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iPhone launch propels Apple back into China’s top 5 ranking with 7% market share

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 10:51 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia

apple store 520x245 iPhone launch propels Apple back into Chinas top 5 ranking with 7% market share

New data about China’s smartphone market shows Apple gained market share in the country in the final quarter of 2013 thanks to the launch of the newest iPhones. The Wall Street Journal reports figures from IDC that give Apple seven percent of the share of shipments, up one percent on the previous quarter.

That increase puts Apple back inside the top five smartphone companies in China, leapfrogging fast-growing startup Xiaomi into fifth place. The figures account for the first full quarter of iPhone 5s and 5c sales in China, but keep in mind that they don’t include any units sold by China Mobile, which began offering the two iPhone models only last month.

Here are IDCs shipments ranking for China in Q4 2013:

  1. Samsung — 19 percent market share
  2. Lenovo — 13 percent market share
  3. Coolpad — 11 percent market share
  4. Huawei — 10 percent market share
  5. Apple — 7 percent market share
  6. Xiaomi — 6 percent market share

Android continues to dominate the Chinese market, but these figures are based on shipments — handsets bought in advance by retailers and operators — so they give an indication of where the industry sees demand, but are not reflective of sales themselves.

That said, Apple can expect to see its share increase now that China Mobile is selling the iPhone. The carrier began selling the new iPhones on January 17 — its prices are higher than its two rivals, which suggests its strategy is to focus on the appeal of its 4G network, which is the first in the country.

Xiaomi, meanwhile, is busy expanding its sales overseas, starting with Southeast Asia, but IDC analyst Melissa Chau told the Journal that its growth path will almost certainly mean that it will re-enter the domestic top five in the future.

Related: IDC: Smartphone shipments in China decreased 4% in Q4 2013, the first drop in over 2 years

Headline image via Neil Bird / Flickr

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BBC iPlayer sees its best month ever in January, with more than 315m programme requests

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 10:18 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, UK

Last month we reported that tablets had trumped computers for the first time for BBC iPlayer. And going by the latest figures from the British broadcaster, the on-demand streaming service has enjoyed its best overall month ever.

January saw more than 315 million TV and radio programme requests, equating to an average of 10.2 million per day. It seems the new series of Sherlock proved particularly popular, garnering north of 3.5 million requests alone.

Screenshot 2014 02 19 10.11.19 730x319 BBC iPlayer sees its best month ever in January, with more than 315m programme requestsWith tablets and smartphones becoming increasingly ubiquitous, these represented 40% of all requests last month, translating into 127 million overall. That too was another iPlayer record.

➤ BBC iPlayer Performance Pack – January 2014

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Tencent invests in Dianping, ‘China’s Yelp,’ to boost e-commerce on its WeChat messaging app

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 9:23 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Asia, chat apps, e-commerce, wechat

WeChat2 520x245 Tencent invests in Dianping, Chinas Yelp, to boost e commerce on its WeChat messaging app

Chinese Internet giant Tencent announced today that it has taken a 20 percent stake in Dianping.com, a Chinese daily deals and local reviews site that is often compared to US-based Yelp, as it seeks to boost e-commerce on its messaging platforms QQ and Weixin (known as WeChat outside of China). 

Dianping has built itself up as the go-to platform in China for customer reviews since it was established in 2003. Other than providing local merchant listings and corresponding reviews, Dianping is also a group-buying platform that serves up money-saving deals.

Tencent says that it will integrate Dianping’s content, user base and offline merchant network accumulated over the past 10 years with its instant messaging platform QQ and wildly popular chat app Weixin to build up a strong “online-to-offline” ecosystem in China. This means that Dianping content — including merchant information, consumer reviews, discounted offers and group buying, as well as online restaurant reservations and take-out ordering services, can all be easily accessed by Weixin users.

Notably, Tencent says that the integration will help provide merchants online-to-offline commerce solutions on mobile Internet, hinting that we could very soon see more merchants jumping on board Weixin to sell items directly within the app.

