After a year of scorched-earth process of legal action, a nine-person United States jury in San Jose, California last week found that Apple’s biggest rival Samsung has infringed six of the seven patents for Apple mobile devices — the big issue of the trial. The jurors also confirmed the validity of all seven of Apple’s innovative patents, many of which covered the design of the iPhone. The United States jury ordered the South Korean company to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages, less than half of the amount Apple attempted to obtain. Apple had sought nearly $2.75 billion in damages, claiming Samsung had illegally copied four design and three software patents.

Apple Inc. filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011, occupying a vast number of the United States’ highest-paid attorneys to demand $2.75 billion from its giant smartphone rival. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit claiming that the Californian company infringed five of its own patents and demanded $399 million. Samsung’s lawyers supported that Apple was trying to prevent Samsung from accomplishing legitimate competition. However, the verdict favored Apple since the jury rejected all of Samsung’s claims against the Californian company.

The jurors needed less than three days to deliver the verdict, causing some surprise, considering the complexities of the case. The nine-person jury was asked more than 600 questions during their deliberation. The jury decided that Samsung had illegally used Apple’s tech innovations in some of its own products, such as the ‘bounce-back’ feature when a user scrolls to an end picture and the ability to zoom texts with tapping a finger.

Harold McElhinny, Apple’s lawyer, claimed that after iPhone’s launch in 2007, the South Korean company was facing a design crisis and thus company’s executives decided to illegally take advantage of the revolutionary device’s success. Besides the billions Apple sought for damages, the company’s attorneys also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular mobile devices and computer tablets from the United States market.

Of course Samsung’s lawyers argued that the company had not done anything illegal. The South Korean tech giant was only giving customers what they wanted: smart phones with big screens. They claimed that Samsung’s manufacturers did not infringe on Apple’s software and design patents, though, according to them, many of Apple’s revolutionary patents were actually concepts or ideas stolen from Sony Corp. and other companies. According to Samsung’s lawyers, Apple’s products may be great but that does not mean the company has a monopoly on the design of phones with rounded corners.

Apple’s legal victory in California did not give the company’s legal team many reasons to celebrate, because the effect of the verdict on the other legal battles between the two companies outside of the United States still remain unclear. The U.S trial was only the first part of this historic patent battle, as both companies have pursued legal actions in eight other countries including South Korea, Japan, Australia, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Last Friday, Samsung won a motherland court ruling. According to Judges in Seoul, Samsung did not infringed the design patents for iPhone, but they said that the Korean company did violate the patent on the ‘bounce-back’ feature. Judges also decided that Apple infringed on Samsung’s wireless technology and both companies were ordered to pay damages.

Yesterday, a United States Judge set a court date for December 6 in order to hear Apple’s request for a permanent ban against Samsung’s mobile devices. Apple claimed to have eight devices it will demand for a permanent sales ban on.

While Apple and Samsung have both pursued legal actions against each other’s manufacturers, experts say this is not a battle between Apple and Samsung. The real target is Google. The truth is Apple and Samsung are using courts in order to help them negotiate and set prices for cross-licensing agreements.

The two tech rivals are trying to figure out whose intellectual property is worth what. Samsung has emerged as one of Apple’s greatest competitors, becoming the leading smartphone-making company thanks to Google. It was Google that gave Samsung and other phone makers the Android mobile operating system for free. In the end it is going to be a battle between the two operating systems.

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Clearwater, U.S.A — GFI Software released its VIPRE Report for July 2012, a collection of the 10 most prevalent threat detections encountered last month. In July, GFI threat researchers observed a number of malware attacks targeting mobile users, including fake applications exploiting consumers’ interest in the official app for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games as well as mobile Web browsers such as Firefox and Opera Mini.

“Mobile malware is a relatively new frontier for cybercriminals, but that does not mean that their attacks are any less sophisticated or dangerous,” said Christopher Boyd, senior threat researcher at GFI Software. “Many users are not aware of the fact that cybercriminals have created malware specifically for Android devices and are rushing to download apps before ensuring that they are legitimate.”

Just days ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies in London, GFI researchers uncovered Russian websites hosting Trojans posing as the London 2012 Official Mobile Game app. The websites were designed to mimic the official Google Play app market in order to trick users into downloading the application. GFI also discovered a spam email campaign falsely promising victims a chance to win free airline tickets to the London Olympics in exchange for filling out a survey and supplying personal information.

Users also encountered a phony version of Firefox for Android exploiting the recent release of the official Web browser on Google Play in June. The application is part of the Boxer malware family, which normally tricks users into agreeing to send premium SMS messages before directing them to the official Firefox website.

This version of the app goes a step further and installs the application without notice, covertly sends premium SMS messages and directs users to the Google™ homepage. GFI researchers believe that this may be a tactic used to convince users that the app was not installed properly, thus returning to the scam website and going through the process multiple times.

