HTC Struggling Amidst Weak Smartphone Sales

HTC continues to fight an uphill battle for smartphone dominance, reporting deep losses for the first quarter amidst the rollout of its latest flagship device.

The phone maker saw losses of about $62.2 million, marking another difficult quarter for a company that can't seem to catch up to heavyweights like Apple and Samsung despite having a well-received lineup of devices.

HTC has been struggling for many quarters. Its flagship HTC One phone was intended to reboot the brand the brand, but a delayed rollout put it on the launch schedule right next to Samsung's Galaxy S4.

In October, HTC posted its first-ever quarterly loss—approximately $101 million. Rival Samsung, meanwhile, posted a record high $9.4 billion, thanks to its mobile lineup and memory chip business.

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In February, HTC cofounder Cher Wang admitted that 2013's problem was that "we only concentrated on our flagship. We missed a huge chunk of the mid-tier market," she said.

Last year, HTC also released the HTC One Mini and One Max, as well as an actual gold HTC One, and a number of mid-range devices, including the Desire 700 dual sim, Desire 601, and Desire 500 in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Now, HTC is moving ahead with the follow-up to last year's One, the HTC One (M8). The device includes a brushed-metal body and 5-inch, 1080p Gorilla Glass LCD screen and received 4.5 out of 5 stars from PCMag and our Editors' Choice.

But like last year, the HTC One (M8) will be going up against Samsung's newest device, this time the Galaxy S5, which debuts on April 11.

The One (M8) is now available on all four major U.S. carriers; prices vary by service provider. Buyers can also pick up unlocked and developer editions, on sale for $649, while a Google Play Edition is available in the Google Play store.

For more, see PCMag's reviews of the HTC One and HTC One (M8), as well as the slideshow above.

Source:

www.pcmag.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 10:51 AM in amidst, Amidst Weak, flagship, Galaxy S4, HTC, HTC Struggling, Rival Samsung, rollout, Samsung's, Smartphone Sales

Apple launches cheaper 8GB iPhone 5c

Hot on the heels of leaked pictures purporting to show an 8GB version of the iPhone 5c, Apple has put the device up for sale.

Just like the 16GB and 32GB memory versions of the iPhone 5c launched last year, the 8GB model comes with a four-inch Retina display, A6 chip, eight-megapixel camera, and 1080p video recording.

The device is now up for purchase on Apple's UK website, at a cost of £429 —£40 under the 16GB and £120 below the 32GB — or from its various European equivalents for around €550, around €50 less than the 16GB and €150 less than the 32GB. At the time of going to press, it wasn't showing on the US site.

UK mobile operator O2 also started selling the device today for £100 ($166) less than the 16GB model.

Would-be buyers can get the device for free with a £43 a month two-year contract with 8GB of data and unlimited calls a month, or pay a larger upfront cost for a cheaper monthly deal. The most expensive upfront cost comes with a £13 a month two-year plan, which gives the user 500MB of data a month and 500 call minutes. On that plan, customers will have to pay £409.99 for the device.

The 8GB iPhone 5c is showing as 'in stock' on the O2 website, in five colours. The phone is not available for outright an purchase price yet, and the device is just listed as 'coming soon' for pay as you go on the O2 website.

8GB iPhone 5c arrives. Image: O2

On O2, the 16GB iPhone 5c is available on two-year plans with the highest upfront cost set at £509, while the outright purchase price is £469 for pay-as-you-go. The respective prices for the 32GB iPhone 5c is £620 and £549.

The difference between outright and contract prices suggest the 8GB model will cost less than £400 off contract — which is £40 more than the 8GB iPhone 4S and £80 below Samsung's 32GB Galaxy S4, which is soon to be replaced by Samsung's new flagship, the Galaxy S5.

The launch of the new lower priced iPhone 5C follows lengthy speculation over the sales of the device relative to its better specced and more expensive sibling, the iPhone 5s.

Apple has never broken out sales of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s separately, however some analysts have estimated the iPhone 5c accounts for about a third of Apple's first quarter iPhone sales of 51 million. In the UK, market research firm Kantar World Panel ComTech estimated iPhone 5s sales were outstripping iPhone 5c sales by three to one in the middle of last year.

