Competition in the smartphone sector will remain cutthroat in 2012, as vendors look to improve performance using LTE (Long Term Evolution), high-resolution screens, quad-core processors and GPUs (graphics processing unit). The big challenge remains however, can they implement the hardware improvements that consumers want to see without putting more strain on the already limited battery life. The use of more energy-efficient chipsets and the arrival of the first VoLTE (Voice over LTE) implementations will hopefully ease the power struggle.

The focus is also on providing affordable (Cheaper!!) smartphones to target the consumers who can’t afford extensive contracts and high-end devices. Hopefully we will see the Promotional plans out this Holiday season becoming a norm next year.

See below sneak peak:-

• Samsung is guaranteed to be launching a Galaxy S III in 2012 and rumour has it the announcement will be made at their January 9th press conference – “Push the boundaries on Convergence and Innovation. ’’
• Quite a few possible HTC models for 2012 expected with quad core HTC Edge and  dual core HTC Ville in the forefront.
• LG not falling behind with their  Android 4.0 phone called the LG Optimus U1.
• Sony Ericsson also expected to show off the Xperia Arc HD  which is dual core 4.3-inch LCD display, with a 1280 x 720 pixels HD resolution, 1.5GHz Scorpion cores, and 1GB of RAM.
• Not forgetting Nokia who will be present this year to unveil the Nokia Lumia 900- a 4.3-inch Clear Black Display AMOLED screen, an 1800mAh battery, Carl Zeiss 8MP camera

Stay tuned to get more details – When will flexible display be out? Which smartphones will have quad core processors with enhanced GPU’s. Will LTE Technology be available outside of North America early in the new year? Be the first to get the latest Smartphone.

For years I’ve been hearing how much more competitive the US market is than in Canada. So imagine my surprise to find that maybe that is not the case anymore. You will be surprised at what I learned from my visit to the big apple a few days ago….

I was in the US for a few days and I decided to get my sister a cell phone as she would be staying a few months and needed a cell phone. So my first thought was to get a simple $25 unlimited plan voice only no data and given that I’m in New York city, one of the most competitive cities in the world that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not a newbie to the cell phone industry, so I looked for the equivalent, Wind Mobile or Mobilicity unlimited type carrier in New York and found one with MetroPCs. Having found it I walked in and asked for my $25 unlimited plan with a basic phone….”sorry sir but we don’t have those plans any more but you can have the unlimited $45 plan with unlimited data”. Not what I wanted, so I check with Verizon after all they are the number 1 carrier in the US, their unlimited voice only plan starts at $50, so I tried T-Mobile no lock there either. At this point I’m exhausted, so I check AT&T and settled on one of their unfulfilling $25 for 250 min plans reminiscent of  the big 3 here in Canada.

We need myCELLmyTERMs in the US to simplify this process!

In fact, to get a decent plan in the US you have to spend about $45 – $50 a month (see table 1 below), no unlimited $25 or $35 plans as we see here in Canada right now (see table 2). I distinctly remember MetroPCs, Leap and Cricket all fighting at the $25 – $35 price point but not any longer, somehow they have moved their competition to the $40 – $50 thanks to the advent of the smartphone.

With consolidation occurring in the US, T-Mobile being bought by AT&T, and with a possible 3 companies owning 80% of the marketplace (ATT/T-moible, Verizon and Sprint), the US is looking more like Canada today than they did a few years ago. While competition has heated up here in Canada, it has certainly reversed in the US – seems like the price wars are over. Is this a sign to come for us here in Canada, temporary reduction in prices only to be reversed in a few years?

What do you think?

Table 1 showing unlimited plans in the US.

Table 2 showing unlimited plans in the Canada.

1. With more than 50% of the proposal requests on our network for the iPhone, we are going to go out on a limb and predict a record setting quarter for Apple, possibly in the 35M-40M range. It’s very doable.
2. From that one simple statement (i.e. 50% of consumers want the iPhone) we can deduce a heck of a lot. Wind Mobile, Mobilicity and Public Mobile don’t stand a chance with more than 50% of Canadians, just because they don’t offer the iPhone. In addition to that, and based on our experience, iPhone customers don’t compromise, so when you ask a mobile shopper to purchase a device outright in order to get the better plan and overall deal with Wind versus the lower subsidized price with Bell, Rogers, or TELUS they, – Canadians – statistically don’t do it. So it’s no real secret – Canadians are conditioned to not want to pay full price for devices, despite the belly aching about contracts and the iPill is the antidote.  It soothes chronic belly aching and such is the power of Apple.
3. Over 97% of the proposals created on our network are for smart phones but it’s estimated that only 40% of Candians have a smartphone. However, with the global trend towards faster smartphone adoption coupled with penetration rates in Canada, (i.e. total number of subscribers as a percentage of the population) estimated at around 75%, there is still plenty of room for growth. So the carriers will continue to keep their ARPU up (Average Revenue per User) while voice revenues decline.
4. BlackBerry proposal requests have hit an all time low last month on our network at 9.7%. Yes, you read that right, 9.7%, and for months we have been seeing the number of requests slide, long before their now infamous bad quarter results.   But things will get worse until we see some new devices, because their number one device on our network currently is the BlackBerry 9900, which tells me that people choosing BlackBerry now, are totally price sensitive.  If they were willing to spend more for their ideal cell phone chances are, they would want an iPhone as well.  For you die hard BlackBerry loyalists that will say well the Torch is BlackBerry’s flagship product, well, total proposal requests for the BlackBerry Torch were just under 1.36%. For our friends at RIM, these numbers are as serious as a heart attack and time is of the essence.  I wrote this post beginning of June shortly before RIM earnings report – To RIM from a concerned Canadian.
5. The most popular Android phone being requested on our network is – you guessed it – the Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung’s in general. (i.e. Nexus S, Fascinate, etc.)