Mobile users interested in the Android version of the Opera Web browser were in danger of coming across the OpFake family of Trojans, which often pose as the Opera Mini application. Like victims of the Boxer Trojans, users who fell for this scam had their phones send SMS messages to premium-rate numbers without their knowledge.

The version of OpFake uncovered by GFI also installs the real Opera Mini Web browser in order to trick users into thinking that they have installed the correct application. Victims of this scam would not realize anything was amiss until they receive their monthly phone bill.

Secure Smartphones and Tablets:

GFI Software recently released GFI VIPRE Mobile Security Premium, one of the most comprehensive mobile protection applications for Android phones and tablets. The app combines GFI Software’s award-winning VIPRE antivirus technology with lost device features, parental controls and automatic backup capabilities.

This powerful combination enables consumers to use their devices freely without having to worry about mobile viruses, identity theft, data loss or unsupervised activity. To learn more about GFI VIPRE Mobile Security Premium, visit www.vipremobile.com.

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Dispite the not so impressive lineup from EA’s shooters and other respective genres, probably the biggest event from the Press Conference was their sports games. It was clear that EA Sports has put a lot of time and effort into their sports games to really leave a mark this year at E3.

First, EA announced Madden 13. Powered by the Infinity Engine, Madden 13 shoots for the most realistic physics engine to date. Madden 13 also introduces Connected Career, which combines various career modes from past games and integrates them into an expansive social network career campaign. In Connected Career, the player chooses between a variety of players, from the current roster to popular legends, and works to level them up by completing various tasks to earn experience (XP). Players also have the option to retire their player if they feel they want to change their position, where players will still retain their XP and status.

Players can also manage their team via PC, tablet, or iPad, and can keep up to date on events, status updates, or high scores through the direct twitter feed built into the game. Madden 13 really seems to bring a new life into the sports genre. Also for the Madden series, EA announced Madden Social, a free-to-play Madden game for facebook and various mobile devices. Madden Social is set to launch in the fall.

EA Sports also announced their next game in the FIFA franchise with FIFA 13. The FIFA series promises a new, more in-depth feel to the world of soccer (football outside the US) by incorporating the moves and reflexes of Lionel Messi, one of the world’s greatest soccer players. By incorporating Messi’s playing style, FIFA 13 promises to be one of the most realistic soccer games to date. As for returning fans, those who have FIFA 12 data retain their XP and recieve bonus supplies upon installing FIFA 13. FIFA 13 offers a connection to FIFA games on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

EA announced that EA Sports and the UFC will be coming together to release future UFC games through EA Sports, a big break for the UFC in the gaming industry. The future looks bright for the UFC for breaking away from THQ (Toy Headquarters) and joining up with one of the biggest sports game developers of all time.

This year is going to be a hard act for EA to follow, because EA has recently been announced as the worst company in the United States next to previous winners such as AIG and BP. More details about EA’s worst company award can be found here. This year does seem to be the year for EA Sports. With so much involvement in the social aspect of their sports games, and the recent acquisition of the UFC franchise, this year’s lineup of EA Sports games may finally be more than just a glorified DLC expansion of the sports genre.

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Amsterdam, Netherlands – AVG Technologies, the provider of Internet and mobile security to approximately 108 million active users, has released its Q1 2012 Community Powered Threat Report. The report highlights the growing use of mobile devices to connect with social networks and how this is fast becoming a preferred method for cyber criminals to spread malware, particularly on those devices running Android.

Yuval Ben-Itzhak, Chief Technology Officer at AVG, said: “We detected a big increase in the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to target Android users. Cyber criminals are finding it very convenient to distribute their malware straight to a mobile device via these networks.

The growth of the Android platform has been phenomenal, which has not gone unnoticed with cyber criminals who have discovered it to be a lucrative target for their malware. In 2011, Google had to remove over 100 malicious apps from the official Android market, Google Play.”

Social networks have become a key source of information and communication. Twitter now has more than 140 million active users^[1]; and Facebook has over 845 million users^[2], with some analysts expecting that figure to reach 1 billion this year^[3]. The result: targeting those who use Facebook is like targeting around 14 per cent of world’s population or approximately 43 per cent of global internet users.

Consider also that there are over 300 million Android phones already activated, with over 850,000 Android phones and tablets added to that number each day^[4], and it is clear these two trends combined result in a new threat: infecting Android devices using social networks.

Most mobile devices are tied into operator billing systems making monetization of malware a lot more effective than on traditional computer systems. All the attackers need to do is trick users to install a malicious app on their device through which they can then gather cash using the phone companies’ billing systems by utilizing premium SMS services. In many cases, this is done by charging low amounts on an infrequent basis so users don’t even notice.

The Q1 2012 Community Powered Threat Report includes examples of this:

• On Facebook, all it takes for a cyber criminal to attack is to set up a fake profile which downloads malware to a device and randomly invite Facebook users.
• On Twitter, a cyber criminal creates a spam profile and then posts tweets containing shortened hyperlinks to malware using trending hashtags. The way in which Twitter works makes sure the tweet appears on the top of many people’s Twitter feed.

