Apple leads international smartphone market growth
Sales of iPhones increased more than sixfold during the second quarter of 2009, helping Apple maintain its ranking as the third largest smartphone maker worldwide, according to a new report.
Sales of iPhones increased more than sixfold during the second quarter of 2009, helping Apple maintain its ranking as the third largest smartphone maker worldwide, according to a new report.
Apple maintained the third place position in global unit sales of smartphones, but was passed up by Microsoft's Windows Mobile to become the fourth largest smartphone vendor in terms of operating system platforms as it continues to lead the industry in year over year growth.
While playing up the fact that 50 phone makers around the world have licensed the company's Windows Mobile platform, Microsoft inadvertently let it slip out that a full 80% of all Windows Mobile phones ever made have actually come from a single maker: HTC.
HTC on Tuesday formally introduced "Magic," the first Android-powered handset to lack a physical keyboard in a bid to challenge the style of Apple's iPhone.
Often labeled the outsider in the corporate world, Apple's iPhone has already reached the top of J.D. Power's satisfaction ranks for business smartphones — and is simultaneously the second-largest smartphone maker in the world.
T-Mobile and Google lifted their embargo Thursday on reviews of the G1, the new HTC-developed iPhone rival that will be the first handset to run Google's new open-source Android operating system when it goes on sale for $179 at T-Mobile shops on Oct. 22.
T-Mobile's new G1 smartphone based on Google's Android platform has been positioned against Apple's iPhone by the media, but that attempt to set up a dramatic showdown has fizzled as details show the two products aren't very similar.
While both Apple and Google appear to be emerging as pioneers in the mobile computing space, the iPhone sports a year-long head start over the Android-based G1 handset introduced Tuesday, and is unlikely to see any lost sales as a result, says investment bank Piper Jaffray.
The first mobile handset running Google's Android software will showcase the search giant's brand and be priced in line with Apple's iPhone 3G, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The first smartphone based on Google's Android mobile platform could hit the U.S. market as early as October, according to new reports, but a video of the handset leaked on the Internet reveals a device which lacks the elegance that's already drawn millions to Apple's iPhone.
Apple itself is setting the record straight and says that iPhone 3G's GPS mapping unit is as powerful as in dedicated devices. Also, cut-and-paste is still a possibility, and outside testers have found the iPhone's battery life the best in its class.
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