Tag Archives: mobile

FCC, Mobile Carriers on Board with Text-to-911 Service

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Text to 911

All four major wireless carriers in the U.S. are committed to rolling out text-to-911 emergency service.

Soon you'll be able to text 911 for help from your mobile home, regardless of whether you're a T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint subscriber. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that all four wireless carriers have agreed to accelerate the availability of text-to-911, with major deployment expected in 2013. They've also committed to nationwide availability by May 15, 2014.

The push for text-to-911 isn't meant as a replacement or substitute for voice calling. Instead, it's for situations where a voice call might endanger the caller, or when a person with disabilities is unable to make a voice call. Even after this rolls out, the FCC encourages calling 911 in emergency situations, if possible.

"Access to 911 must catch up with how consumers communicate in the 21st century – and today, we are one step closer towards that vital goal. Last year I announced a comprehensive plan to accelerate the transition to Next Generation 911, including text-to- 911, and the FCC has acted to advance this effort," Genachowski said in a statement.

Sometime in the future, you'll also be able to send photos and vidoes via text to 911. However, there's no time frame for when those features will be rolled out.

To ensure people know if their text went through or not, wireless carriers have also committed to providing an automatic "bounce back" text message, which will notify consumers if their attempt to text 911 failed because the service is not yet available in their area.

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Jelly Bean Now Powers 6.7 Percent of Android Devices

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Android Pie Chart

As Jelly Bean increases its footprint, the vast majority of Android users are still rocking early builds of the open source OS.

It appears Google's latest major version of Android is getting off to a relatively quick start, at least compared to prior versions. With another month in the books, Android 4.1 and 4.2 (Jelly Bean) now collectively account for 6.7 percent of all active Android devices, which are devices that have accessed Google Play within a 14-day period, according to Google's Android Developer channel.

Jelly Bean was released to the Android Open Source Project on July 9, 2012, with Google's own Nexus 7 tablet (built by Asus) getting first dibs. Five months later, Jelly Bean has carved out a nice slice of the market, though it still has a ways to go before it catches up with Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.x), which accounts for 27.5 percent of all active Android devices.

Still to this day, Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x) is installed on the majority of Android devices, with a 50.8 percent share of the market. Froyo (Android 2.2) accounts for another 10.3 percent, while Eclair (Android 2.1) is on 2.7 percent of Android devices. All in all, nearly two-thirds (64.2 percent) of all Android devices are still running Gingerbread or earlier.

Look for the scales to tip more towards recently builds as newer smartphones continue to penetrate the market. That's especially true now that Android tablets are fairly affordable.

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Jelly Bean Now Powers 6.7 Percent of Android Devices

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Android Pie Chart

As Jelly Bean increases its footprint, the vast majority of Android users are still rocking early builds of the open source OS.

It appears Google's latest major version of Android is getting off to a relatively quick start, at least compared to prior versions. With another month in the books, Android 4.1 and 4.2 (Jelly Bean) now collectively account for 6.7 percent of all active Android devices, which are devices that have accessed Google Play within a 14-day period, according to Google's Android Developer channel.

Jelly Bean was released to the Android Open Source Project on July 9, 2012, with Google's own Nexus 7 tablet (built by Asus) getting first dibs. Five months later, Jelly Bean has carved out a nice slice of the market, though it still has a ways to go before it catches up with Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.x), which accounts for 27.5 percent of all active Android devices.

Still to this day, Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x) is installed on the majority of Android devices, with a 50.8 percent share of the market. Froyo (Android 2.2) accounts for another 10.3 percent, while Eclair (Android 2.1) is on 2.7 percent of Android devices. All in all, nearly two-thirds (64.2 percent) of all Android devices are still running Gingerbread or earlier.

Look for the scales to tip more towards recently builds as newer smartphones continue to penetrate the market. That's especially true now that Android tablets are fairly affordable.

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IDC Increases Tablet Estimate; Sees Market Doubling by 2016

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Surface TabletThe tablet market is scorching hot, there's no arguing that. But does it have the legs to go the distance? International Data Corporation (IDC) believes it does, at least for the next several years. Tablets are selling so well that IDC just lifted its sales forecast for every year from now until 2016, at which time tablet shipments are forecast to more than double over where they're at today.

IDC noted a "strong competitive landscape" as the reason for increasing its 2012 forecast for the worldwide tablet market to 122.3 million, up from its previous forecast of 117.1 million. In 2013, IDC now believes the tablet market will scale to 172.4 million, and by 2016, shipments should reach 282.7 million, up from a previous forecast of 261.4 million units.

