Why Apple's IPhone 7 Release Changes Little In The Smartphone Market

Date: Thursday, September 8, 2016 10:21 PM EDT

Apple (AAPL) recently announced the iPhone 7, which you can pre-order now. The basic cost is $649, and dependent on the carrier you choose, your monthly payment could vary. The phone packs in some interesting new features which I will review here. While the smartphone technology is advancing, very little is expected to change in the mobile market as the result of the new iPhone features. Apple will continue to dominate profits in the area, while Android will continue to dominate in the overall number of handsets in production. Users will have a growing choice of options, and finally I have decided to stop using iPhone products. 

Apple currently dominates with 92% of smartphone market profits. This is more astounding when you consider that Android (phone OS owned by Google) dominates the market share in terms of phones sold. See graph (courtesy of KPCB):

Growth rates have indicated that smart phone saturation is neigh. Currently, $5 billion people have some form of smart phone. Or perhaps some of those people have multiple models of different smart phones. Either way, there isn't a whole lot of room for growth. 

Apple must be doing something right with their iPhones. While various manufacturers of Android-based phones are fighting a brutal price and features war, Apple strolls along calling it's own design shots while raking in the cash. Simply put, Apple has seemingly been able to command outrageous premiums compared to the market and staying out of the fray of price decreases that have characterized Android's dominance of mobile market growth. 

It is easy to see why the iPhone is so profitable. While many smartphone manufacturers allow external memory to be added at whatever costs the market currently offers them at, Apple asks $100 for each additional 100GB of memory. Want the top of the line iPhone 7? Well, then you just spent $200 more because the iPhone doesn't allow external memory to be added. Other manufacturers not only cannot charge that type of premium for a simple memory upgrade, they often lose memory sales to the plethora of memory manufacturers in the market that are busy bidding down the price of memory to the consumer. 

The author is not invested in any funds mentioned in the article. 

The author is not invested in any funds mentioned in the article. 

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Source: Why Apple's IPhone 7 Release Changes Little In The Smartphone Market

Samsung releases September Android security updates for Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

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Samsung is rolling out September Android updates containing all security patches starting with its flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones. Two key features of the updates are Samsung Cloud and Gallery app that were first introduced in the Galaxy Note 7.

Both the updates were rolled out as part of a previous update, but only a few users received it. With the latest roll-out, Samsung has made the features available for all S7 users. In terms of enhancements, the Samsung Cloud will allow users to synchronise, back-up and restore information stored on their phones.

Once updated, it would appear as Galaxy Cloud, Samsung Backup and Restore or, Personal data management, depending on the Galaxy model. With Samsung cloud you can sync and create back-up for multiples features such as contacts, calendar and more. The Gallery app puts photos under different categories.

The update brings build version XXU1BPHJ and Android security patch level 1 September, according to Galaxy Club. To get the latest build manually head over to Settings >> About device and then press Download. Sammobile has reported that the update is currently seeding across Europe.

Samsung has also released details of the Android security update for September. Along with Google patches, Samsung has fixed patches for nine vulnerabilities and exposures to improve security of Galaxy phones. One of the vulnerabilities that Samsung fixed had affected devices powered with Exynos 7420 chip. As the company explains, "The vulnerability exists due to a null pointer dereference on fimg2d driver. The patch verifies if the object is null before dereferencing it."

Source: Samsung releases September Android security updates for Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

HTC releases Desire 10 video teaser hinting at camera

NEW DELHI: HTC has once again teased its Desire 10 smartphone , which is expected to launch on September 20. The teaser comes in the form of a short video clip posted on the company's YouTube account.

That said, the YouTube video doesn't reveal many details about the device. It just shows a glimpse of what seems like the camera panel of the device. After that, the number '150' appears in the video. What it exactly means is open to interpretation.

Last week, the Taiwanese tech giant released a teaser video with a title, "It's coming. 09.20 #BeEdgier". The video shows a smartphone with a metal body design, similar to HTC's Desire 10 Pro smartphone, which itself leaked in images online last month.

HTC's unannounced handset is expected to feature a metal unibody design and a fingerprint sensor at the back.

As per rumours, the smartphone will have a 5.1-inch Quad HD display of 1440x2560 pixel resolution. It is expected to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 process or, paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

HTC may launch Desire 10 Pro smartphone on September 20

HTC One A9s at the ongoing IFA 2016. And now, the company has released a new teaser video with a title that reads, "It's coming. 09.20 #BeEdgier". The video shows a smartphone with a metal body similar to the company's Desire 10 Pro smartphone, which leaked in images online last month.

