By Ryan Kamauff
Here are the top mobile news and stories of the week.
T-Mobile to offer some LTE-A features before the end of this year? – Apparently, T-Mobile will be rolling out some LTE-A features this year. LTE is all the rage in mobile advertising and networks. Verizon uses it to push their service over all others. T-Mobile has just started rolling out their LTE capabilities, and may be using multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) to link multiple signals for faster speeds. Via Phone Arena, more here.
iOS 7 to let developers detect blinking and smiling in photos, could foreshadow future iPhone features – Other mobile firms such as Samsung offer unique face recognition in photos. This allows users to take a set of pictures and makes the best “overall” picture from that. This move by Apple would allow for similar merged pictures that take the best smiles and make sure nobody is blinking. Via 9to5Mac, more here.
Gartner: Tablet shipments to pass 200 million units in 2013 – Gartner is estimating that tablet shipments worldwide will reach 200M. This is occurring, in part, due to shrinking PC shipments. The shrinking average price of tablets is lowering the barrier to entry for users worldwide. Gartner even suggests that eventually, tablet shipments could outpace PC. Via Android Community, more here.
Apple Releases iOS 7 Beta 2 With Support For iPads – Apple’s second iOS 7 beta has been released, this time with actual support for their tablets. Apple’s iOS 7 was released to a lot of fanfare, but much disdain from the general public. This new update offers the Voice Memo capability as well. If you are using iOS Betas, be sure to update. Via Gizmodo, more here.
Four reasons why Apple’s Passbook is growing on retailers – About 1/3 of all digital gift cards are opened on mobile devices, with the vast majority (2/3) opened via Apple’s Passbook capability. Apparently millions of dollars have been spent via Passbook, by “tens of thousands” of users. The adoption of Passbook may lead to increased digital/smartphone payments in the future. Via GigaOM, more here.
As sales plunge, Barnes & Noble says it will stop making Nook tablets; e-readers live on – B&N offered a fire-sale on their Nook tablets last week, slashing $100 from their top tier device. Apparently the sales of these devices have been less than stellar, leading to a shift in manufacturing. The bookseller will keep making their e-readers (which directly encourage digital B&N purchases) but will drop the tablets. While Nook Tablets are capable, their ergonomics left much to be desired. Via Paid Content, more here.
Samsung Announces Galaxy S4 LTE-A, World’s First LTE-Advanced Smartphone – The new Samsung S4 LTE-A will have both next generation processor and radios. The S4 LTE-A is the first device with the Snapdragon 800 series chip, as well as an improved GPU from the earlier version. While there are few LTE-A networks in the world, the device will be rather future-proofed. Via Droid-Life, more here.
Will the Plastic iPhone knock the iPhone 4S out of this year’s free iPhone pattern? – As Apple releases new smartphones, they bump down the prices of older models. However, the “Plastic” iPhone may knock out the iPhone 4S from sales. This would help Apple completely focus on the new lightning port, as well meet demands in emerging markets. Via 9to5Mac, more here.
CyanogenMod update could bring a Quick Settings Camera app – A new version of CyanogenMod could include the camera in the “quick settings” toggle section. The intent would be to speed opening of the camera, so users could snap off faster pictures. The app would push it to autofocus and then quickly snap a full resolution image. Via Android Community, more here.
European iPhone marketshare falls 5% in Q1 2013 according to IDC, whilst competitors grew, but Apple remains in second place – Android and iOS are the clear market leaders in almost every market worldwide. iOS devices are typically used by the more wealthy, while Android are used by the rest. iOS long had a huge grip in the EU, but appears to have lost 5% marketshare in the year over year Q1 numbers. This could be due to an influx of high quality Android devices, due to the lull in Apple development (a new iPhone will not be out for a few months yet), or due to the depression that is gripping the EU. Any which way, Apple needs to maintain strong market shares to ensure the economies of scale that provide them with such high margins on devices. Via 9to5Mac, more here.
OUYA game console arrives for retail sales – The OUYA game console has been rumored and teased for months now. An open source gaming device, the OUYA brings Android gaming into your living room. It is already out of stock at Amazon, but can be found at other online retailers. OUYA is said to have over 100 partners developing for their console alone, games which will likely cost around $5-10 a pop. Via Android Community, more here.
Sony’s Xperia Z Ultra Phone Is… Nah, That’s Not a Phone – Sony’s latest Xperia device is a 6.4″ Android beast. It comes packing the aforementioned Snapdragon 800 processor, a 1080p screen and is barely more than .25″ thick. The device is also dustproof and waterproof. The question is, will anyone purchase this device given the size? At 6.4″ it is more a tablet than a phone, and far larger than the Galaxy Note. Via Gizmodo, more here.