NPD: Google, Apple gaining ground as RIM continues on a downward spiral

In the battle for mobile supremacy, Apple and Google are winning as competitors continue to lose ground, finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the strong iOS and Android ecosystems (can you say ‘duopoly’?), per latest survey from the NPD Group. The results came by tracking U.S. consumers aged 18+ who reported purchasing a mobile phone and exclude corporate purchases. In the June quarter, iOS grabbed 29 percent of the U.S. smartphone share versus Google’s 52 percent share. Both tech behemoths have grown their platform share at the expense of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion.

RIM’s been on a serious decline amid poor sales and delays related to their QNX-based superphones. Their BlackBerry OS software share fell to just eleven percent in the U.S. Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard’s webOS is in a state of limbo as the world’s leading computer maker announced intentions to exit the hardware business. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile grabbed five percent of the market each.

The emerging prepaid market is the next battelground for iOS and Android. Google, however, has the first mover advantage here…

NPD’s Ross Rubin argues Google’s deal with Motorola could result in “closer ties to the heart of Android that can help inspire new paths to differentiation”. Think the booming prepaid smartphone market, where one in five new handsets acquired in the June quarter was on a prepaid plan. “In Q2 2010 just eight percent of prepaid phones were smartphones, but in Q2 2011 that number jumped to 22 percent”, NPD warns. Apple, of course, has been locked in the persistent rumors calling for an inexpensive iPhone. The device has been portrayed as anything from the so-called iPhone nano featuring a tiny form factor to the low-priced iPhone 4 to even a recycled iPod touch with 3G networking capabilities.

The market for prepaid handsets presents Apple and Google with a major growth opportunity. Whether or not Google uses its ownership of Motorola to enter the hardware game remains to be seen. What’s certain is Motorola’s steady decline as the company has seen its market share shrink due to competition from Samsung and LG. The company lost three percentage points of the handset market in the past twelve months and experienced the same drop in smartphones.

Their annual Android unit share halved from 44 percent in the second quarter of last year to just 22 percent in the June 2011 quarter. Quarterly sales for June topped 4.4 million Android handsets, in stark contrast to the 20.34 million iPhones. NPD previously reported that Verizon iPhone stopped Android’s market share march and was among the first to report that Android overtook the iPhone in sales back in May of 2010.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster theorized that Android’s market share could drop below iOS by 2013 should Google close Android and keep it proprietary to Motorola. The speculative scenario has Google sell one in five handsets in 2015, with Windows Phone devices accounting for half of the market and iOS ranking #2.


*thanks 9to5mac*

Cross posted on 24/7Droid.com

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comScore: iPhone continues to gain ground even without a refresh

While Google passed the 40% smartphone share (Microsoft must be happy!) in the US threshold, Apple continues to outpace the industry as a whole posting modest 1 point gains in the US smartphone category according to comScore. Apple moved up from 25.5% in March to 26.6% in June on the year old iPhone 4 model which also saw its US debut on Verizon.

Apple also moved up in the hardware category, below:

Apple outpaces Samsung and LG for the quarter at the expense of Motorola and RIM. No shocker there.


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Kodak considering sale of patent involved in Apple lawsuit

In January of 2010, Kodak sued Apple and RIM for infringing on their patent to preview photographs. The lawsuit is still going on, but today Wall Street Journal is reporting that Kodak is currently looking to sell 10% of their patent portfolio, which includes the patent Apple and RIM are bring sued for.

The 1,100 patents include patents covering capturing, storing, organizing and sharing digital image. WSJ credits the sale to Kodak’s loss in profit over the last two quarters.

Chief Executive Antonio Perez has been using Kodak’s intellectual property as a means of funding the company’s long and expensive transformation. In 2008, Mr. Perez put forth a goal to generate between $250 million and $350 million a year from Kodak’s patent portfolio.
Google is fresh off acquiring 1,000 patents from IBM and is likely still in a buying mood as it battles everyone from Oracle to Microsoft to Apple-by-proxy in the courts. Apple, who outbid Google for the Nortel patent portfolio at $4.5B is obviously on the offensive.

Kodak’s decision to sell its patents follows a $4.5 billion patent sale by Nortel Networks Corp. Kodak has retained Lazard as an adviser for the sale. Lazard also advised Nortel on its sale.

*thanks 9to5mac*

We are about to see the biggest patent auction ever, rivaling nortel patent sale. With at least one of the patents holding Apple and RIMM at the edge the prospects are: Google to better station itself against more patent litigation, Apple to stop one lawsuit against itself and to give it more leverage over others, RIMM to stop a lawsuit against itself and maybe use it against Apple.

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RIM Enterprise Server will support iOS and Android devices

In an interesting move, Canada-based BlackBerry maker Research In Motion announced an upcoming new version of BlackBerry Enterprise Server that will support iOS and Android devices in the workplace. Yeah, Apple’s big rival in the smartphone arena will let its BlackBerry-using business customers manage and secure BlackBerry, iOS and Android smartphones and tablets from a single web-based console. iOS and Android support will be an optional component.

It’s based on RIM’s newly acquired ubitexx technology and allows for easy deployment of multiple components in a virtualized environment on a single server. The tool is somewhat limited because the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server won’t support all BlackBerry features on Apple and Google devices. For example, the new BlackBerry Balance capability that separates work from personal data only works with BlackBerrys. What’s in it for RIM?




