Monday, September 23, 2013

iPhone 5S And 5C First Weekend Sales Are Less Impressive Than They Seem

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-5s-and-5c-launch-results-reappraised-2013-9

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FirstWeekendiPhone

Once China Is Factored In, iPhone 5S and 5C Weekend Results Are Less Impressive (BI Intelligence)
Apple sold a combined 9 million units of the new iPhone 5S and 5C over the weekend. That seems far greater than the 5 million sold during last year's iPhone 5 launch, but looks can be deceiving. First, Apple launched not one but two devices. Also, unlike the new 5S and 5C, the iPhone 5 was not available in mainland China in its first weekend. Accounting for these factors, and our estimate for the sales mix between 5S and 5C, high-end iPhone sales would actually be dead-even with last year. Full analysis, data, and charts available to BI Intelligence subscribers. Click here to sign up for a 2-week trial. Read >

BlackBerry Lays Off 4,500 Employees After $950M Quarterly Loss (MarketWatch)
Struggling Canadian handset maker BlackBerry had its stock market shares halted Friday. This came on the heels of an announcement in which the company claimed a $950 million loss for the most recent quarter. The company's performance this past quarter will lead to a 40% reduction in its global workforce, about 4,500 people. Read >

BlackBerry Co-Founder Seeks Bid To Be Taken Private (New York Times)
BlackBerry's co-founder, Mike Lazaridis has begun aggressively reaching out to several private equity firms about a possible bid for the handset maker. Lazaridis and BlackBerry's other co-founder stepped down as executives last year in an attempt to hand over the company to a new executive team and spur growth. One year later, with no growth, BlackBerry continues to cede its already limited market share in the global smartphone market. A full-fledged buy out would likely lead to significant consolidation within the smartphone industry. Read > 

BBM For Android Leaks, And BlackBerry Pulls BBM From iOS App Store (BlackBerry)
A leaked version of BlackBerry's popular messaging service, BBM, is forcing the company to put a hold on the global rollout of BBM for Android. Amid all the Android market confusion, BlackBerry also decided to pull the already released iOS version of BBM from the app store. BlackBerry reported that the unofficial Android app pulled in more than 1.1 million active users in just 8 hours. Read >

Microsoft Is Ready To Tackle Phablets (ZDnet)
At Microsoft's recent Financial Analyst Meeting, Executive Vice President Terry Myerson clued in on the company's future, claiming that phablets will be a critical part. He also mentioned that the convergence of Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT technologies may be imminent. Read & gt; 

Photos Are Becoming The Next Cheap, Abundant Data, So We Need More Photo-Sharing Apps (David Lee)
David Lee, an angel investor in Silicon Valley, claims that photos are quickly becoming the newest well of cheap, abundant data. More cheap photo data will be necessary and beneficial in the long run for companies and services like Google Glass, Google Earth, connected cars, and others. Because of this, he feels the photo-sharing app landscape is wide open and ripe for many newcomers. Read >

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Android Turns 5 Years Old Today

Source: http://gizmodo.com/android-turns-5-years-old-today-1372692260

Android Turns 5 Years Old Today

Today in 2008, Google executives stood on stage and announced the much-rumored T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream). It was the first commercial product to run a new, Linux-based operating system called Android. It turned out pretty OK.

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T-Mobile Moto X gets updated with significant camera enhancements

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/moto-x-update-camera/

TMobile Moto X gets updated with significant camera enhancements

In our review of the Moto X, we determined that while its ClearPixel camera was decent, its performance was hit or miss. Fortunately, Motorola has taken a lot of feedback and has cranked out a software update with improvements to the camera's performance, specifically in the areas of exposure, color accuracy and focus speed. The refresh, which is so far getting pushed out to T-Mobile phones -- we expect it to roll out to other carriers as soon as each one is done testing the new firmware, though nothing is currently confirmed -- appears to make a rather substantial difference in several scenarios, such as reducing noise in low-light and eliminating haze in outdoor shots. Anandtech's Brian Klug had the opportunity to take the updated shooter for a test run and declared it to be "nothing short of the biggest [improvement] I've ever seen come across in an OTA update."

In addition to the camera improvements, Motorola also threw in a few other enhancements as well. Users who have downloaded the update should expect increased Touchless Control accuracy, a fix for the choppy audio issue some have experienced in voice calls and an improvement to Moto Assist as well.

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Source: Anandtech

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This Hanging Bed Is the Ultimate Tiny Apartment Hack

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-bed-in-this-awesome-apartment-hangs-from-a-giant-sk-1370885942

This Hanging Bed Is the Ultimate Tiny Apartment Hack

Creative ways to hide your sleeping space are as old at the first murphy bed, but this might be a first: The owners of this London apartment have found a way to maximize their living space without resorting to a bed that folds into a closet.

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Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch for Sprint: ships October 4th with 'unlimited data for life'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/galaxy-note-3-galaxy-gear-smartwatch-sprint-ship-date/

Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch for Sprint ships October 4th with 'unlimited data for life'

As has become the norm, Sprint's primary differentiator is its "unlimited data for life" policy affixed to new flagships. Granted, the carrier isn't promising that the amount it charges for said data will remain the same for life, but at least you'll have the option to pony up for it. Following the footsteps of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, Sprint has announced that its version of the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear watch will arrive on shelves October 4th. The former will cost $349.99 on a two-year contract (a full $50 more than most of its rivals), while the latter will go for $299.99 outright. Outside of being compatible with Sprint's LTE airwaves and including a bit of carrier-branded bloatware, the handset itself will be the same one that we've previewed extensively.

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Source: Sprint

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