Our metrics are based on real people like you and me – individuals – creating proposals on myCELLmyTERMS indicating their preferences for mobile products and services.  For more wireless insights and a deeper pulse on the wireless market in Canada, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.  You can also share your thoughts by replying to this post.  We promise to start sharing the wealth of information we have collected after two years of operations more liberally.  Let’s also use the handle #MCMTinfo on Twitter when sharing.  If you have any questions or want to know what other info we can share please contact me through our contact us page.

If you’re in market for a new iPhone compare iPhone plans and find the best deal available.

Samsung, a leading manufacturer of Google’s Android platform and the number 2 selling smartphone manufacturer behind Apple with its Galaxy line of phones has decided to push a vendor controlled, relatively unknown OS called Bada (which means Ocean). Here are 5 reasons why Samsung would want to do this and reduce its reliance on Android:

1. The current stiff between Google and Microsoft / Apple over patent infringement is a big concern for Manufacturers. Samsung had to delay releasing its 10″ Galaxy Tab because of legal injunctions.
2. Google’s acquisition of Motorola, puts Google in a conflict of interest with its consortium of Android manufacturers, which makes it difficult to assess Google’s preferences in the future.
3. As the number 2 manufacturer of Smartphones in Q2 2011, Samsung has more clout and sway now than it ever has and as a result if there ever a time to push its own OS, now is the time to do it
4. Bada gives Samsung a way to differentiate from its Android peers and separate it brand from the pack
5. Cross platform OS opportunity to smart TVs. Samsung plans to use Bada for the TV market which is it a big player.

All good reasons, and the fact that Samsung plans to move Bada to an open source platform, according to the Wall Street Journal, gives Samsung a fighting chance…..but it may not work. It will be difficult to drive the ecosystem for Bada development in an App duopoly given that most developers are settling on Android or iOS. While driving developer interest will be its biggest hurdle, managing an open source platform will be another.

What do you think, can Samsung make Bada work?

What is clear is the fact that HTC has moved into a solid second place behind Apple with above average ratings (see graph below) while Nokia continues to slip considerably falling to last in the latest survey. The biggest movers, behind Apple, were Samsung, HTC and BlackBerry in that order. I was surprised that RIM’s BlackBerry line improved from the bottom of the survey in Volume 1 to middle of the pack in Volume 2. The survey coincided with the launch of the Torch and BlackBerry OS 6 which was a significant improvement over its predecessor but still not enough to match the gains of HTC and Samsung who have both moved into a solid second and third place respectively.

There were some notable observations from the latest edition of the study which could explain the movement of various manufacturers:

1. Overall satisfaction was highest among customers who used cell phones which were less than 0.45 inches thick. In other words, customers like their cellphones slim and slender.
2. Customers seemed to prefer touch screen-only cell phones over the QWERTY only or both Touch and QWERTY cellphones. Which would explain why RIM isn’t at the top of this survey given their obvious QWERTY keyboard focused design
3. The better the specs the more satisfied customers were! Faster processing speeds, the most advanced display screen like Super AMOLED, better video and camera led to higher ratings of those cellphones. Features which Apple with the iPhone, Samsung with its Galaxy line and HTC with its 4G cellphones – have in abundance.
4. Mobile applications which enhance the cellphone experience on smartphones drove better overall satisfaction rates. This speaks to access to an ecosystem of mobile applications which exist for Apple and Android. No wonder Apple with iOS, HTC and Samsung, big Android cell phone makers were at the top of the pile.

These observations are good pointers for RIM who are still searching for the ideal blackberry for their customers – faster processor, better screens, access to apps, full touch screen (though I don’t mine a QWERTY option) and sleeker designs. With the iPhone 5 expected out, I expect Apple to expand its lead among its competitors as the iPhone has not had an upgraded sister in over a year. While the survey pointed to overall experiences with the cellphone, another great way to get a good cell phone experience is to get a great cell phone deal.

There is alot of buzz about LTE (Long Term Evolution) which is considered the true “4G” technology, and reason is justified, imagine download speeds of 100 Mbps+, coupled with an all ip based architecture (both voice and data) .  In the US, Verizon launched its LTE network and has been actively promoting it. Here in Canada, Rogers announced its LTE network in Ottawa in July with expansion to Toronto before year end.

