The latest statistics from the total amount of sold smartphones from Taiwan’s major mobile phone carriers showed that iPhone 6 64GB was the best-selling smartphone for December last year.

An anonymous smartphone dealer said that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) grasped first place in both smartphone sales value and sales volume for last December. Local Taiwanese consumers’ enthusiasm toward the two new iPhone models with larger displays — the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus — remained strong after the two models became available in Taiwan since last September.

The statistics showed that the iPhone 6 64GB was the top seller among all its competitors for last December, followed by iPhone 6 Plus 64GB, Samsung’s (KRX: 005930) Galaxy Note 4, the iPhone 6 16GB and HTC’s (TPE: 2498) M8.

Meanwhile, HTC’s Desire 816 came in sixth, followed by Asus’ (TPE:2357) Zenfone 5 16GB, Sony’s (TYO: 6758) Xperia Z3, the iPhone 6 Plus 16GB and the HTC Desire 820 dual sim.

The statistics show that Apple took 25.9% of the total smartphone sales volume in the local market last month, the highest percentage, ahead of HTC, Asus, Samsung and Sony.

In terms of sales volume, Apple also ranked the top brand name with a 53.2% share, followed by Samsung, HTC, Sony and Asus.

The smartphone dealer said that although HTC trailed Apple in sales volume and lagged behind Apple and Samsung in sales value last December, several models of the Taiwanese smartphone maker, such as the HTC M8 and the Desire 816 have been on the top 10 model list for nine months, indicating that these models remain popular in the local market.

He said that the market is watching closely the launch of the next HTC flagship model, coded Hima, and a mid-range model, the Desire 626, scheduled for release in early March, which could boost HTC’s shipments in next few months.

The post The iPhone 6 Is the Best-Seller in Taiwan for December: Statistics appeared first on VR World.

The new Samsung (KRX:000830) VR headset add-on for use with only its Galaxy Note 4 has arrived for sale on Samsung’s store for $199.99.  The device is power by Oculus-driven software to provide an immersive virtual reality experience using the Note 4 Super AMOLED display and the device itself to run the software.

Samsung stirred up a lot of talk earlier this year with the announcement that it was going to have an add-on for the Galaxy Note 4 that would make the pair a VR headset.  The Samsung Gear VR Innovator edition just popped up on the store for sale at Samsung’s website.  The good news is that this is only a $199.99 investment for those who already have a Galaxy Note 4.  The bad news for those who want to try it out and do not already own a Galaxy Note 4, is that the Gear VR  will only work with the Note 4.  This add-on most definitely will help to get more people buying the Note 4 than would if there wasn’t the Gear VR add-on.  This is a good move by Samsung for not only helping to drive VR innovation, but also to help its bottom line.  The Gear VR has access to Oculus store to have access to a fresh supply of ever growing content.

The Gear VR Innovator Edition comes with the headset, a carrying case, a replacement face cushion, a lens cloth, 16GB microSD memory card with the starter content pre-loaded, SD card adapter, user manual, and the warranty statement.  The controls that the headset has are a touchpad, a dedicated back button, focus adjustment wheel, volume keys, and a phone lock button.

Right now for those who purchase the Gear VR Innovator Edition there is two coupon codes to help get a discount for accessories.  The Samsung Gamepad is $30 off with the coupon code STAVR1, and the Samsung Gear Circle headset is $20 off with the coupon code STAVR2.

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We’ve made up a list of our favorite Android phones of 2014 and they are all some of the best phones that money can buy in 2014. Now that all of the major phones have launched for the year and the holiday shopping season is upon us, there is no reason not to help you find the right phone for you or a loved one.

LG G3

LG’s G3 is probably one of our favorite Android phones of this year for multiple reasons. This is because The LG G3 has a fantastic 5.5″ 2560 x 1440 display and a laser fast 13 MP (literally uses a laser for focus) camera that grabs fantastic photos in both light and dark scenarios. Any camera that can take great photos in the dark is going to be a great all around camera as a rule of thumb. The thing that makes the LG G3 so great is also the fact that the phone itself has almost no bezel on the sides of the phone which makes it feel like there is almost no phone and all screen. As such, the LG G3 has the same screen size as the iPhone 6+ but a much much smaller body and as a result is more comfortable to hold. In addition to having one of the highest resolution displays of any phone to date, LG also gives the LG G3 expandable memory and a removable battery which is a big deal to a lot of users.

