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SELLER OF SHINY TOYS Apple might not be on top of the smartphone market in March, according to Strategy Analytics.

A day after Apple was installed as the leading smartphone vendor by Strategy Analytics, the firm told The INQUIRER that the ding-dong battle between Apple and Samsung will continue for a while. Scott Bicheno, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics told The INQUIRER that there is a good chance that Samsung will regain its top spot in the first quarter of 2012.

Yesterday Strategy Analytics published figures showing that Apple was the top smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter of 2011, overtaking Samsung. The figures showed Apple edging out Samsung by 500,000 units with 37m units shipped.

Bicheno said, “We expect to see the smartphone number one spot being occupied by either Samsung or Apple for a few more quarters. Furthermore, the fact that Samsung got so close to Apple in what was an exceptional quarter for Iphone sales suggests Samsung has a strong chance of retaking the crown in Q1 2012.”

That Apple and Samsung will battle it out for top position is not all that surprising given the disasterous year suffered by LG, Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson. However if Samsung can regain its top-spot from Apple it will show that the company is a serious, long term challenger.

Strategy Analytics’ figures for fourth quarter 2011 shipments highlighted just how bad things are at Nokia, with the outfit claiming Nokia shipped 19.6m units, down almost 9m from the same period a year previously. As for global market share, Nokia almost made Research in Motion look successful, showing a drop of 15.5 per cent to 12.6 per cent.

When asked whether the many lawsuits between Apple and Samsung were having an effect on actual sales, Bicheno didn’t seem to think so.

“We have seen little evidence of the lawsuits affecting retail sales – as our latest smartphone figures imply. So far the impact of any minor legal defeats has been minimal and we haven’t seen the kinds of blanket sales bans litigants have been aiming for. That could change at any time, of course, and the only thing that does seem certain is that it will be another busy year for the patent lawyers,” said Bicheno.

Bicheno’s comments suggest that Apple’s legal battles to get countries to ban the import and sale of certain Samsung devices are seeing little effect. Perhaps this could encourage firms to stop fighting in the courts but, as Bicheno suggested, that seems unlikely. µ

ADVERTISING BROKER Google seems to have given its blessing for Motorola to forge ahead with a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple.

Motorola Mobility, which is set to become part of Google, has alleged Apple infringed six patents with its Iphone 4S. The patents include one which is entitled “Receiver having concealed external antenna”, something that could describe pretty much every mobile phone on sale today.

Apple and Motorola have had prior legal clashes with the two firms already locked in a bitter patent battle that is set to reach trial later this year. Motorola had initially tried to get patent claims against the latest Iphone 4S added to that lawsuit, however the judge rejected that, offering Motorola the chance to file another lawsuit. At this point it is not clear if, or when, those latest claims will end up in court.

According to patents gadfly Florian Mueller, Motorola’s actions must have had Google’s blessing due to the merger agreement signed by the two firms. Mueller cited that the agreement does not allow Motorola to “assert any Intellectual Property Right in any new Action” without Google’s permission.

Google’s thumbs up to Motorola is the surest sign yet that Apple and Google will eventually end up fighting each other rather than using handset makers as their pawns. µ

CHINESE PUNTERS desperate to get their hands on an Apple Iphone 4S went a bit crazy yesterday and started hurling eggs at an Apple store.

The Iphone 4S launched yesterday in China, but when the flagship store in Beijing announced that it was halting sales, whispers of dissatisfaction spread and someone started handing out eggs.

According to a report at Reuters, as soon as word spread that handsets were unavailable people began getting agitated, and as well as throwing around perfectly good eggs engaged in shoving matches with the police.

Although Apple said that people could buy an Iphone 4S online, this must have been small consolation to those who actually queued up to buy one. After all, they could have been at home eating eggs.

“We’re suffering from cold and hunger,” shouted one man with a loose grip on perspective. “They said they’re not going to sell to us. Why? Why?”

Apple released a statement in which it said that all its stores’ allocations had been sold out. It added that it had decided not to open the Beijing store because of the large crowd. µ

DISPLAY MAKER AOC has announced its e2343Fi monitor with a docking port for Apple’s Iphone.

The firm will be showing off the monitor for Apple fanbois at the consumer electronics show (CES) next month in Las Vegas. The AOC e2343Fi will come with a 23in screen capable of blowing up images from the Iphone by a factor of 37.

AOC said it’s “a design display aimed at the Apple fan community with its many millions of followers.”

