APPLE Vs SAMSUNG

APPLE AND SAMSUNG RULE SMARTPHONE MARKET

Industry trackers crowned Apple and Samsung global smartphone market kings, saying they accounted for nearly half of handsets sold in the third quarter of the year.Smartphone sales climbed 46.9 per cent to 169.2 million units from the same quarter last year as buyers increasingly opted for Internet-linked devices instead of "feature phones."The smartphone market was "dominated" by Samsung and Apple, "leaving a handful of vendors fighting over a distant third spot," Gartner principal research analyst Anshul Gupta said yesterday in written findings accompanying a report.South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung sold 55 million smartphones in the recently-ended quarter and commanded 32.5 per cent of the global market, "widening the gap with Apple," according to Gartner.Apple sold 23.6 million iPhones in the third quarter in a 36.2 per cent increase from the same period last year, Gartner reported.The company was on track for strong iPhone sales in the holiday season with the newest version of the smartphone rolling out in China and other parts of the world, according to Gupta.The Google-backed Android operating software used by Samsung and other smartphone makers continued to gain ground in the quarter, increasing its market share by 19.9 per cent to claim 72.4 per cent of the market.California-based Apple's mobile gadget software powered 13.9 per cent of the smartphones sold in the third quarter.Overall mobile phone sales declined 3.1 per cent to slightly less than 428 million units in the quarter."After two consecutive quarter of decline in mobile phone sales, demand has improved in both mature and emerging markets as sales increased sequentially," Gupta said."In mature markets, we finally saw replacement sales pick up with the launch of new devices in the quarter."While Gartner analysts expected mobile phone sales to be buoyed in the year-end holiday shopping season, they cautioned that the boost might be tempered by gift-buyers opting for tablet computers.

FOXCONN CLAIMS IPHONE 5

FOXCONN CLAIMS IPHONE 5 DEMAND IS TOO HIGH TO HANDLE

Foxconn chief Terry Gou, in a recent interview, spoke about the iPhone 5, and claimed that Foxconn is not manufacturing iPhones as fast as Apple would like it to.According to a report by Reuters, the demand for iPhones is too high, and Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group said the company's flagship Hon Hai unit is having a hard time coping with it.Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou said, “It's not easy to make the iPhones. We are falling short of meeting the huge demand.”Apple iPhone 5 pre-order stock over

Apple iPhone 5 demand is high Gou did not specify the model of iPhone he was referring to, as Foxconn manufacturers the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, and the iPhone 4. However, in all likelihood, the Foxconn chief was referring to the iPhone 5 as the device has been in short supply the world over.Apple iPhone 5, which launched on November 2 in India, had already been sold out at official resellers' stores, and those interested in purchasing the handset would have to wait for three to five weeks to get their hands on the device.Many had predicted that the iPhone 5 would not succeed in India due to its extremely high price tag, but it appears that even if one walks into an official Apple reseller store with a pocketful of cash, the chances of getting a unit are next to none.Those trying to get their hands on the handset can buy it through the grey market at the same cost as the official channels, but potential buyers would also need to wait. The wait, however, is not as long, and they can get it within a day or two of placing the order.An earlier report by The Wall Street Journal stated that “Apple has said its new iphone 5 sold faster initially than any other iPhone but sales have fallen short of some analysts’ expectations due in part to supply shortages. So what’s causing the supply shortage?  Here is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.’s take. The company, based in Taiwan with factories across China, uses the trade name Foxconn Technology Group, and assembles many Apple products including the new iPhone. “The iPhone 5 is the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled.  To make it light and thin, the design is very complicated,” said an official at the company who declined to be named. “It takes time to learn how to make this new device. Practice makes perfect. Our productivity has been improving day by day.” The report goes on to state that the factory has been taking steps to improve the situation, and address the issue of scratches present on new iPhone 5 units out of the box.

Here is a quick look at some of the highlighted features of the iPhone 5:

1.      4-inch, 326ppi Retina display at 1136 x 640 pixels,

2.      GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, LTE and Wi-Fi

3.      GPS

4.      Bluetooth

5.      8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording, 720p front-facing camera

6.      16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions