Numbers Don’t Lie, Right?

The enclosed report obviously doesn’t bode well for Microsoft; RIM (and Motorola… which has been an also-ran for quite some time now) as the first two firms have seen their market share slip. Towards that end; for those who actually track this space (hint; hint, Redmond) Nokia is nowhere to be found… which cannot be a good omen given the recent hype over their partnership… (and how underwhelming that has turned out to be at this juncture).

Conversely; Apple; Google; LG and Samsung must all pleased by this update as they’re either seeing their handset and/or OS-share within the marketplace increase. This is not any surprise due to offering technology that’s either in demand and/or pushing the envelope of today’s smartphone capabilities.

With one of three Americans now using a smartphone (and the percentage continuing to trend upward) it’s hard to fathom that there are firms within this space that are actually seeing their market share slip. However, with the likes of what’s being offered by those that are falling behind, it’s not really that big of a surprise.

From comScore: http://goo.gl/UfWYw

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Tablet-enabled.

The S. Korean government has launched an initiative to replace schoolbooks with (computer) tablets by 2015 – which by extension will be a major win for Samsung (as in all probability they’ll be the default provider of said devices).

From Tech Spot: http://goo.gl/RVce1

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Going Cashless.

Nigeria (among a number of other nations in Africa) has the potential to become a cashless society due to the mass-adoption of mobile banking therein.

That said; it’ll be interesting to see how this country continues to challenge themselves (as well as other non-OECD nations) to not just adapt / adopt technology but to begin to move up the value-chain whereas they are successfully developing and commercializing viable, smartphone applications.

Clearly; with a young; tech-savvy populous there’s no shortage of potential in Nigeria (and/or many other locations the world-over).

From Business Day: http://goo.gl/lmZyS

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Wanderlust Lost!

As NASA winds down the Shuttle Program (with the final launch this coming Friday) it’s too bad that nobody seems to really care… Perhaps if their smartphone; Google Maps; flash drive and/or PC (okay, Mac too, etc.) were suddenly taken away from any given (average) American consumer it might be a bit more of a concern…

From the Mercury News: http://goo.gl/4ktW8

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A Death Spiral?

Nokia’s continued turn-around effort just entered another (inevitable) phase: cost-cutting / down-sizing, etc., whereas the next step will be a reduction in their workforce… all of which is fine and well (if the firm is able to actually turn the corner).

From Fast Company: http://goo.gl/f6E0e

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Upon Further Review.

If Redmond’s acquisition of Skype and a patent that allows for monitoring VoIP communications both go through; Federal authorities may have just been given a gift that just might keep-on giving.

From eWeek: http://goo.gl/adTSv

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How Extreme?

No offense to the enclosed technology; however, it just seems that the more consumers become fatigued (and, simply, tune-out) from being inundated with ads; commercials; gadgetry, etc., one would think that ‘less is more.’ In other words; trying to capture a consumer’s thought process does have a lot of commercial potential. Nevertheless, using the term ‘extreme search’ to describe the process being offered herein (regarding booking travel) seems akin to calling poker a sport!

From Travel News: http://goo.gl/MCRPR

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First-Mover Advantage?

The ‘quietly brilliant’ handset manufacturer that has seemingly come out of nowhere in the past 18-plus months (via having linked their fortunes to the Android OS) continues to impress with their latest offering.

Granted; it might not be a game-changer. Nevertheless; it is certainly another step towards greater device convergence as the first (feature-rich) 3D smartphone to be released in America.

Clearly; this technology is still in a nascent mass-consumer state. However; if it catches on (via the appropriate content being accessible and provided) there’s no reason why it cannot capture the minds (and, ideally, market share for this firm; Samsung and/or any number of others… perhaps, even Apple?)

From HTC: http://goo.gl/PyN4v

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To The Moon!

All’s well that ends well, right? At least it seems so as some missing moon dust was returned to NASA. Now if only the US Government would wake-up to the importance / significance of seeding pioneering projects that eventually wind up with wide-spread consumer application(s) akin to what the Apollo Space Missions did as they were largely the impetus for the (eventual) PC Revolution (among many other commercial contributions).

From the BBC: http://goo.gl/N1lHH

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Hacking Hackers.

If the enclosed report is correct; hackers are now hacking each other… which would seem to redefine the entire onslaught of recent security breeches of various firms and/or governmental agencies the world-over.

From MSNBC: http://goo.gl/6gcRl

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