Charts break down Apple iPhone shipments by region

Charts based on Apple iPhone shipping data reveal that the peak demand period for newly launched versions of the device is always the quarter in which the phone launched. That pattern can be seen with Apple iPhone shipments in the U.S., U.K., Japan and the Asia Pacific market. After the launch quarter, subsequent periods usually see a drop-off in demand. That might not be considered unusual in the U.S. where there is the pressure to be among the first in the neighborhood or office to sport the next iteration of the Apple iPhone. This pattern should not be seen in a country like China, where the population is so large that you might expect demand for the unit to be relatively constant each quarter. According to Sameer Singh of TechThoughts, the lack of consistent Chinese sales of the iPhone quarter-by-quarter is indicative of the handset being priced too high for the average Chinese consumer, who will turn to lower priced smartphones.

The Apple iPhone 5

Singh notes that the prior two Apple iPhone launches showed similar results when broken down by region and the same should be seen with this year's Apple iPhone 5 release. Singh sees the Americas capturing 22% of Q4 iPhone 5 shipments. With 22 million units of the Apple iPhone 5 expected to ship in the Americas in the current quarter, he forecasts that 60-70 million units will ship in the region over the first four quarters of availability. In Europe, which demonstrates sales patterns similar to the U.S., he sees 40-50 million units of the Apple iPhone 5 shipping in the first year. That drops down to the 35 to 45 million units expected to ship in the Asia Pacific and China region during the next four quarters and the 10-13 million iPhone 5 units estimated to ship in Japan over the year.

For the full year, the bottom line comes out to an estimate of 160 million to 170 million units of the Apple iPhone 5 to be shipped globally. Whether or not Apple iPhone 5 sales hold to this estimate, it still represents a nice bit of change for Apple to add to its current pile of cash.

source: Tech-Thoughts via TUAW

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Apple vs Windows: Choosing the best mobile phone

The battle between the two computer giants has transferred to mobile, with fans being just as passionate in their preferences as they were about their PCs and Macs.

Apple led the way with the production of the industry-changing iPhone, but the Windows phones from Microsoft are attracting more and more admirers with their latest handset ranges and mobile phone deals. 

Look and feel

The straightforward iPhone button icon layout has influenced modern computer design. Practicality comes ahead of style; with everything you need laid out on the scroll-able home screen. 

Windows does things differently – features are sorted by type into a menu that is initially strange if you’re used to the iPhone layout. You can pin popular apps, games or contacts to your home screen, this is especially useful for accessing the numbers you call most often.

One nice feature of the Windows phone’s layout is the option to choose from a range of colours, just with one click, to match your clothes, or your mood.

Apps: Information & Entertainment

It’s the apps that really make our mobile phones so essential and many people were disappointed when the Windows phone was originally released – compared to the iPhone, there were far fewer apps and in many cases they were poorly adapted. This has now changed as app developers have caught up with the Windows phone’s capabilities. 

Saving data and connecting to other devices

Windows has its iStore / iCloud equivalent in Zune – for finding apps and storing data and there has been a lot of effort put into streamlining the ability to connect our mobile phones up to our laptops. In this regard, the iPhone maybe has the slight edge; it’s just so easy to swap documents and data from handset to desktop. 

A feature of the Windows phone that you will either love or hate, depending on your feelings about Facebook, is the way contacts are saved. Your Facebook contacts and other people who you have saved in your phone are merged together. 

These contacts feature instant status updates from the last time they were downloaded. Ultimately, it’s down to taste. Nitpicking over which phones have the biggest memory, best choice of apps or most attractive home screen is easy, but that’s because we take our mobile phones for granted. 

If you could travel back in time to the mid-80s and tell someone carrying around one of those “new fangled” brick-like mobiles, what our phones would be capable of in 2012, they would never believe you.

What phone would you choose, the Microsoft Windows Phone or the iPhone?

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Nokia expected to unveil Windows 8 Phones ahead of the iPhone

Troubled handset maker Nokia is set to unveil a new line of Windows Phones based on Windows Phone 8 next month, according to reports.

