Wireless Guide News

There’s a lot of Samsung news out and about this morning, but here’s something about which the Seoul-based corporation should be pleased.

Market intelligence firm IHS iSuppli issued a new report on Tuesday, declaring that Samsung became the top cellphone maker worldwide this year — displacing Nokia from the top spot for the first time in 14 years.

It’s no secret that Samsung’s smartphone unit has soared in the last few years while its Finnish competitor’s smartphone…………… continues on ZDNet

CHICAGO (CBS) — They’re a lifeline in many cases, but they’re also the latest high-tech intimidation tool enlisted by gangs.

As of Jan. 14, 2013, cell phones will be banned from numerous cook county courthouses.

“I would say it is a step that became necessary,” Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans tells CBS 2’s Brad Edwards.

Gang members, he says, “will not be permitted to intimidate justice in this county.”

Currently, cell phones are allowed on the premises, but they’re not allowed to be used in court.

The judge says gang members have sat in public areas at the courthouses and taken pictures of judges or witnesses or texted testimony.

“That provides a chilling effect on justice,” Evans says.

The ban will take place at 13 facilities – with exception to lawyers and others:

·               The George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building at 2600 S. California Ave., Chicago, commonly known as “26^th and Cal.”

·               The Cook County Juvenile Center, 1100 West Hamilton Ave., Chicago

·               The Domestic Violence Courthouse, 555 West Harrison St., Chicago

·               The Second Municipal District Skokie Courthouse, 5600 Old Orchard Road

·               The Third Municipal District Rolling Meadows Courthouse, 2121 Euclid Road

·            …………… continues on CBS2 Chicago

Samsung will pay you up to $ 300 dollars for your old cell phone, in a new marking campaign announced on their Facebook page, according to Monday’s news. The offer is only good through Samsung’s Facebook page.

If you upgrade to a new Samsung Smartphone, they will send you a check for your old cell phone. If you just purchased one of these phones the offer is open to you too!

Samsung’s already doing well in this market as they “topped the 50 million unit mark and reached a new quarterly smartphone shipment record in a single quarter,” according to a report quoted on Gadget Box.

The key to this offer is the words “up to” as the phones differ in value and where their top pay is capped at $ 300 for a phone, not all of them are worth that much. A 16 GB iPhone 4 is valued at $ 165 for this offer; a Samsung Exhilarate, $ 175, but if your old phone is a Motorola Droid 2, this is only holds a $ 20 value for this offer.

According to the offer on the Samsung Facebook page:

“Upgrading is simple. You’ll get a quote, purchase a new Samsung smartphone, and mail in your old phone within 30 days. Then you’ll get a check mai…………… continues on Examiner.com

‘,
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(Credit: ComScore)

Apple scored the greatest gain in market share among cell phone makers last quarter but was stuck in third place behind Samsung and LG.

Looking at the three months ending with June, ComScore pegged Apple with a 15.4 percent share of the U.S. mobile-phone market, up from 14 percent the prior three months. Such growth surpassed that of the other top three players, each of which saw a dip in market share.

Samsung’s chunk of the market fell to 25.6 percent from 26 percent, but the company remained the dominant player. In second place was LG with an 18.8 percent share, down from 19.3 percent the prior three months.

Over the same period, Motorola took home an 11.7 percent share, down from 12.8 percent. Though in fifth place, HTC eked out a small gain with a share of 6.4 percent, up from 6 percent. Overall, 234 million Americans age 13 and older were users of mobile phones for the quarter.

Samsung has seen huge demand for its Galaxy class phones. But with a

July 31, 2012|By Greg Schwem, Tribune Media Services | Humor Hotel

Samsung has been crowned the king of mobile phones by yet another research firm.

The Korean handset maker sold 86.6 million mobile phones in the first quarter, according to the latest stats from Gartner, a 25.9 percent jump from the year-ago quarter. That gave Samsung a 20.7 percent share of the market and helped it win back the top spot for smartphone sales from Apple.