"Tablets continue to captivate consumers, and as the market shifts toward smaller, more mobile screen sizes and lower prices points, we expect demand to accelerate in the fourth quarter and beyond," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Tablets at IDC. "Android tablets are gaining traction in the market thanks to solid products from Google, Amazon, Samsung, and others. And Apple's November iPad mini launch, along with its surprise refresh of the full-sized iPad, positions the company well for a strong holiday season."

Apple's still the big winner with its iPad line, which currently holds a 53.8 percent share of the market, according to IDC's data. Android is in second place with a 42.7 percent share, Windows is in third with 2.9 percent of the market, and all others account for less than 1 percent (0.6 percent).

By 2016, IDC figures both iOS and Android will give up a bit of market share to make room for Windows. In fact, Windows is the only tablet platform IDC predicts will grow its market share, rising to 10.3 percent in 2016. iOS and Android will drop to 49.7 percent and 39.7 percent, respectively, while all other tablets will go down to 0.3 percent.

It will be interesting to see if IDC's projections prove accurate. Certainly there's an argument to be made that the Windows tablet party is just getting started, but at the same time, we're finally starting to see some affordable 10-inch Android tablets from name-brand vendors like Toshiba. If that trend continues, we wouldn't be surprised to see Android dominate the landscape in the fashion as smartphones.

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Surface Sales May Surge to 1 Million Units in 2012

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Microsoft Surface RTMicrosoft's Surface RT tablet ended up on our controversial list of "Holiday Gifts to Avoid" because it lacks a x86 foundation (and therefore won't run all your fancy Windows 7 applications), is slow to load apps (initially), and is sitting behind a bare ecosystem. Surface Pro looks to be a better, albeit more expensive option when it launches in January 2013, but even so, Surface RT could rack up sales of more than a million units by the end of the year.

The folks at CNet spoke with IHS iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander on the phone, who said that her and her firm estimate 1.3 million Surface sales in Q4.

"I would be surprised to see it much above that," she added.

Surface RT has been on sale since October 26, so that Q4 sales estimates really boils down to just two months worth of movement. That's not bad, though there's some debate on how many units Microsoft will actually move. According to CNet, brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton stated in a research note that sales wold fall short of a million units.

It was also recently rumored that Microsoft slashed Surface RT orders with overseas suppliers in half after failing to generate the kind of sales figures it was anticipating.

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Surface Sales May Surge to 1 Million Units in 2012

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Microsoft Surface RTMicrosoft's Surface RT tablet ended up on our controversial list of "Holiday Gifts to Avoid" because it lacks a x86 foundation (and therefore won't run all your fancy Windows 7 applications), is slow to load apps (initially), and is sitting behind a bare ecosystem. Surface Pro looks to be a better, albeit more expensive option when it launches in January 2013, but even so, Surface RT could rack up sales of more than a million units by the end of the year.

The folks at CNet spoke with IHS iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander on the phone, who said that her and her firm estimate 1.3 million Surface sales in Q4.

"I would be surprised to see it much above that," she added.

Surface RT has been on sale since October 26, so that Q4 sales estimates really boils down to just two months worth of movement. That's not bad, though there's some debate on how many units Microsoft will actually move. According to CNet, brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton stated in a research note that sales wold fall short of a million units.

It was also recently rumored that Microsoft slashed Surface RT orders with overseas suppliers in half after failing to generate the kind of sales figures it was anticipating.

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Origin Adds 3D Display Option to EON17-SLX Gaming Laptop

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Origin EON17-SLX Gaming LaptopIt's good to know that while everyone's talking up tablets and the so-called post PC era, there are still companies dishing out high-end hardware. Boutique system builder Origin PC is one of those companies, and nobody's going to confuse its EON17-SLX gaming laptop with a slate. It is, however, a desktop replacement that you can deck out as far as your budget allows, and it now comes with a 3D display option.

Upgrading the 17.3-inch Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) display to 3D with Nvidia Vision 2 3D glasses adds $305 to the $1,888 base price. That investment gets you the following:

  • Intel Core i7 3610QM processor
  • Nvidia GeForce GTX 670MX GPU
  • 4GB of DDR3-1333 memory
  • 320GB hard drive (SATA 3Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache)
  • 8X DVD burner
  • 2MP webcam
  • Media card reader
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Some of those parts seem rather underwhelming for a no-compromises gaming laptop, though you can upgrade just about every facet of the EON17-SLX. There are faster (and overclocked) processor options, dual-graphics cards from either ATI or Nvidia, and room for up to three drives (SSD or HDD).

