Who sold smartphones in 2012?

Samsung had a great year. For the first time in the company's history, the South Korean giant has received the title of largest global producer of smartphones. Given that we are talking about a company that deals exclusively for smartphones, the achievement is even more spectacular. This performance is measured in 215 million smartphones sold and a market share of 30.9 percent, up from 18.7 percent the previous year. Compared to 2011, Samsung has brought in the hands of users 136% more smartphones in 2012.

In theory, Apple had a very good year. I say in theory because although last year Apple sold 135.8 million iPhones compared to 93.1 million in 2011, this amount was reflected in an increase of only 0.4 percent of the market share. Therefore, if in 2011, Apple was the first producer of smartphones in the world, with 19.1 percent, and in 2012, came second with 19.5 percent. Together, Samsung and Apple currently owns over half of the smartphone market. By the rest of the producers, the difference from heaven to earth.

Huawei is in third place with 7.9% and must work incredibly hard to keep this place in the rankings because other companies like Nokia, BlackBerry, HTC and Sony are also competing to enter the top three in 2013. The problem is that only third place will be available.

Nokia had last year 5% of the market, given that in 2011 had 15.9%. RIM's market share was 4.8%, down from the 10.8% the previous year. HTC took 4.5% of the market compared to the 9.2 in 2011. All went down, with very few exceptions. You may be tempted to boast Huawei or ZTE results. In reality, these increases were due exclusively to the Chinese market, so small that there is little chance that the next phone you buy will be a ZTE, especially if you look at a high-end terminal or if you previously had a Samsung Galaxy S or Apple iPhone.

In the same category as ZTE and Huawei might go Lenovo. However, the performance of the company, which has since has grown to have its headquarters in North Carolina, is completely different. Lenovo didn’t made phones three years ago. The fact that in 2012 managed to sell 24.9 million devices, proves that Lenovo found a recipe that many have had it in the past and lost it. 

Who dominates the smartphone market ?

In the first months of the year, the major statistics companies are fighting to tell us who dominates the smartphone market. Based on this information, to see what has changed in the last 12 months and especially how hard it is to change something in a field dominated by two players.

It seems simple. Manufacturers launch more and more powerful phones, sign contracts with mobile operators and consumers end up changing their phone every year ... really that simple? But the reality is that most manufacturers impress increasingly less. For these devices the market is growing from year to year, but there are fewer manufacturers getting richer from this.

The current phenomenon reminds me of the launch of the first iPad, a device that wasn’t described in megahertz, megabytes or milliamps. Again, specs matter less the brand name increasingly more. Obscure or less obscure companies launch phones that you do not buy, even if in terms of specifications might be close those of the S3.

In 2013, when we think of smartphones, we are talking about a customer base that craves for the latest Galaxy or dreaming of the next iPhone. Companies have created fans as if where rock bands. Launching new devices seem like concerts and the first reviews are no longer limited to tests and specifications, but the impressions, feelings and systems. In this system, users of the Galaxy S II or S3 and will not buy anything than a new Galaxy S or possibly a Note. The same is true with iPhone users who would not abandon their precious iDevices.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Review

As always when I get a new gadget or update for my PC something new gets on the market. When I bought my Samsung galaxy S3 they announced the S4. 

Confirms expectations and rumors that we will see a new S bigger faster. At first glance it's a power upgrade that promises a phone on anabolic steroids. Let's see some specifications which anticipate. Screen, housing, camera, processor, battery, new functions.

Screen: Is 5 "too much?

Samsung is aligned with the diagonal of 5 "(4.99 exactly) with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, or 1080p. This implies a pixel density of 443 ppi, which is the most advanced mobile display used so far by Samsung. The solution is already used in several smartphones like Sony Xperia Z, Huawei Ascend D2, ZTE Grand S, Asus Padfone Infinity. On the market there are displays Sharp or LG IPS technology in these figures. And Samsung has already announced this month that it will have a Super AMOLED 4.9 1080p "is therefore logical to guess that S4 will be their first phone with this display. It's the third over iPhone5 as pixel density though you will never notice in everyday life. The idea is that you now have in your pocket a screen as detailed as the one at home, if you have an LED, LCD or plasma FULL HD. This however comes at a cost. Battery and GPU will work harder, will consume more power. More pixels projected demand more rear light to see them. 5 "diagonal density (crowding of pixels) is so large that we need more light. It remains to be seen how it will do so in sunlight.

I would also add something about the ergonomics of the display. It's already more than 0.2 "from the Samsung Galaxy S3 considered when launching too high. Meanwhile we got used to the 5.5 "NOTE2's so it would be a solution for small hands. Increased by 0.2 "in diagonal could be introduced without affecting the ergonomics if Samsung would lower the edge of the screen bezel that site. Motorola Razr I have already done this successfully (although as a lower diagonal) display but packs a more compact housing causing the phone to not look so big.

