china brands

China's biggest brands are jostling for the spotlight at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. HuaWei was one of the first companies to invite press to preview its latest offerings at the Spanish mobile conference. On show was a new mid-range smartphone, the Ascend G6, designed with a youth market in mind, plus two new phablets which will provide Apple's iPad Mini with competition. But it was the electronic giant's wearable offering which was most talked-about. The Talkband is a smart bracelet that can monitor the user's fitness and it can also be separated from its base to work as a bluetooth ear-piece. The Chinese companies ambition is evident but will innovation and engineering be enough to help it to establish itself as a main player in the European and American markets? Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA (the organisation behind the Barcelona congress) said the global market is becoming less of a closed shop. "Chinese companies have about 10% to 15% in the device market now but I think that's really going to take off over the next few years," he told Sky News.

Can Lenovo do an IBM with Motorola?

Years down the line, whenever there is a discussion about Lenovo, 30 January 2014 is likely to get a special mention. It will be seen as the day it took a big step towards becoming a dominant player in the smartphone sector. Once completed, Lenovo's deal to acquire Motorola Mobility for $2.91bn (£1.8bn) will see it become the world's third-biggest smartphone maker. That is a big achievement, not least because until just two years ago Lenovo's global market share was negligible. "This is a great position for Lenovo to be in, as it looks to power the next chapter of its growth," says Manoj Menon, managing director of consulting firm Frost and Sullivan. 'Launch pad' However, most of its growth in the sector so far has been fuelled by China, which, with nearly 1.2 billion mobile phone subscribers, is one of the fastest growing markets for smartphones. It is also benefiting from the growing demand for low-cost smartphones from other emerging markets. But it has so far failed to make a mark in developed economies such as the US. Analysts say Lenovo's Motorola deal could help it crack these markets. "This could be the launch pad that Lenovo so desperately needed to become a significant global player," says Melissa Chau, a senior research manager with research firm IDC.

Smartphone Global Market Share - 2013
Ranking	Vendor	Sales
1. Samsung 31.3%
2. Apple 15.3%
3. Huawei 4.9%
4. LG 4.8%
5. Lenovo 4.5%
SOURCE: IDC WORLDWIDE MOBILE PHONE TRACKER

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Smartphone Global Market Share - 2013
Ranking	Vendor	Sales
SOURCE: IDC WORLDWIDE MOBILE PHONE TRACKER
1.	Samsung	31.3%
2.	Apple	15.3%
3.	Huawei	4.9%
4.	LG	4.8%
5.	Lenovo	4.5%

Many mobile phone carriers subsidise handsets for consumers in developed economies, meaning manufacturers need to work closely with carriers to boost their sales. This is where, analysts say, Motorola's brand image could help. Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's PC business in 2005 - featuring the ThinkPad range - is seen as key to it overtaking Hewlett-Packard as the world's top PC maker in 2012. "Using Motorola, just as Lenovo used the IBM ThinkPad brand, to gain quick credibility and access to desirable markets and build critical mass makes a lot of sense," says Frank Gillett, an analyst with Forrester Research. Motorola is currently the third-biggest Android-based smartphone manufacturer in the US. It also works with more than 50 mobile phone carriers across the globe.

Google sells Motorola Mobility unit to Lenovo for $3bn

Google has sold struggling US mobile phone company Motorola Mobility to Chinese computer maker Lenovo for $2.91bn (£1.8bn), in a surprise move. Google had paid $12.5bn for the company less than two years ago. Lenovo plans to build up its smartphone unit through the Motorola purchase, which may help offset its slowing personal computer business. However, Google will keep the majority of Motorola's lucrative patents, which include one for Android software. In a statement, Google said the smartphone market was "super competitive" and that Motorola would "be better served by Lenovo". The purchase is set to make Lenovo the world's third-largest smartphone maker behind Samsung and Apple. Chinese deal-maker This is the second major acquisition for Lenovo in the same number of weeks. Last Thursday, the Thinkpad-maker announced it had acquired IBM's low-end server business for $2.3bn, in what was then China's biggest technology deal. Shares of Lenovo being traded in Hong Kong fell by more than 8% following the announcement, which came after the US market had closed. "Whether Lenovo can turn around the long-struggling Motorola business, and what happens to the Motorola brand long-term, remain key questions that will need to be answered in the coming months," Strategy Analytics said. On a conference call following the deal's announcement, Lenovo chief financial officer Wong Waiming said they were not concerned that they may have overpaid for Motorola.

