Here comes February, and we bring to you the top 10 phone list from Krusell. And the winners are

1. (1) Apple iPhone 4/4S
2. (2) Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
3. (3) Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc/Arc S
4. (-) Samsung Galaxy Note
5. (5) Samsung Galaxy Nexus
6. (-) Nokia C2-01
7. (7) Nokia 3720 Classic
8. (-) Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
9. (10) HTC Sensation
10. (-) Sony Xperia S
() = Last month’s position.

Ulf Sandberg, CEO at Krusell says

The first top seller list from Krusell in 2012 shows the same top three phones on the list as in December 2011. The most interesting in this ranking list are two things. First thing is that the trend of larger devices is obvious, devices like Note and Nexus are becoming very popular. Secondly I would like to point at the fact that a device like Sony Xperia S, which is not yet launched in the stores has created so high volumes of pre-orders that it has climbed in to the Top seller list. This is a sign that the market has high expectations on Sony this spring

Krusell’s list is unique due to the fact that it reflects the sales of phones on six continents and in more than 70 countries around the globe.

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In the good old days of the Palm OS, the main issue faced by Palm was the odd resultion: a base resolution of 160×160 made scaling to more “common” resolutions was difficult.

Apple has had a similar problem with its 480×320 resolution, but managed to follow it up. Samsung is now at 800×480, and the question is what will follow next (and what is technically possible).

A PR company has now sent me the following:

MicroOLED, a maker of highly power-efficient superior image quality microdisplays for near-to-eye applications, today introduced a new 5.4 million pixel density 0.61 inch diagonal, low power consumption OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Display) microdisplay on silicon for applications demanding high picture quality, such as professional camera and camcorder equipment, night vision systems and head-mounted displays used in surgery.

The ultra-compact 5.4 million-pixel microdisplay with a sub-pixel pitch of 4.7 micrometres by 4.7 micrometres is the highest pixel density OLED microdisplay available today. By doubling the pixel density of comparable products, MicroOLED has eliminated the gap between pixels. With no black matrix present, the resulting image resolution is of the highest quality. This makes the 5.4 million-pixel 0.61 inch diagonal microdisplay most suitable for defense, medical and professional camera applications that demand sharp images with very smooth transitional tones.

As of this writing, no data on availability is given – but it looks like the resolution war can continue!

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No one can arguably deny the tight integration promises smartphones and mHealth apps make. While in 2011, the health app market grew significantly, it is expected to almost double in 2012.

According to a report released by research2guidance

The smartphone application market for mobile healthcare will reach US$ 1.3 billion in 2012 – up from US$ 718 million in 2011. Despite this substantial growth, the mHealth market is still in an embryonic state – especially in comparison to the US$ 6 trillion of the overall global healthcare market. Several factors (esp. smartphone penetration), will continue, however, to drive mHealth market growth over the next couple of years. These findings are part of our new Mobile Health Market Report 2011-2016 report.

 

The increase of revenue stems from downloads, in-app advertisements, mHealth services, direct transactions and sensor sales. As a number of big healthcare companies published mHealth apps in 2011 that go far beyond a simple allergy tracker or pill reminder (e.g. Sanofi Aventis’ sensor-based iBGStar Diabetis monitoring app) sensors are a growing part of the landscape.

 

In 2012 the number of mHealth application users – mobile users who downloaded a smartphone mHealth application at least once – will reach 247 million. Compared to the 124 million users who downloaded mHealth smarthphone applications in 2011, this is a near doubling.

 

The technical aspects of the healthcare landscape are changing rapidly and fundamentally. Healthcare data, the number of healthcare apps and their usage on mobile phones is growing. It is all evolving around smartphones and sensors attached to the phone.

Slide1 thumb Market For Mobile Healthcare Applications Will Grow To US$ 1.3 billion in 2012

This exponential growth of the mHealth apps is a direct result of the technological capabilities modern smartphones possess, alongwith the app stores promoting them.

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mHealth applications are proving to be a boon for patients and doctors alike. With smartphones coming to “everyman’s reach”, mHealth apps have seen a spurt in growth.

Research2Guidance, the ever number crunching firm, has released a report  which gives an insight into the mHealth app market.

2011 was the first year of substantial business in the market for mobile health services delivered via smartphone applications.

