Showing posts with label HTC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HTC. Show all posts

Sunday, May 18, 2014

OnePlus: The Company






As interesting as the phone is the company itself. It is a new company coming out of nowhere. It is Chinese origin. Something like this is known to happen more in software than in hardware. You come out of nowhere to bring the top product in the market. This is quite telling.

When Jack Ma of Alibaba has become the new Jack Welch, and China is about to overtake America to become the number one economy in the world, it is quite a statement that this Chinese hardware startup is putting this phone in our hands. And it is following Google’s Nexus business model. The idea is to make no money in the beginning. Google can afford that, but how can a hardware startup? That also is how software companies launch. They make money much later.



The direct sell model is what Dell did for PCs decades ago. That should be even more possible for smartphones. They are physically smaller.



This is also a window into the future of manufacturing, not just smartphones but pretty much everything. Smart manufacturing is where consumers are involved in more and more aspects of the process in intelligent, engaged ways. The result is greater satisfaction.

Smart manufacturing adds a whole new dimension to manufacturing, just like green/clean manufacturing does.



From Oppo to OnePlus: a new company wants to build the next great smartphone
New OnePlus One mobile promises to topple Samsung, HTC and company
For those prices you'd be forgiven for assuming that the One will be a mid-range device, however, OnePlus is putting the One out there as a "2014 Flagship Killer." In short, it's taking aim at devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 – and its specs list appears to back up all the big talk..... The first OnePlus One handsets will be available from Friday, with the first 100 applicants able to buy a device for $1 in return for smashing their current handset(!).
Revelation that OnePlus is Oppo’s sister company causes uproar – is it deserved?
For a company that’s not even six-months old, OnePlus has done pretty well so far. Portraying itself as an ambitious startup eager to disrupt the status quo with an affordable, no-compromise device, OnePlus managed to create a huge amount of hype around the OnePlus One. In terms of publicity and engagement, the launch of the phone was a smashing success...... But OnePlus has also been shrouded in controversy for the past weeks. From calling out competitors before releasing an actual device, to building hype to dangerous levels, to holding an unclear and, some think, wasteful and dangerous contest, the company offered lots of ammo to its critics...... OnePlus Technology, one of the companies set up to make and sell the OnePlus One, is fully owned by Oppo Electronic, which also owns Oppo Mobile, the company that effectively makes Oppo phones. Another company, OnePlus Trading Corporation is fully owned by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, but this company can only sell devices and has no R&D or manufacturing activities. ...... On Reddit, in two threads (1, 2) that ballooned over the weekend, some users complain that OnePlus was misleading about its status as an Oppo sister/daughter company, and that in portraying itself as a feisty startup, the company lied to its fans........ Others don’t seem to care at all, focusing on what an amazing proposition the $299 One is.
OnePlus: The little smartphone company taking on Samsung, HTC and co
A new company called OnePlus would work with fan-favourites CynogenMod on the new no-compromise device ..... On paper it will take on Samsung and HTC’s new smartphones spec-for-spec. Rarely do we come across a no-name company that has piqued the intrigue of customers so rampantly. ...... OnePlus claims the 3100 milliamp-hour battery will power the One for a whole day in spite of its top-end specs. ...... US$299 for the white 16GB and US$349 for the black 64GB model, will be released in 15 markets commencing from the 25th of April.
OnePlus One: China Rolls Out a Full HD Phone
The handset's striking feature the CyanogenMod 11S version based on Android 4.4 KitKat, which shows it is going to tap some of the smartphone categories like Nexus.
OnePlus One: A high-end device that may kill Nexus 5, iPhone 5S
OnePlus, a phone company founded last year in China, on Wednesday announced its first Android phone called OnePlus One, a flagship device that will be sold at a price of just $299. Despite its price, which is lower than even the price of Google Nexus 5, on paper OnePlus One looks every bit like a flagship device with good design and powerful hardware. ..... OnePlus was founded by Pete Lau in December 2013. Lau was earlier vice president at Oppo, a phone company that has made a name for itself in China by selling attractive and high-end phones at affordable prices. ..... For OnePlus One, the firm has tied up with Qualcomm for the core hardware. For software, it has tied up with Cyanogen Inc, a group that modifies Android to make it more suitable for older devices as well as to make it more feature rich. ..... OnePlus One is powered by Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor running at 2.5GHz. It has 3GB RAM, option of 16GB to 64GB internal storage, 5.5-inch screen with 1080P resolution, 13MP camera with F2.0 aperture and Sony image sensor, 5MP front camera, 3100 mAh battery, NFC and stereo speakers. The device weighs 162 grams and has a thickness of 8.9mm. While the shell of the phone is made using plastic, OnePlus says that wood, Kevlar and denim backcovers will be available as accessories. ...... The phone runs a custom version of CyanogenMod based on Android 4.4. ..... the price is the real appeal of OnePlus One. The other flagship phones like iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5 cost over $600.
Chinese smartphone startup OnePlus aims at developed markets
a venture backed by the people behind OPPO, a Chinese consumer electronics brand where the core team of OnePlus is from. Pete Lau, founder of OnePlus, was VP at OPPO in charge of Blue-ray DVD players. OnePlus will take advantage of OPPO's smartphone manufacturing capability. ...... OPPO is a spinoff from BBK, one of the most famous consumer electronics makers in China in the late 1990's and early 2000's. BBK's VCD player was one of the most popular back then. The establishment of OPPO itself several years ago was for international expansion. ..... The OPPO smartphone, positioned as a premium brand for women, is one of the most profitable smartphone makers (including Xiaomi ) in China. Different from Xiaomi, OPPO has a whole supply chain, from factories to R&D. The company promises to use the highest quality components and the best hardware available. It's a smartphone brand that has been trying to be creative. OPPO Finder, launched in mid-2012, claims it's the thinnest smartphone around the world No. 1, the latest flagship model released in September 2013, has a touch panel on the back, a rotating camera, and an accompanying accessoire. ....... OPPO phones, according to Mr. Lau, have sold well in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia. But the OPPO Blue-ray DVD player turned out to be a more successful product line as an international brand. OPPO's are sold well in high-end DVD and Blue-ray player markets in the US and Europe....... To design good quality Blue-ray players for international markets, Pete Lau invited designers from various countries. This time he has already had employees from 12 countries. He doesn't think there is too big a difference between producing an international Blue-ray player brand and one for smartphone and other mobile gadgets.
Newcomer OnePlus aims to disrupt the smartphone industry with ‘truly outstanding’ devices










