Mobile devices will account for 90 percent of all Internet traffic by 2020
YouTube and Netflix are responsible for the mobile data traffic increase of 65 percent year on year, while 5G mobile subscriptions will hit 150 million by 2021.
The Ericsson Mobility Report says that smartphones with larger screens, which are quite popular nowadays, together with more competitive prices for mobile data plans, have made it more comfortable for people to watch videos on the go.
Windows Phone's market share goes into freefall
Windows Phone is becoming an increasingly unattractive proposition in the eyes of smartphone buyers. The tiled operating system dropped to 1.7 percent market share in the third quarter of the year, thanks to extremely weak sales of Lumia devices. Microsoft is the largest vendor of smartphones running the tiled operating system, so its performance has a strong effect on the platform's popularity.
In the third quarter of the year, Windows Phone sales reached 5.87 million units according to research firm Gartner. For the same period, Microsoft says Lumia sales were 5.8 million units, suggesting that its platform market share is close to the 100 percent mark. And things don't look great for Windows 10 Mobile devices either.
Fake users plague business websites
We've already seen Amazon taking action to prevent fake reviews, but a new survey reveals that 43 percent of websites admit to allowing fake users in order to avoid friction during account registration.
The study conducted by identity solutions company TeleSign in conjunction with the Ponemon Institute finds that 82 percent of companies struggle with fake users.
iPhones generate 94 percent of global smartphone profits
If you ever needed evidence that the iPhone is a huge money maker, it’s safe to say that we now finally have it. On paper, in black and white.
According to a recently published Canaccord Genuity report, Apple has made 94 percent of global smartphone profits during the third quarter of the year, even though it had sold 14.5 percent of all smartphones in the quarter.
Huawei's new smartphone battery charges in only 11 minutes
Chinese tech behemoth, Huawei, came up with a technology that could revolutionize batteries, with smartphones likely to be the primary target.
In a test, two batteries, one apparently for a smartphone (3,000mAh) and one for a feature phone (600mAh) were charged up to 10x faster than traditional methods allowed.
Microsoft Lumia 950 now available at AT&T
Windows 10 Mobile is making its official debut this week, and the first smartphone to come with the new operating system is Microsoft's Lumia 950. In the US, the flagship is offered directly by the software giant through its online and brick and mortar stores, but it is also carried by its longterm partner, AT&T.
If you want to get your Lumia 950 from a US carrier, AT&T is actually your one and only option, at least for the foreseeable future. The carrier is taking orders now, offering the device with a two year agreement, monthly plans and, of course, unlocked.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL vs Lumia 950: Which is the better buy?
Microsoft recently announced two flagship devices, the Lumia 950 XL and the Lumia 950, both of which run its Windows 10 Mobile operating system and share many features: same screen resolution, same amount of onboard storage and system memory.
The 950 XL is certainly the better purchase out of the two models. Yes, it is bigger than the 950 and more expensive, but there’s three key features that will win businesses and individuals alike.
OnePlus 2, One will get Android 6.0 Marshmallow in early 2016
Even though Android 6.0 Marshmallow has been around for more than a month, only a handful of vendors have revealed their upgrade plans. OnePlus is the latest to join the list, announcing when OnePlus 2 and OnePlus One users should expect to see the new mobile operating system on their devices.
OnePlus says that its latest "flagship killer", OnePlus 2, will be upgraded to Android 6.0 Marshmallow in the first quarter of next year, which is when its first smartphone, OnePlus One, is also expected to get the corresponding CyanogenOS update.
Priv is BlackBerry's last hope -- can it woo consumers and business users?
It’s fair to say that BlackBerry has been struggling a bit in recent times. After initially being a leading light in the smartphone arena last decade, it has since seen its main competitors go on to take control of the market.
The likes of Apple and Samsung are selling more phones than ever and are now -- and have been for some time -- the dominant forces in a world that BlackBerry is struggling to still be a part of. A report from earlier in the year said that Apple now enjoys a 34.1 percent share of the UK smartphone market, with Android leading the way 53.2 percent and BlackBerry bringing up the rear with 1.2 percent.
Zune is dead
The writing has been on the wall for some time now, but Microsoft has today officially killed Zune. After nine years, the music service is no more, driven to the grave by the competition.
Zune players just never managed to fight off the iPod, and with smartphones taking on the role of music player in addition to everything else, it didn’t take long for Microsoft's player to become surplus to requirements. Microsoft is not learning from history, though; the company continues to try its hand at music with Groove.
There's a smartphone running Android and Windows 10 Mobile, but who will buy it?
It has been suggested that more consumers would give Windows Phone a chance if they were given the option to choose between it and Android on the same smartphone. The idea is that they would get to experience all the strengths and weaknesses of the tiled operating system, forming an educated opinion of what they would gain or lose by switching, without having to invest in a new, potentially very expensive, device.
While this is, no doubt, an interesting idea, I had doubts that such a smartphone would see the light of day. However, a German vendor has done it, announcing a smartphone that will ship with both Android and Windows 10 Mobile. Will consumers really be interested in such a dual personality handset?
Time to ditch your phone -- Android Wear now has cellular support
Not long ago LG announced the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition -- the first Android Wear smartwatch that offers LTE/3G connectivity. Now Google has officially announced Android Wear's cellular support.
Breaking down one of the barriers to wearable adoption -- the previous reliance on smartphones for a lot of functionality -- the arrival of cellular support means your smartwatch can be used to make and receive calls even when you don’t have your phone with you.
Apple Music arrives on Android as a beta
In a few short months, Apple Music has picked up millions of followers, and it has managed to do this whilst remaining exclusive to iOS. Now that changes. Today Apple's music app makes the jump to Android.
Currently in beta, Apple Music for Android is a free download, and includes a three-month free trial of the service. After this, should you want to continue using it, you'll have to cough up $9.99 per month. For the most part, this is a direct port of the iOS version of the app, but as it is in beta there are some notable differences.
Smartphone theft affects most organizations
Did you ever consider that keeping sensitive business files on your mobile device could be risky, as your device could be lost or stolen? Did you consider protecting those files, or the mobile device in general, with a password?
A new research by Imation looked into this idea and the results are quite disappointing. According to the study, 44 percent of organizations believe a member of their senior management has lost a mobile device in the last year, whilst 39 percent say senior management had a device stolen.
Offline navigation comes to Google Maps
One of the biggest problems with Google Maps on your smartphone is that you need an internet or data connection. At least that used to be the case. Today Google announces that navigation is now possible in offline mode.
In a move that has the potential to kill off the likes of TomTom and Garmin, Google is making it possible to download maps to your phone so turn-by-turn directions can be initiated even when there is no connection. It's a feature that people have been waiting for for some time, but Google has more to offer.
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