Because Apple products all use the same proprietary connector you can also dock different Ipod models but the Ipad is probably a bit big to place in front of your monitor.

The monitor also has speaker with SRS sound so you can use the monitor to watch films or listen to music from the docked Igadget. It’s also just a handy place to keep and charge your Apple device while at your computer.

AOC said it will also have a narrow framed 3D monitor at CES along with one that is powered and receives its signal via USB, which we reported on in September. µ

UK MOBILE OPERATOR O2 has announced it has started a rental scheme for the Iphone 4S smartphone.

The service is called O2 Lease, which it claims is the UK’s first smartphone leasing service. The system allows customers to rent specifically the Iphone 4S for a year without any upfront costs.

Sally Cowdry, marketing and consumer director at O2 said, “This is the first time a UK mobile operator has adopted a leasing model. We know that customers and small businesses are used to leasing everyday items from cars and washing machines to photocopiers and office space. They understand how it works and what the advantages of a leasing are. We have simply taken this idea and applied it to the smartphone market.”

Although the rental scheme is piloting with just the Iphone 4S, O2 told The INQUIRER that it could expand to other handsets if it proves successful and receives good feedback.

For £55 per month users will get an Iphone 4S 16GB smartphone with 750 minutes talk time, unlimited text messages, 500MB of mobile data and insurance. Add an extra £10 per month and the handset will be a 32GB model.

In effect, the deal is a 12 month contract but you don’t pay for or own the smartphone. At the end of the lease period you simply send the phone back to O2 and then you can rent the latest model.

O2 said the service is “the first tariff model available to all O2 customers that reflects the lifecycle of the smartphone industry.” µ

KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung has failed to get a court order to block sales of Apple’s Iphone 4S in France.

According to Bloomberg, the Paris court rejected Samsung’s request for an emergency order against Apple while it considers the Korean firm’s patent infringement claims.

Judge Marie-Christine Courboulay wrote, “The disproportionate character of the ban sought by Samsung against Apple is clear.”

The court ruled that Samung must pay 4,100 in legal fees, but denied Apple’s request for damages. It said that Samsung’s claim was not “abusive” and the infringement claims can move forward to trial.

Samsung has been trying to get sales of the Iphone 4S banned in the UK, Italy and France as part of its worldwide tit for tat patent battle with Apple.

A hearing on Samsung’s Italian lawsuit will be held on 16 December in Milan.

At the start of this week, we reported that Apple had failed to get a ban on Samsung products in the US.

US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California denied Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung, and the pair are scheduled to go to trial in the case on 30 July, 2012.

Update
Samsung said, “The court has denied Samsung’s preliminary injunction request. We will review the written grounds of today’s judgment, and continue to take all available options to assert our intellectual property rights to stop this free riding on our technology.

“Over many years, Samsung has pioneered the development of technologies and protocols for the efficient and reliable functioning of telecommunications networks and devices. While Samsung has at all times met its obligations to the fair licensing of its telecommunications standards-related patents, Apple has infringed by using without license Samsung’s intellectual property in its iPhone4S and other devices.” µ

THE GALAXY NEXUS is Google’s attempt to counter Apple’s shiny Iphone 4S, and The INQUIRER has had a chance to play with both devices to see which is more worth splashing out the cash to buy.

Hardware specifications are closely matched, with each device outdoing the other in key areas. The main difference is the operating system. The Galaxy Nexus is the first handset to run Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and the Iphone 4S is the first to ship with Apple’s IOS 5.

Design: the Galaxy Nexus is bigger, thinner and lighter
The Iphone 4S is noticeably smaller than the Galaxy Nexus and this doesn’t come as much of a surprise as Samsung has a habit of making rather large high-end devices, as can be seen with the Galaxy Nexus S and Galaxy Note devices.

Despite having a screen that is over an inch bigger at 4.65in, the Galaxy Nexus is 5g lighter at 135g and thinner at 8.94mm than the cappuccino company’s counterpart. Apple’s device incorporates a 3.5in screen, weighs 140g and has a 9.3mm thick frame. Samsung gains points in managing to outdo Apple and we don’t think the California firm can claim any similarity in design here.

Both devices are made from premium materials, with Samsung opting for high-grade plastic on the back whereas the Iphone uses glass and has a polished steel frame around the outside. The Galaxy Nexus feels more durable and is likely to survive more drops than the Iphone, which is susceptible to having its screen cracked.

