HTC Corporation announced today that it disagrees with the patent lawsuit Apple recently filed against it. HTC also released the above image of a T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition by HTC. HTC says this was the first 3.5-inch color touch screen smartphone in the United States in 2002.
"HTC disagrees with Apple's actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible," said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. "From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA(i) and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition(ii), our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then."
Apple's iPhone Lost Smartphone Marketshare in Fourth Quarter
The New York Times Bits blog reports that Apple's iPhone actually lost smartphone marketshare in the fourth quarter. The iPhone's marketshare fell to 16.6% of all smartphone sales in Q4. This was a drop of about 1.5% from its third quarter marketshare of 16.6%
Apple's sales still grew, just not as quickly as everybody else's. Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, which is 18% more than in the quarter before. But the overall smartphone market grew 26% in the same period of time, as Motorola Inc. introduced its first devices on Google Inc.'s Android platform and Nokia Oyj boosted its sales by 4.6 million alone.
The last time the iPhone took a dip in market share was in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to ABI Research.
It is a very small dip but it could be an indication that other platforms - like Google's Android - are catching on with smartphone buyers.
Touchscreen technology is rapidly becoming the dominant smartphone technology. CNN/Money reports that a new study from comScore found that touchscreen smartphone adoption grew by 159% in the U.S. last year. The study also found 23.8 million of the 34 million smartphones (70%) Americans are carrying are touchscreen smartphones.
Touchscreen mobile phone adoption in the U.S. grew at a breakneck 159% rate last year, comScore reports, easily outpacing the 63% growth of the broader smartphone market.
By last August, nearly 34 million Americans were carrying smartphones, 23.8 million of them touchscreen devices. And of those touchscreen phones, 32.9% were iPhones.
"The iPhone clearly set the trend in the industry for touchscreen devices, so it's no surprise that it has the largest share of the market," said comScore VP Mark Donovan. "But as other players have entered the touchscreen market with compelling devices, competition is clearly heating up."
Apple dominates the touchscreen smartphone market which is not a surprise since it was the iPhone that ignited the trend to begin with. Data from comScore MobiLens indicates that the Apple iPhone has 32.9% of the market.
Analyst: AT&T's Exclusive iPhone Contract Could End Next Summer
Brandweekreports that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is predicting that AT&T will lose its exclusive deal with Apple's iPhone next summer.
Rumors that Apple's iPhone may soon shutter its exclusive deal with AT&T just got some expert support. Gene Munster, a senior analyst for Piper Jaffray, stated in a recent investors report that the company predicts Apple could open its iPhone product to additional U.S. carriers sometime next summer.
In the report, Munster mentioned how Apple gained in market share when it switched from an exclusivity model with French carrier Orange to a multi-carrier model, and that this could propel the decision.
It may not happen that quickly. CNET notes that there are also rumors AT&T already has or is negotiating with Apple to get its exclusivity contract extending until 2011.
In an interview here on Fortune's Brainstorm Tech blog, Gene Munster also talks about Apple possibly launched a $30 - $40 tv subscription fee on iTunes that could compete with cable.
The BBC reports that Apple has released a patch to fix a security flaw on the iPhone. The hack was brought to Apple's attention at the recent Black Hat conference in Las Vegas.
Experts revealed on Thursday that modified SMS messages could result in iPhones being disconnected from the network or hijacked altogether.
Apple said phones incorporating other mobile operating systems, such as Windows Mobile and Google Android, were also potentially vulnerable.
It added that no-one had actually used the flaw to gain access to an iPhone.
This flaw passed without an incident but it certainly raised concerns that someday criminals will get malware onto smartphones. Details about the free patch can be found here. ABC says the upgrade is available only through Apple's iTunes software.
Apple Sells Over 1 Million New iPhone in Three Days
Apple announced that they sold over one million of its new iPhone 3G S units in the first 3 days. Bloombergreports that the figure beat analysts estimates.
The successful debut positions Apple as the dominant player in the market for so-called smart phones, said Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research. Apple is jockeying for customers with Palm Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd., which also showed off Web-equipped phones with upgraded software and more features this month.
"It's a testament for demand out there for the iPhone," Livingston, New Jersey-based Cross, who advises investors to buy Apple shares and doesn’t own any, said in an interview. "Apple is in a position to continue to outpace the competition."
Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu predicted sales of 600,000 iPhones, while Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster projected 750,000. Apple's previous model, the iPhone 3G, sold a million units in its opening weekend in July last year.
The big sales figure comes despite reports (see here and here) that lines were shorter at Apple Stores for this iPhone than previous models.
Apple Announces Faster iPhone With Longer Battery Life
Apple has announced a new iPhone - the Apple iPhone 3GS. Apple says the 3GS is 2 times faster and more responsive than iPhone 3G. The new phone also promises a longer battery life. It can also can record video and has an improved 3-megapixel camera. It has some new features including a built-in compass and voice control. Gizmodo has a good list of all the features here.
The 16GB Apple iPhone 3GS will retail for $199 and the 32GB version will cost $299. The phone will be available in stores on June 19th.