The smartphone application market for mobile healthcare increased by a factor of 7 to reach $US 718 million in 2011. Nevertheless, the mHealth market is still in an embryonic state. Theoretically the market potential is enormous given the overall worldwide healthcare market size of US$ 6 trillion (WHO estimate) and the potential use cases and benefits for mobile patient healthcare support.

Within the last year, the growth in the mobile healthcare market has greatly accelerated. The main drivers for this growth have been the increase in the smartphone user base on the demand side, and the doubling of the number of mHealth applications on the supply side. These findings are part of research2guidance’s new Mobile Health Market Report 2011-2016.

A majority of the big healthcare companies have discovered mHealth applications as an innovative way to promote and deliver healthcare services and products. A testament to this is that a number of these large players published mHealth apps in 2011 that go far beyond a simple allergy tracker or pill reminder, e.g. Sanofi Aventis’ sensor-based iBGStar Diabetis monitoring app.

chart mHealth 1.2012 mHealth applications market reached $US 718 million in 2011

We are undoubtedly witnessing a transition phase, and mHealth apps will surely become a “must have” for doctors and patients alike.

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Research2guidance, the ever number crunching company has produced it’s latest report concerning development for smartphones.

In 2011 publishers created $US 6.8 billion in application download revenues while app development revenues reached $US 20.5 billion. The development service became a mass market almost 3 times of the size of the application download market today.

chart 1.2012 Research: Market for mobile app development services reached $US 20.5 billion in 2011

The market for mobile application development services, including application creation, management, distribution and extension services, has reached $US 20.5 billion vs. $US 6.8 billion in app downloads in 2011. Thus the development market surpassed the content market by the factor of 3.

Today most app project revenue is generated from “classical” app creation services (concept creation, design and coding). New service types like app libraries, white label solutions and multi platform app development tools have become more and more popular, but do not yet take a major share of the market.

Prices for application development services vary significantly between regions. UK developers charge $US 626 per day whereas competitors from India charge, on average, $US 138 per working day.

App development partners using price as the main criteria for selection will not be lead to an optimal solution as most of the price differences are offset by the additional time needed by offshore app developers.

App developers can get a copy of the 98 page report from http://www.research2guidance.com/the-market-for-mobile-app-development-services-reached-us-20.5-billion-in-2011/

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The best just got better. Broadcom, the maker behind come of the most needed chips in our smartphones and tablets (read as network chips) has introduced its first family of 802.11ac (5G WiFi) chips.

According to Broadcom, its new family of chips offers speeds up to three times faster than 802.11n Wi-Fi with up to six times the power efficiency over a broader range. The new chips use a 40nm process and deliver HD video content over longer distances nearly instantaneously. Broadcom says the chips deliver content so quickly, that the Wi-Fi radios on mobile devices can return to low-power mode faster, which results in significant power savings.

The full press release is as follows

Broadcom Launches First Gigabit Speed 802.11ac Chips – Opens 2012 CES with 5th Generation (5G) Wi-Fi Breakthrough

5G WiFi Offers Consumers the World’s Fastest, Most Reliable Wireless Coverage for HD-Quality Video and Near Instantaneous Data Synch
Innovation Attracts Support from Industry Leaders – Comcast, Lenovo, Motorola, NETGEAR and Others

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — CES —

News Highlights:

  • Broadcom introduces first family of IEEE 802.11ac chips based on the 5th generation of Wi-Fi (5G WiFi)
  • 5G WiFi improves wireless range in the home, allowing consumers to watch HD-quality video from more devices, in more places
  • The increased speed of 5G WiFi allows consumers to load web content on a mobile device faster, synch large video or music files quickly, all while extending battery life
  • 5G WiFi addresses the growing need for a more robust and efficient wireless network

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today introduced its first family of 802.11ac (5G WiFi) chips designed for a broad range of product segments. The new IEEE 802.11ac chips are three times faster and up to six times more power efficient than equivalent 802.11n solutions. Visit Experience Broadcom @ CES for more news, blogs and multi-media from CES and www.5GWiFi.org for more information on consumer advantages of 802.11ac.