In terms of looks, it is debatable which handset is better and it was a stalemate in our offices. Four staff members prefer the Iphone, citing the solid feel and compact design as attractive features compared to the Samsung handset, which they think looks clunky and toy-like. One staff member who shall remain anonymous for his own safety even went so far as to call the back of the Nexus “cheap and nasty”.

The other four members of the team including myself prefer the Galaxy Nexus over the standard Iphone 4S owing to its minimalist look. The curved design also makes the Samsung made device easier to hold. However, it should be noted that the white Iphone has a certain charm and we think a white version of the Galaxy Nexus could look good.

A HACKER has rejigged Apple’s voice-activated personal assistant Siri to control a TV, with some interesting results.

The hacker, Tood Treece has posted a short blog and a video of Siri in action, which can change channels and switch the TV off with just voice commands. However, some additional hardware has been introduced for the system to make it work.

Siri responds to questions such as, “Siri, can you change the channel to the History channel?” and it responds with information about what’s playing on that channel and asks the user to confirm the switch.

We particularly like the response Siri gives after discovering Piers Morgan Tonight is on CNN. “Do you really want to watch this crap?”

The Iphone sends a command to an Arduino microcontroller via transmission control protocol (TCP) and the required information is gathered from a TV guide web site.

This project is based on the same open source proxy code as the thermostat hack we saw last month. It’s an expensive way to control your TV, but Siri type technology is looking more and more likely to be the future of controlling the home. µ

Siri Universal Remote from toddtreece on Vimeo.

MAKER OF SHINY TOYS Apple has a poor reputation for releasing its Iphones with annoying bugs, so The INQUIRER has come up with a list of likely things that could wrong with your Apple device.

The Iphone is believed to suffer from an infrequent problem of turning into a pile of salt. One Apple employee we spoke to, Ima Madeupname, said that this is actually an intentional feature that should only activate when you’ve ordered fish and chips and the chipper is out of salt. Madeupname also suggested this could be particularly useful when the snow arrives, as you can sprinkle the salt on your front walk to get to your car or a cab without breaking a leg.

Losing your phone signal is one thing, but losing you ear is quite another. We’ve seen reliable reports that certain versions of the Iphone grow teeth and attempt to chew your ear. It’s not known if this is to fill the void left by a lack of battery power or if it is just teething problems. According to some reports, Apple is hiring technicians and dentists to fix this issue.

Your Iphone might get up while you’re not looking and saunter down to a local pub, where it is likely to be found by a total stranger and sold for ,000 after becoming extremely intoxicated. The chance that this might happen appears to be several million times more likely in the case of Iphone prototypes.

The next Iphone is likely to come with an update to Siri that will help it become sentient, but an expected bug will mean that it will only be able to feel the emotion of hatred, which won’t do Iphone users much good. We heard that Apple won’t pay for the years of counselling your smartphone will need, making the Iphone an even more expensive option.

There is also the strong possibility that the next Iphone could grow wings and claws, which it will use to carry you back to the supreme overlords at Cupertino. We’re not certain what goes on there, but we’ve heard rumours that captives are forced to swear to buy every Apple product that is released for the rest of their life. Some speculate that the recent static noise in calls is actually the fluttering of leathery wings inside the Iphone case.

Iphones might mute themselves and turn invisible, a trick taught to them by Apple’s many stage magicians. It is not known if this is actually a bug or a way for Apple to increase Iphone sales when people seem to have ‘misplaced’ their smartphone.

Perhaps the worst thing that could happen is that your next Iphone could become a Windows Phone. This possibility was likely programmed in from the beginning, with Microsoft plotting to look like it’s trailing in the smartphone game but really plotting world domination. It is believed that Google is assembling an army of little green robots in preparation for this eventuality. µ

FRUIT THEMED GADGET FLOGGER Apple will release a fix soon for the Iphone 4S battery problems that are plaguing its users.

It’s taken some time for the company to acknowledge the problems, which as with antennagate were discovered by users and not mentioned in all the fanfare surrounding the handset’s launch.

Users flocked to Apple forums to bemoan the problems however, and now Apple has promised that it will do something about it.

So, Iphone 4S users who parted with upwards of five hundred pounds can expect their device to meet their expectations in the next few weeks, as Apple expects to issue a software fix that will solve their problems.

According to the Washington Post, the cappuccino company is working on a software update that will remove the battery draining bugs that are affecting users.

Spokeswoman Natalie Harrison told the newspaper that the fix is likely to be released in the next few weeks, so perhaps users should keep their chargers close by until around Christmas time. µ