July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

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In October, the iPhone 5 roared past the Samsung Galaxy S III in web usage share after just three weeks on the market. Now Samsung’s starting to chip away at that lead.

Both phones are incredibly hot sellers, of course, and that’s driving tremendous usage growth as well

“Both iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III have doubled web traffic share since October,” an analyst from advertising and analytics company Chitika said.

But with its many other devices, Samsung has held a commanding sales lead over Apple for quite some time, selling almost 400 million phones in 2012 to Apple’s 136 million. In turn, Apple has held a commanding lead in web usage share: people actually using its devices to  surf the mobile web.

Now, even though Apple led fourth quarter smartphone sales in the U.S., that’s starting to change.

The iPhone 5 still has a small lead on the Galaxy S III, with 6.6 percent of mobile web share to the Samsung device’s 6.4 percent, but that’s shrinking, according to the latest study from Chitika.

And so is Apple’s overall lead.

Devices from both companies generate over 60 percent of all smartphone web traffic in North America, and Apple’s share has dropped slightly from 46 percent in October to 41.5 percent in February. Meanwhile, Samsung’s has bumped up from 17 percent to 20.6 percent.

Why?

When I talked to Chitika’s Gabriel Donnini about the last study, he said that it was a factor of both who was using those phones and the user-friendliness of the devices. In other words: Android users skewed older, and Android wasn’t as user-friendly as iPhone. But the changes in the current numbers seem to indicate that those differences are disappearing, and that Samsung’s global sales lead is having an effect on smartphone web use share.

I asked the company if they could identify whether that was caused by more S III devices being on the market, or by existing S III owners using them more to surf the web, but the company does not track individual users and so does not collect that data.

photo credit: samsungtomorrow via photopin cc

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Le roi est mort. Vive le roi.

Apple’s iPhone 4S is no longer the world’s best-selling smartphone. For the first time ever, Samsung has taken that title with its massively successful Galaxy S III model.

“Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphone model shipped 18.0 million units worldwide during the third quarter of 2012,” Neil Shah, a senior analyst with Strategy Analytics said. “The Galaxy S3 captured an impressive 11 percent share of all smartphones shipped globally.”

In the same quarter, Apple shipped 16.2 million iPhone 4S units. That second-place finish was partially achieved due to the widely-rumored iPhone 5, which motivated consumers to hold off on purchases.

While it’s doubtless nice for Samsung to hold the title, the Korean company should not get too comfortable, says Neil Mawston, Strategy Analytics executive director.

“The Galaxy S3’s position as the world’s best-selling smartphone model is likely to be short-lived … we expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter of 2012 and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model.”

Source: Strategy Analytics

Smartphone models shipped Q3 2012

The iPhone 5 already shipped around six million units in just a few days of availability in the third quarter. In fact, if you add those six millions to Apple’s iPhone 4S sales, Apple did beat Samsung with its combined top-of the line models, at 22.2 million units. However, Samsung would be quick to reply, add up all the smartphone models it shipped in the third quarter and you’ve got an astounding 57 million.

So while the smartphone crown shifting heads from Cupertino to Seoul may be temporary, Apple should not be comfortable either, especially as Android captured 75 percent market share in the last quarter.

The Christmas Q4 numbers are certainly going to be interesting!

photo credit: samsungtomorrow via photopin cc

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

In a major turn-around, Android smartphones now account for a majority of mobile web traffic in the U.S and Canada, with close to a 51 percent share. That’s a massive change from May of this very year, when Apple owned 72 percent of smartphone traffic, compared to only 26 percent for all Android phones.

The results are according to a new study by ad network Chitika.

Apple accounts for 46 percent of all mobile phone traffic in the U.S and Canada, and bitter rival Samsung’s phones add up to 17 percent. Just one month after its introduction, the iPhone 5 accounts for three percent of North American mobile web traffic single, er, phonedly, compared to the Galaxy S III’s 2 percent. (The iPhone 5 surpassed the Galaxy S III in just three weeks, as we reported last week.)

The more interesting information is in the platform numbers, however.

BlackBerry is still holding on to 2 percent of web traffic with its fingernails, and Windows Phone is a tiny little thin slice — but probably poised for growth — at just 1 percent. But getting the Android numbers out requires a bit of digging.

The 43 percent slice in the chart includes all of Apple’s other phones: the 4, 4S, iPhone 3s, and all the way back to the very first iPhone, released in 2007. (Amazingly, some of them are still in use.)

The 15 percent Samsung chunk includes all of its smartphones, which are almost all Android-based.

So the really interesting part of the graph is the big 37 percent terra incognita slice labeled “Other Smartphone.”

When I asked one of Chitika’s data engineers, Andrew Waber, about that group of phones, he ran some additional numbers, slicing the data in a different way.

It turns out that non-Samsung Android is 34 percent of North American mobile web traffic.

And since Windows Phone is only 1 percent total of the market and Samsung sells almost exclusively Android-based smartphones in the U.S., an overwhelming majority of its 15 percent in the graph can be added to the 34 percent.

Which means that 34 percent non-Samsung Android, plus 15 percent non-Galaxy-S III Samsung, plus 2percent Galaxy S III, adds up to 51 percent … giving Android a total share of 51 percent. Or, if not exactly 51, some number between 50 and 51.

In other words, a majority for Android.

I talked to Waber about my mathematical assumptions. He verified that I’m not inventing the numbers, but he did caution that the numbers do fluctuate.

