 line, and the reviews of the phones are coming in. Mashable reviewed the Z10 and found it “exceptional, but perplexing.” Find out why!

3. T-Mobile Smartphones Supporting LTE

T-Mobile is set to “light up” its LTE network in Las Vegas with Kansas City soon to follow, but which smartphones will actual support the network?

4. Facebook Mobile

More Facebook users are jumping on the mobile version rather than going on their computers according to recent stats. If you’ve ever been stuck in a long line or felt the aftermath of late night super spicy nachos, you know it’s true.

5. Organize Your Life

Mobile apps can be fun and quirky, but the best ones help you get your life in order. Check out these 7 that can help you organize everything that needs organizing!

6. Galaxy S4 Coming in April?

The Galaxy S4’s announcement is at least another month away, so when should we be able to buy the thing? Some leaked documents seem to indicate the launch could be as early as April.

7. Mobile Coupons

With the rise of mobile comes new ways of bringing in customers…some that seem awfully familiar, like coupons! Mobile coupons are a huge deal right now, and here are some stats to show you why you should be doing it too.

8. Remote for Your Phone…

Tired of physically touching your phone? Who isn’t? Well, now you have an option – the HTC Mini remote! It lets you do all sorts of stuff you can do with your phone/tablet, just in a…smaller form…like a mini phone. Sorry, I just don’t get this, but good luck to them!

We think we were pretty thorough this week. But did we miss the big mobile news you were most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

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Breaking Mobile News You May Have Missed 1/25/13

January 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. Galaxy Note 8 Caught on Camera!

The new Samsung device is expected to make its debut next week at the Mobile World Congress, but yesterday there was a leak showing it in the hands of a user. Luckily it wasn’t caught saucily shrugging off it’s case for an iPhone 5S or anything!

2. iPhones Rule US & Japan

Android may be the king in the rest of the world, but Apple has the market cornered in the US and Japan. Other interesting growth: Windows Phone is slowly capturing Europe, possibly due to Android saturation.

3. Siri’s Story

Not many remember Siri’s original incarnation. Here’s how she’s grown over the years and why she could totally overshadow the iPhone in the future.

4. The Last Symbian

Nokia’s earnings are on the way up, but the Nokia 808 Pureview may have been the last Symbian phone. However, look for the company to integrate Pureview tech into future Windows Phone devices. Also: the headline for this blurb sounds like a fantasy novel.

5. Big Mac Problems

No, not the burger from McDonald’s we pretend not to like. Apple figured out its inventory problem with the iPhone, but now they may face a similar issue with their Mac department.

6. New Shoes

We all suffer from not knowing when to get new shoes, or at least I do. I know it keeps me up at night! Well wonder no longer – Apple patented smart shoes that alarm you when they’re about to “die.” Honestly, it’s pretty neat, but would you use them?

7. 5 Inch Displays Rule 2013

Another big winner for 2013? The 5 inch display, at least if the early trend is to be believed! This is yet another sign that the “phablet” is sure to be the future of mobile devices.

8. Google Says Chill About Motorola

Google may have earned over $14 billion in Q4, but Motorola was not part of those earnings. Instead of freaking out, Google says for everyone to give them some time, as it may take a little while to get them back on their feet. Can they really reinvent the business and make it profitable again?

9. Smartphones in the Job Market

The smartphone has undoubtedly changed the job market, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Employers are finding new employees with new tech but employees are also messing up a great job by forgetting themselves on those same phones. Care to share any examples of people who’ve accidentally used their smartphone to Tweet or email themselves out of a job?

We think we were pretty thorough this week. But did we miss the big mobile news you were most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

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Breaking Mobile News You May Have Missed 1/18/13

January 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

*Love Handset Detection? Take our quick survey and make us even better!*

Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. Apple Cuts iPhone 5 Parts Orders

With sales not quite what they expected, Apple has cut iPhone 5 parts orders in half. Does this also have something to do with the (possibly fake) cheaper iPhone model?

2. Google Wants You to hack Glasses

The New York and San Francisco hack-a-thons are coming up, and Google will be there with the Google Glass project. They will be willingly allowing developers to take a crack at the tech to learn how to create software and get the skinny on the Internet enabled glasses.

3. Nokia Cuts Jobs?

Despite doing great recently, Nokia is still chopping 300 jobs and another 800+ getting shuffled around. Seems no matter how well you’re doing it’s still not enough to keep everybody.

4. Connected Cars

Looking for a real smart car? Google’s driverless vehicle is a ways off, but in the meantime other makers are looking to connect their cars in various ways, although they’re careful due to safety reasons.

5. Facebook Calling

Need to make a call to a friend but don’t want to stop looking at status updates? Facebook now allows free calling between iPhone users, as long as they’re both using the Messenger app!

6. Peak of the iPhone

Is 2013 the last growth year for the iPhone? Analysts are saying the company will peak this year and will level off or even descend in the next five years.

7. Lumia to Carry X-Box’s Blobster

Nokia’s Lumia phone will be the only phone to carry X-Box’s new Blobster game. It’s yet another exclusive it gets with its Windows Phone 8 platform. Will it have any interactivity between the actual X-Box console?

8. Trees Literally Call for Help

It sounds like some sort of hippie dream, but talking trees are a reality…well, sort of. In Brazil, trees are set up with Gemalto radio tech to call for help when they’re getting cut down. The range is up to 20 miles and should help with illegal logging

We think we were pretty thorough this week. But did we miss the big mobile news you were most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Mobile News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Breaking Mobile News You May Have Missed 1/11/13

January 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

*Love Handset Detection? Take our quick survey and make us even better!*

Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. Polaroid Announces Camera with Jelly Bean 

This week was filled with CES news coming from every which-a-way, including, of all companies, hipster favorite Polaroid! The iM1836 is a Jelly Bean powered camera with a mirrorless camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.

2. Morphing Touchscreen

Another crazy invention coming out of CES was the morphing touchscreen. Imagine you’re using your tablet and you have a lengthy email to write. You’re tired of missing buttons all the time as you just can’t get used to the keys not…wait, what’s this? The keys just rose out of the screen! You send your email, and the keys vanish magically back into the screen. It could completely change the way touchscreen typing is done.

3. 6 Blackberry 10s

Another big news item out of CES was that RIM is going to release not just one but six Blackberry 10 phones. They vary in price and capability, and you can expect the first two to debut with the announcement of Blackberry 10 on January 30th.

4. Cheaper iPhones

Cheaper iPhones are most likely on their way, making some wonder why and how it’s going to hurt Apple’s sales. However, the move could make a lot of sense by bringing in those who want to try an iPhone without breaking the bank.

5. NFC

Near Field Communications saw success at CES, with all sorts of robots and talking fridges and paired up devices making waves. Could we finally be entering the “house of the future” era?

6. World’s Slimmest Phone

Tired of carrying around a brick in your pocket? The Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra measures just at 6.45mm which clocks it as the world’s slimmest phone. It only has 8 GB of storage, though, so be prepared to utilize as many clouds as you can find.

7. Google Increases Patents

Likely inspired by Apple vs. Samsung, Google increased its patent filing by 170% in 2012. Their 1,151 patents actually surpassed Apple’s 1,136 patents!

8. Dial Up was Better?

According to Vint Cerf, dial-up was better…for competition, at least. According to the co-father of the Internet, broadband actually killed a lot of competition as it narrowed the possibilities down. Could Google’s Fiber project help with that?

9. Beam Me Up!

Now for the nerdiest news of the week – and the item I’m most excited about! Forget Bluetooth, the cool new way to interact with your phone is a way that’s been around for years…the Star Trek CommBadge! Now instead of walking around talking to yourself, you can tap your chest and look awesome. Expect to see these in every comic convention around the world forever.

We think we were pretty thorough this week. But did we miss the big mobile news you were most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Mobile News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mobile Breaking News You May Have Missed 1/03/12

January 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Once in a while a blog or media outlet will post a little blurb about this newfangled “mobile technology” stuff. We kid! There are hundreds of important, interesting, fun and just plain cool mobile stories out there every day. Since mobile is our wheelhouse at Handset Detection, we thought we’d make it a point to round up the ones you don’t want to miss. Check back every Friday for the weekly roundup!

1. Google Glass in 2013?

Google says their augmented reality glasses will hit this year. However, the feature set is “still in flux” according to some experts and the effects of the glasses on the eye are up in the air. Still, it’s a step forward to truly never having to talk to another human being in person ever again, which is what we’re all working towards, right? Right?

2. Step on Your Battery

Want to recharge your phone battery? Stomp on it! Wait, wait, don’t do it yet, because the technology to recharge a battery by abusing it is still being developed at Georgia Tech. The technology may effectively change the recharger market forever in the future, though.

3. Nexus 4 “Sells Out”

Sure, the Nexus 4 is sold out everywhere, but sales may or may not be all that great. T-Mobile has started restocking shelves, but it may only be because the company was unprepared for the onslaught.

4. Samsung & Android on Top in USA

Apple had a great quarter due to sales of the iPhone 5, but Android still owns the US right now with almost 54% of smartphone sales. Samsung is having a great quarter as well with almost 27% of the smartphone population using a Samsung device.

5. App Development Costs

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to build an app? One of the major factors is cost – but how much does it actually cost to make an app? This infographic can give you an idea, though the final answer will be up to you!

6. Tech 150 Years in the Future

What will the world be like in 2163? Oh, wait, they’re looking at 2150, which is actually 137 years in the future…hmmm. Well, anyway, an interesting look at what could tech be out in the next 150 or so years, including cloning, the singularity, and Half Life 3.

7. iPhone 5S Colors

The iPhone 5S (or 6 or whatever) will possibly come in June, so what can we expect? Well, for one, tons of color options, plus an improved battery, a new camera, and tons of storage.

8. Blackberry Curve 9315

Want an affordable Blackberry for your T-Mobile service? You could pick up the Curve 9315…even though it’s actually just a rebranded Curve 9310, made to look “affordable” before Blackberry 10 hits (potentially) soon.

Did we miss any mobile news from the past week? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Mobile News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apple iOS 7 Spotted in the Wild!

January 3, 2013 by 1 Comment

Today an interesting detection manifested. It looked like this:

Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_0 like Mac OSX) AppleWebKit/546.10 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/7E18WD

Safari/8536.25

What does that mean in layperson’s terms? Someone in Cupertino, CA is taking Apple’s iOS 7 for a spin! Generally when we detect a new operating system, we can expect the floodgates of news to open up soon. You heard it here first!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s edition of “Mobile News You May Have Missed” for further speculation!

Filed Under: Mobile News Tagged With: , , , ,
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