Strategy Analytics: Android reaches 84%, can't grow further

According to data from Strategy Analytics quoted by the WSJ, Android has reached its peak market share at 85% as seen in Q2 2013. In Q3 2014, Android's presence has declined by 1 percent point and is now 84%. Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston says that Android's success is due to a collapse of Apple iPhone sales from the previous quarter. With the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the Cupertino company is getting back on its feet.

In the period ending in September, Apple held 12% of the market share, while Windows Phone and BlackBerry stand at 3% and 1%, respectively.

The slight drop in Android's market share isn't of worry to Google, as the company sees a rise in a metric that's far more positive than this. Google took more control of Android with 37% of the phones with Android used a forked version of the OS without Google services. This number is down by 2 percent point from the previous quarter, meaning more revenue for Google and its ad-based business model.

Samsung is still the largest Android smartphone manufacturer, but its market share is dwindling. The South Korean company's market share for Q3 2014 is 25%, down from 35% last year. Xiaomi is the main culprit for Samsung's market share fall as it manages to sell its phones closer to what they actually cost and makes money primarily on accessories.

Lumia RM-1090 appears with Microsoft branding

The Lumia RM-1090 has been spotted at the Chinese TENAA certification website. There, the phone sports Microsoft logo above the display and on the back cover, and just as expected, a Nokia logo is nowhere to be seen.

In October, the phone also payed a visit to the FCC in the US. Back then, we got a glimpse at the phone's specs and today they're confirmed. The Microsoft RM-1090 is listed to sport a 5" display of qHD resolution(960 x 540 pixels). The battery is 1,900 mAh and the phone measures 140.2 x 72.4 x 9.3mm.

Connectivity is limited to GSM and 3G with HSPA, but the RM-1090 comes with dual-SIM card slots. Windows Phone 8.1 is running on the phone and the camera at the back is joined by a LED flash, but there aren't more details at this point.

The Microsoft RM-1090 looks to be the company's answer to the ultra affordable Android One line-up. With specs like these, we expect Microsoft to price the phone quite aggressively

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 to get Lollipop early next year

The current Samsung flagship, the Galaxy S5, will be getting Android 5.0 Lollipop, it was even demoed on video. Last year's flagship will not be left out, sources claim the Galaxy S4 will be updated too. The question then is "which S4?" since there are plenty of versions.

The sources point to the Exynos-based Galaxy S4 with model number I9500 will be first. This should be early next year, barring any extra-long delays from carriers.

The Snapdragon 600 version (I9505) should be getting it sometime later on, the Galaxy S4 Active (I9295) should be getting at the same time since the internals are basically the same. There are also Snapdragon 800 versions – the Galaxy S4 LTE-A (I9506 and some local versions) and the Galaxy S4 Active LTE-A. Those are essentially based on the Galaxy Note 3 with S800 platform (the Note 3 with Exynos uses a different chipset than the I9500).

We'd love to see an official update calendar by Samsung for its recent flagships, instead of getting hearsay for each of the dozens of models and variations the company offers.

Apple iPhone 6 to get a $100 price cut with upcoming promo

The holiday season and Black Friday are upon us, kicking off November 28 this year. The retailers are already working on their promo offers and the Sam's Club one is particularly interesting. It seems iPhone 6 will be one of its hot promotions this year - it will offer it on half the price if you opt to get in on contract.

A leaked flyer for the upcoming promotion reveals Sam's Club will offer the Apple iPhone 6 for $99 for the 16GB flavor with a two-year contract. The 64GB and 128GB models will be available for purchase as well for $199 and $299 respectively.

The offer applies until December 31, but the numbers each store will have in stock are rather limited - 40-50 per club.

The first generation Apple iPad Air will be also on-sale in Sam's Club, as in many other retailers at $100 down the official price.

We guess other stores will be getting similar discounts for the latest Apple flagship. Do you plan of getting one for yourself this holiday season?

Motorola pushes Android 4.4.4 update to the Moto G in the US

If you have the first generation Moto G and live in the US, you should check your phone for an update. Motorola has started pushing an update for the XT1032 model that updates the phone to 4.4.4.

The original Moto G has so far been on Android 4.4.3 but the latest 21MB update brings it on par with the new 2014 model.

Samsung refuses to pay licenses to Microsoft after Nokia buyout

Samsung has issued a court filing regarding its collaboration with Microsoft on Windows Phone and states that it refuses to fulfill its end of the deal as it now sees the software giant as a direct competitor. The business collaboration agreement between the two companies sees Samsung pay Microsoft north of $1 billion in patent royalties and $6.9 million interest due to payment delays. Microsoft took action in early August in an attempt to collect the cash.

However, that's unlikely to happen if the New York federal court, where the filing is made, decides in favor of Samsung. The company says that because of the Nokia acquisition, Microsoft violated its 2011 deal with Samsung. According to the deal, Samsung had to pay Microsoft royalties in exchange for a patent license on its Android smartphones.

Because Samsung is also making Windows Phone devices and shares confidential business information with Microsoft, the Redmont company agreed to reduce the royalty payments. Acquiring Nokia has made Microsoft a direct hardware competitor to Samsung and the South Koreans claim this will create problems with US antitrust laws for the software giant.

"The agreements, now between competitors, invite charges of collusion," Samsung said in the filing. However, Microsoft won't give up and is "confident" in the strength of its case. We'll continue to cover the development of the court case between the two companies and inform you if Microsoft will get its patent licensing fees or if Samsung will save $1 billion.

SmartBand Talk rolling out right about now

Some exciting news – today, the SmartBand Talk app has just gone live in the Google Play Store, as our new SmartWear device launches over the coming weeks*.

SmartBand Talk is our powerful, IP68-rated lifelogger – we built it for those who live life to the fullest. The curved, always-on 1.4” E-ink display is a fresh creative approach, based on your feedback – it’s power efficient lasting up to three days, but highly visible and clear, so you can view notifications & the time at a glance, and monitor Lifelog activity.

It sits above compact but powerful sensors – accelerometer and altimeter technology feel how you move – and how much – enabling you to accurately log life. You can see how active you were, what you’ve been doing and how you have been communicating, as it pulls all of your information to display a digest on-screen and the full story within Lifelog.

Our favourite feature? SmartBand Talk has an in-built microphone and speaker so you can take and make calls, complete with HD Voice support – useful for when you’re on the move or your phone is out of reach!

The SmartBand Talk app will let you do some pretty neat stuff (if we say so ourselves), including;

• Connecting to, and remotely locating SmartBand Talk

• Customisation of your settings:  notifications, text orientation… to name but a few

• Extension control – management of those extra additions to your experience; media player, weather, life bookmark, call favourites… with many more to come!

Stay tuned for more on SmartBand Talk over the coming weeks, as we plan to add more features to the software to keep the experiences as current as they possibly can be.

*Timings & availability will vary by market/operator, and some regional operator & market exceptions will apply – please check in locally for the latest information