Lenovo is the world's third-biggest personal computer maker "Market prices go up and down and I would not take a one-day or half-day performance as a reflection of the market viewing it negatively," he said. Mr Wong also said there was "no urgent need" for the company to tap the capital markets for money to fund the Motorola purchase given it had more than $3bn in cash available. Acquisition spree The purchase of Motorola was Google's largest acquisition and it signalled a growing effort by the search giant to enter the hardware business. Motorola Mobility created the Moto X and Moto G phones. Despite the sale, Google chief executive Larry Page insisted in a blog post: "This does not signal a larger shift for our other hardware efforts." The deal with Lenovo comes on the heels of an acquisition spree for Google. In January, it snapped up DeepMind, a UK firm focused on artificial intelligence, and bought military robot-maker Boston Dynamics in December. Global ambitions In announcing Wednesday's purchase, Lenovo cited the strength of Motorola's brand, which has been revived in recent years with Google's help. "The acquisition of such an iconic brand, innovative product portfolio and incredibly talented global team will immediately make Lenovo a strong global competitor in smartphones," said Yang Yuanqing, chief executive of Lenovo, in a statement. "We will immediately have the opportunity to become a strong global player in the fast-growing mobile space," he added. He also noted the acquisition gives Lenovo an entry into the North American and Latin American markets, as well as a toehold in Western Europe. The transaction must still be approved by US and Chinese regulators.

Nokia Sales Drop By 29% In Last Three Months

As Microsoft prepares to take on the struggling handset unit of Nokia, the Finnish firm reports a further smartphone sales drop. Struggling handset maker Nokia has seen its smartphone sales plunge 29% in the last quarter. The Finnish company said its overall business made a net loss of €25m (£20m) in the final three months of 2013. The company said its Lumia smartphones failed to draw business away from larger competitors such as Apple and Samsung. The decline hit the sector that Microsoft is due to take over. The devices and services unit being bought by Microsoft saw total sales fall to €2.6bn (£2.13bn) from €3.7bn (£3bn) a year earlier. The unit recorded an operating loss of €191m (£156m) compared with an operating profit of €97m (£80m) in the fourth quarter of 2012. Nokia revealed sales of 30 million Lumia handsets throughout 2013. The figure was double that of 2012 but it failed to pose a challenge the dominant brands of Apple and Samsung. Once the global mobile phone leader, Nokia teamed up with Microsoft in 2011 in hopes of a turnaround. But it has suffered further damage from lower cost phones developed in China and elsewhere in South East Asia. In 2013 Nokia agreed to a handset unit sale to Microsoft valued at the time at £3.7bn. Shareholders approved the deal and it is expected to be completed before April. The company will focus on intellectual property in future. "During the fourth quarter, Nokia's continuing businesses produced a healthy underlying operating margin of 12%," CEO Risto Siilasmaa said. "While the first quarter of the year is seasonally weak for our continuing operations, we continue to expect the closing of the Microsoft transaction to significantly improve Nokia's earnings profile." Nokia's retained operations, which include solutions, networks, mapping services and advanced technologies, also saw sales slump to €3.4bn (£2.8bn) in Q4 - down 21% from a year earlier.

Pentagon Spree Boosts BlackBerry's Fortunes

BlackBerry's near-death experience may now be over, after the US military goes on a shopping spree for new "mobility" devices.

Struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry has seen its share price soar after the Pentagon said it would buy a swathe of new handsets. Last week, the US military announced that it would have a surge in "mobility" devices, including iPads, iPhones, and Samsung tables and smartphones. On Tuesday the world's biggest defence spender announced it would buy 80,000 BlackBerrys, boosting the firm's share price rise by 9.36%. The Canadian company has now seen its shares rocket by more than 60% from its lows last month, when it reported a quarterly loss of more than £2.6bn.

