The increase in sales is due to a slew of new Android devices which have hit the market in recent months, not least the HTC Desire – which, over the past few weeks, has been added to the range of most major mobile operators and been well received by critics. Vodafone, meanwhile, started selling the HTC Legend at the start of April, adding it to a list of Android devices available in the UK which includes the HTC Hero and Xperia X10 from Sony Ericsson.

GfK, whose pronouncements about the retail industry are pored over by City analysts, said that Android handsets accounted for 12.3% of all phones sold to customers signing up for a long-term mobile phone contract in week 15 of 2010 – the week ending on April 18 – compared with just 3% of the market in week 12, the last week of March. In terms of the total market, Android’s share grew from 1.6% to 6.7% during the period.

As for smartphone devices – which GfK defines as the market for phones that can download applications from third party providers, so it includes the iPhone – they now account for 37.6% of the total mobile handset market and 63.9% of the contract market. GfK said the figure has remained relatively stable so Android is gaining market share from rival platforms, rather than merely benefitting from an overall increase in smartphone uptake. GfK refused to give details of the market share of other operating systems.

“It’s not down to one particular handset,” said a spokesman for GfK. “More and more of the major handset manufacturers are viewing Android as a useful solution and using it in their smartphones”.

More Android devices will become available in the UK over the coming weeks. Google’s Nexus One, for instance, went on sale through Vodafone’s stores and website today, a new Android phone from LG – the Optimus GT540 – is due out next month, while Samsung is due to add the Galaxy S to the current Galaxy Portal (i5700) which is already available in the UK.

Vodafone, meanwhile, will next month launch an Android phone designed for the mass-market as part of a “refresh” of its portfolio of own-branded devices. Vodafone has turned to Chinese manufacturers Huawei, ZTE and TCL as the mobile phone network looks to push smartphones into the mass market.

The company announced nine new handsets in its own-brand range on Wednesday. Alongside some basic feature phones aimed at developing countries – including one called the Vodafone 247, which has a built-in solar panel that could find its way to the UK as an “eco-phone” – Vodafone announced new smartphones including the Vodafone 845.

The 2.8in touchscreen device is the first Vodafone branded phone that uses Google’s Android operating system and has been manufactured by Huawei, which until recently was best known in the mobile phone industry as the maker of 3G mobile broadband dongles. The Vodafone 845 runs on Éclair, the latest version of the Android platform and as well as being able to access thousands of applications it come pre-loaded with the Vodafone 360 service.

Fellow Chinese dongle manufacturer ZTE, meanwhile, is responsible for another smartphone in the new Vodafone range. The 546 has a qwerty keyboard and is aimed at developing countries which have not yet installed 3G networks. ZTE also produced the 247 for Vodafone.

Another Chinese manufacturer, TCL – which has a mobile phone joint venture with Alcatel – has produced a new touchscreen device for Vodafone called the 543, which is also aimed at the mass market.

Resource:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/apr/30/android-google-uk-market-share

Australians’ ownership of internet phones now sits at 43 per cent, with 29 per cent regularly using it to search, email, find maps and to share their lives on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Even though people have an internet-enabled handset, some people aren’t necessarily using it. According to Nielsen’s online business managing director Matt Bruce some still own older 2G smartphone models, while others are afraid of bill shock.

“The older models are not as easy to use. You have to find your way through the phone to find the browser, then go from there. The iPhone makes it easier,” he said.

Internet searches are the most popular online activity on the phones. Some 73 per cent of users conduct online searches by mobile now, compared with 30 per cent a year ago.

Other common uses include checking news and weather (59 per cent, up 18 points), email (58 per cent, up 20 points), maps and directions (56 per cent, up 24 points) and social networking (39 per cent, up 25 points).

The adoption of internet phones has been growing steadily since the introduction of mobile data cap plans in Australia, which go some way to reducing the risk of bill shock for users. People’s infatuation with the iPhone has also driven mobile internet adoption worldwide.

Nokia still maintains a solid lead on internet phones in Australia with a 35 per cent market share, however, the iPhone has made significant gains in the past year, more than doubling from just 13 per cent to 28 per cent market share. Intention to purchase an iPhone also remains high, with Apple set to triple its share this year, Bruce said.

