Android dominates smartphones in Q3 2012, Samsung widens its sales lead

Android continues expanding its dominance of the smartphone market, Samsung keeps on increasing its lead as the biggest smartphone maker and Nokia slips catastrophically in Q3 2012. That is a quick summary of what happened in the third quarter of 2012, according to the latest numbers by Gartner.

The analytics company concludes that while overall phone sales dropped slightly, smartphone sales are growing rapidly rising by 46.9% in Q3 2012.

Samsung cemented its position as the most prolific phone manufacturer selling nearly 98 million devices in the quarter.

There are now over 1 billion smartphone users on the planet

In Q3 of 2012, a pretty significant milestone has been reached, according to a study by the research experts at Strategy Analytics. It is estimated that the total number of smartphone owners worldwide has surpassed the 1 billion mark for the first time ever since smartphones came to be back in 1996. In comparison, the figure stood at 0.7 billion at the end of Q3, 2011. That’s huge!

Think of it this way: one in seven people around the globe have some kind of a smartphone, be it an iPhone, an Android handset, a Symbian device, or any kind of phone worthy of being called smart. But what’s even more exciting is that the numbers are to go higher at an even more ridiculous pace, if the research is correct.

Mobile Choice Consumers Award 2012: Samsung Galaxy S III best smartphone, Apple iPad best tablet

The 2012 Mobile Choice Awards have just taken place in London and the results are in – with Samsung’s Galaxy S III coming out on top as Best Smartphone of 2012. Despite its main competitor – the iPhone 5 – enjoying a great deal of early success and record sales figures, it is the Korean company’s quad-core effort which came out on top this time around.

It’s key to note, however, that the iPhone 5 wasn’t actually included in the competition but the iPhone 4S, so while this is something to cherish from Samsung’s point of view, many will wonder how the competition might have gone if the results were coming in later this year, and inclusive of the Cupertino company’s flagship.

The best of upcoming Android smartphones in India

It has been over a fortnight since the conclusion of IFA Trade fair. We saw quite a few new Android device announcements at the event and the first devices from IFA should be landing in the country very soon. We have put together a list of some of the best Android smartphones that are going to be launched in India in the coming weeks.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

It isn’t your typical smartphone. Samsung had carved a new product category “phablets” with the launch of original Note and we are going to see its successor. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is already up for pre-booking on Samsung’s official e-store and Snapdeal.According to our sources and the product listing on Snapdeal, it will become available in the first week of October, while the actual India launch will be happening on September 27^th.

Chipworks confirms that Apple is still using Sony and Omnivision cameras in iPhone 5

Just as last year, Chipworks has taken apart the iPhone 5 and is looking at its parts with a infra-red camera. The chip analysts were able to lift supplier’s names off of both the front and back cameras.  Also just like last year the back 8 megapixel is made by Sony:

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Sony Xperia miro, Xperia SL now on sale in India

Sony’s new and upgraded Xperia S variant ‘SL’ has landed in India and it is not alone. Company’s Xperia miro has also started shipping from online retailers in the country. While Sony Xperia SL is retailing for INR 30,999, Xperia miro is available for INR 14,499.

Sony Xperia SL, which is a high-end smartphone, features 4.3-inch 720p display, Android v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 1.7 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 12.1MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera. The smartphone also comes with 32GB of total internal storage, NFC, and FM Radio.