AppleInsider has a good breakdown on the prices for both current and new iPhone users here. Current iPhone users will have to pay to upgrade to the new iPhone. Some AT&T iPhone customers are unhappy with AT&T for this and other reasons.
Apple has also lowered prices on the previous model - the iPhone 3G will cost $99 for the 8GB version and $149 for the 16GB version.
Here's a clip of Apple's presentation for the iPhone 3GS.
BlackBerry Curve Outsells Apple's iPhone in 1st Quarter
Reuters reports that data from research group NPD found that the Blackberry Curve outsold the Apple iPhone in the 1st quarter of 2009.
Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry Curve moved past Apple Inc's iPhone in the first quarter to become the best-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S., research group NPD said on Monday.
RIM, which already dominates the corporate smartphone market in the United States, also had three of the top five best-selling consumer smartphones in the period, with the Storm at No. 3 and the Pearl at No. 4, NPD said.
T-Mobile's G1 ranked No. 5.
The iPhone was the top-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S. in both the third and fourth quarters of 2008. The Curve was second and the Palm Inc's Centro was third.
Here is a list of the top five bestselling smartphones in Q1 2009 from the NPD Group's press release. RIM had three of the five bestselling smartphones.
RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
RIM BlackBerry Storm
RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
T-Mobile G1
There's a lot of discussion in the tech blogs - see here - about RIM's phone knocking Apple off the #1 spot.
Bloomberg reports that AT&T is going to start selling iPhones without a contract requirement for the first time. The 8-gigabyte model will sell for $599 and the 16-gigabyte model will sell for $699. Beginning March 26th, customers can sign up for month-to-month plans through AT&T. Previously, customers had to sign a two-year contract.
Until now, AT&T has required a two-year contract for iPhone buyers, charging $199 to $299 for the device. The strategy change may be an effort to attract month-to-month customers and clear space on store shelves for new products. Analysts at Piper Jaffray & Co. and Broadpoint AmTech Inc. expect new iPhone models to arrive in the next few months.
Apple may introduce a cheaper version of the iPhone this summer for $99, along with a higher-end version with twice the storage currently available, Broadpoint analyst Brian Marshall said this week in a note to clients.
IPhone customers are required to spend $30 a month on a data plan, giving them access to Web features. That's on top of a voice plan, which starts at $39.99 a month. IPhone customers who sign up without a monthly contact will be required to pay the same amount, Siegel said.
PC Worldargues that the "no commitment" offer from AT&T is not a bargain.
The Wall Street Journalreports that Apple's unit sales fell 6% in January 2009 compared with January 2008's figures. The dollar value of Apple's sales fell by a steeper amount (11%) as consumers turned away from Apple's pricier computer models.
Demand for Apple's laptop computers, in particular, had remained relatively solid for months despite the economic downturn as consumers were willing to pay higher prices for a sleek design and unique operating system. But NPD analyst Stephen Baker said consumers are becoming more price-sensitive as the economic climate continues to worsen.
"Casual buyers or people who are trying to make a choice are trading down," Mr. Baker said.
NPD compiles estimates of sales through U.S. retailers, including Apple's company-owned stores and Web site. The firm estimates that the dollar value of Apple's sales through U.S. retail channels fell 11% during the month, faster than the decline in unit sales. Its market share, measured in dollars, declined to 13.7% from 16.4% in January 2008, NPD said.
The report could be good news for some of Apple's many rivals in the computer and smartphones markets that offer lower-priced gadgets. Apple could reduce prices to try and increase demand but they did not return the WSJ's calls. There have been rumors that Apple may release a $99 iPhone this summer.
The Blackberry Storm debuted to long lines of Blackberry users who want to upgrade to the new touch screen version of the popular smartphone. So how does the Blackberry Storm compare to its competitors? Walt Mossberg has the review with all the info you need to make the right choice for you. Take a look:
Popular Mechanics reveals
5 ways the new Google Android beats Apple's iPhone and 5 ways that it doesn't.
1. Keyboard
As proficient as we've become with the iPhone's virtual keypad, tapping touchscreen keys (especially ones without haptic feedback) has its limits. Physical keyboards, like those on BlackBerrys and Treos, are much easier to use. The G1's little keyboard will become especially important as smartphone manufacturers increasingly market their devices as pocket-based PCs, and may give the G1 a clear edge when it comes to gaming.
2. Expandable and Removable Parts
The iPhone's sealed battery is more of a metaphoric problem than a functional one. Sure, it's a pain not being able to swap in a new battery for long jaunts off the grid (thankfully, plenty of accessories are designed to fix this problem), and nobody likes having to ship his phone back to Apple if his battery begins to lose its charge. But this problem has drawn as much fire as it has because it is symbolic of the closed, unmodifiable nature of Apple products—a criticism to which Android seems a direct response. Not only can you swap the G1's battery for a fresh one at will (a feature it shares with virtually every other phone on the market), but you can also add extra memory for songs and programs using its micro-SD slot. Good thing too, since the phone's built-in memory is pretty paltry (more on that below.)
The entire article is worth reading if you're thinking about buying either one of these phones. One problem with the iPhone that a lot of women have is that you have to touch the screen with your finger -- not your fingernail. Most of the women we know use Blackberries for this very reason. The Android very well may cut into this market.