iPhone 4S and Galaxy Nexus Cap off The Year Of The Smartphone

Though many supercilious predictions from analysts and market watchers 2011 was not the year of the tablet. 2011 was the year of the smartphone. In the United States, almost of all cell phone users own smartphones and Global smartphone saturation is now approaching 10%. While smartphones flourished all year long, 2011 would save best for the last: at the start of fourth quarter, Apple opened its latest iPhone handset and as the year about to close, Verizon and Samsung launched the Galaxy Nexus.

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Amazon: More Than 4Million Kindles Sold This Holiday Season

2011 IS THE BEST HOLIDAY EVER FOR KINDLE

Amazon just released huge numbers regarding its Kindle sales over the holiday season, as the company sold more than 4 million of the devices.

It was the best holiday-ever for the Kindle family. Infact every week,  customers purchased more than 1 million Kindle devices, with the Kindle Fire Tablets leading the pack with the most sales, followed by the kindle Touch and the original Kindle ereader. On Amazon in the UK, Denmark, Spain and Italy, Kindle devices were the best selling products.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement:
"we are very grateful to our customers worldwide for making this best holiday ever for Kindle"

Amazon customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers#1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 published independently by authors using Kindle Direct PublishingBusinesses selling on Amazon have record-breaking holiday salesSEATTLE, Dec. 29, 2011 – (NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that 2011 was the best holiday ever for the Kindle family as customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers.  Authors also continue to benefit from the success of Kindle — the #1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 were both published independently by their authors using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).“We are grateful to our customers worldwide for making this the best holiday ever for Kindle,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO.  “And in a huge milestone for independent publishing, we’d also like to congratulate Darcie Chan, the author of ‘The Mill River Recluse,’ and Chris Culver, the author of ‘The Abbey,’ for writing two of the best-selling Kindle books of the year.”More Kindle holiday facts:·         Throughout December, customers purchased well over 1 million Kindle devices per week.·         The new Kindle family held the top three spots on the Amazon.com best seller charts – #1: Kindle Fire, #2: Kindle Touch, #3: Kindle.·         Kindle Fire is the #1 best-selling, most gifted, and most wished for product across the millions of items available on Amazon.com since its introduction 13 weeks ago.·         Kindle is also the best-selling product on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es and Amazon.it this holiday season.·         Gifting of Kindle books was up 175 percent between this Black Friday and Christmas Day compared to the same period in 2010.·         Christmas Day was the biggest day ever for Kindle book downloads.·         Kindle Fire is the best-selling product on Amazon.com’s mobile website and across all of Amazon.com’s mobile applications.Additional Kindle Direct Publishing successes include:·         December’s #1 best-selling Kindle Direct Publishing book “Wife by Wednesday” was also the #5 overall best-selling Kindle book in December and has appeared on both the USA Today and Wall Street Journal best seller lists. Author Catherine Bybee was formerly an emergency room registered nurse, and has now left her job to focus on writing full-time.

• In 2011, KDP and CreateSpace author CJ Lyons reached #2 on the Amazon best seller list, #2 on the New York Times best seller list, and #4 on the USA Today best seller list. As a former pediatric ER doctor, CJ has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels, and she quit her job in medicine after 17 years to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time novelist.  Her latest work includes “Face to Face” and “Hot Water.”

Businesses Selling on Amazon2011 was also a record-breaking holiday season for businesses that sell on Amazon.  Third-party sellers experienced record holiday growth: the number of sellers who exceeded $5,000 in sales during the holiday season increased 44 percent year-over-year.  For the year, businesses on Amazon sold hundreds of millions of units worth billions of dollars worldwide.Scharf Industries, an office supplies and electronics provider, increased its sales on Amazon by over 500 percent this holiday season compared with last holiday season.“We greatly value the cooperation that we have developed with Amazon,” said Andrew D. Scharf, CMO of Scharf Industries.  “They have provided us with the tools necessary to grow our business in a rapid and efficient manner.”Ken Reiss, the owner of Reiss Innovations, LLC, started with one Amazon Webstore, selling five to 10 mouse pads for the year. Six years later he has a successful eCommerce business, selling through multiple Amazon Webstores.  Just this year alone, Reiss saw a 21 percent increase in sales compared with the holiday season last year. He has also increased the number of product listings by 50 percent over 2010 and recently extended his business to Canada.According to Reiss, one of the most beneficial aspects of his relationship with Amazon is that “It allows me to scale in efficiency. I can devote my time to building vendor relations and growing my inventory, rather than worrying about logistical aspects, such as shipping products.” Reiss currently stores 90 percent of his inventory in Amazon’s warehouses, up from 75 percent last year.Other seller successes include:·         Amazon’s third-party sellers sold enough cameras for every fan at the next 10 Super Bowls to snap their own shots of the winning touchdown.·         Amazon’s third-party sellers sold enough toys in 2011 to give a toy to every resident of Chicago.  In fact, they sold as many Lalaloopsy Dolls as there are lights on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City.·         Debra Keyes, CEO of The Internet Department Store, which sells costumes for both adults and children, began utilizing Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) – the Amazon service that stores, packs and ships orders for third-party sellers – as soon as it launched.  By January 2011, she had 1,300 products listed in FBA.  That number has now grown to 7,800 products by November 2011. During that same time period, the company’s sales increased by 34 percent.Holiday Fun Facts Shipping:

