smartphones

A smartphone is a poor, and the poor's, choice for broadband

16 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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If a smartphone was the killer Internet access solution that AT&T claims it is – usually when trying to divert attention from substandard or even non-existent wireline service in rural and inner city communities – then you’d expect to see something like an even spread of usage cases across demographic groups.

The Pew Foundation’s latest research shows that is clearly not the case.

Overall, 12% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, but do not otherwise use the Internet at home.… More

New phone designed, named and launched by ZTE's fan base

4 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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It takes a crowd to stand out in a crowd.

ZTE is crowdsourcing its brand strategy, along with product design and test marketing. Based in China, the company has been in business for nearly twenty years, and selling in the U.S. in a meaningful way for ten years.

On the consumer side, it’s a smartphone maker. But it’s also a major telecoms infrastructure player, including mobile infrastructure. Company executives didn’t say much about that aspect of the business today during a media presentation at CES, except to drop some hints about developing 5G infrastructure in tandem with consumer products, and to say that their plan is to develop technology that will allow 5G service to be deployed on 4G networks.… More

Huawei claims third in smartphones, aims at Apple

5 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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Huawei knuckles down on smartphones.

From barely a blip on the radar – 3 million units – five years ago, Huawei broke out of the pack in 2015 with 108 million smartphones sold and a 10% share of the global market. That keeps it in third place worldwide, behind Apple and market leader Samsung, which has a 28% share. Speaking at the company’s press conference at CES this morning, consumer business group CEO Richard Yu said they’re aiming to pass Apple – currently with a 12% global smartphone share – and move up a notch into the number two spot within two years.… More