In response to the hefty hit BlackBerry said it would outsource production to Taiwan-based Foxconn. Foxconn makes products for Apple in China and has come under repeated criticism for work conditions for its mainland employees. Industry experts believe the outsourcing will now help BlackBerry concentrate on software and services - avoiding many of the risks of the volatile smartphone segment. Last year, the company said it was considering a sale or other strategic move, but later scrapped those plans and told customers it was staying in the smartphone business. On Tuesday it also announced plans to sell most of its Canadian property holdings as part of a new management strategic plan. BlackBerry helped create a culture of mobile users glued to smartphones - and were once nicknamed "CrackBerrys" in reference to the addictive habit of checking emails. The encryption system used by the firm was once seen as a benefit for many firms, including the White House administration. But the firm lost its pre-eminent position as people swapped to iPhones and Google's Android software. The company still has around 70 million subscribers worldwide, but most of these are using older handsets, with newer devices on the BlackBerry 10 platform unveiled a year ago failing to sell. :: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

Choosing the best smartphone on the market can be challenging, and fishing through millions of online mobile device comparison and reviews never seems to help either. Why? Because this device comparison and review articles being posted online to tech and PC blogs are not written by people who truly use and love the products they are reviewing. This writer’s are paid to make the best overall impression possible, in order to make room for the best possible sales results once launched. Many of these so called “Tech Experts” are merely just writer’s and editors who have years of experience and a wealth of knowledge, who are used purely just for purposes of SEO and Original Content to drive traffic to there websites and sales down there mainline.

So where does this leave the consumer?

The customer needing and wanted accurate information in order to make to a choice for the best smartphone on the market. Now-A-Day; you are lucky to ever truly read a review that has been written by someone who has used the product more than 30 minutes! Now it does not take a rocket scientist to know that it takes much longer than that in order to truly get a feel for a devices hardware and software. To truly know the ends and outs of the device, in our to give a fare assessment to your readers, and to give valid insight that will go toward making such an important purchase.

So what’s your point?
My point here is that one must be very careful were they go to read any comparison and review given on the internet. Big sites like CNET, Techcrunch, and Technobuffalo all have there own agenda! For example, CNET in particular ways heavy on iOS Devices and Hardware because most of there advertising review comes from iOS shoppers reading reviews and buying accessories from their 3rd party advertising partners. There have also been many reports that CNET has been paid directly from Apple in order

to insure the success of their product launches (this can not be confirmed nor denied). Can even take a look at Technobuffalo, who’s entire m/o consist of pushing Android off on the world. Because Technobuffalo’s staff mainly includes Android users and developers, their entire blog is over 75% Android related. Now for those of you who are purely one team over the other (Apple vs. Android) this would make a great source for you, but if you just so happen to be like me and most of America who likes their options, you would prefer your source not be piggy backing of one teams success over the others.

Okay unbiased Comparison and Review Post, so were can I find them?

You can find all the mobile device comparison and review post your heart desires at http://mobiletechnologytalk.com, were you can search for your favorite mobile devices including: Cell Phones, Tablets, and Laptops! Get real-time feed back from mobile device loving geeks such as yourself! So what are you waiting for? Your dreams device is waiting!