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Monday, January 14, 2013

Unsung Hero Samsung

English: Samsung Logo Suomi: Samsungin logo
English: Samsung Logo Suomi: Samsungin logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It is almost like Samsung flew beneath the radar, and it is still not talked about as a major tech innovator by the mainstream press.

The Genius of Samsung
It is the world’s largest tech company by revenue, and in 2012 it became the world’s leading smartphone maker. .... Samsung’s smartphone market share in the third quarter last year beat that of Apple, Sony, HTC, and Research in Motion combined ..... Samsung’s smartphone proceeds have doubled in the past year ..... a brilliance exemplified by the way the company stumbled into success with the Galaxy Note: Samsung is willing to try anything. Actually, it’s willing to try everything. By building dozens of models across a range of product categories—it makes everything from phones to tablets to refrigerators to washing machines—Samsung can offer a device for every conceivable market niche. As long as its devices meet a minimum level of quality—and in general, its products are very good—and it manages to kill the failures and push the successes with great marketing, Samsung is sure to keep its place at the top of a roiling tech business. ...... The world’s tech-addled masses are switching from desktop devices to mobile ones, from bulky programs to sleek apps, from limited local storage to acres of space in the clouds. ..... By giving people what they wanted—even if it meant copying Apple—Samsung had become a global gadget powerhouse. ..... Since 2010, Samsung has deepened its technical prowess. Its design and workmanship have improved, and now its devices work just as well as Apple’s and no longer look like clones of Cupertino’s best stuff. ...... Samsung has become a master of marketing. Its commercials portraying Apple’s customers as mindless sheep were brazen—especially considering Samsung’s mimicry of Apple’s devices—but they were ubiquitous and beloved by Apple haters. They announced Samsung as a friendly, reasonable alternative to a cultish global brand. ...... there is something charmingly humble about Samsung’s see-what-sticks strategy. Other tech giants operate according to lofty philosophies. Apple prizes aesthetics and usability, Google cherishes the free flow of information, and Facebook wants to connect us all to one another. Samsung has no such philosophy. All it wants to do is make stuff that we’ll buy. ..... making phones that look exactly like your rivals’ devices, or making phones that are foolishly large, or making devices that run every conceivable operating system, or creating a fridge with a built-in baby monitor and an Evernote app ..... when one of its bets hits, Samsung knows how to push all of its resources into making it the next big thing .... The future is unknowable, so there’s no shame in guessing.
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Friday, May 22, 2009

