Samsung still smartphone king despite market share dip | freeandroidownloads

The Korean handset maker's second-quarter smartphone share slipped to 30 percent, but that still far outstripped the competition, according to research firm IDC.

Samsung kept its firm lead over Apple in the smartphone arena last quarter, though both companies saw their shares drop.

For the second quarter, Samsung's slice of the global smartphone market inched down to 30.4 percent from 32.2 percent a year ago, IDC said in a report released Thursday. However, shipments jumped to 72.4 million from 50.3 million over the same period.

The surge in shipments came hot on the heels of the debut of the Galaxy S4. But the Galaxy S3 also picked up buyers thanks to price discounts ahead of the launch of its successor, IDC said.

Apple's smartphone market share last quarter fell to 13.1 percent from 16.6 percent for the prior year's quarter. Shipments rose to 31.2 million from 26 million, marking the company's second-lowest year-over-year iPhone growth rate in almost four years.

IDC pegged the slower growth on buyers holding off on purchases ahead of the iPhone 5S. IDC expects shipment growth to rise once Apple kicks off its rumored low-cost iPhone and expands into prepaid markets later this year.

Other smartphone makers, such as LG, Lenovo, and ZTE, saw growth in both market share and shipments.

"While Samsung and Apple accounted for significant share of the overall market, they were not the only vendors active in the high end of the market, and recent device introductions and upcoming launches signal more vendors targeting this space," Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's mobile phone team, said in a statement. "Comparisons will certainly be made to the flagship Galaxy and iPhone models, but clearly the competition refuses to be shut out altogether.

Overall, 237.9 million smartphones shipped last quarter, a 52 percent gain from the 156.2 million shipped during the same quarter in 2012.

credit: by Lance Whitney/cnet

Google launches Play Games app for social Android gaming | freeandroidownloads

New Google app shows you what your friends are playing on Android, and taps Google+.

Google on Wednesday introduced a new social-gaming service for Android that mixes its online store and Google+.

Dubbed "Play Games," the app is a mix of a games store and a social network -- showing you what your Google+ friends are playing, and how far they've progressed.

The software leverages Google's Play Games services, which the company introduced at its IO conference earlier this year. That includes multiplayer gaming, leaderboards, and achievements. During a press conference on Wednesday, where Play Games was introduced, Google said "hundreds" of games have added those services, with "millions" of people playing.

The offering joins a handful of competing services from rivals, notably Apple with its Game Center service, Amazon's GameCircle, and Microsoft and Sony with their Xbox Live and PlayStation Network services, respectively.

Gaming is big on Android, Google said on Wednesday, noting that 19 out of the top 20 game developers are building games on the platform. The company also added a new section in its Play Store for games designed specifically for tablets, in order to make them easier to find.

Google said the software would be available later on Wednesday on its Play Store.

credit: by Josh Lowensohn/cnet

Android 4.3 hidden feature lets you tap into app permissions

A hidden feature called App Ops in Google's latest OS update allows you to turn off certain permissions for your apps, says Android Police.

Android users can now control the permissions granted to their apps, courtesy of the latest flavor of Jelly Bean.

Available only in Android 4.3, a hidden feature known as App Ops displays the various permissions granted to different apps, according to blog site Android Police. For example, the feature can show you which apps detect your location, read your calendar, and access your contacts.

Much of this activity is normal as you'd want an app such as Gmail to access your contacts. But you may want to peruse the list anyway to see what's going on behind the scenes so you determine whether you want to tweak any permissions.

Android 4.3 users can download a third-party app called Permission Manager that offers direct access to the permissions settings. Still, as as described by Android Police, the process for hunting down and changing permissions sounds kludgy and can be a bit problematic. Even adventurous users may want to proceed with some caution.

Google unveiled the latest version of Android on Wednesday. Google and Sony are two vendors who've already promised the Android 4.3 update for their current mobile devices.

credit: by Lance Whitney/cnet

Apple as world's most profitable phone maker overtaked by Samsung

Apple held on to the top spot for four years before finally giving way to Samsung and its handsets in the second quarter.

Apple has lost another battle in its ongoing war with Samsung.

Research firm Strategy Analytics proclaimed Friday that for the first time in four years, Apple is no longer the most profitable handset maker in the world. That honor now belongs to Samsung.

During the second quarter, Samsung's global handset operating profits hit $5.2 billion, according to Strategy Analytics. Apple's operating profit stood at $4.6 billion. Samsung's mobile division posted a $5.6 billion operating profit in the second quarter, according to the company. The difference between the two figures apparently comes from non-handsets.

According to the research firm, Samsung's success has been due mainly to its "strong volumes, high wholesale prices, and tight cost controls." Apple, meanwhile, is facing increased competition around the world that might require it to change strategy, Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston believes.

"Apple is now under intense pressure to launch more iPhone models at cheaper price-points or with larger screens to fend off the surging competition and recapture lost profits in the second half of 2013," he said.

credit by: by Don Reisinger /cnet