Shopping by Mobile Will Grow to $119 Billion in 2015

In 2015, shoppers around the world are expected to spend about $119 billion on goods and services purchased via mobile phones. That number represents about 8% of the total e-commerce market.

“Mobile online shopping is reaching critical mass,” says senior analyst Mark Beccue. “In the United States, mobile online shopping rose from $396 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009. While definitions of ‘mass market adoption’ vary, a more than threefold increase in one year indicates significant consumer interest."

Full story by ABI Research

Intel chips headed to 35 tablets and ‘premier’ smartphones in 2011

Intel is not to be counted out of the smartphone battle yet, as its chips are headed to 35 tablets (including some already available) and “premier” smartphone vendors in 2011, Reuters reports based on comments from the company’s CEO Paul Otelinni.

The news follows on the heels of our report yesterday regarding Intel’s new tablet and netbook unit — the creation of which we found suspiciously quiet. Otellini says the tablets, including those from Dell, Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba, will roll out of the first half of 2011. Smartphones running Intel’s Medfield chip will land in the second half of next year.

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The 12 best Android Phones

Because there’s a stampede of Android smartphones barreling into the market, including both excellent models and a few duds, many people feel a little overwhelmed when trying to choose one. I get a lot of the “Would you get this one or that one” questions as well as plenty of requests to rank my favorites.

A hot, new Android phone seems to hit the market almost every week. To help you sort through them all, here's our updated list of the 12 best Android smartphones, based on the quality and value of each device.


To view this as a list and read more, see the article:
Leaderboard: The 12 best Android smartphones

Apple iPad 2 with dual-cameras may launch early next year

Please note that this story is based upon rumor and/or speculation.  The Economic Daily News, a Chinese newspaper, has reported that Apple will release its second generation iPad early next year and that manufacturing of the device will begin this month, PC World says.

Reportedly, the new iPad will feature two-cameras and a USB port. We suspect one camera is for snapping photos while the secondary one will be for FaceTime video chat, much like the iPhone 4 and the fourth generation iPod touch offer. The device is also rumored to have a 7-inch touchscreen display with new touch technology.

For now this remains a rumor, and we're not so sure about the 7-inch touchscreen since Steve Jobs went on the record stating that that size display is too small during Apple's last conference call.

Rumors by Todd Haselton

Apple has largest U.S. smartphone OS share, says Nielsen

According to a new study from Nielsen, 29.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers now own smartphones.

Nielsen's report found that Apple has the largest operating system share in the United States (27.9 percent), followed closely by RIM's BlackBerry OS (27.4 percent), Android (22.7 percent), and Microsoft's Windows Mobile (14 percent). Symbian (3.4 percent), Linux (3.3 percent), and Palm OS (1.3 percent), brought up the rear.

The report also found that younger audiences (18-23 and 24-34) were more likely to upgrade to an iOS smartphone than one based on other platforms, while ages 35-54 were most interested in an Android smartphone.  Read more