Android


Image representing Android as depicted in Crun...Image via CrunchBase



Android: History

The beauty of going public and going big is, if you are a truly visionary company, you can start zapping up small startups that might fit into your vision. Android was not Google's in-house creation.

Android: Versions

Cupcake was a phase not a release.

Android: Functionality

It is revolutionizing the mobile space, and it is spilling over into the Netbook space.

The Android Ecosystem

And I don't mean just the Open Handset Alliance which is an impressive consortium.

Android: Buzz

Many have talked of 2009 as being Android's year. I guess we will just have to watch the drama unfold and see if Android will truly see a 900% growth. Even the naysayers say 400%. Once it takes off, the growth rate might hit four figures. Why not?

The Android Vision

There is openness and there is mobility. Those two values stand at the core of the vision.

Android Future: Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom

Once the genie is out of the bottle, who knows what all that will lead up to. This is the new wild, wild west.

Taking The Number 2 Spot On Google Search For Donut Android
Hitting Number 4 For Google Search Results on Cupcake Android
Donut Android: Windows 95, Android 2009?
Cupcake Android Delay Reason: Donut Android
Google Analytics Says I Am Paul Krugman Friend, Cupcake Android Expert
Cupcake: Android 1.5

On The Web

Android | Official Website
Android (operating system) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, and Texas Instruments ...... ARM Holdings Plc, Atheros Communications, Asustek Computer Inc, Garmin Ltd, Softbank, Sony Ericsson,Toshiba Corp, and Vodafone Group Plc ....... Since 21 October 2008, Android has been available as open source. ....... Android had been criticized for not being all open-source software despite what was announced by Google. Parts of the SDK are proprietary and closed source and some believe this is so that Google can control the platform. ......... Google has since announced that all parts of the Android will be released under the Apache License where applicable and under the GPL elsewhere ....... In order to bring this software into public view, a read-only mirror branch has been created, known as cupcake. It is thought the name comes from Marissa Mayer, who has an obsession with cupcakes. ...... a development branch, not a release ...... Uploading videos to Youtube and pictures to Picasa directly from the phone

Google Code : Android Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications.

Open Handset Alliance built to be truly open ...... an application can call upon any of the phone's core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel........ Android is open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. ...... Android does not differentiate between the phone's core applications and third-party applications. .... a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual's mobile phone ...... allows devices to communicate with one another enabling rich peer-to-peer social applications.
Welcome ‎(Android Open Source Project) Android is the first free, open source, and fully customizable mobile platform. ...contains a rich set of APIs that allows third-party developers to develop great applications.

Android Community - Tracking the Android Platform
Google Mobile | Android Never worry about losing your contacts or emails, they are all automatically backed up.