The LG G3 also has a Snapdragon 801 and great battery life thanks to the 3000 mAh battery even though it does have a fairly large and power consuming display. On Verizon’s network the LG G3 easily lasts over a day of normal usage and with Wi-Fi could last you up to 2 days. The only drawback of the LG G3 is the fact that it lacks a good speaker or front-facing speakers like the HTC One M8, one of its competitors. However, the G3’s biggest weapon is also price… even though Samsung and HTC launched before LG did with the LG G3, LG’s pricing was so competitive (both on and off contract) that it forced Samsung and HTC to drop their prices in order to compete which immediately resulted in lower prices for consumers regardless of their choice.

The post Top 5 Android Phones of 2014 appeared first on VR World.

Samsung’s (KRX:005935) earnings for the third quarter of 2014 were down nearly 50% year over year and 33% from last quarter. The company reported 46 trillion Won in revenues, which comes out to about $45 billion in revenues for all of the company’s various divisions. Samsung reported 4.22 Trillion Won in profit, which translates to about $4 billion in profit, which is still fairly significant compared to most of its competitors (excluding Apple).

However, Samsung saw significant shrinkage of revenue and profits across the board in the third quarter with virtually all of its consumer business divisions seeing shrinkage while their component divisions (Semiconductor and Display) saw growth. When compared to the previous quarter, Samsung’s sales overall were down 9% quarter over quarter and 20% year over year, very worrying numbers for a company that is supposed to be the industry leader. The primary reason for most of this shrinkage has to do with the fact that Samsung is seeing renewed competition in all of their consumer divisions, especially from LG which competes in many of the same consumer goods segments that Samsung does and presents the most challenging products. In fact, LG saw record smartphone shipments last quarter, shipping 16.8 million smartphones which was the most the company had ever shipped before.

Samsung’s mobile division saw a decrease of 15% quarter over quarter and a decrease of 29% year over year in terms of sales and saw operating profit shrink by a whopping 74%. Samsung’s consumer electronics division, which includes TVs and other consumer electronics barely saw an operating profit in the quarter decreasing by 94% quarter over quarter and 85% year over year.

Only Samsung Semiconductor actually saw growth in both quarterly and year over year profitability and sales while the display division dragged down the whole device solutions segment with almost no profitability as well.

Samsung’s outlook for the next quarter, however, is a bit rosier as it is the holiday shopping quarter and they expect demand to increase across the board for virtually all of its products. However, they did not guide any profitability relative to year over year comparisons. Plus, the fourth quarter will look very good compared to this quarter, which may have been one of Samsung’s very worst in a long time.

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Typically, if you want to use your DSLR with a remote, you have to go out and buy some wireless remote that operates over RF or some other wireless communication protocol. There have been ways in the past to use attachments to your camera in conjunction with apps to remotely control your camera, but those all cost money. A new app called ShutterBOT DSLR Remote finally allows you to wirelessly take your smartphone and control your DSLR with it, without paying a penny. This free Android app allows you to once and for all control your DSLR with a smartphone app.

The great thing about having a DSLR Android camera app is that you have less equipment to carry around and you can take better long exposure photos without worrying about camera shake. The app itself supports a multitude of cameras and smartphones, but currently does not support the LG G2 even though it does have an IR blaster. The key for this free wireless camera app to work is that your phone has to have an IR blaster built into it, something that Apple’s phones simply don’t have. Thankfully, all three of the major Android smartphones launched this year, Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and LG G3 all have IR blasters built in for TV purposes but can also double as camera controllers.

