ZTE Libra Gingerbread phone unleashed

Android 2.3 action in the Far East

ZTE has detailed its latest Android handset, model number X880 - aka the ZTE Libra.

According to our ZTE peeps, the phone has gone live in Asia this week although as of yet there's no UK operator in place for a launch on these shores.

The Libra isn't, despite the Brightpoint listing, the ZTE Blade (which hit the UK as the Orange San Francisco) and is in fact an entirely new device.

One rocking the latest version of Android Gingerbread - 2.3.4 - no less.

It packs a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 chip, and offers GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, UMTS 900 / 2100 MHz connectivity as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, a digital compass and assisted GPS.

It has full access to the Android Market and comes pre-loaded with all the official Google goodies.

We'll update you with regards to when we may be seeing the ZTE Libra in the UK as soon as we hear anything further.

Article: RSS via Pocket-lint

Samsung Accounted for a Third of Smartphone Sales Last Quarter, While Apple's Share Fell

Samsung's second-quarter smartphone shipments hit 76 million last quarter - up 56 percent from the prior year, and giving the company a 33 percent share of the global market.

iStockphoto | aluxum

Apple, meanwhile, shipped 31.2 million iPhones, a 20 percent year-over-year rise, and good for second place worldwide. However, that trailed the overall smartphone industry, and meant that Apple's market share fell to 14 percent - its lowest level since the second quarter of 2010, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.

"The current iPhone portfolio is under-performing and Apple is at risk of being trapped in a pincer movement between rival 3-inch Android models at the low-end and 5-inch Android models at the high-end," Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston said in a statement.

Overall, smartphone shipments hit 230 million for the second quarter, up 47 percent from a year earlier, and representing 59 percent of all mobile phones sold.

"The smartphone industry's shipment growth rate, which is higher today than a year ago, is being driven by surging demand for 4G models in developed regions like the US and 3G models in emerging markets such as India," Neil Shah, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said in a statement.

Korea's LG doubled shipments from a year earlier to 12.1 million units, enough to give it five percent global market share and the No. 3 spot, just ahead of China's ZTE and Huawei, each of which shipped more than 11 million smartphones.

Asian Mobile Makers Squeeze Apple's Global Smartphone Share To Its Lowest For 3-Years In Record 230M Unit Q2

More proof, if proof were needed, that Apple needs a low cost iPhone to get its smartphone momentum mojo back: Cupertino's share of the global smartphone market fell to its lowest for three years in Q2, according to Strategy Analytics, with just 31.2 million iPhones shipped in the quarter and Apple's second place ranking declining to a 14% market share - this despite the overall smartphone market growing 47% annually to reach a record 230 million units shipped.

"The current iPhone portfolio is under-performing and Apple is at risk of being trapped in a pincer movement between rival 3-inch Android models at the low-end and 5-inch Android models at the high-end," said Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, in a statement.

Mawston told TechCrunch it's not just a low cost iPhone that Apple needs to return to growth, although he agrees that is a requirement for Apple to drive extra volume. Cupertino's top priority should be a new type of flagship to compete with Samsung's phablets, he said.

"Apple's first priority should be a premium-tier phablet with a 5-inch screen because that is where the largest new revenue pool is located," he said via email. "Apple is losing profit share to Samsung partly because of a lack of presence in the phablet segment. Apple's second priority should be a lower-cost iPhone to win back some of the customers it is losing to cheaper Android models in Asia, Africa and Latin America."

"A 5-inch iPhone would generate extra value for Apple, while a cheaper iPhone would deliver extra volume," he added.

Overall, the analyst said smartphone market growth is being driven by demand for 4G handsets in developed markets such as the U.S. and 3G devices in emerging markets such as India. Asian mobile makers, who predominately use Google's Android OS, are now clearly dominating the surging smartphone market, with Samsung still in kingpin position - shipping 76 million devices in Q2 to capture one-third of all smartphone volumes worldwide in the quarter - and LG, ZTE and Huawei in third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

The analyst described LG as a "star performer", with its global shipments doubling year-over-year to hit 12.1 million units in Q2 to take a 5% share. "The popular Optimus and Nexus models have been the main drivers of LG's success. If LG can expand its retail presence and marketing in major countries such as the US or China, LG could quietly start to challenge Apple for second position," Analyst Linda Sui added in a statement.

Chinese mobile maker ZTE also took a 5% share in the quarter, shipping a record 11.5 million smartphones to take fourth place for the first time, while Huawei shipped 11.1 million handsets to also grab 5% and take fifth.