Analysts Agree: Samsung Wins in Q2

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Strategy Analytics, IDC and Juniper Research are in agreement-- Samsung sells more smartphones than Apple in Q2 2012 as it leads both global smartphone and general mobile sales races.

Galaxy S IIIThe exact analyst numbers differ, but only slightly. Strategy Analytics says Samsung smartphone shipments total 50.5 million, IDC says 50.2m and Juniper puts the total as 52.1m. Driving Samsung's mobile success are the flagship Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet dark horse.

On the other hand Apple ships around 26m iPhones according to the 3 analysts, as customers wait for the iPhone 5 instead of buying the iPhone 4S.

The usual suspects follow far behind-- Nokia shipments total 10.2m (IDC) as the Lumia sales remain "steady," HTC struggles against to compete against Samsung and ZTE climbs the global rankings through low-cost entry-level smartphone shipments in its home China and the Americas.

According to Strategy Analytics Samsung owns 34.6% of the smartphone market, while Apple share lies at 17.8%. IDC numbers are similar-- 32.6% Samsung, 16.9% Apple.

Samsung also leads in the general mobile phone stakes, with Q2 2012 shipments reaching 93m units (Strategy Analytics), up from 74m in Q2 2011. Former leader Nokia shipments are down to 83.7m from 88.5m a year earlier.

If the analyst estimates are correct, the writing on the wall is more than clear-- Customers prefer Samsung to Apples. Or anything else, really. With the next iPhone to emerge sometime around September-October, expect Samsung to continue reigning in the Q3 2012 rankings.

Go Global Mobile Shipments Reach 362m in Q2 2012 (Strategy Analytics)

Go Strong Demand for Smartphones in Q2 2012 (IDC)

Go Strong Sales of Galaxy S3 Helps Extend Samsung's Lead over Apple (Juniper Research)

And Yet the Trashcan Moves... Thanks to Kinect

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We've seen plenty of interesting Kinect hacks, but the "Smart Trashbox" might be the only one to find a home at our office-- a Kinect-powered automated waste bucket able to track and catch thrown bits of trash.

Smart TrashboxCreated by Japanese modder FRP, the Smart Trashbox runs on a battery-powered wheeled base connected to an integrated circuit board. A Kinect sensor installed on the ceiling controls the trashcan, together with code calculating and tracking the trajectories of airborne objects.

The result? A trashcan able to capture thrown waste.

FRP admits the system's accuracy needs improvement, but as you can see from the video linked below it already looks quite impressive. We're sure you will also want one.

Watch Smart Trashbox

Go Smart Trashbox (IT Media)

Apple's Q3 Disappoints Wall Street

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Wall Street sometimes gets too greedy-- despite fiscal Q3 2012 revenues reaching $35 billion and profits worth $8.8bn (up from $7.3bn in Q3 2011) Apple misses Wall Street estimates, causing analysts to declare the quarter a bust.

AppleInternational sales account for 62% of Q3 2012 revenues.

Strong earnings, but not strong enough for Thomson Reuters analysts expecting revenues worth $37.2bn.

Mind, iDevice numbers see Q-o-Q declines-- Q3 iPhone sales reach 26 million, up by 28% Y-o-Y but down by -26% sequentially, maybe due to continual rumours on the next iPhone model. Meanwhile iPad sales reach 17m with 86% Y-o-Y growth.

Read more...

Patent War: Apple Wins EU Tab 7.7 Ban

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Apple wins an EU-wide preliminary injunction banning sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet as the Düsseldorf regional court decides the devices infringes on Apple design rights.

Apple vs SamsungHowever Samsung can still continue selling the larger Galaxy Tab 10.1N-- the revised model Samsung released to work around earlier design infringement accusations. The Düsseldorf court had already decided in favour of the 10.1N variant back in February 2012

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 ban theoretically covers all EU countries except Germany, where a ban against the tablet is already in place.

However earlier in July a UK high court decided Samsung tablets are less "cool" than the iPad, and therefore do not infringe on Apple tablet patents.

Read more...

Nokia Teaming Up with Operators?

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The Financial Times reports Nokia might "rip up its traditional mass marketing strategy" once it reveals its latest Windows Phone 8 handset-- with exclusive partnerships with European operators.

NokiaOperators reportedly in talks with Nokia include France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom (with UK joint venture Everything Everywhere), but such talks are "still exploratory" and nothing is confirmed as yet.

Nokia already has a similar fairly successful exclusive sales agreement in the US with AT&T.

Such an approach (creating dedicated support while ditching retailers) represents a change from the typical Nokia sales strategy, where all channels sell as many phones as possible.

One of the FT's sources says Nokia will even offer a financial stake in the success of the range to the operator of choice.

Are Nokia's Window Phone smartphones the handsets of customer choice? While Lumia Q2 2012 sales figures surprised the company (reaching million units), customers still appear to prefer Apple and Samsung offerings.

Go Nokia in Windows Talks With Operators (FT.com)

Go Nokia Q2 2012 Interim Report

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