Newswire Bloomberg cites an unidentified source with knowledge of Nokia's plans, suggesting that the phones could be revealed before Apple shows off its next version of the iPhone – which is widely expected to take place on 12 September.

The new Lumia range will reportedly hit the shops ahead of the Christmas rush.
Windows Phone 8 is a major break with all Microsoft's earlier smartphone platforms, based on technology from the NT kernel rather than Windows CE, which all its earlier mobile platforms used.

Microsoft has yet to confirm when Windows Phone 8 devices will be available, which will largely be up to handset makers such as Nokia in any case.

Nokia had initially been reluctant to talk about its Windows Phone 8 plans, with one possible reason being that the release will make its existing range obsolete, as these cannot be upgraded to the next-generation platform.

But having bet the farm on Microsoft's mobile operating system, it was inevitable Nokia would support Windows Phone 8. Whether that will be enough to revive the firm's flagging fortunes remains to be seen.
Nokia has posted losses for its last five financial quarters and its stock price has plummeted by 90 per cent since Apple started to reshape the smartphone landscape with the release of its iPhone. The firm has embarked on a dramatic cost-cutting exercise, shedding thousands of jobs and closing plants.

Nokia's subsequent embrace of Microsoft's mobile operating system has produced some widely admired devices, but has yet to deliver blockbuster sales for the ailing firm.

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Latest HTC Phone Benchmarked, could be HTC One X+

A new, more powerful HTC phone is on the way if the latest benchmark listings from NenaMark2 are to be believed.

The HTC PM63100 appeared on NenaMark's listings earlier this week, and revealed HTC's newest handset will come with a 1.7GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor.

Not only was the GPU of the mystery phone revealed, but we also learned the phone will arrive with Android 4.1.1: Jelly Bean as the OS.

HTC has already released the HTC One X, complete with a 1.5GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, but this latest listing points to the imminent arrival of a potential variant of the phone.

It is believed the PM63100 is the code name for a T-Mobile release of HTC's flagship phone, which is rumored to be the One X+.

Highest clocked Tegra 3 to date

The PM63100 easily earns the best score of all the other Tegra 3 devices benchmarked using NenaMark's test.

Clocking in at a robust 58.5, the closest comparison comes from the Nexus 7 tablet, which averages a 57.52.

Though this score is based just on one test - versus more than 500 for the Nexus 7 - the handset sets an impressive mark right off the bat is undeniable.

With the release of T-Mobile's HTC One X+ speculated to be sometime in September, we likely won't have to wait long to find out just how this phone's power compares to other quad-core competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S3, or the Tegra 3-powered ZTE Era and LG Optimus 4X HD.

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Latest Apple Rumoured to Unveil iPhone 5

Rumours have been circulating all over the Internet suggesting that Apple’s sixth generation iPhone will launch in September 2012. These rumours have turned into a sort of confirmation if sources close to Reuters and AllThingsD can be believed. 

Sources close to AllThingsD have reportedly confirmed that the event is scheduled sometime in the week of starting from the 9th of September, which makes the 12th of September a plausible date for the event. Reuters too has confirmation from its sources about the September event.
Apple on the other hand has declined to comment on the situation but all rumours will be put to rest once the Apple Invite finds its way to inboxes. 

Recently, purported images of the iPhone 5 were leaked by a Japanese repair shop site, iLab Factory.

Whether the rumours are true or not, one thing is certain. Apple is planning something big for this holiday season. Not only is the new iPhone doing its rounds in the rumour circles, but the new iPod Touch and new iMac’s along with a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display too are make an appearance in the online rumour mills. Another device that is rumored to make an appearance at Apple’s September event is the iPad mini. We however are doubtful whether this device exists seeing that every time a 7-inch tablet is launched, rumors of the iPad mini start to surface. We have seen this trend with the launch of the Kindle Fire as well as with the launch of the Google Nexus 7. 

To steal some of Apple’s thunder, it is expected that Samsung will launch its 64GB Galaxy S III smart phone around the same time that Apple announces the iPhone 5. Apple and Samsung have locked themselves in a legal battle over technology patents since the past year seeking a ban on each other’s products throughout the globe.

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