Digital Lifescapes

Messaging on smartphones is assumed to be secure, but recent reports of new threats to user data integrity has created a renewed interest in the BlackBerry BBM robust messaging service. Meanwhile, independent software developers will offer enhanced app-based encryption solutions for other smartphones. Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest global market study of short message service (SMS) and multimedia messaging service (MMS) security hardware and software -- such as SMS firewalls and mobile messaging security platforms. "The popularity of SMS and MMS has soared over the last decade, but carriers around the globe are just now beginning to seriously evaluate and deploy mobile messaging security solutions, forced by economic, regulatory, and attack conditions," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst at Infonetics Research . Infonetics has identified an important trend that is a result of more government regulatory pressure across the globe. Major mobile netw...

Bring your own device (BYOD) to work policies have already changed the mix of mobile phones being used in the workplace. ABI Research concluded that Samsung is the top ranked enterprise smartphone vendor, followed closely by Apple -- with BlackBerry rounding out the top three. The ABI vendor matrix ranks companies based on scoring in Implementation and Innovation categories. Nine smartphone OEMs were compared on eighteen criteria including workspace management solutions, partnerships and business customer adoption. Samsung's large and diversified partner network coupled with it being the first Google Android OEM to offer an integrated enterprise solution pushed the company to the number one spot. The vendor matrix score separating Samsung and Apple was less than a single point. Apple received extremely high marks in Implementation due to high iOS smartphone adoption by business users and because its smartphones are the most activated device within EMM/MDM platforms. Samsung...

​There is no dispute about the most accomplished global smartphone ecosystem. Recent market research shows that Google Android accounted for 80 percent of all smartphones shipped worldwide in Q2 2013. The next largest ecosystem, Apple’s iOS, reached its lowest share in three years -- with 13.6 percent of smartphones shipped in Q2, according to the latest market study by ​ABI Research. The slow race for a distant third place between Windows Phone (3.5 percent) and BlackBerry 10 (1.2 percent) is driven by the efforts of beleaguered companies -- Nokia and BlackBerry. "When you consider that even the Apple iOS ecosystem has lost share for three consecutive quarters, it is hard to envision a third ecosystem reaching critical mass, especially when its supporting OEMs are in dire straits," said Michael Morgan, senior analyst at ABI Research . Driven by billions of dollars in marketing and research, Nokia has pushed Windows Phone shipments from 6.5 percent shipment share in Q...

The number of smartphone shipments reached 230 million in Q2 2013, representing a year-over-year growth of almost 50 percent from Q2 2012 and quarter-over-quarter growth of nearly 13 percent, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research . Samsung increased its smartphone market share by shipping an estimated 72 million smartphones and accounting for approximately 31 percent of all smartphone shipments in the quarter. Even though Samsung posted another record quarter in terms of device shipments, they admitted slowing sales of their high-end smartphones including the Galaxy S4, with quarterly growth driven by mid-low end smartphones. Samsung is estimated to have shipped 20 million Galaxy S4 in the first two months after its April 2013 launch, but subsequent sales are believed to have tailed off. iPhone Sales are Up, But Profits are Down Likewise, Apple boasted iPhone sales showing strong y-o-y growth – up by 20 percent to more than 31 million – but saw y-o-y profit...

The mobile communications sector continues to advance -- with new handheld devices driving mobile internet usage. Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments reached almost 200 million in Q1 2013, representing a growth of 30 percent from the same quarter in 2012. Samsung increased its smartphone market share by shipping an estimated 68 million smartphones and accounting for approximately 34 percent of all smartphone shipments in the quarter. Samsung announced a steady pace in sales of the Galaxy SIII, and improved sales of the Note II for the quarter. However, despite profits falling for the first time in a decade for Apple, they posted better than expected iPhone sales at around 37.4 million -- that's 7 percent growth compared to the same quarter in 2012. With another product due soon, Juniper has joined other industry analysts who believe that Apple needs to innovate. The next product release must help Apple maintain their market position. Moreover...

comScore released data about the key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for the three month average period ending February 2013. 133.7 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones -- 57 percent mobile market penetration -- during the three months ending in February, that's up by 8 percent since November 2012. Apple ranked as the top OEM with 38.9 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers -- that's up 3.9 percentage points from November. Samsung ranked second with 21.3 percent market share -- that's up by 1 percentage point -- followed by HTC with 9.3 percent share, Motorola with 8.4 percent share and LG with 6.8 percent share. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 51.7 percent market share, while Apple’s share increased 3.9 percentage points to 38.9 percent. BlackBerry ranked third with 5.4 percent share, followed by Microsoft (3.2 percent) and Symbian (0.5 percent). The market study currently includes the following: 8 countries of rep...

Smartphone shipments exceeded 200 million units in Q4 2012, with the annual total reaching 671 million -- representing a growth of almost 42 percent year-over-year, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research . Samsung continued its phenomenal growth over the year shipping a record 63 million smartphones and accounting for over 30 percent of all smartphone shipments in the quarter. Once again, sales of the Galaxy S3 drove growth, with sales surpassing 40 million in November 2012. However, despite the holiday season boost and iPhone 5 sales, Apple posted lower than expected iPhone sales -- at around 47.8 million, but still a record quarter for the company. With Samsung leading the market, Juniper believes that Apple will need to continue focusing on innovation, while retaining its brand leadership. Meanwhile, Nokia shipped 6.6 million smart devices in the fourth quarter, with the new Lumia device line still to make a significant impact with shipments of 4.4 million....

Businesses smartphone users are moving away from BlackBerry, and the rise of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon is making mobile device management (MDM) one of the hottest markets for enterprise IT, according to the latest market study by Ovum. The challenge for already busy CIOs is how to manage and secure data, while exploiting the innovation and productivity benefits that embracing the major smartphone platforms can deliver. In its latest Solutions Guide, Ovum reveals that no longer is MDM purely the domain of specialist enterprise mobility vendors. Vendors from a variety of backgrounds across the IT and telecoms space are looking to grab clients in this market -- as it becomes a gateway to a larger enterprise managed mobility sector. The guide also highlights strong support for remote device security capabilities across a range of mobile operating systems. However, limitations of the major operating system (OS) platforms are preventing vendors and enterprises from im...

comScore released data on key trends in the U.S. mobile phone services industry -- during the three month average period ending July 2010, compared to the preceding three-month average. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and smartphone operating system (OS) platforms in the U.S., according to their share of current mobile subscribers age 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber's primary mobile phone. The July report found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 23.1 percent market share -- while RIM led among smartphone platforms with 39.9 percent market share. 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 23.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, up one percentage point from the preceding three month period. LG ranked second with 21.2 percent share, followed by Motorola (19.8 percent share), R...

Google announced the most anticipated mobile phone since the Apple iPhone launch. The Nexus One is based on Google's open source mobile operating system (Android), and their OS has clearly received strong support from manufacturers and mobile operators. In-Stat says that it believes the smartphone stakes are high. Gone are the days when the basis of competition was solely defined by hardware. Software is becoming the key in defining the user experience. However, the focus is now shifting from the OS to the device application software. In fact, enabling third-party applications has increased importance in the competitive mobile OS landscape. In-stat believes that when independent software developers create or port-over applications, that can greatly impact the success of the handset platform and the market opportunity for the carrier. If, however, a particular mobile phone OS does not garner enough independent developer support, then the result could be disastrous. In fact, as ment...