The announcement is a welcome development for Apple’s platform as it may encourage BlackBerry aficionados to support iPhones and iPads in workplace without requiring IT managers to use Apple’s clunky corporate management tools.

Another explanation is that RIM is possibly so confident about BlackBerry that they chose to support iOS and Android to allow corporations to experiment with rival platform before they realize BlackBerrys have the best security features in the industry. Be that is it may, RIM’s announcement is in no uncertain terms a clear acknowledgment of Apple’s enterprise strides.

According to a recent Good Technology survey, the use of iPads and iPhones exploded in enterprise exploded between December 2010 through March 2011. That survey’s credibility stems from the fact that Good Technology is behind a BlackBerry-like enterprise messaging server so their data is pretty solid. The company also announced Facebook app tailored to its PlayBook tablet which went on sale last month, a FaceTime-like video chatting program for the tablet and new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones. Can we now get BlackBerry Messenger for iOS, please?

*thanks 9to5Mac*

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The reviews are in: PlayBook not an iPad killer, its biggest hurdle is software!

A bunch of PlayBook reviews hit the web today. It’s the first branded slate to match Apple’s $499 pricing on the low-end plus it comes with RIM’s signature corporate security features, a speedy dual-core processor and brand new QNX operating system that has the polish and shininess to it. So what’s the verdict? PlayBook has a huge disadvantage in the software department, says David Pogue from The New York Times:

Remember, the primary competition is an iPad — the same price, but much thinner, much bigger screen and a library of 300,000 apps. In that light, does it make sense to buy a fledgling tablet with no built-in e-mail or calendar, no cellular connection, no videochat, Skype, no Notes app, no GPS app, no videochat, no Pandora radio and no Angry Birds? You should also know that even now, only days before the PlayBook goes on sale April 19, the software is buggy and still undergoing feverish daily revision. And the all-important BlackBerry Bridge feature is still in beta testing. It’s missing important features, like the ability to view e-mail file attachments or click a link in an e-mail.
The Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walt Mossberg also dissed the PlayBook over the lack of software. He called it “a tablet with a case of dependency” and added this:

Unlike the iPad, which can run almost all of the 350,000 iPhone apps, the PlayBook can’t run any of the 27,000 BlackBerry apps. It will launch with only about 3,000 apps designed for tablets, compared with 65,000 tablet-optimized iPad apps.
And another quote from Wired about PlayBook’s lackluster Flash support:

During a round of Plants vs. Zombies, gameplay bogged down whenever the animation got intense. Every time I tried to access a Flash game on Facebook, the browser crashed. Yes, every single time. Say goodbye to your well-tended crops, Farmvillians. Another glaring flaw is the PlayBook’s complete lack of native e-mail, contacts and calendar apps. Want those apps? Log on to your Gmail account with the browser. RIM’s WebKit-based browser is about as stable as your bipolar uncle. App ecosystem is lacking. You’ll need to install a driver before you can connect it to your PC or Mac.
Other publications came to similar conclusions, including Engadget, Gizmodo, Bloomberg, TechCrunch and others. Read on…



It’s the software, stupid – someone once said. Nowhere is that more true than in the mobile space where the availability, quantity and quality of apps is the most determining factor for customers. Just ask Google how many Honeycomb-optimized apps they have in Android Market versus about 70,000 programs specifically tailored for the iPad. And while PlayBook will run Android apps via a virtual machine, these are Android 2.2 apps for smartphones, not Honeycomb tablets. Additionally, developers will need to make some changes to their code, apply for the program and repackage their apps for distribution on the BlackBerry App World store.

We’re in the war for developers’ resources. Apple’s winning the battle so far and by a large margin, too. No wonder RIM’s boss is whining about the situation and feeling unappreciated.


*thanks 9to5Mac*




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Seven months after being announced, RIM’s PlayBook gets official, runs Android apps

OK, just kidding. But the Playbook just got priced. And it runs Android Apps.

Research In Motion announced the BlackBery PlayBook tablet with great fanfare seven months ago. Company executives have been mum on its exact pricing all this time, except vague hints that the gizmo will price-match Apple’s tablet. With the beefier iPad 2 now making rounds at the same starting price of $499 and with Samsung’s rival Galaxy Tab adjusting itself to the pricing pressure from Cupertino, RIM has officially joined the fray by price-matching the iPad.

The PlayBook costs $499/$599/$699 for the 16/32/64GB WiFi model, the same as iPad 2. Best Buy is now taking pre-orders for the device as we speak.




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RIM to Bring BlackBerry Messenger to iOS and Android?!

RIM is reportedly planning to bring its BlackBerry Messenger app and service to Android, and eventually to iOS as well, according to multiple BGR sources.

RIM has not yet finalized details surrounding timing or pricing, but we have heard that the company might make the software free to all users. We’re also told strategy is still being developed, however, and RIM may end up charging users a one-time fee or even a recurring fee for access to its BBM service on third-party platforms.

The company is said to be planning the launch of a stripped down version of the BBM software on Android some time this year, possibly without the ability share photos, videos, or location.

RIM chose Android first because of the fact that it could develop and integrate something like this much easier with an open platform, but the plan is to build and deploy an iOS version at some point as well.



*thanks iclarified*

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