Samsung pips Apple to regain top smartphone-maker crown

While Apple became the world's top smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter of 2014, looks like Samsung has recaptured the crown in Q1, 2015. According to a report from market research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung captured 24% market share in the first quarter of the year, overtaking Apple, which claimed nearly 18%. It's worth mentioning that Samsung had captured 31% market in the year-ago quarter. In terms of shipment numbers, the South Korean company shipped 83.2 million smartphones worldwide, while the Cupertino-based company shipped 61.2 million units. "Samsung continued to face challenges in Asia and elsewhere, but its global performance has stabilized sufficiently well this quarter to overtake Apple and recapture first position as the world's largest smartphone vendor by volume," said Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_recaptures_worlds_top_smartphone_maker_crown-news-12088.php

Xiaomi tops Chinese market with 14% share

Xiaomi has maintained its top position in the Chinese smartphone market in the first quarter. According to a tweet (which cites a report from research firm IHS Technology) sent out by the company's India head, the company sold 14.2 million of the 99 million devices sold in the country in Q1. Xiaomi sold 14.2M smartphones out of 99M sold in Q1'15 in China, as per IHS. We are #1 :) @xiaomi @MiIndiaOfficial pic.twitter.com/9IWm67WsXE— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) April 28, 2015 This translates into 14% market share for the five year old company. Huawei and Apple followed with 11% share each, while Samsung and Vivo rounded up the top five with 10 and 9% market share, respectively. In addition to China, Xiaomi is now heavily focusing on India, where it recently announced its first made for India smartphone, the Mi...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_tops_chinese_market_in_q1_with_14_pc_share-news-12085.php

Future ZenFones to use Snapdragon 615, says Asus CEO

Asus CEO Jerry Shen has said that the company will use Snapdragon 615 SoC in future ZenFones. He made the comment during an interview (see video below) with technology website Yugatech. He also said that Asus' smartphones will follow a naming convention similar to that of Apple's, which means that the company's next flagship will be called ZenFone 3. Finally, he also revealed that the company will release a flagship every year, with incremental upgrades in...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/future_zenfones_to_use__snapdragon_615_says_asus_ceo-news-12084.php

Initial Lenovo A6000 Plus batch sold out in 15 minutes

The first batch of the Lenovo A6000 Plus smartphone, which was launched in India a couple of weeks ago and went on sale on Flipkart yesterday, was depleted in just 15 minutes. "Lenovo in association with Flipkart sold out 1 lakh [100,000] units of the recently launched A6000 Plus in 15 minutes", the Chinese company said in a statement. For those who aren't in the know, the handset is essentially an improved version of the already existing A6000, and carries a price tag of INR 7,499...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/initial_lenovo_a6000_plus_batch_sold_out_in_15_minutes-news-12083.php

Verizon's Samsung Galaxy S4 getting Lollipop OTA update

Just a few weeks after AT&T started rolling out the Android Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy S4, Verizon has also announced the update for the device. The Verizon Galaxy S4 update brings Android 5.0.1 with software version LRX22C.I545VRUGOC1. The update is gradually rolling out so it may take a few days before it reaches everyone. If you're feeling impatient, you can always manually check for it by heading to Settings -> About Device -> Software Update -> Check for Updates on your device. Meanwhile, there have been reports that the Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition (GPE) will get Android 5.1 in the near future. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/verizon_samsung_galaxy_s4_getting_android_lollipop_ota_update-news-12081.php

HTC Q1 2015 earnings reveal modest net profit after tax

HTC released its earnings report for Q1 2015. The Taiwanese manufacturer posted a quarterly net profit of $11.8 million from $1.36 billion of revenue. The company's revenue grew by a quarter from the same period last year. HTC attributed the revenue bump to "tailored portfolios for individual markets and targeted marketing efforts." HTC deemed the launch of the One M9 and One M9+ during the quarter as successful. The partnerships with Under Armour and Valve in fitness products and virtual reality respectively were also noted. Gross margins for the past quarter were 19.7%. That's less than the 21% for the same period a year ago. Going forward, HTC expects revenue in the range of $1.5 billion to $1.67 billion. Gross profit margin is expected to range between 23% and 23.5%. Overall, the next quarter will be really important for HTC. Q2 will be the first period of full availability for HTC One M9. Source...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_q1_2015_earnings_reveal_modest_net_profit_after_tax-news-12082.php