The latest entry in the Galaxy series–meant as Samsung’s iPhone challenger–has sold much more quickly than its predecessors. The Galaxy S4′s milestone beats the record set by the Galaxy S3, which reached 10 million channel sales 50 days after its launch in 2012. The Galaxy S2 took five months and the Galaxy S seven months to reach the same number.
(Channel sales are to wireless operators and not direct to consumers. In other words, the numbers are for units shipped.)
The Galaxy S4 had to overcome inventory issues that disrupted its U.S. rollout and were attributed by the company to unexpectedly high demand for the phone. Though the Galaxy S4 is indeed selling swiftly, reinforcing Samsung’s dominance of the worldwide smartphone market, Jordan Crook noted after it hit 6 million units shipped that the iPhone is still technically a faster selling phone than any of Samsung’s Galaxy models.
I like little notebooks. I need a place for my introspective musings. Moleskine notebooks are fine. But now there’s DODOnotes, a clever little notebook *slash* iPhone holder that could soon earn a place in my pocket.
This contraption is from DODOcase, the same San Francisco-based startup that created the make-a-tablet-look-like-a-book craze. DODOnotes costs $13.95 and is available for both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4. Sorry, Galaxy S owners; DODOcase doesn’t want your money.
This isn’t a case, per se. DODOnotes is more of an open sleeve. A colorful elastic band holds a naked iPhone into a slight frame. Yeah, that band prevents the owner from, well, playing Dots while it’s held in place, but answering the phone or glancing at notifications is totally possible. But for most actions, the phone needs to be removed. The case is available in red, black or blue.
DODOcase tapped Mohawk for the paper. There are 30 tear-out pages of Mohawk’s Superfine soft white eggshell paper. No lines.
DODOnotes isn’t for everyone. This won’t be a mass hit. But it’s certainly a clever take on the classic notebook. It’s available for order now but takes 2-3 weeks to ship.
Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, is poised to pass 10 million shipments next week less than a month after the device launched, says co-CEO Shin Jong-kyun, according to the Korea Times. The S4′s international release took place on April 27, after the phone launched in Samsung’s home market on April 26.
“We are confident that we will pass more than 10 million sales of the S4 next week. It is selling much faster than the previous model S3,” Jong-kyun told reporters at an industry forum in Seoul yesterday the paper reports. “Samsung spent 50 days to pass the 10 million sales mark for the S3. The S4 will be Samsung’s first ’10 million seller’ device less than a month after its official debut.”
Earlier this week Samsung confirmed shipments of the S4 had passed 6 million, describing it as the fastest ever sell rate for a Galaxy S smartphone, or any other Samsung smartphone. Company officials pointed to increased marketing spending as a key accelerator, according to the Korea Times. Samsung’s smartphone marketing budget dwarfs the other Android OEMs. According to research from Kantar media, reported in the WSJ, the company spent $401m in 2012 advertising its phones in the U.S. alone vs Apple’s $333 million.
It’s worth flagging that shipments are not actual sales. Samsung does not report the latter, however channel shipments at least give an indication of how popular retailers believe a device is going to be.
Apple does report device sales but does not break this out for individual iPhone models, so it’s not possible to compare the like-for-like sales of the iPhone 5 with the Galaxy S4 shipments. That said, Apple did report the opening weekend of iPhone 5 sales — when it said it sold five million of the devices. Reporting its last earnings in April Apple also said it sold a total of 37.4 million iPhones in the quarter.
Nokia will release a new Lumia 925 Windows phone in June. This phone will have a metal case and upgrades to its camera technology.
The Lumia 925 features the same software and technical specifications as its predecessor from Nokia, the Lumia 720. The most notable changes are how the phone looks and feels, and the quality of image it produces. The Verge.com’s Tom Warren writes that the Lumia 925 is made from aluminum on a polycarbonate base rather than the traditional polycarbonate case common among Nokia phones.
The addition of aluminum on the frame and on the sides makes it lightweight. But metal also makes this Windows Phone sturdy — an advantage if employees will use a phone outdoors or in rugged conditions.
Nokia has been focused lately on upgrading its photo and video capture capabilities (Nokia recently invested in a camera technologies company). The Lumia 925 makes improvements on the previous model of Windows phone from the company. An 8.7-megapixel camera accentuated by two LED flash lights adorns the rear of the phone. The camera is mounted inside a small hump on the rear of the phone.
At the time of the 925 release, Nokia announced an update to all Lumia phones, with the addition of Nokia Smart Camera. This camera software captures up to ten images at one time of a moving subject.
The camera upgrades should be welcome news to small business personnel who use smartphone images in their operations or post frequently to social networks. Nokia claims that its low-light images are better than similar ones taken using an iPhone 5.
Windows 8 An Advantage for Business Users
The Lumia 925 is a Windows 8 based smartphone. Warren calls this a weakness, but that depends on how you plan to use a phone. Business owners may find the Windows 8 phone system to be an advantage. The applications and overall look/feel will be familiar to those who use Windows 8 on their desktops. The IT department can provide enterprise-wide support. And there’s integration with desktop Windows.
“We keep innovating,” Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices, said in a statement announcing the details of the Lumia 925. “We’re advancing experiences on the Nokia Lumia portfolio whether that means great new benefits for an existing Lumia owner, or bringing new showcase devices like the Nokia Lumia 925.”
Samsung has confirmed via the Korean website Chosun Ilbo that it has shipped over 6 million units of the Galaxy S4 since its international release on April 26. According to the firm, this is the fastest ever sell rate for a Galaxy S smartphone, or any other Samsung smartphone for that matter.
Specifically, the Galaxy S4 hit 4 million shipments between April 26 (release date) and April 30, and had reached 6 million units sold by May 10.
An executive at the company told Chosun Ilbo the following:
“As of the end of April, we supplied four million Galaxy S4 handsets to telecommunication operators around the world. As of Friday, we have sold more than 6 million units, and we predict that we could break the 10-million mark by as early as the end of this month.”
It’s worth noting that these “sales” are to wireless operators, and not direct to consumers. In other words, Samsung has shipped 6 million units of the Galaxy S4 since April 26.
Obviously, the Galaxy S line is selling notably well for Samsung, and the progress from one generation to the next is made clear by these figures. But even though Samsung dominates the market right now, and has a near-monopoly on Android, the iPhone is still technically a faster selling phone than any of Samsung’s Galaxy models.
Remember when the iPhone 5 launched? Apple clocked over 2 million pre-orders for the latest-generation iPhone in the first 24 hours it was available. For pre-order.
And where progress is concerned, the iPhone’s popularity grows with each generation as well, and in this case even faster than Samsung’s Galaxy S line. iPhone 5 pre-orders were 2x the number of pre-orders seen for the iPhone 4S.
In either case, both companies are raking in the dough with their flagship lines.