CPU: 8 cores??!

Samsung makes its own processors. Exynos is already a recognized name in the industry. The problem is that everyone has quad-core smart phones for over a year so you can’t come up with the same Exynos on it modifying the frequency and helping it with 2 GB of RAM. Hearing about the possibility of a phone with 8 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz so. Unfortunately is enormous and unnecessary for an ordinary user’s needs. At least at first glance. So I'd bet on a different strategy. I think we actually have two physical processors with four cores or eight cores logical one in four individuals. The idea is to offer its users the optimal speed for typical use and to "put NOS" on the 4 cores x 1.8 GHz when running advanced 3D games, video 4K (?) Or you can transform your phone into a computer connected to TV. Samsung promises we can’t just muscle up a bodybuilder on steroids who can’t run 100m hurdles. WOW must come up with something to put this machine to work beyond the leader’s scores in “benchmark" test.

Case: I hope it will not be all plastic. But...

You already know the Samsung's custom. Everything looks fine and dandy on their phones, less material for its housing. Here to save and put plastic so thin that it flexes like a piece of paper. Varnishes him and tell him Glaze Hyper. However Samsung Galaxy S3 looks sexy and feels nice in the hand because it's thin. To quote from Korean: "Le plastique east Fantastique." It would be wrong however to upgrade to aluminum or magnesium. Let's dream of polycarbonate, carbon fiber and Kevlar. If HTC, Nokia or Motorola can, so can Samsung. Otherwise you end up Samsung Galaxy S4 is said to be a HTC One plastic. That would hurt...

Memory: I hope for more than 32GB flash

Samsung also produces flash memory but is so expensive that I do not think that will give us all out of 128GB. Will probably go for the 32GB and 64GB versions plus 25-50GB of Dropbox storage for a year. Doesn’t sound bad but it will sound even better when local operators will offer free cloud for large subscriptions. Orange prepares packages between 50-100GB of free traffic slopes for mobile network cloud. Enough for me.

Operating System: Android 4.2 will do

Since 2.3.5, android never moved so well. New Jelly Bean drone versions 4.1.2 or 4.2 on quad-core phones. New features such as ball room or intelligent notifications, Google and others don’t impress us like the stability of the new operating system. HTC One for example is the most powerful Android tested which doesn’t delay not even a second when you open an application, camera or internet browser. S4 should be faster, right?

Camera: 10 megapixel useless

On Samsung Galaxy S3 camera is mediocre. In a market with 8-megapixel sensors are all "fences" I do not want to hear an upgrade to 10 megapixels is weak. I must admit that we can’t squeeze large sensor in a thin phone. I want 4-5 mpx but well. Noiseless images and better low light sensitivity. We already have good cameras on the iPhone 5, but the Lumia 920 is by far the best of the HTC One. It is expected and optical stabilization solution although I do not think it will be only one digital so that no filming or pictures end shaken.

Battery: Lithium but large capacity!!

I do not think they have the courage to reinvent battery or introduce technologies such fuel cells (fuel cell) or film solar load. Likely to climb to 3,000 mAh battery as the new S4 Galaxy to pass over an intense day. But it will be a challenge with a potent processor and a 1080p screen very dense. Think that will bring wireless charging, because Samsung has joined the alliance with PQI who wants to standardize the technology. You put the phone on all kinds of devices with wireless charging technology like mouse pads, speakers in the dashboard or in the future office from IKEA as is already with the Nokia Lumia 920.

What else?

I talked to people who have seen it and saw that it can do and some things WOW. I mean look at the bottom of the screen and runs on the picture. It used the front room as it does now with Smart Stay function that keeps the screen on while you look at it. There will probably revive the S Voice that does not work today. It is expected that Samsung's fans add features for photo and video sharing and advanced screen mirroring on new TVs. Samsung All Share Cast Dongle is already a pretty good device for that and the technology can be improved.

These are my reasonable expectations of the new S4. We need to take into account another fact. S4 will be the phone of 2013 and will cement Samsung's leadership in this market. They chose to launch in the U.S., New York in Times Square. This is a strong statement. And maybe shake and dust of is. It is the most stable operating system on a mobile phone but it's time to restore it and become the smartest.

Samsung Galaxy S4 release

tune in for more updates on the galaxy 

South Koreans from Samsung will launch the new Galaxy range on March14

Samsung Galaxy smartphone will launch next March 14 in New York, after the Galaxy S3 was launched in London, and analysts believe this move as an intent to Koreans strongest rival, Apple in the North American market.

In the promotional clip for Samsung Galaxy S4 takes the features, but stated that this phone will be one of the most amazing devices that were launched on the market since color television.

Samsung Galaxy S4 is speculated that it will have a 5-inch screen, quad-core 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 16GB storage space can be expanded up to 64 GB, 13 MP camera and system the Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).