The app itself is very simple and very well designed, and has three ways of taking a photo. First, you can simply take a picture by pressing the on-screen button, second you can choose to have a timer and third you can choose to use voice activated shutter, which is also how the developer is able to monetize the app. This is the only in-app purchase that the developer is currently making available, but there’s a good chance that new features may also come in the form of in-app purchases. Perhaps something like an intervalometer or some other features that cameras might lack internally.

As of right now, the app supports the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Tab 3 & Tab 4, S4 & S5, HTC One and One M8, and LG G3. No word on Galaxy Note 4 support yet, but that may already be functional. The app states that it supports Canon, Fuji, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, and Sony, so we’ll be testing this out for ourselves shortly. The developer states that this app is designed to replace the manufacturers’ own IR remotes, specifically Canon’s RC-1, RC-5, RC-6, Nikon’s ML-L3, and Olympus RM-1. Considering that this app is free and a Nikon ML-L3 goes for $18 on B&H Photo, this app is almost a no-brainer for any photographer looking to use a remote in their photos.

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In a blog, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) stated that it has filed patent infringement complaints with the US District Court in Delaware (where most US companies are incorporated) as well as with the International Trade Comission regarding Samsung (KRX:005935) and Qualcomm’s (NASDAQ:QCOM) infringement of its patents (You can view the complaints here (ITC) and here (Delaware)) .

Nvidia is alleging that Samsung’s devices that use Qualcomm’s chips are infringing upon Nvidia’s own technologies that have been patented. Not just that, but by filing a complaint with the ITC, Nvidia is seeking that such devices that infringe upon these patents be banned from importation and sale within the United States.

The devices that Nvidia claims infringe upon their patents include the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3, and Galaxy S4 as well as the Galaxy Tab S and Galaxy Note Pro. Nvidia claims seven different patents were violated by Samsung’s Exynos processors as well as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors. The Qualcomm Snapdragon processors that are claimed to infringe upon these patents include the Snapdragon S4 (using the Adreno 225), Snapdragon 400 (using the Adreno 305), Snapdragon 600 (using the Adreno 320), Snapdragon 800 and 801 (using the Adreno 330), and Snapdragon 805 (using the Adreno 420).

A careful reading Nvidia’s patent infringement complaint shows that Nvidia has made a clear decision here to go after Samsung and Qualcomm. Obviously, this hurts Nvidia’s chances of ever landing a design win inside of Samsung, but by going after Samsung and Qualcomm, the company goes after the biggest seller of Android smartphones and the biggest seller of Android smartphone SoCs. Additionally, the complaint states that Nvidia is claiming that Samsung infringes on their GPU patents by saying Samsung uses Mali and PowerVR graphics, which aren’t actually theirs but rather graphics they license from ARM and Imagination technologies, however Nvidia has chosen not to include them in the suit.

Qualcomm and Samsung are not GPU pioneers or innovators in graphics technology. Qualcomm dominates the global market for smartphone applications processors, with a market share exceeding 50%, and is also a leader in tablet application processors. Samsung leads the global market in sales of smartphones, selling about twice as many as its nearest competitor, and is also a global leader in the sales of tablet computers, nearly tripling its market share over the past two years. Many of Samsung’s smartphones and tablet computers are powered by mobile processors supplied by Qualcomm, which use GPUs commercially known as
“Adreno.” Other smartphones and tablets sold by Samsung use GPUs commercially known as “Mali” or “PowerVR.” All of these products infringe the Asserted Patents. The market success of Qualcomm and Samsung in these areas is built on the back of NVIDIA’s pioneering graphics technology, and Qualcomm and Samsung continue to release new products using NVIDIA’s technology.

The patents in question,  6,198,488, 6,992,667,  7,038,685, 7,015,913, 6,697,063, 7,209,140 and 6,690,372 all pertain in one way or another to graphics patents and it appears quite clear that Nvidia is attacking the two biggest players in Tegra’s own mobile SoC space.