• The last One-Day Prime order that was delivered in time for Christmas was placed on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. PST and shipped to Ballwin, Mo. The item was “The Cook’s Herb Garden,” a book by Jeff Cox and Marie-Pierre Moine.

• The last Local Express Delivery order that was delivered in time for Christmas went to Seattle, Wash. It was a Sony Rechargeable Battery Pack that was ordered at 2:35 p.m. PST on Christmas Eve and delivered at 6:15 p.m. PST that same evening.

• Earlier this year, an Amazon customer called with an urgent request for large volume of a single book, which they needed at the airport the next day before they boarded a flight. The books were special gifts and no other retailer had them available in such short notice.  Even though the cutoff time had passed for all traditional delivery methods, Amazon was able to arrange a delivery to the customer’s hotel just prior to their departure for the airport.

Customer Purchases (Amazon.com only; holiday timeframe-specific):·         Amazon customers purchased enough copies of Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” book to create a stack taller than Mt. Everest.·         The cumulative weight of the Bowflex 552 Adjustable Dumbbells purchased by Amazon customers would outweigh more than 70 adult elephants.·         If you unfolded and stacked each pair of jeans purchased by Amazon customers this holiday, the height would be 2,500 times taller than the Statue of Liberty.·         Amazon customers purchased enough sweaters to outfit each of Santa’s reindeer during Christmas Eve deliveries for the next 14,000 years.·         Amazon customers purchased enough copies of Just Dance 3 to give 15 copies to each person who participated in setting the world record for simultaneous dancing.·         Amazon customers purchased enough HeatMax HotHands Handwarmers to give a pair to each resident of Iceland.·         Amazon customers purchased enough Rory’s Story Cubes to give a cube to each person watching the New Year’s Eve ball drop live at Times Square.Holiday Best Sellers (Amazon.com only; based on units ordered):

• Electronics: Kindle Fire; Kindle Touch; and Kindle

• Toys: Rory’s Story Cubes; Qwirkle Board Game; and Perplexus Maze Game

·         Video Games: Just Dance 3; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

• Sports & Outdoors: Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation DVD Set; Emergency Fire Starter; and Flexible Flyer Snowball Maker

• Home & Kitchen: Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler; Fred M-Cups Measuring Matroyshkas; and Pure Komachi 2 Series Hollow-Ground Santoku Knife

• Books: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson; “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever” by Jeff Kinney; and “11/22/63” by Stephen King

• Kindle Books: “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins; “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins; and “The Litigators” by John Grisham

• CD: “Christmas” by Michael Bublé; “21” by Adele; and “Duets II” by Tony Bennett

• Amazon MP3: “100 Classic Christmas Songs” by Various Artists; “Mylo Xyloto” by Coldplay; and “A Very She & Him Christmas” by She & Him

• DVD: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2”; “Bridesmaids”; and “The Help”

• Amazon Instant Video: “Super 8”; “The Help”; and “Crazy, Stupid, Love”

• Watches: Timex 1440 Sports Digital Resin Strap Watch; LEGO Kids’ Star Wars Darth Vader Mini-Figure Alarm Clock; and XOXO Rhinestone Accent Gold-Tone Bracelet Watch

• Jewelry: 10k White Gold Round Diamond Stud Earrings; Sterling Silver Amethyst Butterfly Pendant; and White Peacock and Pink Freshwater Cultured Pearl Button 3 Pair Stud Earrings Set

• Clothing: Levi’s 501 Jean; Levi’s 505 Straight Fit Jean; and Levi’s 550 Relaxed Fit Jean

• Shoes: UGG Australia Classic Tall Boots; Crocs Classic Clog; and BEARPAW Emma Short Boot