This is great so sign me up! Not so fast my friends there is just one problem, well several problems…

• Currently there are no LTE smartphones in Canada, but there will be before year end
•  Cell phone manufacturers aren’t expected to come with  great LTE smartphones until the fall next year – so don’t expect to see many LTE devices too soon
•  The network is limited, so we will need devices that are 3G and 4G LTE capable which will limit the availability of devices further because 3G or 4G non LTE networks will still be the dominant ecosystem for at least another year (maybe 2)
•  Carriers are waiting for Industry Canada (likely in early to mid 2012) to auction off Frequencies in the 700 MHz band which will complete the roll out of LTE in rural and non urban centres
• And finally, because there are so many frequencies being used for LTE even when LTE  devices do come out they many not work here in Canada:

There is no way any LTE device can support so many LTE bands, plus the current 3G bands, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. So we need LTE frequency standards and that will take a while to settle down. So while we can get very excited about LTE being launched, there are just too many issues right now to realize the full benefits of LTE. But for those early adopters who must have the latest and greatest cell phones, ensure you find the right LTE device and plan to support your needs.

Here are the LTE devices which will likely be launched this year and early next year:

Region	LTE Cell phone	Network/ Est. Time Frame
	Samsung Galaxy SS II LTE	Rogers / Q4 2011
	Motrola Atrix revision LTE	Bell / Q2 2012
	HTC ThunderBolt	Rogers / Q1 2012

Skype has launched Skype Wifi a service which connects mobile devices, cell phones and laptops to over 1 million WiFi hotspots around the world. This service allows regular Skype subscribers to pay on a per use basis while traveling. Currently the cell phone app is only available on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, but I suspect it will be on Android soon as well.

Why would you be interested?

Well simply because it allows users to save on their roaming charges. For Canadians roaming charges in the US can be as high as $1.45 per min and $3 per MB, Skype wifi can cost as low as $0.20 per min period (no data charges). That’s huge savings! The drawback of course is that you need to connect to a wifi hotspot, and while there are many in the US in other parts of the world they may not be as many hotspots to connect to, but that is likely to change as Skype continues to expand its service internationally.

How does it work?

The process is fairly simple:

1. Download iPhone App on your iPhone or iPad
2. Add credit to your Skype account
3. From the app join a wifi hotspot
4. Only pay for the time you are online

You will need to get an iPhone in order to make this work today, but you can also leverage the same process on your laptop to connect and get going.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) has announced that Canadians sent 18 billion person-to-person text messages in Q1 2011, representing a 10% growth over the 16.4 billion text messages sent in Q4 2010. With  a third of Canadian mobile users owning a smartphone   it was found that text messaging was one of the more popular functions used (64.5 per cent) followed by taking photos (48.9 per cent). Also with more and more users in the 15 – 25 yrs age group resorting to texting as a means of communicating with their friends, this trend is expected to continue as most of the net additions will fall into this category. Can you imagine 199 Million text messages per day or 23 K per sec.

Smartphone adoption on the rise

Based on the quarterly results of the major wireless carriers, myCELLmyTERMS estimates there are 8.5 million smartphones in use in Canada and growing and that 25 %  of the Population own a smartphone. The Android handsets are becoming increasingly popular with the latest Superphones Samsung Galaxy  S II 4G  along with the Motorola Atrix topping the list. Not to mention the iPhone for the high end users and BlackBerry for the business clients. All of which need a data plan however to really get the full benefit of the phone.

What are the Carriers doing?

The carriers are stepping up with unlimited text plans starting as low as $15 for local text and picture messaging and heavy discounts on handsets thus making it increasingly attractive for new cell phone users to afford these voice plans. WIND Mobile has a Clever package at $15 per month, Mobilicity has there promotional Student Plan for $25 per month while the Big 3 ( Rogers, Bell & Telus) all having unlimited plans as low as $30 with Video added in. For users who can afford a data plan most plans these days  have the unlimited Text messaging  as one of the optional features.

HP announced that it is getting out of the webOS game after lackluster sales of its Palm based products, Pre, HP Veer, and the TouchPad. Despite fairly good reviews of its recently launched tablet the TouchPad, customer interest in the TouchPad was significantly lower than the market leader, Apple’s iPad. None of its devices gathered enough momentum to challenge for market share in a very rapidly evolving space. So what’s next for HP?

Given that the PC market in my opinion will be defined by the webOS market, ie. Smartphones and Tablets will replace laptops and desktops, HP has no other choice but to leave the game entirely. That is why HP announced that it is “Exploring possible separation of world’s leading manufacturing of PCs through spin-off or other transaction” in its recently concluded Q3 call to investors.

I was curious to find out what impact this would have on HP because as far as I can remember HP made PCs and Printers, and printers is a mature market so what’s left for HP? Well I am surprised that its Personal Systems Group (PSG) represents just 31% of its Business. In fact, its Services areas, Financial and Business Services represented 32% of HPs revenues and its Enterprise Server, storage and networking business is a fast growing business. So while the PSG arm is one of its largest businesses its certainly not as large as I initially thought, 50%!

So what this indicates is that the webOS business will be dominated by 2 maybe three players, iOS (Apple), Android (Google) and possibly WP7 (Microsoft), though Microsoft has gathered little traction to date. So if you are looking for the best way to acquire the best webOS devices, look no further than here.