“What we’ve seen is it’s near even, but sometimes swing just lightly in majority of Android or iPhone. But this is not inconsistent with what we’re seeing too.”

In other words, we are right at the tipping point between majority iPhone and majority Android web traffic. That’s big news, and while it was likely to come for some time given the fact that Android out-sells iOS, it’s a milestone event.

The question now becomes: How high will it go?

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Sure, the iPhone 5 passed Samsung’s Galaxy S III in web traffic just three weeks after getting on the market. But does that say more about mobile operating systems and differences between Android and iPhone users than it says about device sales numbers?

Online ad network Chitika released a study this morning based on millions of mobile ad impressions across the Chitika network. Chitika added up all the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy SIII web traffic, and 56 percent of it is iPhone 5, while 44 percent is Galaxy S III.

The iPhone 5, of course, has been in the market for just a few weeks, while the S III was launched a few months ago. But here’s the question: Is this due simply to sales numbers or also to different user behavior?

I asked Chitika’s data engineer for his insights.

“The differences between iPhone and Android users boil down to a couple of things,” Chitika’s Gabriel Donnini told me. “First is demographics, which translates to behavioral tendencies, and the second is the functionality and accessibility of the device.”

While Chitika could not provide data about per-capita web usage between iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III, and it does not track individuals due to privacy concerns, the company definitely sees that iPhone users access web data much more frequently than Android users. After all, there are 20 million S IIIs to perhaps 10 million iPhone 5s in the market today.

But is it also a user interface/user experience difference?

Donnini said that while up until very recently the general consensus was that the iPhone user interface has been more accessible than Android, and that has led to usage pattern differences. But, he says, with the last few iterations, Android has caught up … and the Galaxy S III, of course, runs Ice Cream Sandwich (or Jelly Bean, for those who have updated).

But this still has one big difference, according to Donnini:

“With the iPhone you basically have to use the default browser, versus on Android you can between choose multiple browsers. The majority of people just want a seamless experience, and if you have that, you might be more willing to surf and share content.”

So iPhone users access the web more due to both demographics, and — possibly — the iOS 6 user experience. That makes sense, and it follows existing trends.

But we’ll know more about the specifics of that when Apple releases hard sales numbers.

photo credit: liewcf via photopin cc

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

We’ve all been there. A little trip, slip, or accidental hiccup and that pricey smartphone we just bought goes flying and lands face-first on a frightening surface. Panic ensues as we pick up our device and try to shield our eyes from the inevitable: a shattered screen or damage that renders our beloved possession useless.

A little crash-test-dummies-style video from SquareTrade, sellers of warranties for gadgets and electronics, may give us some peace of mind about how our brand new iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S III will hold up against our clumsiest moments — or not.

SquareTrade pitted the popular smartphones against each other to see which would prove to be the most durable and filmed the process for your entertainment. The iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III are put through the ringer, dropped from up high, tossed into the pool, and tested by household goods.

So how did the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy hold up? You might be surprised — and we don’t want to spoil the fun.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

When Samsung introduced S-Voice on its Galaxy S III smartphone, it was clear that it was ripping off Siri, the Apple iPhone 4S’ voice assistant. The world clearly has room for more than one, but how do the two voice assistants stack up when it comes to accuracy and response times?

Siri is the incumbent here, and Apple has heavily advertised it heavily with a stream of celebrities. I’ve never found Siri to be incredibly helpful, but with updates in iOS 6 around the corner, Siri looks more promising. S-Voice is a brand-new creation that is mostly playing catch-up with Siri but has some handy integrations with Facebook and Twitter, while Siri can interact with many functions inside the device itself.

Online phone retailer Dailaphone has created an infographic showing a face-off between Siri and S-Voice with some slightly surprising results, including that Siri takes an average 5.6 seconds to respond while S-Voice takes 7.9 seconds. That said, based on average accuracy, start-up times, and response times, I’d almost rather not use either voice assistant and just find the information with a smart Google search.

Let us know in the comments if you use Siri or S-Voice and how they work for you in your daily life. Check out the full infographic below:

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July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

Everyone likes a good Apple versus Android video, right? Well, SquareTrade, which appropriately provides extended warranties on your technology, did a drop test of the iPhone 4S versus the Samsung Galaxy S III. Get ready for some communications carnage.

SquareTrade simulated a number of drop scenarios, including a fall from ear-height, a drop from the roof of a car, and a test of what could happen if your child gets hold of your phone and throws it into the air. That last one is pretty funny. In the ear-drop test, the iPhone survived with minor dings to its corners, where the Samsung Galaxy S III had major cracks all along its glass face.

In the “forgot it on top of a car” test, the iPhone again made out with only a few dings to the corners of its body. The Galaxy’s screen, however, suffered a similar fate to the first test and completely shattered. The iPhone did not make out well when two superhero t-shirt clad pre-schoolers hurled the phones above their heads. The glass back of the iPhone was destroyed, while the front glass stayed intact. The Galaxy’s back and battery popped off at impact, but the glass front was otherwise fine as well.

In the end, the iPhone made out with the least amount of damage in two of the tests, where the Samsung Galaxy S III suffered major damage to its glass face, which is considerably larger than the iPhone’s. The Galaxy’s screen measures 4.8-inches, compared to the iPhone’s 3.5 inches. Of course, in any of these drop test videos, you need to consider the way the phone hit the ground and remember that results could be different with new drops.