• Beauty: Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift Eau de Parfum Spray; Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System; and NARS Orgasm Blush

• Health & Personal Care: Philips Norelco SensoTouch Electric Shaver; Philips Norelco Shaving System; and Philips Sonicare Essence Power Toothbrush

• Tools & Home Improvement: Streamlight Nano Light Miniature Keychain LED Flashlight; Smith’s PP1 Pocket Pal Multifunction Sharpener; and Black & Decker All-In-One SureGrip Laser Level

• Automotive: Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger; Wagan 12-Volt Heated Seat Cushion; and Mystic Industries Reindeer Vehicle Costume

• Baby: Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes; Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether; and Cloud B Twilight Turtle Constellation Night Light

·         AmazonWireless: Motorola DROID RAZR 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless); Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G Android Phone (Sprint); and Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Android Phone (AT&T)

• Amazon Appstore for Android: Angry Birds (Ad-Free); TETRIS; and Pandora Internet Radio

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Andy Rubin: 3.7 Million Android Devices Were Activated During Christmas Weekend

Andy Rubin head of Google's Android confirmed through twitter on Wednesday that there were a total of 3.7 million Android devices turn on December 24th and December 25th combined. Google just said that now more than 700,000 Android devices activated per day on average, which means the average daily activation figure was more that doubled over the holiday weekend. To make a new record for the most activations in a single day, Flurry Analytics informed previously this week that iOS and Android activations jumped 353% during the holiday weekend. Flurry also said more than 6.8 million Android and iOS devices were activated on December 25h (Christmas Day) alone.

"Historically, more iOS and Android Apps are downloaded Christmas than on any other day of the year. This is due to a massive influx of smartphones and tablets given as gifts. As fast as loved-ones can unwrap their shiny, new Galaxy IIs, iPhones, iPads, Kindle Fires, etc etc, they start loading them up with new apps", the Company said.

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Free, Legal Siri Port Now Available For iPhone 4 And Other iOS 5 Devices

Very famous developer Chpwn has finally released first legal Siri port to public for older generation iOS devices. Dubbed as Spire, the port allows iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 4G/3G and first-gen iPad users, jailbroken on iOS 5, to run Siri, which has official been available only for iPhone 4S users.

Chpwn has explained on his blog:

However, Spire is not a complete solution. Apple still requires authorization to use Siri, so information from an iPhone 4S is still required. To insert this information, Spire allows you to enter your own proxy server address. I’ve put up a list of my ideas on how you might get access to a proxy; hopefully you can figure something out. 

Chpwn suggestions to get a Siri proxy:

• westbaer’s SiriProxy fork
  • Own an iPhone 4S too: Maybe you already own an iPhone 4S, and just want Siri on another device of yours. This is simple; you can just use the above proxy yourself.
  • Find a friend: Maybe your friend has an iPhone 4S and will let you use their authentication tokens (maybe in exchange for some cool SiriProxy plugins). Then, you can share the authentication. Or, maybe you gave your relative your old iPhone when you got your iPhone 4S: now you can share your token and give them Siri.
• Pay up: It’s very likely that soon we will see for-pay services online to rent you some space on a Siri proxy, attached to one of their iPhone 4S devices. I haven’t seen anything like this yet, but I’ll keep my eye out, and I would encourage anyone who is interested to set something like this up.
• And now for something completely different: As I suggested earlier, you might be able to replace Siri entirely. A simple method might be to use Google Chrome’s speech “API” hooked up to some code to decode the Siri requests and parse Google’s result. Or, someone could hook it up to some logic backends like many of the clones available on Android: the possibilities are endless.

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Apple's "12 Days Of Christmas" App Brings 12 Days Of iTunes Freebies

Apple has initiated their 12 Days of Christmas freebies promotion on iTunes. The advertising period is 26th December to 6th January.

To get access to these freebies, you can download the 12 Days of Christmas application. Each freebies will be available only for 24 hours and so it would be better to check for a new one everyday.

You and your friends can download a fantastic selection of songs, music videos, apps and books for free. Each download will only be available for 24 hours. Get our special 12 Days of Christmas app to make it even easier to access your gifts while you’re on the go.

The application needs iOS 4.3 or later and is compatible with :

• iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S
• iPod Touch 3rd Generation and iPod Touch 4th Generation
• iPad and iPad 2

The first freebie is a free Coldplay album for the users in UK. The freebies should includes music videos, games, apps etc. Those in the UK can get their hands on the app now, as it is available in the UK iTunes store here, while it is likely to be released in Canada and selected European markets imminently. 