5G WiFi is the next generation Wi-Fi standard required for today’s mobile and video era. Based on 802.11ac, 5G WiFi is a major evolutionary step from the existing 802.11a/b/g/n networks. Broadcom’s 5G WiFi dramatically improves the wireless range in the home, allowing consumers to watch HD-quality video from more devices, in more places, simultaneously. The increased speed enables consumers to download web content from a mobile device faster and quickly synch large files, such as videos, in a fraction of the time it would take on a similar 802.11n device. Since 5G WiFi transfers the same volume of data at a much faster rate, devices enter low-power mode faster, which results in significant power consumption advantages.

Digital-content consumption is on a steep incline, with video content expected to reach approximately 90 percent of global consumer traffic, according to Cisco’s 2011 Visual Networking Index Forecast. At the same time, Internet traffic is shifting rapidly from wired to wireless networks. The increased reliance on wireless networks, the explosion of video consumption and the growing number of wireless devices being used are all putting tremendous stress on legacy 802.11a/b/g/n networks. As a result, consumers are prone to experience deteriorated performance, choppy videos and slower load times. 

By creating more reliable whole-home coverage, Broadcom’s 5G WiFi technology overcomes the digital content and wireless device challenge. Broadcom’s family of 5G WiFi solutions includes the BCM4360, BCM4352, BCM43526 and BCM43516

Product Highlights:

  • All 5G WiFi solutions from Broadcom support the following features:
    • 80 MHz channel bandwidth that is 2 times wider than current 802.11n solutions
    • 256-QAM, a higher modulation scheme that increases data transfer efficiency
    • Transmit and receive beamforming
    • Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) Codes
    • Space-Time Block Codes (STBC)
  • BCM4360 supports the PCIe interface and implements 3-stream 802.11ac specifications, and reaches speeds up to 1.3 Gbps.
  • BCM4352 and BCM43526 implement 2-stream 802.11ac specification to reach up to 867 Mbps. BCM4352 supports PCIe interface; BCM43526 supports the USB interface.
  • BCM43516 supports USB and reaches speeds of up to 433 Mbps with its single stream 802.11ac implementation.
  • Chips with the PCIe interface are ideal for access points, routers, DSL/cable gateways and PC products; chips that use USB are ideal for consumer electronics devices including televisions, set-top boxes and Blu-Ray players.
  • Broadcom’s new 5G WiFi chips deliver better coverage and longer battery life in a small form factor that is interoperable and compatible with existing technologies.
    • Beamforming helps steer content in the direction of the intended receiver, increasing reliability and extending range; this is well complemented by STBC and LDPC code support.
    • By transferring the same volume of data at a much faster rate, devices go into a low-power mode faster than existing 802.11n solutions.
    • Designed on 40nm manufacturing process, the new chips are smaller and more power efficient, giving customers more design freedom.
    • Broadcom’s 5G WiFi solutions work with all legacy 802.11 standards and complement other wireless technologies — like Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth and NFC.

Broadcom is sampling 5G WiFi solutions to its early access partners including retail and PC OEMs, service providers and carriers, and will be demonstrating 5G WiFi capabilities at CES.

802.11ac has generated broad support across the consumer-electronics industry. Companies and partners across the ecosystem recognize that 802.11ac is the future of Wi-Fi and are committed to its development, integration and distribution.

Nothing much to add here except there is a horde of quotes from industry experts which can be read at the following link – http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=s637241

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December 2011 has gone. So it means that its high time for Krusell to release the top 10 phones for 2011. Here we go ladies and gentlemen.

1. Apple iPhone 4/4S

2. Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II

3. Nokia 3720 Classic

4. Samsung GT-B2710 / Xcover 271

5. Samsung I9000 Galaxy S

6. HTC Sensation

7. Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc

8. HTC Desire HD

9. Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

10. Samsung B2100

Ulf Sandberg, the MD at Krusell quoted

I guess there is no surprise for anyone that iPhone 4/4S is 2011’s top selling device according to Krusell’s list for 2011. The iPhone is a sensitive smartphone with a very high attachment rate on cases,

In a way, it is more fascinating to see other models on our top seller list, such as Samsung’s Xcover which really is a device made for a rougher treatment. Still consumers prefer to buy a case, even if the phone doesn’t need protection as much as the user needs a convenient usage of the device in their daily life.

Apple, as we see, has retained the Number one spot, which is seriously challenged by Sammy. While Sony Ericsson is also not doing that bad, Nokia’s days of being the undisputed king are certainly over. With new devices lined up for new year, let us see what time has in store for us.