Samsung sold 38 million smartphones last quarter, accounting for more than 40 percent of all Android phones around the world. That figure was by far in the lead since no another Android vendor captured more than 10 percent of the market.

Second-place Nokia gave up its almost 15-year lock as the leading mobile phone vendor to Samsung.

The Finnish phone maker grabbed a market share of 19.8 last quarter, according to Gartner. Nokia’s handset sales dropped to 83.2 million, a 22.7 percent decline from last year’s first quarter. The company has seen its sales and market…………… continues on CNET

New Sidekick 2008 GSM Quadband phone for T-Mobile
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LG Xenon GR500 Unlocked Phone with QWERTY Keyboard, 2MP Camera, GPS and Touch Screen
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Samsung Infuse 4G Android Phone (AT&T)
The unlocked Infuse 4G is Samsung’s thinnest Smartphone at just 8.99 mm (0.35″) at its thinnest, so it’s easy to slip into a purse…

LG enV3 VX9200 Verizon Cell Phone with 3MP Camera, Camcorder, Bluetooth, Stereo music, MicroSD expand to 16 GB, Email (Blue)
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Samsung

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -

Nokia is now the world’s second-largest cell phone company, ending a 14-year run at the top.

Samsung took over the top spot, shipping 92 million cell phones in the first quarter, compared to the 83 million that Nokia shipped, according to IHS iSuppli. It was the first time since 1998, when Nokia surpassed Motorola, that Nokia was outpaced in cell phone shipments.

Making matters worse for Nokia, S&P downgraded the Finnish company’s debt rating to “junk” on Friday. That follows Fitch’s similar downgrade earlier in the week.

Nokia’s decline has been a long time in the making, with shipments sinking by nearly 30% since their peak ju…………… continues on KTBS

Catch up on highlights from around the region and click on the headline to read the full article.

New Cell Phone Tower Installation has Residents Furious: A private company—The American Tower Corporation—began working on new towers that will increase cellular service throughout Northampton in early April, but some residents weren’t aware there was work scheduled for their own properties. Twelve of the 59 cell phone towers are brand new steel poles where there are no other towers of their kind. Learn more about the installation and vote in a poll on Northampton Patch.

Log College Holds Recyclable Fashion Show: Students turned trash into apparel and illustrated the importance of taking responsibility for the care of the planet during a Recyclable Fashion Show assembly at Log College. See photos and learn more on Warminster Patch.

Bensalem Police Make Nine Weekend Arrests: Between April 27 and 29, police made nine arrests, including charges of public drunkenness, retail theft, DUI and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage an…………… continues on Patch.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Nokia is now the world’s second-largest cell phone company, ending a 14-year run at the top.

Samsung took over the top spot, shipping 92 million cell phones in the first quarter, compared to the 83 million that Nokia shipped, according to IHS iSuppli. It was the first time since 1998, when Nokia surpassed Motorola, that Nokia was outpaced in cell phone shipments.

Making matters worse for Nokia, S&P downgraded the Finnish company’s debt rating to “junk” on Friday. That follows Fitch’s similar downgrade earlier in the week.

Nokia’s decline has been a long time in the making, with shipments sinking by nearly 30% since their peak just after Apple’s iPhone first went on sale in 2007.

Samsung’s rise mirrored Nokia’s fall from grace. The South Korean company controlled just a third of Nokia’s cell phone market share in 2008, and it has been rising steadily ever since.

The overall cell phone market includes popular smartphones like Apple’s iPhone but also older and less expensive phones that don’t feature as many apps or other bells and whistles. Apple sold 35 million iPhones in the first three months of this year.

Nokia was the smartphone leader as recently as a year ago, but it has since fallen to a distant third place.

But Samsung has also vaulted to near the top in smartphones. It was in fourth pl…………… continues on KAJ18 Kalispell Montana News

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina says it isn’t satisfied with the responses from three local law-enforcement agencies to questions from the ACLU about whether the agencies obtain search warrants before tracking cellphone locations in criminal investigations.

