Apple is expected to launch the fifth-generation iPad in September while it is said to be still finalizing plans for the iPad mini, a new report claims.

According to DigiTimes, the Cupertino-based company will launch its fifth generation 9.7-inch iPad in September. It is being speculated that besides Retina Display, the fifth-generation iPad may also feature a slim bezel design that would allow a larger viewing area. Other improvements may include better battery life thanks to the single LED tube that would replace two being used earlier. Other than that, no major spec boosts are expected in the new iPad. The report affirms that the suppliers have not yet received any mass-production schedule form Apple and the current pilot production schedule should be able to fulfill the initial demand for the device at launch.

The next generation iPad mini may receive a specifications upgrade, according to sources from the upstream supply chain, notes DigiTimes. Apple is said to be in two minds on whether to include Retina Display in the device or not. If Retina Display is being used in the 7.9-inch iPad mini then it could push back the release to the end of fourth quarter. Additionally, Apple has asked its supply channels to further shrink the bezel of the new iPad mini, just to push for a bezel-less design, similar to that of Samsung and HTC big-sized smartphones claims the report.

Last year, Apple launched both the fourth-generation iPad and the first iPad mini at the same event in October. However, an update to the 9.7-inch iPad was done six months prior when the company launched the third generation variant, the first to ship with high-resolution Retina Display.

Samsung has announced the launch of its camera smartphone Galaxy S4 Zoom in India.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom comes with a 16-megapixel CMOS Sensor, 16x optical zoom, Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) and Xenon Flash.

The smartphone features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display with a resolution of 540×960 pixels. It is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor along with 1.5GB of RAM. Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom packs in 8GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to 64Gb via a microSD card. Along with the 16-megapixel rear shooter, the device also comes with a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. The device runs on the Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) along with layer of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI.

The connectivity options on this smartphone include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE) and A-GPS. Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom comes with a 2,330mAh battery. On the sensor front, the device has Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyroscope and RGB Light sensors.

The smartphone will be available in Black and White colour options for Rs. 29,900. To sweeten the deal, Samsung is offering a free flip cover along with this smartphone. Samsung has also tied up with Reliance Communications to offer free 2GB data for the first three months of purchase.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom key specifications

• 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD touchscreen display
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor
• 1.5GB RAM
• 8GB internal storage expandable by up to 64GB via microSD card
• 16-megapixel rear camera with Xenon flash, 10X Optical Zoom
• 1.9-megapixel front camera
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/5GHz (ac), NFC and Bluetooth 4.0
• 2,330mAh battery
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

­BlackBerry Z10

Research in Motion has held its much vaunted relaunch and amongst all the expected announcements for its new OS and smartphones was one surprise as the company decided to change its name. Research in Motion is henceforth to be called BlackBerry – even more tightly tying the company into the success or failure of its operating system.

The company’s CEO, Thorsten Heins made the announcement: “From this point forward — we are BlackBerry. One brand. One promise. Our customers use a BlackBerry, our employees work for BlackBerry, and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry.”

The company also showed off its latest make or break OS, and two new handsets.

China has become the world’s largest supplier of smartphones after it shipped 224 million units in 2012.

Citing official data, the Xinhua news agency reported that the country also added 50.9 million Internet users in 2012, bringing the total to 564 million at the end of last year

During 2012, over 730,000 Chinese apps were launched on Apple iOS platforms, and the number of apps in China Mobile’s online Mobile Market approached 150,000, according to a statement from the China Academy of Telecommunication Research.

The number of mobile Internet users increased 18.1 percent to 420 million, with mobile phones becoming the primary channel for using the Internet in China.

Local software production and development can spur economic growth in Africa and other developing economies, says a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
The ‘Information Economy Report 2012’ shows that information and communications technology (ICT) software and services are dominated by the developed world but developing economies are catching up.
It says that piracy, poor ICT infrastructure and inadequate protection of intellectual property rights are some of the major challenges hindering ICT software development and service expansion in developing regions such as Africa.
However, for Africa and the Middle East the biggest challenge to the software industry is limited access to venture capital.

­Huawei and Vodafone have announced the successful trial of 2 Tbit/s optical fiber transmission technologies on Vodafone’s live network. The field trial achieved 2 Tbit/s transmission capabilities of over 3,325km.

The link used in the trial was on Vodafone’s backbone network, passing through a few cities across middle and south Germany.

This provides a data highway capacity 20-times higher than current commercially deployed 100Gbit/s systems and has a speed equivalent to downloading 40 HD videos in one second. This marks an important step forward for optical transport technology advances beyond 100G.