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Another month, another analysis, and another winner. Krusell, the Swedish case manufacturer has released it’s top 10 phones list for the month of December 2011. And the winners are

1. (1) Apple iPhone 4/4S

2. (2) Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II

3. (3) Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc/Arc S

4. (4) Samsung I9000 Galaxy S

5. (-) Samsung Galaxy Nexus

6. (5) Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

7. (6) Nokia 3720 Classic

8. (-) Samsung GT-B2710 / Xcover 271

9. (10) HTC Titan

10. (8) HTC Sensation

() = Last month’s position.

Ulf Sandberg, Managing Director at Krusell said

Samsung have thru the whole year, giving them a fight with a number of phones making its way up the list. Notable is that Sony Ericsson’s upgraded Arc S has made it to keep third place during the Christmas period, and that the new Galaxy Nexus made it to fifth place during its first month on the market.

As our esteemed readers know that the lists above is based on the number of pieces of custom made mobile-, smartphone cases ordered from Krusell during December 2011. Krusell’s list is unique due to the fact that it reflects the sales of phones on six continents and in more than 70 countries around the globe.

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When Sammy had  promised that all the Wave series of phones will be getting bada 2.0, the public went yayyyyyy. It was promised that the update will be rolled out by the end of the year that has just gone by (read as 2011).

But it seems that Sammy has taken a different stance on the whole thing.

Both Samsung of Spain and Samsung of Italy have announced that the bada 2.0 update is being delayed until the first quarter of 2012. The company’s Italian branch is being a bit more specific on the matter by stating that the software won’t be available prior to March of next year. Which will be the first devices to get it remains unclear.

This is  precisely the kind of news that makes the public go from yayyyy to being highly-pissed. Samsung has left no stone unturned to be the numero uno smartphone vendor. But to follow a course like this makes Sammy look sloppy….just like Nokia.

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I have always thought that there is no correlation between screen diagonals and click through rates – what impact should the screen size have on user behavior?

InnerActive has now sent us the following diagram, which shows a clear correlation:
advertising screen dialogs On screen sizes and ad conversion rates

Any ideas?

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When it comes to deciding which countries to target during localization, knowing more about the habits of the inhabitants of the land is very useful.

The folks from ComScore now bring us the following table:

Overview of European Internet Usage by Country
Ranked by Total Unique Visitors (000)
October 2011
Total Europe Audience, Age 15+, Home and Work Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix

Total Internet
Total Unique Visitors (000)

Average Hours per Visitor Average Pages per Visitor
World-Wide

1,431,939 24.6 2,402

Europe 376,644 27.8

3,013
Russian Federation 51,641 24.4 2,664
Germany 50,704 25.4 2,967
France 42,520 28.3 2,957
United Kingdom 37,404 37.5 3,510
Italy 23,986 19.1 2,132
Turkey 23,234 33.4 4,017
Spain 21,382 28.3 2,475
Poland 18,193 26.7 3,189
Netherlands 11,987 35.5 3,562
Sweden 6,219 26.5 2,761
Belgium 6,047 20.4 2,282
Switzerland 4,764 19.5 2,121
Austria 4,733 15.0 1,720
Portugal 4,263 21.6 2,240
Denmark 3,676 23.5 2,483
Finland 3,381 26.2 2,633
Norway 3,264 29.2 2,703
Ireland 2,349 21.4 2,139

Not much to add here…

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Being an ESD in the current time is difficult – with Apple, Samsung et al all having their own app stores, even traditional ESDs like MobiHand are now in more and more financial trouble.

ResearchToGuidance has now sent us the following chart looking at the future of ESDs:
niche app stores Niche ESDs become more popular

In addition, it looks like Hutchison once again took the role of market leader with its operator store:

Broadly speaking, there are 3 types of niche stores:

Platform-oriented: Provides apps for a special OS platform e.g. AndroidPIT, Crackberry.
Target group-oriented: Provides apps for a specific segment of app users e.g. business or adults.
Carve outs: Niche store with a full catalogue store e.g. MNOs having their own app store within the Android Market Place or “@work” by Apple.

The growth of niche app stores – particular target group-oriented stores – has been partially fueled by back-end service providers. These service providers enable white label app stores for any company which would like to run its own app store and monetize, for example, the website’s traffic.

What do you think?

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In the Micro ISV space on the desktop, selling your company to a larger vendor is a very popular “exit scenario” for founders. So far, it has not been too much of an option in mobile.