About the report

The AVG Community Protection Network is an online neighborhood watch, where community members work to protect each other. Information about the latest threats is collected from customers who participate in the product improvement program and shared with the community to make sure everyone receives the best possible protection.

The AVG Community Powered Threat Report is based on the Community Protection Network traffic and data collected from participating AVG users over a three-month period, followed by analysis by AVG. It provides an overview of web, mobile devices, spam risks and threats. All statistics referenced are obtained from the AVG Community Protection Network.

AVG has focused on building communities that help millions of online participants support each other on computer security issues and actively contribute to AVG’s research efforts.

To download the summary of the Q1 2012 Community Powered Threat Report:http://www.avg.com/filedir/news/AVG_Community_Powered_Threat_Report_Q1_2012_summary.pdf

To download the full Q1 2012 Community Powered Threat Report:http://www.avg.com/filedir/news/AVG_Community_Powered_Threat_Report_Q1_2012.pdf

Visit the AVG Newsroom at: http://www.avg.com/press-releases-news

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Gameloft, a leading global publisher of digital and social games, and Classic Media, a global media company with a portfolio of some of the world’s leading family entertainment brands, announce the release of  Where’s Wally Now? for Android smartphones & tablets.

Based on the publishing phenomenon, Where’s Wally Now? allows fans of the elusive world traveller to enter scenes from of the acclaimed book on their mobile phones, enabling them to find Wally anytime, anywhere!

In Where’s Wally Now?, Wally uses Wizard Whitebeard’s magic walking stick to travel through space and time as players follow his journey through seven unique levels. Putting players search-and-find skills to the test, each level provides a challenging variety of searchable content, opportunities to unlock bonus content and never before seen mini-games featuring Wally and his friends.

With a new adventure at every turn, Wally blends into crowds throughout time from the Stone Age to the Future, leading players to ask – where IS Wally now?

“The Where’s Wally? books have enjoyed international success for years. We are excited to partner with Classic Media to let fans of the series rediscover such an iconic character as Wally on their mobile phones,” announced Karine Kaiser, VP Marketing and Licensing for Gameloft

“We’re very excited to partner with Gameloft to provide fans everywhere with a new Where’s Wally? mobile adventure.” said Nicole Blake, EVP, Global Marketing & Consumer Products, Classic Media. “With Android smartphones & tablets fans can continue the search for Wally on-the-go!”

“Where’s Wally Now?” is now available for Android smartphones, tablets and feature phones.

About Where’s Wally? Created by Martin Handford and first published in 1987, Where’s Wally? is one of the most recognisable characters in the world and a pop-culture icon. A global publishing phenomenon with 56+ million books sold worldwide, the successful series is published in more than 38 countries, and has been translated into more than 30 languages and has sold 5.8+ million Apps to date.

JOIN THE SEARCH! as the ultimate world traveller embarks on A Fantastic Journey to celebrate his 25th Anniversary in 2012. Online, in-store, or at events-who knows where Wally will be spotted next? Keep your eyes open. You won’t be the only one searching. http://www.whereswally.co.uk

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‘Parking Frenzy’ has scaled to the seventh position on ‘Free Games’ section in the Android market in USA making it probably the first game from India to have featured this high in the space. Traditionally, the top slots are occupied by games such as Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.

A product of Games2win the Parking Frenzy game has been downloaded 2.3 million times (as per Google Android statistics) and played over 8.5 million times in a span of just 10 days since it was launched.

Flurry’s analytics revealed that the game has 2.2 minutes of median time spent, 20.7% returning users and 350k Daily Active Users (DAUs). Alok Kejriwal, CEO of Games2win said, ”I am happy that we have scored this hit, but honestly it’s about time many more Indian Gaming Companies began featuring in the top ranks on the Android and iOs Apps market places.”

“Parking Frenzy is not a Bollywood or a Cricket Game. It’s a game about parking cars in an increasing level of difficulty. That’s a game that people like to play all over the world, not just in India.” Alok observed. According to Alok Kejriwal, Parking Frenzy’s biggest downloads are from the USA, UK, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

“Going forward, we are aggressively creating more ‘global’ titles for Android and iOs, with the sole intention of being a global gaming company. “ Noted Alok Kejriwal Aakrit Vaish, Director of Operations, India, Flurry, said, “It’s not just about downloads, but also usage. That is where Parking Frenzy is up there with the biggest smartphone games in the world. Good to finally see an original made in India production make it.”

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Orange celebrates the tenth year of its successful portfolio of own-branded devices by extending its range to include a new high-performance smartphone, powered by the Intel Atom processor, which will be offered exclusively to Orange’s customers in the UK and France.

Orange is the first operator in Europe to launch this new smartphone offering the customer high-performance capabilities with a rich user experience and at an affordable price. This first Intel-powered Orange smartphone will feature a number of locally-relevant and unique Orange services including Orange TV, Dailymotion, Deezer, Orange Wednesdays, Your Orange, and Orange Gestures.