Motorola Droid Maxx – When Good Battery Life Meets Android

Motorola Droid Maxx

Overall the Motorola Droid Maxx delivers very good and long battery life, a 5.4 inch colorful screen, and a durable, attractive, and tuff design. The camera takes great pictures and preforms on command with no lag or stutter like other devices in its class. Couple all those wonderful features with active screen-based notifications and quick-launching camera options, and you find yourself wondering why all androids could not have been like this one! The only bad thing that must be said about this device is the pricing, which is way too high sitting right at about $709.99 (ONLY THROUGH VERIZON). But hey; if you can get past the high price tag for such a premium device, then you may have found what you are looking for in the Motorola Droid Maxx. From a design standpoint, the differences between the Motorola Droid Maxx and other android such as its little brother the Droid Ultra are night and day. It may take a while at first though, until you really start to dig into the device. At a whopping 5.4 inches tall by 2.8 inches wide, the Motorola Droid Maxx stands to be one of the Top 5 big display mobile phones available (only behind the soon to be HTC Maxx, Samsung Galaxy Mega, and Note Series). While overall being the same size as the Droid Ultra, the Droid Maxx happens to be thicker at 0.34 inches versus 0.22 inches. Still not being able to “see” the difference, it’s only when you pick the Droid Maxx up from your coffee table to do you notice this device is packing some seriously heavy hardware! Weighing in at almost 6 ounces (5.9 ounces exactly), the Motorola Droid Maxx “feels” almost twice as heavy than any other android phone currently on the market. Even compared to the Samsung Galaxy Mega, the Motorola Droid Maxx is still much heavier in terms of the user’s impression. Secondly you will notice the Motorola Droid Maxx packs a Kevlar fiber coated back surface – similar to previous generations of Motorola Droid mobile devices. It’s not only smooth to the touch, but you will never have to worry about fingerprint markings again, unlike most other plastic made android devices (Samsung Galaxy S4) that leaves you with fingerprint marks on every corner of the phone. The Motorola Droid Maxx has a powerful yet natural looking 10-megapixel back facing camera with LED flash, with a 2-megapixel front facing camera for Skype or OVO video calling. On that same Kevlar fiber backing is a very large speaker packing big sound and great volume levels. Similar to the HTC One, the Motorola Droid Maxx has built in Boom Sound powered by Beats by Dre, which happens to sound 3 times better than the HTC One’s speaker system if one could believe it! The Droid Maxx has a display worthy of bragging about, with a bright 5 inch HD OLED 720p (1,280×720 pixels) which does not compare at all to the display of current high end android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, or LG G2. Despite this thorn; the Droid Maxx produces excellent photos, a great browsing experience, and documents with massive amounts of contextual details. Its overall viewing experience could and can be compared to many other android devices that have 1080p displays and not lose the battle without getting in a few words. While watching a HULU episode of “Misfits” I was still drown away by the episode, not paying any attention to my girlfriend asking me for money, which shows me the screen is not as bad as it may sound. The core hardware components that come packed into the Motorola Droid Maxx include Motorola’s all new X8 Mobile Computing System, which you can find in the other flagship devices by Motorola such as the Moto X and Droid Ultra. This computing core includes a 1.7GHZ dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, which does not have the same raw horsepower as other true “Quad-Core” processors have shown us in other android devices on the market. It turn out though, that unless your just a mobile tech geek like myself and others here at Mobile Technology Talk, you will not even notice the difference in performance from this CPU while completing the same daily task you always do on any other mobile device in the Droid Maxx’s class. Helping all of this is the Droid Maxx’s 2GB of allocated RAM, which comes backed up with your choice of 16GB and 32GB worth of built in memory. Oh, and before I forget, there is also no SD Card Slot for all you out there you demand this feature from your cell phone. Holding all this together is Motorola’s UI called Moto Zap, which takes the overall efforts of our great big brother Google and Google Now UI, and gives its users the option of quick reference for anything from messaging to snapping a quick photo of a friend passing by. Overall this has been a great upgrade compared to what Motorola normally brings use bundled into their mobile devices. It’s a much slicker and smoother UI to navigate, but it still lacks the glamor of a say “Bling Feed”, or the user friendliness of a say “Touch Wiz”. Motorola’s Moto Zap just sets somewhere in the middle, kind of how HTC Sense use to just be an okay but not great UI for the HTC 2008-2010 line-up. Overall it’s not bad, packing Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, you are still able to “ZAP” between applications in a flash without much lag or giveback from the devices hardware or software. Another great feature is the Droid Maxx has Touchless Control, were your device will lightly light up displaying all your updates like messages once they come in. This is a great feature that overtime with Moto Zap can become a great software eco-system for Motorola Flagship Devices. All-In-All, the Motorola Maxx is a great Device! Did I mention it gets THREE FULL DAYS OF BATTERY LIFE! If you are not big on having the latest and greatest hardware specs, and just would like a device with great multimedia features and the latest software money can buy, then grab a Motorola Droid Maxx. For this, we give the Motorola Maxx an 4 out of 5.