U.S.

Tablets
September 27, 2011
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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 launches October 2nd, starts at $469

By on September 27, 2011 at 11:00 PM.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 launches October 2nd, starts at $469

Samsung announced on Tuesday that its Galaxy Tab 8.9 Android tablet will be available in the United States beginning on October 2nd. There are two models of the Galaxy Tab 8.9, a 32GB version that will cost $569 and a 16GB model priced at $469. The Galaxy Tab 8.9 measures just 8.5mm thin and runs Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface on top of Android 3.1 (Honeycomb). The Galaxy Tab 8.9 is powered by a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 T250S processor, has a 6,100 mAh battery, a 3-megapixel camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats and, as its name implies, an 8.9-inch Gorilla Glass screen with a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution. Samsung also confirmed that its Galaxy Player 4.0 and Galaxy Player 5.0 personal media players will launch in the United States on October 16th for $229 and $269, respectively. Read on for the full press release. More →

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Internet
September 12, 2011
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U.S. to use mobile internet more than wireline by 2015, IDC says

By on September 12, 2011 at 8:15 PM.

U.S. to use mobile internet more than wireline by 2015, IDC says

U.S. citizens will use the mobile networks to access the Internet more than wireline networks by 2015 according to IDC’s Worldwide New Media Market Model, 1H11 report which was released on Monday. Smartphone and tablet sales are expected to be the driving catalyst for the growth of mobile Internet use, which IDC predicts will increase 16.6% between 2010 and 2015. Internet usage in Western Europe and Japan is expected to follow a similar trend. IDC suggested the total number of worldwide Internet users will grow from 2 billion in 2010 to 2.7 billion in 2015, when IDC predicts 40% of the global population will have access to the Internet. “Forget what we have taken for granted on how consumers use the Internet,” said Karsten Weide, research vice president, Media and Entertainment. “Soon, more users will access the Web using mobile devices than using PCs, and it’s going to make the Internet a very different place.” Read on for the full release from IDC. More →

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Computers
August 23, 2011
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China steals top spot as world's largest PC market

By on August 23, 2011 at 7:25 PM.

China steals top spot as world's largest PC market

China surpassed the United States as the world’s largest PC market during the second quarter of 2011 according to a new report from IDC. PC shipments in China totaled 18.5 million units during the second quarter, more than the 17.7 million units shipped in the United States. The research firm is projecting that Chinese PC shipments will total 85.1 million units next year, compared to just 76.6 million units shipped in the U.S. The influx of new tablet devices and advanced smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhone and iPad, may be driving consumer interest away from notebooks and traditional desktop PCs in developed markets, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. “The center of gravity of the PC industry has shifted away from the developed world,” Wolf Group Asia CEO David Wolf said. China’s growth helped Lenovo become the third-largest PC maker, behind HP and Dell, with a 12.2% of global PC shipments. HP’s share of the Chinese market dropped from a 16.6% during the third quarter of 2009 to 8.5% during the second quarter of 2011. The decline has been partially blamed on buggy NVIDIA chips that shipped in HP devices last year. HP recently announced that it is considering a partial or full separation from its personal systems group.

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Gaming
August 17, 2011
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Sony cuts PS3 price to $249

By on August 17, 2011 at 6:45 AM.

Sony cuts PS3 price to $249

Sony announced on Tuesday that it is lowering the price of its 160GB PlayStation 3 console to $249, down from the console’s original $299 price tag. In addition, Sony will now sell the 320GB version of the PlayStation 3 for $299 instead of $349. The Japanese consumer electronics firm also dropped the price of the system in Japan and in Europe. The move is likely an effort to tackle Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, which has been the best-selling console in the United States for past seven months according to the latest data from The NPD Group. Recent rumors have suggested Sony is already working on the PlayStation 4, which could launch as soon as next year to compete with Nintendo’s Wii U and Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox. More →

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mobile
August 13, 2011
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Nokia to undercut Android prices to gain U.S. market share

By on August 13, 2011 at 1:00 AM.

Nokia to undercut Android prices to gain U.S. market share

Nokia’s head of North American sales Chris Weber sat down in an interview Business Insider recently and explained how the Finnish company will regain its market share in the United States by writing “one of the greatest turnaround stories in history.” Weber said that Nokia will release a number of new smartphone models running Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango operating system and will compete with Android by pricing several of them lower than the cheapest Android models. Weber reconfirmed that Nokia is still on track to release its first Windows Phone handset this year, likely the SeaRay device we’ve seen leaked, but said the majority of its phones will begin to land next year. Business Insider also said that Nokia is deeply integrated with Microsoft’s plans for a complete tablet, PC and mobile phone ecosystem, which loosely suggests Nokia may have a tablet in the works, too. More →

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mobile
August 9, 2011
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Nokia N9 will not launch in the United States

By on August 9, 2011 at 11:35 PM.

Nokia N9 will not launch in the United States

Nokia confirmed on Tuesday that its flagship MeeGo-powered N9 smartphone will not launch in the United States. Nokia reached out to Engadget with the official statement on the matter:

After the very positive reception to the launch of the Nokia N9, the product is now being rolled out in countries around the world. At this time we will not be making it available in the U.S. Nokia takes a market by market approach to a product rollout, and each country makes its own decisions about which products to introduce from those available. Decisions are based on an assessment of existing and upcoming products that make up Nokia’s extensive product portfolio and the best way in which to address local market opportunities.