Olga Steidl, long-serving press officer of the company, has just sent out the following:

SPB Software, a leading mobile software developer is acquired by Yandex (NASDAQ: YNDX), the leading internet company in Russia.

With this acquisition Yandex starts offering a key component for various mobile platforms – a user interface configured to integrate the company’s key services based on SPB best known technology – SPB Shell 3D. This move boosts Yandex’s opportunities to partner with the players in the mobile ecosystem.

SPB Shell 3D, developed by SPB Software, will be enhanced to integrate Yandex’s cloud services and technologies. In addition, users will have easy access to the company’s services including its search capabilities featured on a wide variety of mobile devices.

“Mobile is a vital part of our growth strategy. The acquisition of SPB Software creates new market potential for us and a plethora of possibilities for innovative solutions for our partners”, said Yandex’s CEO Arkady Volozh. “SPB Shell 3D is an ideal foundation on which to build up our mobile opportunity.”

“SPB Software is excited to join Yandex”, said Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, CEO of SPB Software. “This allows us to unite efforts in developing and marketing new cutting-edge mobile solutions. SPB Software will continue its mission to produce innovative mobile products of the highest quality.”

Looking back to past congresses, the UI system took more and more prevalence over consumer applications at SPB’s booth.

As to why Yandex buys the company outright rather than just license the relevant parts: don’t ask me…

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2016 is the year when the health and fitness apps will cross the $400 million mark, as per ABI research. ABI has further predicted that there will be 1 billion health related apps downloads by 2016. Interestingly, the wearable fitness devices are the ones which would be pushing the segment’s growth.

The Press Release from ABI Research is as follows

PRESS RELEASE — The sports and health mobile application market will grow to over $400 million in 2016 – up from just $120 million in 2010. Much of that growth will be spurred by the ability of mobile handsets to easily connect to wearable devices that in turn can deliver new functionality, accuracy, and appeal to sports and fitness applications.

As the mobile handset adds new ways to access and support healthcare applications, it will become increasingly important within the healthcare market, including home monitoring systems for aging users, personal emergency response services, and remote healthcare monitoring applications. However, sports and fitness will dominate the mobile health application market.

“Downloadable apps are moving the sports tracking device market from proprietary devices to mobile phones, but adoption has been limited by the data they can collect. However, with the connectivity that Bluetooth Smart will embed in mobile handsets, wearable devices will bring greater detail to mobile handsets,” says Jonathan Collins, principal analyst.

Handset connectivity to wearable devices brings a new dynamic to the sports monitoring market. Athletic equipment players have already moved to support handset applications by either using proprietary or battery-draining traditional Bluetooth wireless. Meanwhile, traditional players such as Garmin, who recently launched its first handset application for this market, and Polar have delivered high-end specialist systems. Over the next five years, these players will increasingly have to compete directly with the mobile handset. They will also face a slew of start-ups and new entrants offering applications, online communities, and wearable devices offering a range of applications and services.

“As applications increasingly become part of a bundle that ships with wearable devices, revenues from mobile applications will lag behind the growth in app downloads. Mobile application downloads will actually grow at nearly twice the rate of revenues between 2010 and 2016, with more than a billion downloads annually by 2016,” says Collins.

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Apple surely has a brand loyalty that every CEO yearns for. According to a research published by GfK,

Some 84 percent of iPhone users said they would pick iPhone also when they replace their cellphone, while 60 percent of consumers who use smartphones running Google’s Android said they would stick with phones using the same software.

Only 48 percent of people using Research In Motion’s cellphones said they would stay loyal to their BlackBerrys, the study showed.

While Apple is the leader at present, the current development on Android, RIM’s BBX and Windows Phones from Nokia are all set to give Apple a tough challenge, according to the report.

The scope for brands to lure customers from rivals has diminished and the richest rewards will go to those providers that can create the most harmonious user experience and develop this brand loyalty

What is noteworthy here that 70 percent of consumers said they would stick with their phones due to their seamless integration of features and access to content. The present and future undoubtedly belongs to the Apps and Internet.

Though the firm interviewed around 4500 people in various countries, it never mentions anything about Symbian or Windows Phones. This is quite surprising as a certain percentage of these 4500 people must be carrying Symbian and Windows phones, which the report fails to mention.

Source

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