In August last year, the company rolled out a long-awaited update to its mobile messaging app Weixin that incorporated payments. This paved the way for merchants to set up corporate accounts for people to follow, while WeChat would handle “technical integration and support for these vendors, including page design and payment linkups.”

Martin Lau, the president of Tencent, says the company is looking forward to”helping local businesses extend their consumer reach and deepen their consumer interaction.”

Tencent didn’t disclose the amount it paid for its investment in Dianping, but rumors previously suggested that Tencent bought a 20-25 percent stake at a valuation of $1.8 billion – $2 billion.

Essentially, with its latest move, Tencent is upping the ante of m-commerce, seeking to drive mobile shopping right within its communication platforms — which would pose a huge threat to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which is already stepping up its mobile social efforts. Alibaba’s CEO Jonathan Lu has pledged to continue the e-commerce giant’s string of big investments as it continues focusing on improving its services for mobile.

Headline image via WeChat

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Nokia Treasure Tag is a $30 Lumia accessory to help keep valuables safe – goes on sale in April

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 8:58 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, nokia

Nokia Treasure Tag in post 520x245 Nokia Treasure Tag is a $30 Lumia accessory to help keep valuables safe goes on sale in April

Nokia is introducing a new way to keep valuables safe on the go using your smartphone. Nokia Treasure Tag is a smart peripheral that syncs with Lumia devices to help keep track of keys, wallets, bags and other physical items — the device has been rumored since last summer.

The matchbox sized product (which measures 30 x 30 x 10mm) is available in a choice of four colors — cyan, yellow, white and black – and uses an NFC or Bluetooth connection and accompanying app to pair with a Lumia device. The idea is to prevent the item it is attached too being lost — the Lumia will play an alert if it is separated from the Treasure Tag and will pull up a map (using Nokia HERE, naturally) to help locate it.

Nokia Treasure Tag feat Nokia Treasure Tag is a $30 Lumia accessory to help keep valuables safe goes on sale in April

Each Lumia can be linked to as many as four different Treasure Tags — which are managed via a Live Tile on the device’s start screen and can be deactivated when not needed. Nokia says that Treasure Tags have up to six months of battery life, and use a replaceable coin cell battery (CR-2032) for power.

The tags will go on sale worldwide in April priced at €24,90 ($29.90), and required paired Lumia devices to have installed the Lumia Black update. 

Interestingly, Nokia says that there will be “third-party applications for Treasure Tag to support Android and iOS devices,” but provides no further details.

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Yandex launches free Android firmware Yandex.Kit in a bid to replace Google’s apps with its own

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 8:15 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Mobile

452062085 520x245 Yandex launches free Android firmware Yandex.Kit in a bid to replace Googles apps with its own

It’s no secret that Google is developing Android in part to promote many of its core services such as Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube. Yandex, often referred to as the “Google of Russia”, is now trying to break that influence with some free Android firmware that comes with its rival apps pre-installed.

Called Yandex.Kit, it offers an exclusive launcher based on Yandex.Shell and some of the company’s most prolific Android offerings, including Yandex.Maps, Yandex.Search and Yandex.Store – a marketplace with over 100,000 apps that’s designed to compete with the Google Play store.

YandexKit homescreen Yandex launches free Android firmware Yandex.Kit in a bid to replace Googles apps with its ownHuawei and Explay have thrown their support behind Yandex.Kit, agreeing to launch a handset each (Huawei Honor 3 Yandex and Explay Flame) with the firmware in Russia next month. Yandex is offering it on a “fee-free” basis, so there’s little risk for either OEM at this stage.

While Yandex appears to be focused on Russia for now, it hasn’t discounted interest from smartphone makers and carriers active in international markets. Companies targeting other regions will be offered a restricted version of Yandex.Kit, which includes the Yandex.Shell user interface, Yandex.Browser and Yandex.Store for now.

The idea is simple enough. If smartphones come with Yandex apps pre-installed, people are more likely to use them and forgo any third-party alternatives, including those developed by Google. For domestic carriers and OEMs, it’s a chance to differentiate with a software experience that customers in Russia will hopefully recognize and trust.

Image Credit:  GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images

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