Recently, Orange announced that it will launch a new high-performance Android smartphone in Europe this summer. Powered by Intel technology, the device currently code named ‘Orange Santa Clara,’ will deliver the latest in smartphone capabilities and rich entertainment experiences to more customers. The phone will first be available exclusively to Orange customers in the UK and France, where its commercial name will be unveiled at launch.

The launch of this smartphone marks a significant development in Orange’s long-standing and successful strategy to deliver phones under its own brand. Now in its tenth year, it has helped drive new device partnerships and support Orange’s customer and mobile multimedia growth by introducing more affordable feature phones and smartphones to its whole customer base. These phones are differentiated by being customised with simple and relevant Orange applications and services.

Customer demand has led to the doubling of Orange’s own-branded portfolio in 2011, increasing volume from 7 percent to 15 percent of its total device portfolio. Orange aims to increase the volume of its own-branded device portfolio to 20 percent in 2012 to better meet its customers’ needs, making innovative features, services, and technologies more widely accessible.

Orange is broadening its own-branded device portfolio with a new mobile partner, Intel, a world leader in silicon processor technology and computing innovation. At launch, the Orange smartphone will run Android’s Gingerbread platform with a planned upgrade to Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich platform shortly thereafter.

The new Orange smartphone is based on Intel’s smartphone reference design and is powered by the Intel Atom processor Z2460 and supports HSPA+ with the Intel XMM 6260 Platform. Together, these Intel solutions deliver leading performance and energy efficiency while facilitating fast browsing and a responsive user experience. The phone has a 4.03″ display, slender dimensions at 123mm x 63 x 9.99, 16 Gb of memory and weighs in at 117g.

In addition, high-definition (HD) video will support a rich entertainment offering together with mobile HD voice for outstanding audio quality. It also boasts a camera that can take 10 pictures in under a second with 8-megapixel quality to ensure customers capture all the action so they can choose the very best pictures to keep and share. Also pre-loaded will be a number of services unique to Orange, including Orange TV, Dailymotion, Deezer (France only), Orange Wednesdays Your Orange and Orange Gestures.

“The proliferation of smartphones has brought a wealth of new experiences. At Orange we firmly believe that all our customers should benefit from the smartphone revolution, and we remain committed to delivering innovative content and services across a wide range of devices to help customers stay connected and get more from their phone,” said Yves Maitre, Senior Vice President of Mobile Multimedia and Devices, Orange.

“For ten years, Orange has pioneered a successful own-branded approach to delivering to its customers high quality, affordable handsets in all price ranges, packed with locally relevant and unique services and features. We are delighted to be partnering with Intel to add such an exceptional device to our portfolio.”

The announcement builds on Orange’s long-standing and close relationship with Intel across its PC and tablet portfolio, and Orange continues to support Intel’s innovation and development on convergent platforms.

“The Orange device is a fantastic example of the innovation happening on Intel’s smartphone reference design,” said Mike Bell, Intel Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Mobile and Communications Group. “We are pleased to extend our close collaboration with Orange to Intel-based smartphones.

Orange has a long and successful track record of innovation which has produced great mobile products and services for their customers. By combining Orange’s unique applications and services with an attractive high-performance Intel-based smartphone, Orange is once again demonstrating its wireless leadership while providing more value and customer choice.”

Francisco Jeronimo, Research Manager European Mobile Devices, IDC, commented: “This announcement is a bold move from Orange. In today’s smartphone environment it is extremely difficult to differentiate without compromising costs. This device pushes the boundaries of innovation and provides consumers with premium experiences at affordable prices.”

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Audiobooks.com announced recently the launch of the first unlimited cloud-based audio book service. For $24.95 per month, users can take advantage of unlimited cloud-based audio content via an Android or Apple mobile device with no need to return audio books, no long-term contracts and no time constraints on audio book use. Audiobooks.com features several technical innovations that are unavailable from any other audio book source.

Since it’s a cloud-based service, Audiobooks.com allows users to instantly access thousands of popular titles from anywhere using an Internet-enabled mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or tablet. There are no storage constraints because the content resides on the cloud, and users can access and play audio books instantly with no downloading necessary.

Users can mark their place in an audio book and resume listening at the same spot from any Android or Apple device, laptop or home computer without using a browser plug-in or special application. This innovative new feature enhances the user experience and is only available through Audiobooks.com’s proprietary cloudmark sync technology.

Now users can enjoy as many audio books as their schedules permit for an affordable monthly charge. The consumer-friendly Audiobooks.com subscription service allows users to cancel at any time.

“The introduction of an unlimited, cloud-based audio book service allows Audiobooks.com to once again revolutionize the audio books industry,” said Sanjay Singhal, Chief Executive Officer. “We believe our ability to empower users to listen from anywhere using a mobile device, the cloud-based bookmarking function and the affordable access to unlimited service of thousands of bestsellers will transform the way customers use audio books.”

