Verizon Wireless is beefing up its Android stock with the pending launch of a Samsung Galaxy S phone. Dubbed Fascinate, the smartphone will launch on Verizon's network this week.
The Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate runs the Android 2.1 operating system with support for Google mobile services, including Gmail, YouTube and the Android market. The phone boasts a 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird application processor and a four-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display.
"Fascinate has better hardware performance than HTC and Motorola, particularly in terms of graphics -- and it's screen is incredibly bright and colorful," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. "It slots somewhere between the 3.7-inch screen on the Droid Incredible and the 4.3-inch screen on the Droid X. Samsung has a four-inch screen. Some consumers may find that a happy medium."
Will Samsung Fascinate?
Fascinate is no iPhone killer, but it may turn the heads of some Verizon Wireless customers, especially those who have been frustrated with smartphone shortages this summer. With Samsung's Galaxy S phones making headlines, the Fascinate could become a quick favorite at Verizon -- especially if Samsung can keep it in stock.
Greengart, for one, is expecting Samsung to do better job with supply chain issues than some of its competitors. That, he said, is because Samsung makes many of its own components. The ability to manufacture displays and other components in house has become a key differentiator in a hot smartphone market.
"Given the scarcity of some of these smartphone components, particularly the displays, we are definitely seeing that simply having the product available for sale has become an actual differentiator," Greengart said. "So if HTC can't get the Droid Incredible in stock and if Motorola can't keep the Droid X in stock, then Samsung may be able to steal sales simply by having a product on the...
Samsung Electronics unveiled a new dual-core processor in Taipei, Taiwan Tuesday that promises to bring full-blown high definition and 3D video capabilities to next-generation smartphones and tablets. Code-named Orion, the new 1GHz chip is slated to begin sampling before the end of this year and attain mass market availability in the first half of 2011.
Though mobile device rivals will be able to deploy the new chip, Orion is also expected to help the company to build Samsung-branded gadgets while potentially avoiding critical component shortages similar to those that have plagued smartphone makers over the past several months. Just last week, Samsung predicted that it would sell 20 million to 25 million smartphones this year, and is targeting 50 million unit shipments for 2011.
"Mobile device designers need an application processor platform that delivers superb multimedia performance, fast CPU processing speed, and abundant memory bandwidth," said Samsung Electronics Vice President Dojun Rhee. "Samsung's newest dual-core application processor chip is designed specifically to fulfill such stringent performance requirements while maintaining long battery life."
Full HDTV Support
To be manufactured using low-power 45nm process technology, Samsung's Orion chip will be going head to head with the 1.2GHz dual-CPU Snapdragon processor that Qualcomm began sampling in June as well as NVidia's forthcoming Tegra 2 chip. LG Electronics said Tuesday it will launch new Optimus smartphone models before the end of this year that will integrate Tegra 2, which the handset-maker said would feature a dual-core design.
"Taking full advantage of the two speedy 1 GHz processors sharing the workload in Tegra 2, consumers can experience up to 2x faster web browsing and up to 5x faster gaming performance over single core processors running at 1 GHz," LG said.
Like Tegra 2, Samsung's Orion application processor will integrate a pair of 1GHz Cortex A9 cores from ARM....
Steve Jobs called it the iPhone without the phone. And it seems to be giving the iPhone a run for its money.
On the scale of Apple device sales, the iPod touch is seeing its stock rise, with one estimate finding that the digital music player and portable gaming device makes up nearly 40 percent of units running Apple's mobile operating system.
More than 45 Million iPods
Based on Apple CEO Jobs' declaration on Sept. 1st at the unveiling of the new iPod line in San Francisco that 120 million iOS devices have been sold to date, market research firm Asymco estimated that there were 59.6 million iPhones sold through June, according to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that about eight million iPhones and four million iPads were believed sold during August and July.
That indicates the likely total of iPod touches sold is 45.2 million, or 37.7 percent of total iOS units.
So, for all the hype about Apple's growing share of the smartphone market, it could soon be making more money from its products that don't make calls.
"The expansion of iPhone distribution plus the addition of iPad has reduced the platform footprint for the iPod, but it's still a sizable chunk," said the firm on its Web site. "More than one in three iOS units in use are non-cellular devices. As the iPad rolls that number could move toward 50 percent."
At last week's iPod event, Jobs announced that the latest touch unit, which he noted is also "the iPhone without a contract" is equipped for the first time with front and back cameras and the application FaceTime, which allows the unit to be used for video chat via Wi-Fi with other iPod users, iPhone users or anyone with a web cam, which could further increase its appeal. iOS4.0,...
