Samsung loses its position as India’s top smartphone vendor

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BY Unknown 01:15 0

Samsung loses its position as India’s top smartphone vendor

Just a few days after market research firm Counterpoint noted that Samsung actually lost its title of the world’s leading smartphone vendor in Q4, 2014, it is being reported that the South Korean company has been dethroned in the Indian smartphone market, too.

According to a report from market research firm Canalys, with 22% of the market share in Q4 last year, local budget brand Micromax has now become the top smartphone vendor in the country, ahead of Samsung at 20%. The Indian company already overtook the South Korean firm as the leading brand in all types of mobile phones last year.

"This incredible performance is partly due to Micromax’s continuing appeal to mobile phone users upgrading to smart phones," the report said. "Its flagship line of products has also very effectively targeted the US$150 to US$200 (INR9,000 to INR12,000) segment, with products such as the Canvas Nitro and Canvas Hue."

The third and the fourth spots were also claimed by Indian companies, namely Karbonn Mobiles and Lava, respectively. Overall, the Indian smartphone market, which is the third largest in the world, experienced a strong annual growth of 90%, with a total of 21.6 million units shipping in the quarter, the report notes.

Google reportedly preparing to launch its own ride-hailing service

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BY Unknown 02:29 0

Google reportedly preparing to launch its own ride-hailing service

Just a few hours after Uber announced that its has entered into a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to create a new tech center focused on developing autonomous driving vehicles, among other things, Bloomberg is reporting that Google is preparing to offer its own ride-hailing service, “most likely in conjunction with its long-in-development driverless car project.”

That’s particularly interesting given the fact that Google Ventures, the search giant’s venture capital arm, has already invested $258 million in Uber, and just last year the Mountain View, California-based companyintegrated Uber functionality in its Maps application.

As per the report, Google’s chief legal officer and senior vice president of corporate development David Drummond, who also sits on Uber’s board, has informed the board about Google’s plans, and executives of the ride-sharing startup have seen screenshots of the search giant’s ride-sharing app. Unsurprisingly, Drummond could soon be asked to resign from Uber’s board for obvious reasons, the report notes.

The news also comes just days after Google updated its Google app for Android with support for 40 new third-party apps, including Lyft. However, Uber was missing from the list, and now we probably know why.

AdDuplex report : Lumia 630 and 530 are on the rise

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BY Unknown 03:46 0

AdDuplex report : Lumia 630 and 530 are on the rise

AdDuplex is back with another monthly report on the state of Windows Phone. This month new devices are gaining on their aging predecessors, with the Lumia 63x and Lumia 530 threatening to overtake the ubiquitous Lumia 520 as the top phone in the foreseeable future.

The Lumia 530, formerly the base Lumia model, made great strides and went from 10th place to 5th. The Lumia 635 is just behind it in 6th, moving up from 9th place. Interestingly, the Lumia 925 and 920 made some small progress, they are one and two generations behind, respectively.

In terms of manufacturers things haven’t changed – Microsoft/Nokia have over 95% of the market, with HTC as the only other maker with more than a percent. Both Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 are going up at the expense of WP7, eventually some the WP8.x phones will move to Windows 10.

In Colombia the Nokia Lumia 520 still accounts for over half the market, while in Brazil it makes up a third of phones. In Europe the Lumia 63x is making better progress, the Lumia 635 is the top device in Germany while the Lumia 630 is close to overtaking the 620 in Italy and Russia.

Last month we saw Microsoft's first device, the Lumia 535, break into the Top 10 in India and it has been growing fast – it's already in second place with 9.1% (up 5 percentage points). It's still far behind the 26.8% of the Lumia 520, though that's still a very positive reception for the new device.

The Microsoft Lumia 425 and Lumia 532 are still not on the map.