The claims Nvidia makes are all utility patents and they go into deep technical detail about certain graphics processes that Nvidia believes Qualcomm and Samsung are infringing upon. The reality of the situation is that Nvidia could theoretically sue Apple, Imagination Technologies, ARM and virtually any smartphone or SoC manufacturer in the world for patent infringement based upon these claims. But Nvidia is choosing not to instead going after Samsung and Qualcomm, and really it seems like Samsung is just collateral damage here, but it could also be that Nvidia wants to weaken Samsung in order to make room for other vendors that might use their chips like Tegra K1. It could also be that Nvidia may just want to generate IP licensing revenue from all of Samsung’s billions of dollars in sales of Galaxy devices and that could be good enough for them. Until we get some comment from Qualcomm and this thing actually goes to court, we probably won’t know the outcome of this suit. Once again, the tech industry continues to sue one another for patent infringement.

The post Nvidia Sues Samsung and Qualcomm For Alleged Patent Infringement appeared first on VR World.

At its Unpacked 2 event in Berlin, co-hosted with an event in New York City, Samsung (KRX:005930) unveiled the Galaxy Note 4.

The hotly anticipated fourth edition of Samsung’s genre-defining tablet comes with a quad-core 2.7 GHz Snapdragon 805 SoC that packs a 620 MHz GPU, a 5.7-inch 1440p display, a 16 megapixel rear facing camera and a 3.7 megapixel front facing shooter.  Samsung will be packing 3 GB of RAM onto the device, and giving users the option for 32 or 64 GB of internal storage. The phablet itself  comes it at 6 inches by 3.1 inches wide by 0.34 inch thick. It weighs 6.2 ounces. The phone will be runing Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

Arguably the defining feature of the Galaxy Note 4 is its high-resoluton AMOLED screen. The 1440p resolution — the highest in the industry — means the Galaxy Note 4 will be displaying things at 2,560×1,440 pixels. The Galaxy Note 4 isn’t the first device to use this ultra-high resolution, but the inclusion of that resolution with the phone effectively makes it now a gold standard.

Like Samsung’s other recently launched smartphones, the Galaxy Note 4 includes a heart-rate monitor and a fingerprint sensor.

The Galaxy Note 4 will be launched globally in October. Pricing will depend on whether the end user has the device on or off contract.

Samsung, which once enjoyed one half of a virtual duopoly in the smartphone market with Apple, needs a big hit and a lot is resting on the success of the Galaxy Note 4. Samsung’s profits have weakened upon increased competition in the space, but the Note series of phones have proven to be a reliable success with many copycats springing up since their introduction in 2011.

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Samsung’s (KRX: 005930) update to its Galaxy Note line is scheduled to be officially unveiled on September 3 at the Samsung Unpacked Episode 2014 2 event.

Below is a teaser trailer Samsung released Friday to hype the phablet’s launch.

The trailer itself is rather scant on details of the phone’s actual specs and details, only hyping the phone’s multitasking ability. “Share, win, write, create” are some of the keywords Samsung uses to promote the phone’s multitasking features.

While the specs of the Galaxy Note have yet to be unveiled, it’s rumored to pack a 5.7-inch QHD 2560 x 1440p display, a 16-megapixel rear camera with a 3.7-megapixel rear camera. This means the phablet will be able to shoot images at a resolution of 5312 x 2988p and video at 4K, like its cousin the Galaxy Note 4.

Rumors — though unproven — have it that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 will come in two versions: a niche edition with a curved OLED screen and a flat one aimed at the mainstream market. It’s assumed that the curved edition will cost more given the complexities of manufacturing a curved screen. The market hasn’t shown much interest for previous curved phones, so the availability of Samsung’s curved edition is sure to be limited.

As far a price point, it’s assumed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will launch at a similar price to its predecessors.

There’s no definite word yet on what SoC will be powering the phone.

Samsung, however, is not the only company that will be coming out with a refreshed phablet. Local rival LG (KRX:066570) is also said to be launching a Galaxy Note 4 rival called the G3 Stylus. The phablet features a 5.5in QHD IPS display and powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz processor with 1GB of RAM. It will be launched in Brazil first, in September, followed by Asia and the Middle East in the following months. No word yet on pricing, but expect it to be competitive.

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