No doubt carriers in the United States are waiting for Nokia’s upcoming Windows Phone Mango handsets. The Finnish company could make the announcement about its first Mango phone during its annual Nokia World conference, which kicks off on October 26th. More →

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mobile
August 5, 2011
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On Jumptap's network, Android dominates more U.S. states than iOS or BlackBerry

By on August 5, 2011 at 8:02 PM.

On Jumptap's network, Android dominates more U.S. states than iOS or BlackBerry

Jumptap recently released a report that separated the 50 states by mobile operating system. It mapped out which states are prominently iOS users, which use Android the most, and which states use BlackBerry smartphones based on 83 million users on its ad network. New England and the Midwest represented the largest pockets of iOS users while Texas, California and much of the West were Android users. New York is primarily a BlackBerry state, perhaps due to the number of corporate users in New York City. Alaska was neutral and Hawaii had more iOS users than Android or BlackBerry. Jumptap collected its data from its mobile advertising network, so the data doesn’t represent sales or market share of course. Read on for more findings from the report. More →

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mobile
July 20, 2011
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Samsung Galaxy S II to launch in U.S. in August

By on July 20, 2011 at 9:31 AM.

Samsung Galaxy S II to launch in U.S. in August

Samsung will launch its wildly successful Galaxy S II handset in the United States in next month, Yonhap News reported on Wednesday. “We expect to release the Galaxy S2 in the U.S. market sometime in August,” Shin Jong-kyun, Samsung’s president of mobile business and digital imaging recently told media. The original Galaxy S launched on each of the four major carriers in the United States, as well as on some of the smaller carriers, and we expect many of them to also carry the Galaxy S II. The device made its debut in other parts of the world earlier this year and has been flying off of store shelves. On July 4th, Samsung announced that it had sold 3 million units in 55 days and said the Galaxy S II was its fastest selling smartphone ever. There’s a lot to get excited about: we called the device the “greatest Android smartphone available on the planet” in our recent review. More →

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mobile
July 14, 2011
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Want to try Spotify for free without waiting? Klout has invites

By on July 14, 2011 at 1:33 PM.

Want to try Spotify for free without waiting? Klout has invites

Spotify has teamed up with Klout, the online social influence measuring website, to offer U.S. invites to its unlimited streaming music service that launched Thursday morning. Simply sign up for a Klout account to get started and, if you have enough influence across various social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you could qualify for immediate free access to Spotify. Spotify’s free ad-supported service is currently available by invite only in the U.S., though the paid services are open to all. Klout is also offering one month of Spotify Premium service if you get five of your friends to sign up. We’re loving Spotify so far and if you want to skip the wait without paying, Klout is definitely your best bet. More →

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Tablets
July 13, 2011
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AT&T to offer Sony S2 tablet exclusively in the U.S.

By on July 13, 2011 at 10:20 AM.

AT&T to offer Sony S2 tablet exclusively in the U.S.

AT&T on Wednesday announced that it will be the exclusive provider of Sony’s new S2 tablet in the United States. Sony took the wraps off of the S2 in April, and said it offers a unique folding form factor with dual 5.5-inch 1024 x 480 displays and a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. The device is powered by Android 3.0 Honeycomb and will launch with support for AT&T’s HSPA+ 4G network. It also runs Sony’s PlayStation Network for gaming and video services. AT&T didn’t reveal the pricing or an exact launch date, but Sony originally said the S2 would hit the market this fall. Hit the jump for the full press release.

More →

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mobile
July 8, 2011
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Apple may launch 3G iPod touch in September, rumor claims

By on July 8, 2011 at 7:55 PM.

Apple may launch 3G iPod touch in September, rumor claims

A Dutch Apple blog named AppleSpot reported on Friday that Apple will launch a new 3G iPod touch in September. Similar to options available for the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, users would have the option of purchasing the 3G iPod touch directly from a wireless carrier with a data plan. We’re expecting a possible iPod/iPhone/iPad refresh in September, and so it’s entirely possible that Apple is considering creating a version with a 3G radio. Such a device could also help carriers lock in more data plans and would continue to boost Apple’s presence among the flood of new Android handsets. Our only gripe with the whole story is that AppleSpot doesn’t have a proven track record reporting on Apple rumors. Plus, a 3G iPod touch would be just a little weird given that we expect every major U.S. wireless carrier to announce the next generation iPhone. More →

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mobile
July 5, 2011
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Apple iPad responsible for 1% of all web traffic, 2.1% of traffic in U.S.

By on July 5, 2011 at 2:35 PM.

Apple iPad responsible for 1% of all web traffic, 2.1% of traffic in U.S.

According to a new report from NetMarketShare, the iPad accounts for 1% of global web traffic and 2.1% of web traffic in the United States — a figure that’s 53 times greater than its nearest tablet competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Similarly, its traffic is 76 times greater than that of the Motorola XOOM, and 306 greater than the BlackBerry PlayBook. In the United States, the iPad owns 25.5% of the mobile browser market, which is a smaller chunk than Android’s 31.6% share and the iPhone’s 35.2% market share. The research data is compiled from more than 160 million visitors accessing Net Applications’ network. More →

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