Android Developers
Android | Market
Gizmodo - HTC's Android Interface Makes Us Temporarily Forget All ...
Android Developers Blog
Android Phone
Google Projects for Android
Hello Android | Android OS news, tutorials, downloads
Electronista | Dell shows Mini 10v running Android 1.5 describes the mobile OS as "small and snappy" ...... Other companies, such as Acer, have experimented with Android and are typically drawn by both the relative ease of use compared to regular Linux distributions as well as the light demand on processing performance and storage compared to desktop operating systems. Android runs on as little as a 200MHz ARM processor, making it particularly responsive on netbook-class chips.

Android Company Profile
Google Buys Android for Its Mobile Arsenal The search giant quietly acquires the startup, netting possibly a key player in its push into wireless, "the next frontier in search" ........ 22-month-old startup .... brings to Google a wealth of talent, including co-founder Andy Rubin, who previously started mobile-device maker Danger Inc. ..... In a 2003 interview with BusinessWeek, just two months before incorporating Android, Rubin said there was tremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences. ....... Rubin isn't the only well-known Silicon Valley veteran joining Google via Android. Others coming over include Andy McFadden, who worked with Rubin at WebTV before helping develop the all-in-one set-top box for Moxi Digital; Richard Miner, former vice-president of technology and innovation at telecom outfit Orange before joining Android; and Chris White, who spearheaded the design and interface for WebTV in the late 1990s, before helping to found Android.
Android (1982)
Android Developers Blog: Android Market: a user-driven content ...
Android -- Engadget Mobile you can now part with some cash and cobble together a bunch of modules to create a do-it-yourself Android phone called FLOW
Android News - Android Google Phone Forums
Official Google Blog: Where's my Gphone? Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, we're not announcing a Gphone. However, we think what we are announcing -- the Open Handset Alliance and Android -- is more significant and ambitious than a single phone. .......... new applications and new capabilities we can’t imagine today. ....... all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation ...... the Open Handset Alliance, which consists of more than 30 technology and mobile leaders including Motorola, Qualcomm, HTC and T-Mobile. Through deep partnerships with carriers, device manufacturers, developers, and others, we hope to enable an open ecosystem for the mobile world by creating a standard, open mobile software platform. .......... partnerships with handset manufacturers and mobile operators around the world. ....... some of our partners are targeting the second half of 2008 to ship phones based on the Android platform

Android - Openmoko
Android reviews on blippr.com
Android Central | Android Central
Android - Gizmodo

Analysts clash over android growth figures - The Inquirer a whopping 900 per cent ...... Apple's Iphone operating system will be the next fastest-growing smartphone OS in 2009, citing a predicted 79 per cent growth rate. ........ buffed up support from telco operators, developers and retailers alike ....... seeping through Europe and Asia ...... puts Android "in a good position to become a top-tier player in smartphones over the next two to three years." ....... Android based smartphone shipments will perk up dramatically once Motorola, HTC, Samsung and T-Mobile have all released their promised devices ......... "IDC expects Android to grow around 420 per cent to a total of 3.6m units worldwide in 2009" ........ the industry is looking for a way to alleviate Symbian - and by proxy, Nokia - dominance ........ IDC believes the market will consolidate around six major operating systems over the next three years, namely Symbian, Blackberry OS, Windows Mobile, Mac OS X, Android and Linux.
Android: Google's Dream, Apple's Nightmare? - TIME while it won't look as sleek as the iPhone, it promises to give mobile-phone users a lot more freedom and flexibility. ...... run multiple applications at once and more easily share contacts and data among them ....... mobile-phone users will finally be able to cut and paste text in e-mails — a function that's frustratingly absent on the iPhone. ......... The sweetest part of the Dream is the Android Market — Google's answer to the Apple App Store. ........ at launch all Android Market apps will be free. ...... Android is better than the iPhone at running multiple programs at once ........ While Apple takes a top-down approach to app development — the company must approve every program that makes it into its App Store — Google will allow creators to upload any application to the Android Market without its review. ........ users will not be limited to a single phone or carrier for long. ........ Google is inviting all carriers to develop handsets for the platform ..... other features are expected to go toe-to-toe with the iPhone, including built-in GPS, a tilt sensor for gaming and a camera .....no one can turn on the hype machine quite as well as Steve Jobs







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