Huawei has published preliminary financial figures, and said that revenue for 2012 rose by eight percent to RMB220.2 billion (US$35 billion), while net profit jumped by a third to RMB15.4 billion (US$2.45 billion).

About 70% of Huawei’s revenue was generated from serving telecommunications operators, including 45 of the world’s top 50.

The 2012 results audited by KPMG will be outlined in the company’s annual report, which will be released in April.

Huawei’s CFO Cathy Meng announced the results and said that the earnings disclosure is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to be more open and transparent with stakeholders. The company has come under criticism over the opaque nature of its ownership, which has fueled the ongoing concerns about the company’s alleged links with the Chinese military.

The company says that it is owned by its employees, but this appears to be a holding company limited to Chinese nationals with very limited shareholder rights as would be normally understood in such a situation.

Looking at the financial results, Meng said that the financial results were based “on strictly controlling G&A expenses and allocate more resources to bolster the front line and ensure continuous improvements on customer delivery and service quality,” said Ms. Meng. “In addition, Huawei continued its ongoing management transformation, raising combined operating efficiency with an integrated financial services program.”

The company invested 29.9 billion (US$4.76 billion) on R&D in 2012, accounting for more than 13% of the year’s revenue.

Huawei’s Carrier Network business group generated sales revenues of RMB160.3 billion. Huawei’s Consumer business group recorded robust sales revenue of CNY 48.4 billion, with sales continuing to grow in developed markets including Europe and Japan. Huawei’s Enterprise business group further developed its portfolio and won contracts, generating sales revenue of RMB11.5 billion.

Two-thirds of Huawei’s overall revenue came from outside China. Among the overseas revenue, the Asia-Pacific region saw revenue of RMB37.4 billion, while Europe, Middle East and Africa recorded RMB77.4 billion and the Americas contributed RMB31.8 billion. The domestic market China recorded RMB73.6 billion.

Ms. Meng concluded with a projection that Huawei expects its overall revenue to grow 10-12% in 2013.

US Patent War: Huawei, Samsung, Nokia, ZTE under Scrutiny

­The U.S. International Trade Commission (US ITC) has decided to carry out an investigation into claims by InterDigital that it wireless patents are being infringed by a number of mobile phone manufacturers.

The companies named in the complaint, which was filed at the start of this year, include Samsung, Nokia, ZTE and Huawei.

InterDigital Communications has made the standard request that the USITC issue an exclusion order and cease and desist orders.

The ITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s six administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing.

According to the complaint, the asserted patents generally relate to wireless devices and systems with 3G and/or LTE capabilities.

In particular, the ‘966 and ‘847 patents relate to improvements to the way a mobile device gains access to a cellular CDMA system. The ‘970 patent relates to a technique for communication between user equipment and one or more wireless networks. The ‘151 patent relates to an improvement in the provision of control information to devices operated in a wireless communications environment, such as on an LTE-based wireless communications network. The ‘830 and ‘636 patents relate to improvements to the way a subscriber unit gains access to a cellular CDMA system. Lastly, the ‘406 patent relates to improved automatic power control for a CDMA system.

­Ericsson has reported a net loss of SEK6.3 billion (US$990 million) after it was hit by a write down of SEK8 billion on its ST-Ericsson joint-venture and took a tax charge of SEK500 million.

Revenues for the quarter rose by 5 percent to SEK 66.9 billion ($10.5 billion) as the recently acquired Telcordia operation added sales of SEK 1.1 billion in the quarter, split 50/50 between segments Global Services and Support Solutions.

Ericsson’s CEO, Hans Vestberg commented: “During the year profitability was negatively impacted by operating losses in ST-Ericsson, the ongoing network modernization projects in Europe as well as the underlying business mix,with a higher share of coverage projects than capacity projects.”

For the full year, revenues were flat YoY at SEK 227.8 billion (US$35.8 billion) with growth in Global Services and Support Solutions, while Networks sales declined partly due to the 40% decline of CDMA equipment sales.

­Fitch Ratings says LG Electronics still faces an unfavourable macro-economic environment and intensifying competition in its core businesses, notwithstanding the turnaround in the company’s operating results and financial profile during 2012.

LGE reported an EBIT margin of 2.2% (2011: 0.7%) and EBITDA grew 65%, lowering gross debt to KRW6.5trn at end-2012 from KRW7.4trn at end-2011. LG Display, a key subsidiary, returned to profitability with an EBIT margin of 3.1% in 2012 while almost doubling its EBITDA to KRW5.4trn. As a result, Fitch estimates LGE’s financial leverage to have improved to about 2.5x at end-2012 from 4.4x at end-2011. In its analysis, Fitch proportionally consolidates LGE’s two major operating subsidiaries, LG Display and LG Innotek.