The Audiobooks.com concept was developed in 2011 by a team of audio book enthusiasts who are committed to achieving marketplace leadership by delivering superior value to audio book customers. Learn more at Audiobooks.com.

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Zfere Holdings (www.zfere.com) on January 18 unveiled its much awaited social commerce platform in conjunction with the Nationwide SOPA Blackout.  Zfere Holdings CEO Steve Vanderbol stated, “We chose to unveil our platform today as an example of the technologies which soon may not be available within the US Market due to these misguided and draconian proposals, should they pass into law.”

Zfere’s social commerce platform features tactile technology which enables a user to simply “touch to find” any product, good or service available at a local level from any picture, movie or IPTV content viewed within the integrated media player or social media console.

The platform also allows seamless interaction with up to sixteen social media networks through a single point interface on any mobile device currently running the Android or Apple mobile operating systems.  As part of its offerings, the company also manages a peer to peer bandwidth sharing network as well as personal data cloud services for its members in addition to a comprehensive business management and marketing suite geared towards small to medium sized businesses.

“From its inception, our social commerce platform was designed to empower people and to encourage them to cut the cord, go mobile, get out in the real world, share their experiences across social media platforms and other communications technologies so they could experience their local and regional worlds more deeply; often to the benefit of their ‘Main Street’ businesses.

We all recognize that these local businesses are the core of jobs creation and need the most support in this economic climate.  It’s rather ironic that at a time when this country needs emerging technological resources the most, is when proposals such as these, which could potentially remove economy building technologies from the US Market are being contemplated.”  Mr. Vanderbol added.

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Gazelle (www.gazelle.com), the nation’s largest consumer electronics direct-to-consumer reCommerce service, announced January 13 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the results of a survey that polled show-floor attendees to reveal connections between mobile phone ownership and one’s outlook on life.

The survey aimed to draw a correlation between one’s level of optimism or pessimism and the smartphone and tablet one owns. The results were particularly telling and, amongst the juiciest of findings, the survey pointed to the fact that 29% of iPhone owners expect the best in uncertain times, 3% more than the next set of users (Android).

The study also showed that 33% of BlackBerry users hardly ever expect things to go their way, suggesting an overall malaise amongst BlackBerry users.  Research also found that iPhone users were particularly resilient in these tough economic conditions with 36% saying they don’t get upset too easily, even during difficult economic times.

Because Gazelle accepts hundreds of thousands of consumer electronic trade-ins each year, the company serves as a unique barometer of U.S. consumer electronics consumption habits.  Gazelle is using CES to celebrate collective consumer love for gadgets and to better understand, with a twist, the sociology behind certain Smartphone and tablet users.

Below is a more in-depth look at how Apple, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone users view their life outlook:

iPhone and iPad users are optimistic, calm and also social

• In uncertain times, 29% of iPhone users and 60% of iPad users expect the best
• 52% of iPhone users and 58% of iPad users are always optimistic about their future
• 25% of iPhone users and 26% of iPad users don’t get upset too easily
• 65% of iPhone users and 52% of iPad users enjoy their friends a lot

Android users are generally optimistic and active

• 28% of Android smartphone users and 36% of Android tablet users are always optimistic about their future
• 48% of Android smartphone users and 64% of Android tablet users think it’s important to keep busy
• 31% of Android smartphone users and 55% of Android tablet users often expect more good things to happen than bad
• 18% of Android smartphone users and 27% of Android tablet users don’t get upset too easily

BlackBerry users are pessimistic and uneasy about their future

• 33% of BlackBerry users believe if something can go wrong for them, it will
• 33% of BlackBerry users rarely count on good things happening to them
• 16% of BlackBerry users hardly ever expect things to go their way
• 0% of BlackBerry users usually expect the best

“Who knew that Apple users had such a promising outlook on life, while BlackBerry owners hardly expect things to go their way?” said Israel Ganot, co-founder and CEO of Gazelle. “Our survey aimed to celebrate the passion many at CES have for their gadgets and the latest and greatest trends in consumer electronics.

One of the reasons for the rapid growth of the reCommerce industry is that many have recognized the value possessed by used electronics and the lucrative benefits of trading in one’s gadgets for cash.”

Image Courtesy of    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivyfield/

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China mobile phone suppliers are producing more smartphones and 3G models as they ride the trend for all-in-one functionality. Price cuts are another key strategy as competition intensifies.

This is according to Global Sources‘ China Sourcing Report: Mobile Phones. The report covers the major products of China’s mobile phone industry, namely 3G, GSM and smartphones, and projector and QWERTY variants.

The report shows China manufacturers are carving a niche with lower-priced models to avoid the high-end dominated by top international brands. Even so, their releases offer a range of features, depending on the model and price point. These include dual-SIM functionality, touch-screens, web browsers, cameras, TVs, FM radios, MP3/MP4 players, video recorders, e-book readers and games.