HTC is also expected to launch its affordable Desire 10 Lifestyle smartphone. Like to have a 5.5-inch HD display of 720x1280 pixel resolution, the smartphone is expected to be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, further expandable via microSD cards. For imaging duties, the Desire 10 Lifestyle will likely sport a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front camera. Dual front-facing speakers powered by Boomsound are also expected. HTC launched its latest mid-range smartphone - One A9s, at the IFA 2016 in Berlin, Germany. It has a 5-inch HD display of 720x1280 pixel resolution. The display is made scratch resistant with a coating of Corning Gorilla Glass. Powering the device is an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor paired with 2GB/3GB of RAM. The smartphone offers 16GB/32GB of internal storage, further expandable up to 2TB via microSD cards. The handset runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system topped with the company's Sense UI. The One A9s sports a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front facing camera for selfies.

>

Source: HTC releases Desire 10 video teaser hinting at camera

MICROSOFT SURFACE PHONE: IS NEW WINDOWS SMARTPHONE ABOUT TO BE ANNOUNCED?

#Microsoft #SurfacePhone – Microsoft Surface Phone: Is New Windows Smartphone About To Be Announced? : Forget about the Surface Pro 5; it looks like Microsoft could actually be announcing the product that many have been waiting for the most – the Surface Phone. iTech Post has the news.

"Microsoft might use this year's IFA conference in Berlin as a good occasion for an official announcement about the Surface Phone series, its second-generation smartphone lineup."

The article adds that the phone could actually go on sale in October. However, they also say that the Surface Pro 5 could be announced in October, which is unlikely since most other sources point to a release next spring.

The article also suggests that the Surface Phone could come in three different options. One would have 32GB of storage with 3GB of RAM, and another would have 128GB of storage with 6GB RAM. The largest configuration would have 500GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.

Can the Microsoft Surface Phone compete with the iPhone? [Image via Daryl Deino]

Many other sources point to a 5.5-inch AMOLED display, while others say the display will be 5.7-inches. It's also suggested that the phone would run on a mobile processor such as a Snapdragon or Intel ATOM CPU. BGR even posted alleged leaked photos, but wasn't too thrilled about Microsoft's upcoming phone.

"It's also a painfully clear indication that you shouldn't purchase a Windows-powered smartphone, no matter how appealing it looks. And the new Surface phone certainly looks appealing."

The opinion piece adds that people want to use Windows on a laptop, not a mobile phone. Some of the commenters at the end of the article agree that a phone running Windows may not be a good idea.

"The Windows mobile system needs far more refinement than it currently has, but MS has had years to refine it. It should be a supreme system by now. The fact that it isn't is why it isn't growing in the market," says Marty.

"Microsoft has had a mobile phone OS for decades and its stunk the whole time. Memory management has been a disaster for them since Windows CE," claims RAS. Still, there is a lot of excitement for the Surface Phone on Twitter.

Source: MICROSOFT SURFACE PHONE: IS NEW WINDOWS SMARTPHONE ABOUT TO BE ANNOUNCED?

Samsung recalls Note 7 phones

SEOUL, South Korea -- Samsung recalled its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on Friday after finding some of their batteries exploded or caught fire.

Samsung's Note 7s are being pulled from shelves in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States, just two weeks after the product's release. Customers who already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones in about two weeks, said Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business.

He apologized for causing inconvenience and concern to customers.

The recall, the first for the new smartphone, comes at a crucial moment in Samsung's mobile business. Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone next week and Samsung's mobile division was counting on momentum from the Note 7's strong reviews and higher-than-expected demand.

Samsung said it had confirmed 35 instances of Note 7s catching fire or exploding. There have been no reports of injuries related to the problem.

The company said it has not found a way to tell exactly which phones may endanger users out of the 2.5 million Note 7s already sold globally. It estimated that about 1 in 42,000 units may have a faulty battery.

Samsung's official statement was silent on whether customers should stop using their phones, and it didn't say whether the problems happened while the phones were charging or during normal use.

This summer, Samsung ran into a quality-control issue with another smartphone, a niche model called the Galaxy S7 Active. Consumer Reports found that the phone didn't live up to its water-resistance promises. Samsung said that relatively few phones were affected and that it had identified and fixed the manufacturing problem. Samsung said it would replace devices under warranty if it failed, but it declined to let customers swap phones otherwise or to issue a broader recall.

On the Note 7, after complaints surfaced online, Samsung found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fire. Koh refused to name the supplier.

