Digitimes reports that in order to boost sales and clear inventory due to weaker than expected demand, Android, webOS and QNX tablet makers are planning across-the-board price cuts by the end of September.

We don’t see it as much of a surprise that the tablet prices will be falling about six months after launch, and the process had even started with some manufacturers. HP recently made the $100 price cut for its HP TouchPad permanent, and now we are seeing the Toshiba Thrive appearing for $368 at Walmart, and the Acer Iconia Tab A500 $322 at Amazon.

The sources believe that prices will gradually slide to $350 on average by October, and go down to $300 in time for the holidays.

If quality Android slates, like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, or the Acer Iconia Tab A500, which used to command pretty decent $399 price tags already, get slashed 25%, this will certainly increase the market share of Android’s tablet OS, which is still quite low compared to the iOS slates.

source: Amazon & Digitimes

Though many have jumped on the tablet bandwagon with devices like the successful Apple iPad, 99.7% of the world’s population still has not seen the need for a tablet and therefore have not purchased one to date.

The research was conducted by RBC Capital Market analyst Mike Abramsky who managed to create an 88-page report on his findings. He also focused on the market for TV subscriptions, newspaper circulation and more but we will just focus on the tablets for now.

The fact that only .3% of the world’s population has purchased a tablet can be attributed to the lack of selection, fairly new technology or the fact that there is no real need to own one. There is a flurry of tablets on the horizon, so these numbers could surely change by this time next year

Abramsky believes that these numbers will skyrocket within the next few years. In fact, he predicts that 185 million tablets will be sold in the year 2014. That is a huge difference from the numbers reported in 2010.

With Android getting ready to hit the tablet world by storm, BlackBerry and HP getting ready to make a plays their own and an already established successful tablet in the form of Apple’s iPad, what do you think of Abramsky’s prediction? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

source: Slash Gear

The October smartphone OS numbers are in, and not everyone is pleased. The statistics from comScore measure the change in U.S. smartphone OS market share from July, 2010 to October, 2010. Google’s Android is the big winner, while RIM’s BlackBerry continues to falter.

Android has continued its ascent, going from 17% to 23.5%, which amounts to a 38% increase in only 3 months. Apple meanwhile has enjoyed a 3.3% rise from 23.8% to 24.6%. Even though iOS’ market share is still growing, we imagine Steve Jobs is upset about Android being so close behind.

BlackBerry has declined even further, from 39.3% to 35.8% (an 8.9% decrease). RIM will need some fresh ideas if they want to regain some market share. Their BlackBerry OS 6 only seems to be slowing the bleeding.

Palm’s webOS has declined from 4.9% to 3.9% (a 20% decrease). But we think that’s more due to marketing and availability, rather than interest. The debut of the Pre 2 and Palm’s other upcoming devices should give them a healthy bump in 2011.

Microsoft will be disappointed to see an 18% decline, from 11.8% to 9.7%. They’re waiting to see an increase from Windows Phone 7, but that will take more time. Place your bets, folks. It’s anyone’s game in 2011.

source: comScore via Engadget

HP executive Jon Rubinstein sat down with Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs at the Churchill Club last night, to discuss the future of mobile technology. Rubinstein practically conceded the first top two spots in the battle amongst operating systems when he was asked to rate the current crop available. After admitting that iOS and Android are obviously selling like hotcakes, he said that the real battle will be for third place and, “We’d sure like to be that,” Rubinstein said.

Qualcom’s Jacobs noted that the limitations in battery life and bandwidth have held back smartphone development as the two have not kept up with all of the other things that are being accomplished. When it comes to bandwidth, Qualcom’s CEO said, “We don’t have enough spectrum right now. We are just going to have to be more creative about how we get content to the devices.” He did point out that both the industry and the government are working on ways to solve this problem. As for battery life, Jacobs noted how today’s smartphones can do all of these cool things but then the battery dies three-quarters of the way through the day. As a solution, he self-promoted Qualcom’s low power display technology it is producing with Mirasol.

Other topics of discussion included carriers. Rubinstein commented that the carriers will not be the only distribution point for wireless devices in the future. Both Rubinstein and Jacobs did agree that Augmented Reality is going to be big. The technology can be used to translate signs in foreign countries among other things.