Products incorporate Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS, support GSM, CDMA and 3G networks. Among smartphones, the Android platform is gaining popularity, thanks to its open source attributes. Even so, Windows Mobile 6.5 will continue to have a solid foothold. Small and midsize manufacturers of 3G phones are offering W-CDMA and CDMA2000 models in expanding their overseas presence.

The first continues to dominate supply. In the months ahead, R&D efforts are expected to emphasize even better price-to-performance ratio, especially as more suppliers target emerging markets in South East Asia and South America.

Publisher of the report, Livia Yip, said: “In our survey, 96 percent of suppliers see their 2011 export volume surpassing last year’s sales. Nearly half of manufacturers project increases exceeding 20 percent. Besides their release of features-packed models, optimism for substantial orders growth stems from suppliers’ success in cultivating emerging markets.

For many companies, shipments to new markets such as Southeast Asia and South America collectively now match their volume to the EU, traditionally the main export destination.”

China suppliers cut prices for advantage in new, traditional markets

The report reveals that as competition tightens, most China suppliers are cutting their prices to gain an edge. While reductions are generally at 10 percent or lower, some surveyed companies plan to drop quotes by as much as 15 percent to attract more orders. About one-third of manufacturers, however, feel the need to increase prices slightly to compensate for higher expenditure amid rising labor costs and the yuan appreciation.

While some raw materials are becoming more expensive, the falling cost of chipsets in particular is enabling manufacturers to reduce quotes. Companies are confident that their price advantage and heightened product capability should boost sales in emerging markets, the EU and North America, which ranks as China’s third-largest market for mobile phones.

Supplier profiles, price forecasts, and the latest mobile phones for export

The 62-page China Sourcing Report: Mobile Phones provides detailed profiles of 25 suppliers with verified manufacturing and export credentials, plus contact details of 16 more suppliers. It also includes a Product Gallery featuring 63 of the most popular export models, with key specifications and full-color pictures.

The report’s survey, price trends and supply forecasts aim to help buyers make better-informed purchasing decisions.

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Rumors regarding the creation of Amazon’s new tablet have been confirmed by invitations to members of the press. On Wednesday September 28, Amazon will unveil a new product to the market, and after much speculation, it has now been confirmed that it is the new Amazon Kindle that was under investigation for quite some time.

‘Amazon Kindle’ is the name of the new tablet by Amazon, a name that consumers will already be familiar with. What distinguishes this product from the e-reader is the new features installed. The new tablet has a 7-inch touch screen that displays its content in full color, and also runs the Android operating system.

What’s interesting about this tablet is that the interface was designed specifically for the Amazon tablet. The key colors displayed in the tablet are dark blue, black and orange, which are also the colors used to represent the notifications from apps at the top of the screen next to your Kindle’s name. The main screen resembles the cover flow in iTunes that users can easily recognize.

The tablet will have its own Amazon Android Appstore, and will include Google as the default search engine browser. The web browser looks like the typical web browser for other Android devices and includes tabs for different pages. It will also include the Kindle book reader app so customers can still have access to their Amazon eBook purchases.

The tablet only has 6 GB of memory, mainly reserved for apps and book storing. The reason for this may be that Amazon wants to focus on clouding, as it offers Amazon cloud player for music. The company also plans to give out a free subscription to Amazon Prime, which normally goes for $79 a year, and allows unlimited access to Amazon Instant video and their free 2-day shipping for Amazon purchases as well as no minimum for delivery.

This new device sells for half the iPad price, and the same price as the Barnes and Nobles Nook at $250. It is expected to be released in November before the holidays, which will make for a great holiday gift. Rumors also say that a 10-inch tablet is expected to debut early next year.

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Microsoft has announced the release of their Windows phone 7.5 “Mango.” It will be released in September. This anticipated phone is set to include almost 500 new features.

A Feature of the phone makes it easier to stay in touch with friends and family, by integrating a new method of communication known as threads. With threads you can see if your friends are online on any social media platform.

These networks are intertwined in order to simplify conversations between friends. For example, if a friend starts up a conversation via Facebook and is no longer available on that particular site, then there are other services listed where that person can be contacted through, if they happen to be logged on elsewhere.

Multitasking is also very simple on the Mango phone. While running an application, the user simply holds the back button, and a screen displaying all the open apps springs up. He or she can then pan over to the open application of their choice.

Internet Explorer, quoted by the Corporate VP of Windows Phone, is said to be blazing fast, faster than the internet service provided on iPhone, Blackberry, and Android phone. Along with speedy internet, Windows included a new feature called Local Scout.

This feature tracks your location and makes suggestions of places to eat, activities nearby, shopping areas and highlights of areas that should not be missed. This feature will make searching for entertainment a lot easier for customers.

There are now more than 30,000 apps available in Microsoft’s App Hub but it still has a long ways to go to catch up to Apples App store with 420,000 Apps and Googles 250,000 Android Apps.

It was only about a year ago Microsoft launched their first version of the Windows phone 7. The phone received positive reviews but failed in the market after the release of several android phones and updates to the Apple iPhone. Microsoft has worked hard and has made many improvements to their smartphone in such little time.