Katy Parker, the ACLU’s attorney, said sheriff’s offices in Surry, Stokes and Forsyth counties track cellphones.

“None of the three fully answered our questions about the legal standard,” Parker said. “We would hope that law-enforcement agencies would be more forthcoming.”

The ACLU sent public-records requests to hundreds of police departments across the country last August, asking them about their policies, practices and procedures for tracking cellphone records.

Police Chief Scott Cunningham declined to say whether his detectives track cellphones in their investigations.

“If we conduct any such activities, they are conducted in full compliance with existing guidelines and requirements,” Cunningham said.

In its request to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the ACLU asked officials to submit any judicial orders they had gotten to pull cellphone records.

Assistant County Attorney Kevin McGuckin responded to the ACLU request, saying that those documents are considered part of criminal investigations and aren’t public records under state law.

<…………… continues on Winston-Salem Journal

Samsung in the first quarter became the world’s largest cellphone brand for the first time, overtaking longtime market leader Nokia.

In the smartphone segment, Samsung remained in second place behind Apple, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.

The South Korean electronics giant shipped 92 million cellphones worldwide in the first quarter, compared with 83 million for Nokia. While Samsung’s shipments declined by 13% from the fourth quarter of 2011, Nokia’s dropped by 27%.

In the smartphone segment, Apple shipped 35 million units in the first quarter compared with 32 million for Samsung. Apple’s smartphone shipments declined 5% from the fourth quarter, compared with 11% for Samsung.

First-quarter declines in the shipments of smartphones and cellphones reflect normal seasonal patterns in which sales decrease after the peak holiday period in the fourth quarter.

“With cellphones now accounting for more than 40% of Samsung’s overall revenue, it’s clear that the company’s continued investments in smartphone hardware and software R&D are paying off,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst of wireless communications at IHS. “The company is not only cashing in…………… continues on Los Angeles Times

Scientists with the country’s Health Protection Agency have concluded that everyone in the U.K. gets exposed to “universal and continuous” low-level radio frequencies from cell phones, Wi-Fi, televisions and radios.

Despite the constant exposure, the scientists said, they did not find any definite links between the frequencies and cancer or other problems with brain function or infertility.

There are many studies on the safety of mobile phones, according to the BBC, but the HPA’s study is by far the most expansive.

It also contradicts a World Health Organization project that determined cell phones cause certain types of brain cancer. Early last year, 31 scientists from 14 countries urged the WHO to re-examine its guidelines for safe mobile phone use.

However, while the U.K. scientists said there’s no conclusive evidence cell phone radiation is dangerous, the scientists recommended research continues on cell phones’ long-term effects. In addition, the HPA suggested that “excessive use of mobile phones by children should be discouraged,” striking a slightly cautionary note.

The debate about the dangers of cell phones has been going on almost ever since the advents of mobile devices. For example, in 2004, Swedish scientists said that people who use cell phones for 10 or more years co…………… continues on Mobiledia

Samsung’s smartphone shipments soared over the same period last to easily grab the lion’s share of the global market, a market researcher said Thursday. While another market researcher put Samsung No.1 in the overall cell phone market.

The South Korean electronics giant’s share went from 12.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 to a whopping 30.6 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to Strategy Analytics (see chart below).

Apple’s growth isn’t too shabby either: it jumped from an 18.1 percent share last year (which at that time was larger than Samsung’s) to 24.1 percent.

Overall global smartphone shipments grew 41 percent annually to reach 145 million units in the first quarter of 2012. More than half of that being Samsung and Apple combined.

“Samsung and Apple are outcompeting m…………… continues on CNET

People in Nova Scotia would have their cellphone contract cancellation fees capped and be told of any changes that would increase their bills under legislation proposed Friday that aims to regulate the mobile phone industry.

Service Nova Scotia Minister John MacDonell said amendments to the province’s Consumer Protection Act would cap cancellation fees to $ 50 and require telecommunications companies to provide minimum monthly costs of service in contracts and advertising.

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