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Apple Replaced iPod Nano Units With Current Generation Models

Apple begun shipping out current generation iPod nanos as replacements for first-generation units, users are reporting that they indeed receiving the current models.

Just received our replacement today - Fedex truck pulled up late in the evening. Inside was our replacement for our 1st gen ipod nano that was sent into Apple 1 month ago. 
It's a 6th generation ipod nano, serial number shows that warranty has expired. Not sure if that means that it's a refurbished model or if it's a brand new model and they've deactivated the warranty. It's silver. 

Apple primarily started the iPod nano in 2 GB and 4 GB capacities priced at $ 199/$249 back in September 2005, adding a $ 149 1 GB model a few months afterward. The device consumed a click wheel for navigation and contained a 1.5 - inch screen for displaying the standard iPod software interface. it has long capacity of battery with 14 hours of music playback and four hours of photo slideshows with music.

The current iPod nano is less than half the size of the original iPod nano and consumes a 1.5-inch touch screen with software skinned to appear like iOS. It is having 8 GB ($129) and 16 GB ($149) capacities and offers up to 24 hour music play back.

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Santa's Newest Little Helper Is Siri

Apple themed a very cute advertisement on Christmas for the holidays. Commercial star, Santa Claus is using iPhone 4S with its most amazing feature, Siri, to deal with his Christmas Eve deliveries. In creative ways Santa reveals the many uses of Siri like finding directions, searching for emails (those one containing a "Naughty or Nice list"), even Siri reads a funny message for Santa from Mrs Claus.

Santa: How does the rest of my day look? Siri: You have 3.7 billion appointments

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Google To Launch Siri Competitor soon, called Majel

Apple is currently leading the smartphone market with Android. But Apple is in a more favorable condition as its latest generation smartphone, the iPhone 4S has its own voice control assistant called Siri. No doubt, it can't be an innovatory feature, as Google has been working on such a system for a long time, but at the moment Siri ensures high sales for the iPhone 4S. The truth is Android users jealous iOS users and it can not be ignored. But here is a good news for all non-iPhone 4S users - Google's version of Siri is in process and probably it will be called Majel.

Google's director of Android OS users Experience, they describe their approach which won't try to mimic Siri's attitude:

The metaphor I like to take is – if it’s Star Wars, you have these robot personalities like C-3PO who runs around and he tries to do stuff for you, messes up and makes jokes, he’s kind of a comic relief guy. Our approach is more like Star Trek, right, starship Enterprise; every piece of computing surface, everything is voice-aware. It’s not that there’s a personality, it doesn’t have a name, it’s just “Computer.” And you can talk to it and you can touch it, you can interact with it at the same time as you talk with it. It’s just another way to interface with the computer.

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Nokia Executive Thinks Apple's Focus On Apps In iOS Is "Outdated"

Bleeding smartphones sales, CEO Stephen Elop and company were forced to make a strong decision. After some years of development, Nokia announced earlier this year that it would be dropping Symbian OS in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.

in a current interview, Weber told the publication that iOS and Android were - get this - "doing it wrong." He explained that he felt that their focus on applicants was "outdated."

Here's a small piece from the interview:

“While Apple’s iPhone, and its underlying iOS operating system, set the standard for a modern user interface with “pinch and zoom,” Weber conceded, it also forces people to download multiple applications which they then have to navigate between. There’s a lot of touching involved as you press icons or buttons to activate application features.” 

Weber sounds pretty sure, considering Nokia may not even release a Windows Phone handset Stateside until 2012. On top of that, there are some other manufacturers making hardware sporting Microsoft's mobile OS.

What do you say... Apple needs to think again its "app focus? Or is this Nokia executive blowing smoke?

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Galaxy Tab 10.1 To Be Available Across Australia In Time For Christmas!

The Australian judicial system has finally made a decision on the fate of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Apple's request to appeal the decision at the High Court has been rejected, meaning that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available to buy in stores in the time of Christmas.

From Herald Sun:

SAMSUNG can now release its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia after Apple’s application for special leave to appeal was dismissed in the High Court.
A spokeswoman for Samsung confirmed the tablet will be launched in Australia in time for Christmas following the High Court decision in Sydney.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available for $ 579 and $ 729 for the WiFi and WiFi + 3G models respectively in Australia "in time for Christmas". Samsung Electronics Australia is pleased to announce the availability of highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Samsung Said in a statement:

The decision clearly affirmed our view that Apple's claims lack merit and that an injunction should not have been imposed on the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

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