Tech News 2012: Apple drops out of Top 5 in China, Galaxy S III tops iPhone 4S in Q3 (Mobile Phone Repair, Auckland)

The iPhone is the most common smartphone almost everywhere in the world... almost. According to analysts at Canalys, in the third quarter this year Apple dropped out of the Top 5 smartphone makers in the Chinese market.

And it's an important market - according to Canalys again, China became a bigger market than the US earlier this year.

Samsung maintains a tentative lead in China holding 14% of the market, with local maker Lenovo breathing down its neck with 13%.

To rub salt in the wound, Samsung's Galaxy S III took the title of "World's best-selling smartphone in Q3 2012," according to Strategy Analytics. There were 18 million Galaxy S III units sold and "only" 16.2 million iPhone 4S phones. Of course, iPhone 4S sales were down in Q3 because everyone was waiting for the iPhone 5 to launch.

Anyway, back to China. The third place there is surprising - it's held by Yulong, who are not known outside of China, but managed to score partnerships with the country's to major carriers - China Telecom and China Mobile.

Two better known brands round up the Top 5 - ZTE and Huawei. The last three companies have around 10% market share each. Apple is currently sixth with 8% (it had 9% in Q2).

In Q3 this year, there were around 50 million smartphones shipped in China, which is over a third of all smartphones shipped in the whole world for the three month period.

The growth in China comes primarily from cheap models ($70-$120) and the iPhone 4S can't compete with its price of $713 (the iPhone 5 is yet to launch in China, probably in December).

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Latest App News 2012: Microsoft Office app coming to iPhone, iPad and Android in 2013 (Dr Mobiles Limited)

Microsoft is developing a much rumoured, much anticipated Mobile Office suite for iOS and Android, reports have confirmed.

According to “several sources close to Microsoft’s plans”, the software giant is hard at work in bringing its Word, PowePoint and Excel applications to the rival platforms, despite claims that it might decide to shun them to give its own Windows Phone operating system a competitive advantage.

Microsoft has already told The Verge that the news is in fact true, stating: “Office will work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android."

A press release from its Czech Republic arm confirmed that Office for iOS app will be available from March 2013, followed by an Android app in May. Users will require a Microsoft account for access to a read-only version of the app and a Microsoft 365 subscription for editing functionality.

SkyDrive integration for synchronising and accessing files over cloud is also expected.

What remains unknown is whether this will be a scaled back mobile edition or full-fledged software that features the sort of advanced capabilities available on the desktop applications. In any case, the news should be boon for iFans and Fandroids who like to work on the move.

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Tech News Leak: iPad 5 could replace iPad 4 next year, hints analyst. (Dr Mobiles Limited, Apple, iPhone Repair, Auckland)

The iPad 4’s stay at the cutting-edge of tablet tech might be as short as five months, an industry analyst forecasts, as Apple becomes embroiled in a slate specs-war with its Android rivals.

At the iPad mini press call earlier this week, Apple surprised tech-watchers by also unveiling a fourth-generation version of its top-end tablet – a mere eight months after the current third-generation iPad hit store shelves.

However, anyone eyeing the iPad 4 when it officially goes on sale next month may want to consider that the latest model might itself be superannuated in a few months time.

That’s because, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Ci Kuo at least, the rising tide of rival tablets will put pressure on Cupertino to continue sweetening the appeal of its top-of-the-range slates, with the result that refresh cycles will get much more regular.

That suggests we could get an iPad 5 as soon as early next year - most likely in February, which has until now been marked by a new iPad every year since the first model dropped back in 2009.

In a note to investors, Kuo stated: "Though the iPad mini is expected to be successful, we think launching the lighter, thinner 9.7-inch iPad as quickly as possible matters more for Apple strategically.”

Any new device is however likely to be an iterative update of the iPad 4, which is itself a relatively minor update from the current-gen model.

The slate retains its predecessor’s appearance, and only major changes are the addition of 4G connectivity, twice the processing power via an A6X processor and the same Lightning dock connector as the iPhone 5.

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Smartphone News Update 2012: Samsung Galaxy S4 to feature Exynos 5450 processor (Samsung Galaxy S3, Repair, unlock, Auckland)

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The next iteration of Samsung’s flagship Android smartphone, the handset unofficially dubbed the Galaxy S4, will sport an Exynos 5 series chipset, rumours suggest.

Shadowy sources familiar with the South Korean phone-maker’s plans claim that the S4 will be powered by the next-generation Exynos 5450 processor with four Cortex-A15 cores at 2GHz and a staggering eight-core Mali-658 GPU.

Just to put these into perspective, the newly unveiled Google Nexus 10 tablet is powered by an Exynos 5 chip with two Cortex-A15 cores at 1.7GHz and a Mali-604 GPU (same as the new Chromebook), making the mooted specs of the S4 nothing short of jaw-dropping.

According to the tipsters, to counter the battery drain effect that such a powerful chip can have, Samsung will underclock it to 1.7GHz per core. To further conserve power it’ll use an energy-efficient 28nm manufacturing process, in addition to on-die LTE support.

Although it’s highly unlikely given that flagship Galaxy kits have reached A-list status much like the iPhone, which now has its own event, there’s chatter that the S4 might make its first appearance at the Mobile World Congress expo in February.

What’s more probable is that Samsung will announce the handset at one of its Unpacked press gatherings in March at the earliest.

Keep your hats on for more S4 news and rumours in the months ahead.