O2 UK's launch of the 8GB iPhone 5C followed reports yesterday of O2 Germany planning to launch a device that was around €60 cheaper than the 16GB model. The carrier has a blank placeholder for a third device on its iPhone 5c sales page.

We've asked Apple when the 8GB iPhone 5c will be released in other markets, and we'll update this story if the company responds.

Source: www.zdnet.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 4:04 AM in 1080p video, 5c, 8GB iPhone, 8GB version, Apple, five colours, Galaxy S4, market research, Samsung's 32GB, UK mobile

Samsung's c Will Do Your Earbuds Good

Milk -- it's not just for coffee and cereal anymore, it's now the name of yet another streaming radio service, this time from Samsung. The full name of the service is called Milk Music, and where it trumps some of the competition is by being both free to use and free of ads -- a pretty potent combination if you're going to throw your hat in the crowded streaming ring.

"Milk introduces a fresh approach to music that reflects our innovation leadership and our focus on creating best-in-class consumer experiences," said Gregory Lee, president and CEO of Samsung Telecommunications America and Samsung Electronics North America Headquarters. "We’re offering consumers amazing, rich music experiences built around what matters most to them and their lifestyle."

This is not an entirely 'from the ground-up' effort. Milk Music is powered by Slacker, which is one of the more robust and fleshed out streaming services available. As such, users gain access to a growing music catalog of 13 million songs spread across 200 genre-based and curated stations.

You have a bit of fine grain control over what types of music Milk splashes your eardrums with. Each station has three sliders you can adjust, one each for Popular,, New, and Favorite. On a broader level, you're presented with an interactive dial of music genres -- Dance, Chill, Alt/Indie, Country, and so forth -- which you can customize by creating your own preferred stations.

So, what's the catch? Unfortunately, you were right to be skeptical, at least a little bit. The catch for now is that Milk Music is exclusive to Galaxy device owners. Specifically, Milk Music works with Galaxy S4, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Mega, and Galaxy S4 mini handsets, along with the Galaxy S5 when it hits retail.

If you're interested and have the right gear, you can download Milk Music from Google Play.

News Source: hothardware.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 9:45 AM in CEO, Earbuds Good, Galaxy S4, Headquarters, Milk Music, North America, Samsung's, Slacker, streaming, Telecommunications

Samsung Galaxy S4 gets price-cut, now retailing for INR 29,860

With Galaxy S5 set to reach the country on April 11, Samsung India has reduced the price of Galaxy S4 smartphone. The phone is now retailing for just INR 29,860 at various e-retailers. To remind you, the phone was earlier selling for closer to INR 34,000.

Samsung’s official India e-store is yet to update its pricing but we expect them to do so over the weekend or next week. At the new pricing, Galaxy S4 is a great buy and will be competing directly with Google Nexus 5, which retails for a similar pricing.

To remind you, Galaxy S4 was originally launched in April 2013 in the country for a price-tag of INR 41,500. The phone features Exynos 5 Octa processor, 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED display, 2GB of RAM and Android 4.2.2. Samsung India has already released the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for the phone, which is available over-the-air.

Although, it is no word on the pricing of Galaxy S5 right now but the phone is expected to retail around INR 40,000 at launch. As always, we will let you know as soon as we hear something concrete.

Here is a quick recap of Samsung Galaxy S4 specifications

• HSPA+ 42Mbps support
• Display: 5 inch Full HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) display, 441 ppi
• 1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor
• Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) (KitKat update available)
• 13-megapixel auto focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BIS
• 2-megapixel front camera, Full HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BIS
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (HT80), GPS / GLONASS , NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), IR LED (Remote Control), MHL 2.0
• Sensor: Accelerometer, RGB light, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer, Temperature & Humidity, Gesture
• Memory: 16GB, microSD slot (up to 64GB)
• 2GB of RAM
• Dimension: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm, 130g
• Battery: 2,600 mAh

News Source:  www.androidos.in

Posted by Editorial Team on 6:52 AM in Exynos, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, HD Super, INR 29860, official India, retailing, S4 gets, Samsung Galaxy, smartphone