International Data Corporation expects this phone to be a high competitor against Android and iPhones, predicting a market share of 20.9 percent by 2015.

pcruciatti / Shutterstock.com

The article Microsoft Windows Mango, Officially Windows Phone 7.5 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Mobile campaigns can be divided into two types – pull or push campaigns. A pull campaign works as part of a larger media campaign since the campaign has to be advertised using other means. The organization might use email, television, the Internet, or billboards to advertise a mobile marketing campaign.

The user responds to a call to action by texting a certain keyword or message to a common short code. On the other hand, a push campaign requires an initial opt-in database of mobile numbers, although organizations should be aware that the Mobile Marketing Association’s Code of Conduct stipulates that users must opt in to a campaign in order to contact.

Since push campaign do not require additional marketing in other media forms, they are easier for an organization to set up and manage if the organization already has a database of constituents.

However, in order to reach a successful mobile campaign, a non-profit organization needs to take many strategic steps into consideration. Jenifer Snyder, Executive Director of The mGive Foundation, an organization that solicits contributions in all states working to enhance the mobile giving ecosystem, came up with some essential tips for non-profits hoping to start their own text-based initiatives.

Know The Rules
In order to launch a mobile campaign, organizations must have 501©(3) non-profit status, file a form 990 demonstrating an annual budget of at least $500,000, have been in operation for at least a year and report all of its expenses to the public.

“However, with non-profit organizations that can’t have a half a million dollar annual budget, MobiPledge and Momares are one of appropriate solutions designed specifically for small non-profits with shorter histories” said Jenifer Snyder.

Build Your Foundation
It’s a fact that a mobile campaign can do much more than just ask for money. Before your organization thinks about a fundraising campaign, you need phone numbers. Consult with your provider or with other organizations that have used mobile campaigning to determine the number of people you can expect to participate in your campaign.

A strong database is one of the most important aspects to consider before launching a mobile campaign. Once you have collected a large group of phone numbers and organized the lists, it’s time for your organization to kick off the campaign.

Engage
Your key task is to turn your campaign goals into reality by figuring out how to reach your audiences and get them to participate. Do not send an immediate request for money without making a good first impression of your organization and your mission.

Remember that with your marketing effort, you can appeal to your subscribers’ emotions and then lead them join your mobile campaign.

Think Big
“Big events with big audiences are the best opportunity to solicit text message donations. Because text campaign seek micro-donations, the moment your non-profit has its largest captive audience is best to launch a campaign” Jenifer Snyder emphasized.

Think Outside the Box
Mobile messaging is about interaction, not just a one-way pitch. This offers your organization a unique opportunity to find volunteers for specific events or inform people about rally. Your organization should concise that mobile campaign is not only to solicit donations but to do much more.

Don’t Oversaturate
Snyder claims that 85% of text messages are read within 15 minutes of being received. This mean that there is a higher chance your audience will read text messages sooner than email in their inbox.

Text messages generally have better conversion rate. Nevertheless, your organization should be aware that the messages can become overwhelming and unwanted .

Try to limit donation inquiries to once a month, followed by a message of appreciation to those who donated. Encouraging ongoing engagement is an effective way to retain your participators.

Know the Limitations
Even though itis likely that a mobile campaign’s advantages outweigh its disadvantages, the non-profit campaigns still need to be aware of their limitations. For example, while this sets a minimum (usually $5 or $10) for donation, it also limits larger donations, unless users want to text 100 times.

With the widespread of mobile technology, a mobile campaign today is a good tool for non-profit organizations.

The article Creating a Mobile Campaign for a Non-Profit Organization appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

With the mass popularity of smartphone devices, nowadays, there is an ever increasing amount of the population with near-constant access to a very powerful, highly refined piece of technology. It’s not as if the basic idea behind the communication aspect of cell-phones is evolving much. People are simply finding more and more that having a powerful device with them at all times can be quite convenient.

Especially, it turns out, for the sake of mobile gaming, a relatively recent statistic published at Flurry.com (a mobile application marketing and analytics company) has revealed.

Revealed in the same blog entry is the fact that there are an estimated 250 million iOS and Android devices around the world, compared “to the 180 million Wiis, Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s currently on the market.” Given this sort of information, what does this say about who “gamer” is now personified by? To have access to a seemingly endless number of games, one no longer needs to purchase a dedicated gaming machine (e.g. Xbox 360, Wii, Playstation 3, etc.).

Gaming is now a secondary function to a device that many individuals in the Western world clarify as a necessity. Yet, as Flurry.com’s study has shown, people are using their smartphones more and more frequently to game, with as many as 37% of the apps launched by smartphone users being games.

John Carmack, a long-time veteran of game development, recently stated that he believes smartphone devices will soon be “more powerful than the current-gen consoles.” At that point, when games like the ones we now play on consoles can be played on a phone, how will one distinguish “gamer” as a hobby? You may have heard some disambiguation with terms like “hardcore gamer” and “casual gamer” being thrown around, with the latter having a greater inclination toward mobile gaming. But these are also misleading.

What isn’t “casual” about only spending three or four hours a week playing games on an Xbox 360, and what isn’t “hardcore” about those who check up on their iPhones every ten minutes to play a few minutes of a game they’re currently invested in?

Perhaps the next few years will manage to distinguish these two very different types of enthusiasts, as differences in hardware become reduced on the respective gaming platforms, and the decision of gaming software becomes the clarifying criteria.

The article Mobile Gaming: Confounding the Gamer Title appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

I spoke with Julie Rafn Abildgaard a month ago about her research on the sophisticated Japanese/Danish humanoid Geminoid-DK. The impressive robot, designed to be an exact copy of a living human being, will Monday be presented at Aalborg University in Denmark by Professor Henrik Scharfe, who is also the face and body behind the first Caucasian geminoid. But who is Julie? And what can she tell us about her experience?

Julie Rafn Abildgaard (JRA): I study persuasive design at the centre for computer mediated epistemology at Aalborg University (EPD), an elite master program. Studying at EPD means that you’re studying persuasion but angles differ a lot. Some focus on the theoretical things, some on applied aspect of persuasive design and some want to explore the boundaries between persuasive design and emotions design or robotics – which I am doing.

We were five new students at persuasive design and any one of us should join one of the running projects in the department. [I expressed an] interest in the difference between western and eastern culture and Henrik Scharfe asked me to join the Geminoid project.

My role is to make research based on experiments and I also have to come up with ideas to make the experiments with the Geminoid and take part in the cooperation with ATR in Japan. Actually I have a lot of roles [that include] taking part in experiments, analysis and write papers about it and help build the Geminoid lab for when the Geminoid arrives to Denmark. And that’s just some of the stuff!

Tell us about your experiences in Japan

JRA: We were in Japan for eight days to do business and it was very exciting. The people at Kokoro, the manufacturing company and the people at ATR, the robot research centre were very hard working and very kind. Henrik Scharfe and the people at Kokoro worked on getting the Geminoid to look even more like Henrik and I was the first one to ‘teleop’ (teleoperation of a multi-agent reactive robotic system) with the Geminoid and that was a very good experience.

I waited for half a year to see this robot and I saw it for the first time in Tokyo on February 14. Kokoro also built the HI-1 and Geminoid-F. Geminoid-F is the female geminoid which is made from a Japanese woman and HI-1 is the one Hiroshi Ishiguro, the inventor of the Geminoid, made to look like himself.

It was very weird, I was almost shaking but I think it was because I’d waited that long to see it. At first sight, the robot was very humanlike although it was easy to see that it was a robot because it didn’t have a wig on. But it was still humanlike in a strange way so it actually took me a few seconds to feel comfortable looking at the robot and I guess what I felt was the feeling called ‘uncanny valley’. [The theory of] ‘uncanny valley’ describes the unpleasant feeling you get when something scares you when it’s not what you expected it would be. But I would underline that I only had that feeling once and after I had no problem looking at the robot. Many people think that the robot will keep scaring people but I think that my experiment with the robot shows that you get used to being around the robot after spending a short time with it.

How will you use the robot?

JRA: Well, the robot as it is now is basically meant for research. The very good mimics makes the robot usable for research regarding human nature. We want to make research in issue like – What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to have a relation to another human or a robot?  What does identity mean and what does the presence really mean. We want to look at areas such as emotional affordances in human robot interaction, ‘Blended Presence’ and study culture difference in perception of the robot and right now, I’m studying culture difference in the perception. The main purpose is of course to make research about human-robot interaction.

Part of the reason why the robot looks almost exactly like a human is that we want to find out to what extend it is appropriate to make robots look like people surrounding them and you can make very exciting and amazing studies with robots who look like humans and humanoids.

What are your expectations?

JRA: The development of the technology is expanding and therefore I think that it is very important to find out how we can differ each technology device so that it can fit into either Danish culture, Japanese culture or others.

In the research, I expect that we find out that Japanese test persons will be much more respective to the robots than Danish test persons. In Japanese religion and [society] you consider that both material things and living creatures have a soul but in western culture we don’t believe this so that, of course, makes a difference.

We’ve gotten a lot of emails from other people who are interested [in the project], also from other countries but they’re not working with Geminoid yet. Maybe in the future.

How would you feel about a robot of you?

JRA: Henrik Scharfe has joked a lot about making a geminoid that looked like me and I actually don’t know if I would feel comfortable having a copy of myself but it is a funny idea – I don’t know yet.

Is your future in the field?

JRA: I hope to get employed as a ph.d. student to continue making research in human robot interaction, but you never know. I hope to get a ph.d.

For more information, please visit the project website or the website for today’s event.

Image provided by Julie – many thanks!

The article The Girl and the Robot – A Danish Student and her Geminoid Adventure appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.