With an overwhelming majority of the share of mobile social networking, Facebook is by far the most common social networking site accessed via mobile (98 per cent), followed by Twitter (20 per cent) and MySpace (17 per cent), the report said.

According to Nielsen, Telstra has seen mobile data traffic on its Next G network double every eight months for the past two years.

Resource:
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/australians-take-to-mobile-internet-20100429-tszn.html

In an interview with the New York Times, VP of Engineering at Google Andy Rubin confirmed that Android 2.2 (or Froyo to its friends) will be packing the extra support.

What’s not clear is whether this will be the Flash 10.1 we’ve been hearing so much about for Android – which would mean a delay for the upgrade

Waiting, waiting…

We’re still waiting to hear about a release date for the new Froyo upgrade (which we still know very little about) but given Adobe has said that Flash 10.1 won’t be coming until later in the year, if it was part of Android 2.2 then we’re in for a bit of a wait.

Of course, there’s always the argument that constant updates are fragmenting the market, with issues like HTC Hero owners being forced to wait a year to be brought up to speed with latest Android version.

So perhaps leaving Froyo in the wilderness will help the market catch up – or at least give us long enough to get bored of playing with Live Wallpapers and want to find something else to waste time on.

Resource:
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-2-2-coming-with-flash-as-standard-686083

The Garminfone will come packed with tons of navigation features, including a brand new app called Garmin Voice Studio that allows users to send and share custom directions to friends and family

Android already offers its own built-in GPS app through Google Maps’ “Navigation” service, but Google warns that it is in beta form and the company certainly doesn’t have the expertise in the field that Garmin does.

Expanded functionality for the Garminfone will also include automatically hyperlinking street addresses (from texts, e-mails, Web sites, etc) on the device to bring up direction information. Users can also geo-tag pictures with the built-in 3-megapixel camera and Garmin will introduce a suite of location-based services like movie listings and local gas station prices.

Garmin’s full navigation suite that is used on its GPS devices will also be transferred over, allowing complete voice-based navigation information and guaranteed functionality even if the cell signal is lost.

The phone will also come with a mount that makes it easy to stick it to a dashboard or window. Other specs of the Garminfone were not specifically detailed, though it does include support for Microsoft Exchange e-mail, native social networking functionality, and a 3.5-inch touch screen.

The Garminfone will be available later this spring.

Resource:
http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-brief/49449-garmin-intros-navigation-centric-garminfone-on-android

Apple’s iPhone is set to overtake Research In Motion’s BlackBerry in the global smart phone market by next year, according to Forbes online.

Currently, BlackBerry enjoys about three percent of the world’s mobile phone market, while Apple’s has about two percent share of the market. But BlackBerry’s lead over iPhone is shrinking and Apple will overtake RIM by early next year, Forbes said Friday.

“We expect Apple’s market share to overtake that of RIM by 2011, and for Apple and RIM to have 11 % and 8% market share, respectively, by the end of Trefis forecast period,” the online issue said.

Trefis has been defined as a new financial platform to know how a company’s products impact its stock.

“We believe sales of the iPhone will eventually outpace BlackBerry sales,” Forbes said.

Giving its reasons, Forbes online said, “Apple’s ecosystem of consumer products (Macs, iPad, Apple TV) and services (iTunes, iPhones apps) make the iPhone a more attractive phone for many consumers compared to the BlackBerry.”

“End of AT&T exclusivity will give Apple’s iPhone wider distribution in the US (comparable to BlackBerry distribution).

“iPhone is making inroads with business customers that have traditionally preferred the BlackBerry.”

Both the wireless giants have made big gains since 2007, with iPhone increasing its market share from 0.3 percent to 2 percent, and BlackBerry going up from one percent to about three percent.

The Canadian icon BlackBerry captured the world’s corporate market because of secure messaging.

However, with Apple’s sleek iPhone gaining the consumer market, the numbers game is slowly slipping away from the BlackBerry.

Given Apple’s marketing muscle, online reach and multiple cutting-edge products with synergy, analysts say it is only a matter of time before the iPhone overtakes the BlackBerry in the global smart phone market.

Bureau Report
Resource: http://www.zeenews.com/news609037.html