"There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process, so it was very difficult to figure out," Koh told reporters at a news conference. "It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache. Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety."

Customers' reports of scorched phones prompted Samsung to conduct extra quality controlling tests and delay shipments of the Note 7s this week before the recall.

South Korean high school teacher Park Soo-Jung said she had rushed to buy the new phone, ordering one before its release and then activating it on Aug. 19.

The 34-year-old living in the port city of Busan said that she was bruised when she rushed out of bed after her phone burst into flames, filling her bedroom with smoke.

She's having second thoughts about buying another newly released device, especially after losing all her personal data stored in the destroyed Note 7, she said.

"If the exploded phone had burned near my head, I would not have been able to write this post," she said in a popular online forum Thursday, where she shared a photo of the scorched Note 7 and described dousing the flames.

China is not affected by the sales suspension. The company said it used a battery made by another supplier for the Note 7s sold in China.

Business on 09/03/2016

Source: Samsung recalls Note 7 phones

FBI Releases Secretary Clinton Email Investigation Files – Clinton: “I Can’t Remember”, “I Don’t Recall”…

Missing all the hardware, missing a dozen phones, missing iPads, missing mobile devices; an inability to remember anything; a belief that everyone else was responsible…. that's just the beginning of the information found within the FBI files released today (full pdf's below):

The FBI released today pages from the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server following pressure to release the documents.   The FBI released a summary of Clinton's July 2 FBI interview and also a summary of the FBI investigation itself.

DISCOVERY ONE: Clinton Deleted Her Private Email Archive "A Few Weeks After The New York TimesDisclosed" The Private Server. Viser Tweet: "A few weeks after the NYT disclosed that Hillary Clinton had a private email account, her archive inbox was deleted." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY TWO: Clinton Did Not Know The (C) Mark Meant Classified And Did Not "Pay Attention To Diff Classification Levels." Seitz-Wald Tweet: "Clinton said she didn't know what (c) mark meant, didn't pay attn to diff classification levels, treated all srsly." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY THREE: "There Were 17,448 Work-Related Emails That Clinton Didn't Turn Over To The State Inspector General." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY FOUR: As Secretary Of State Clinton "Had 13 Mobile Devices And 5 iPads" With Her Private Email.Viser Tweet: "Hillary Clinton, who said she had her private email for convenience, had 13 mobile devices and 5 iPads, according to FBI." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY FIVE: Clinton's Lawyers Could Not Locate The Mobile Devices With Her Email Address.. Viser Tweet: 'FBI found 13 total mobile devices associated with Clinton's 2 phone numbers. Her lawyers couldn't locate the devices" (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY SIX: "The FBI Determined That Clinton Brought Her Blackberry Into A Secure Area At State, Which Is Prohibited." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY SEVEN: Clinton's Email Archive Was Transferred Onto A Personal Gmail Address To Help Archive The Records. Zapotosky Tweet: "In 2014, in an effort to transfer an archive of Clinton emails from a laptop onto a server, someone used a personal Gmail address to help" (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY EIGHT: Clinton Deleted Her Emails Because She Thought "She Didn't Need Them Anymore."Cilizza Tweet: 'Clinton told the FBI she deleted her emails because she didn't need them anymore not to avoid FOIA"(Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY NINE: Someone Tried To Hack Into Clinton's iCloud Account. Viser Tweet: "The FBI found that someone was trying to hack into Hillary Clinton's iCloud account. They were unsuccessful." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

DISCOVERY TEN: "Hillary Clinton Sent Out An Email To All State Employees Warning Them Against Using Personal Email Addresses." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

BONUS DISCOVERY: "The Phrase 'Could Not Recall' Or 'Did Not Recall' Appears 27 Times In Hillary Clinton FBI Interview Transcript." (Twitter.com, 9/2/16)

File #1 of Document release:

View this document on Scribd

File #2 – The Summary of Interview:

View this document on Scribd Below is the list of things Clinton could not recall in the FBI interview, as compiled by Lifezette:

When she received security clearance

Being briefed on how to handle classified material

How many times she used her authority to designate items classified

Any briefing on how to handle very top-secret "Special Access Program" material

How to select a target for a drone strike

How the data from her mobile devices was destroyed when she switched devices

The number of times her staff was given a secure phone

Why she didn't get a secure Blackberry

Receiving any emails she thought should not be on the private system

Did not remember giving staff direction to create private email account

Getting guidance from state on email policy

Who had access to her Blackberry account

The process for deleting her emails

Ever getting a message that her storage was almost full

Anyone besides Huma Abedin being offered an account on the private server

Being sent information on state government private emails being hacked

Receiving cable on State Dept personnel securing personal email accounts

Receiving cable on Bryan Pagliano upgrading her server

Using an iPad mini

An Oct. 13, 2012, email on Egypt with Clinton pal Sidney Blumenthal

Jacob Sullivan using personal email

State Department protocol for confirming classified information in media reports

Every briefing she received after suffering concussions

Being notified of a FOIA request on Dec. 11, 2012

Being read out of her clearance

Any further access to her private email account from her State Department tenure after switching to her HRC office.com account.

Secretary Clinton could not recall when she received her security clearance or whether it was carried over from her time in the Senate. She also could not recall any briefing or training by the State Department "related to the retention of federal records or the handling of classified information."

Secretary Clinton said she was briefed on Special Access Programs – the top-level classification of U.S. intelligence – but could not recall the specific training or briefings on how to handle that information.

Donald Trump Campaign

Source: FBI Releases Secretary Clinton Email Investigation Files – Clinton: "I Can't Remember", "I Don't Recall"…

Report: Google cans Project Ara, its ambitious attempt to build the perfect modular smartphone

Project Ara, the ambitious modular phone concept the product of Google's Advanced Technology and Project division, has been shelved indefinitely. That's according to Reuters, which reported on Thursday evening that the Mountain View, California-based company had unceremoniously suspended the years-long project in an effort to "streamline" its hardware division.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise. As late as May of this year, Google publicly projected a consumer Ara hardware launch in the first half of 2017. And at the company's annual I/O developer conference this year, Rafa Camargo, Google's engineering lead, demonstrated a functional developer version of an Ara phone.

Related: Google delays modular Project Ara phone launch, but it didn't fail the drop test

The company has decided to pursue an alternative strategy, Reuters reports. Rather than produce and release an Ara smartphone itself, it will "work with partners" to bring the project's technology to market — potentially through licensing agreements.

Project Ara was initially conceived as an easy-to-use platform with an intuitive means of swapping a phone's individual components. An Ara phone, as originally envision, would be wholly modular in construction: everything from the processor to the display would be upgradeable, swappable, or otherwise changeable.

"Most people do not upgrade their phone to get the next processor — they do not even know what that is — but they do it to get the next best camera, or fingerprint sensor, or better speaker, all in one device," Camargo told Digital Trends in an interview this year. "[We developed] a new set of technologies to create a more seamless modular experience for users …"

Related: Google Project Ara tablet rumors and news 

Google's vision was ambitious, to say the least. The company said the device was designed for the estimated "six billion people" in the world who lack a smartphone: the five billion who own feature phones, and the one billion who lack a phone of any kind. It was to be affordable — the company said consumer Project Ara starter kits. which would comprise a frame, display, battery, CPU, and Wi-Fi chip, would retail for no more than $50. And it would be "open": Google hoped to spur "hundreds of thousands of developers" to produce Ara modules from the conventional (e.g., game controller buttons and pico projectors) to the exotic (cutom medical sensors and infrared scanners).

Project Ara was announced in 2013 by phone maker Motorola, which Google had then just acquired. In 2014, the Ara team unveiled a bootable prototype at Google's I/O 2014 conference, and in 2015 launched a refinement of that design — dubbed Spiral 2 — that it intended to test publically in Peurto Rico. It later scrapped those plans, opting instead, it said, to host pilot tests in "select locations" within the continental United States.

The Project Ara team refined the platform's design in the meantime. Technical roadblocks prevented the sort of no-holds-barred modularity for which it'd hoped — the team was forced to settle on a "base frame" design comprising a mainboard and fixed display, CPU, GPU, antennas, battery, and sensors upon which mods attached. And the modules, which were planned to be 3D-printed, were simplified in form.

Related: Google's first Project Ara modular phone will arrive in 2017

Despite the ongoing changes, the newest iteration of Project Ara seemed impressively polished. And Google announced in May that companies including Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Harman, E-Ink, Cohero Health intended support the platform with mods of their own designs.

Project Ara's reported demise comes as Taiwanese phone maker HTC's modular effort, the HTC 10, performs poorly — following the handset's debut in the first half of this year, the company posted its fifth consecutive quarterly loss. And it comes on the heels of Lenovo's modular smartphone, the Moto Z.

Source: Report: Google cans Project Ara, its ambitious attempt to build the perfect modular smartphone