The EON17-SLX in 3D is available now.

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Origin Adds 3D Display Option to EON17-SLX Gaming Laptop

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Origin EON17-SLX Gaming LaptopIt's good to know that while everyone's talking up tablets and the so-called post PC era, there are still companies dishing out high-end hardware. Boutique system builder Origin PC is one of those companies, and nobody's going to confuse its EON17-SLX gaming laptop with a slate. It is, however, a desktop replacement that you can deck out as far as your budget allows, and it now comes with a 3D display option.

Upgrading the 17.3-inch Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) display to 3D with Nvidia Vision 2 3D glasses adds $305 to the $1,888 base price. That investment gets you the following:

  • Intel Core i7 3610QM processor
  • Nvidia GeForce GTX 670MX GPU
  • 4GB of DDR3-1333 memory
  • 320GB hard drive (SATA 3Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache)
  • 8X DVD burner
  • 2MP webcam
  • Media card reader
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Some of those parts seem rather underwhelming for a no-compromises gaming laptop, though you can upgrade just about every facet of the EON17-SLX. There are faster (and overclocked) processor options, dual-graphics cards from either ATI or Nvidia, and room for up to three drives (SSD or HDD).

The EON17-SLX in 3D is available now.

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Toshiba Launches $350 Excite 10 SE Tablet with Android 4.1

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Toshiba Excite 10 SE TabletMight 2013 be the year that Android grapple's the tablet crown from Apple's iPad family (in terms of market share)? It's looking more and more likely. In addition to the handful of worthy 7-inch contenders -- Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, and Nook HD -- tablet makers are now starting to focus on affordable 10-inch slates that don't suck. Toshiba is hoping its new Excite 10 SE qualifies as such a tablet.

It certainly nailed the price point. At $350 MSRP, the Excite 10 SE is one of the more affordable name-brand tablets in the 10-inch category, and it's $100 less expensive than the original Excite.

"Our Excite family of tablets continues to grow with options to suit a wide range of consumer needs, from portability and gaming to versatility and power," said Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "We designed the Excite 10 SE to be a full featured tablet that offers a pure Android, Jelly Bean experience, while maintaining an attractive price point."

Indeed, the Excite 10 SE ships with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, so there's no sitting around waiting for an update. It also boasts a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 10.1-inch AutoBrite HD touchscreen display, 16GB of internal storage, 3MP rear-facing camera, HD front-facing camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, microSD card slot, and micro USB ports.

Toshiba Excite 10 SE Angled

Size-wise, Toshiba describes the Excite 10 SE as "slim and light" at only 0.4 inches thick and weighing around 1.4 pounds. Intrigued? It will be available at select retailers and direct from Toshiba starting December 6, 2012 (this Thursday).

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Toshiba Launches $350 Excite 10 SE Tablet with Android 4.1

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Toshiba Excite 10 SE TabletMight 2013 be the year that Android grapple's the tablet crown from Apple's iPad family (in terms of market share)? It's looking more and more likely. In addition to the handful of worthy 7-inch contenders -- Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, and Nook HD -- tablet makers are now starting to focus on affordable 10-inch slates that don't suck. Toshiba is hoping its new Excite 10 SE qualifies as such a tablet.

It certainly nailed the price point. At $350 MSRP, the Excite 10 SE is one of the more affordable name-brand tablets in the 10-inch category, and it's $100 less expensive than the original Excite.

"Our Excite family of tablets continues to grow with options to suit a wide range of consumer needs, from portability and gaming to versatility and power," said Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "We designed the Excite 10 SE to be a full featured tablet that offers a pure Android, Jelly Bean experience, while maintaining an attractive price point."

Indeed, the Excite 10 SE ships with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, so there's no sitting around waiting for an update. It also boasts a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 10.1-inch AutoBrite HD touchscreen display, 16GB of internal storage, 3MP rear-facing camera, HD front-facing camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, microSD card slot, and micro USB ports.

Toshiba Excite 10 SE Angled

Size-wise, Toshiba describes the Excite 10 SE as "slim and light" at only 0.4 inches thick and weighing around 1.4 pounds. Intrigued? It will be available at select retailers and direct from Toshiba starting December 6, 2012 (this Thursday).

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