Sticking to what they see in the next five years, both agreed that the smartphone will become a digital wallet with Jacobs predicting an end to all check-out lines. He also sees digital networked textbooks and a bigger role for smartphones in the healthcare industry,

source: AllThingsDigital

The smartphone industry’s rapid adoption seems to be going on and on and, at least for the time being, the end of this growth is not on the horizon. This is not much of a news itself, but taking a closer look at the picture reveals some impressive stats that give a hint where the industry as a whole is going. According to ABI Research, the raw figures are as follows – of all mobile devices shipped in Q2 of 2010, 19% are smartphones and that in turn means this is a 12% growth compared to Q1 of the same year and 50% increase between Q2 2009 and Q2 2010. Michael Morgan, a senior analyst for mobile devices at ABI Research, states that this is only the beginning: “I am predicting an all-time record high for the third quarter numbers.” Impressive stuff indeed.

But that’s not all. With the mini-revolution that’s slowly unfolding right before our eyes in the hardware sector and with all the software improvements going on, things are bound to go up and up. That’s without mentioning some major factors – like Microsoft spending a billion to stage their comeback Windows Phone 7 platform or the persistently-rumoured Verizon-branded Apple iPhone that’s expected some time early 2011.

Why is that so important?
It’s of paramount importance, because there is no place for everyone and the battle of the mobile operating systems will be a matter of life and death for most of the companies in the smartphone business. Most of the observers tend to agree that “it needs to boil down to three or perhaps four key operating systems.”

Where the things stand at present with the mobile operating systems?
In the USA, the leading smartphone platforms at the moment are Research in Motion’s BlackBerry OS with 37.6%, followed by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android with 24.2% and 19.6% respectively. The momentum is with Android, while Apple continues to make quite a few dollars with their devices and these two operating systems are seen by Mr. Morgan as major players: “Right now there are two key platforms: iOS and Android.”

However, it would be naive to underestimate the other potential players. The fact is that Microsoft poured a billion into their newly-released Windows Phone 7 and recently HP acquired Palm with the Palm Pre 2 and webOS 2.0 soon to hit the market. Only time can reveal how Windows Phone 7 and webOS 2.0 will fare, but one thing is certain – they will be in the OS race.

Apple was firing on all cylinders in Q2 of 2010 with 8.4 million shipments, of which 3 million were iPhone 4 units released only a few weeks prior to the end of the quarter. Even more unbelievable is that they managed to record a growth of 68% in Q3 compared to Q2.
Another manufacturer who is doing quite well is HTC. So well, actually, that the Taiwanese-based vendor is now among the top 10 biggest cell phone makers. This is a fairytale story of a far-off land manufacturer creating devices for other companies that nowadays impresses the world with its stellar-looking devices.

The obvious conclusion is that we’re in the middle of a revolution with smartphone shipments increasing on a daily basis. That growth is sure to expand and with all the advancements going on in the hardware and the software departments, things look certain to get only better and better both for regular customers and from a technological point of view.

What are your thoughts on the smartphone industry’s path? How far it will go in the next few years and what technologies you would like to see most in the new smartphones? We here at PhoneArena would love to hear what you think on these fundamental for any smartphone-lover questions.
source: Mobilemarketer via Mediapost

One of the nice features of using a webOS-based handset like the Palm Pre or Pixi is that it is always connected to the “cloud”, keeping your data safe and backed-up via the Palm Profile. Connecting with the “cloud” is effective for those pesky times when you accidentally run over your Pre or Pixi with your car or someone is enjoying your new device via a “five-fingered discount.” What happens, though, if Palm’s server goes down and you no longer have access to the cloud and your Palm Profile?

Thanks to the folks over at Pre Central who asked this important question, we have a good idea about what will work and what won’t work. If Palm’s server crashes or there is some other interruption, the things that won’t work include: over-the-air backups and restoration, first-time setup, remote wipe, and app purchasing. Otherwise, you will be in good shape. You should have access to your phone data because it is stored locally on your webOS device. Email is also safe because you receive it to your handset via Exchange or IMAP Idle.

Next time your BlackBerry-toting buddy has email problems due to BlackBerry Internet Server (BIS) outages, try hard to suppress your smirk as you know that your webOS-powered Pre or Pixi will still deliver the goods even if Palm’s server can’t.

source: PreCentral