"..... thinnest .... lightest .... slimmest ..... best display .... "

The eagled eyed among you may have already spotted the *s on Sony’s recent high profile Xperia Z advertising campaign which quote Strategy Analytics research to verify product claims.

The analysis we provided can be examined in detail on Sony’s website HERE

Verifying manufacturers' assertions for their products is something that Strategy Analytics is often asked to do, and which we are uniquely qualified to perform.  Our SpecTRAX cellular devices database of 300 item specifications for around 15,000 devices represents an extremely powerful magnifying glass with which to focus on product claims.  Further, where an existing device comes close to the test product we can increase the focus for a more detailed analysis.

Over the years, we have spotted a number of manufacturers' claims which we felt were invalid and while some of these may be seen as innocuous, it takes just one eagle-eyed blogger or journalist to spot the faux-pas and wreck an expensive marketing campaign.

To find out more about our proprietary research methodologies and how we may be able to help you, please feel free to contact me directly or CONTACT THE TEAM to arrange a SpecTRAX demo.

Steve Entwistle

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SpecTRAX, a comparison tool from Strategy Analytics, records the specifications of new cellphone handsets and tablets as they are announced; tracking availability through over 300 carrier and retail channels. 

Click here to try the SpecTRAX for yourself

We use our SpecTRAX online database to indicate popular smartphones. We found that in the first half of 2012 smartphones from Nokia and RIM joined those from Apple and Samsung as most widely available.

The complete top 20 list of global smartphones ranked according to their shelf-share are shown below.

Samsung pipped Apple to the top spot with the Galaxy S II i9100 (16GB), closely followed by Apple’s iPhone 4S 16 GB.  Impressively the Galaxy SII is available from every network operator and retail channel analyzed by the SpecTRAX team.

Our report also summarizes the key specifications of the top 20 smartphones including display size, camera resolution, processor speed and operating systems.

Over 50% of devices profiled were Android; however iOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry OS and Symbian all held their ground in the top 20 smartphone list.

The key finds of the report include;

• Samsung’s Galaxy S II i9100 (16 GB) shows universal availability (only absent from the iStore shelves); the Apple iPhone 4S 16 GB comes in a close second.
• Nokia’s Lumia 800 gained traction early in its lifecycle being available through 77% of global channels just months after launch;  beating Samsung’s heavily publicised Galaxy S III i9300 16 GB launched in Q2 2012.
• HTC’s One X quad-core device (launched at MWC in February 2012) came in 12th place showing across 2/3 of shelves; an impressive positioning for this ultra-high-end product.
• The HTC Wildfire S and RIM Blackberry Curve 2 8520 entry level smartphones continue to be available from more than 60% of channels despite their age.

Samsung has the most devices in the ranking with five smartphones in the top 10 by shelf-share.  When the list is expanded to the top 20 widely available smartphones then devices from Sony, HTC and Motorola feature as popular in network operators product portfolios.

The data in the SpecTRAX online database is constantly updated and customers use it to track global and regional markets in terms of the popularity of handset and the associated specifications of those devices. This is particularly powerful information for product managers and development teams.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SpecTRAX, a comparison tool from Strategy Analytics, records the specifications of new cellphone handsets and tablets as they are announced; tracking availability through over 300 carrier and retail channels. 

Click here to try the SpecTRAX for yourself
http://sa-link.cc/RS8Blog2

Alternatively CONTACT THE TEAM to arrange a SpecTRAX demo.

Steve Entwistle

Clients can access the full details in the report “Results Are In: Samsung’s Galaxy S II was the most widely-available device in 1H 2012” ranking.

SpecTRAX availability and shelf-share data revealed Nokia's Lumia 710 in poll position for smartphones launched in Europe during Q1 2012. This means that during its launch quarter, the Lumia 710 made its way onto 33% of European carriers. The Sony Xperia S (27%) and LG Prada K2 (22%) came in second and third place, with the Lumia 800 featuring on 17% of operator's shelves; meaning Nokia's new launches were in the top 4 smartphones by shelf-share at launch. Download SpecTRAX's latest complimentary extract: Most Widely Available NEW Smartphones in Europe Q1 2012 for the full story, summary spec details, and the methodology.

The analysis revealed European Carriers Top 20 newly released handsets were from Samsung (with 6 models) and HTC (5 models). Nokia, Sony, LG and RIM all featured 2 new smartphones a piece. The Apple iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy SIII and Nokia Lumia 900 did not feature in this report as they were launched either side of Q1 2012 in Europe.

SpecTRAX is a tactical database which tracks detailed handset specifications for smartphones, mobile phones, tablets and USB dongles. There are now over 14,000 unique models listed in the database. Click here to try the SpecTRAX database for yourself, or CONTACT THE TEAM to arrange a SpecTRAX demo.

SpecTRAX contains detailed spec analysis for over 13,000 handsets including mobile phones, tablets and 2100 smartphones to date. The latest complimentary SpecTRAX insight The Smartphone Shift tracks product annoucements since Q1 2010 to Q1 2012 and demonstrates an interesting trend in product type annoucements and the evolution of individual OEM portfolios. The impact of trades shows such as CES and MWC on Q1 annoucements each year are also discussed.

Smartphone and tablet announcements are on the up, whereas mobile phones (untargeted feature phones and mobile voice) annoucements have fallen significantly since their peak in 2010, and are now the remit of budget manufaturers. Smartphones and tablets share common technologies and have similar developmental pathways which result in two products for the price of one.

Interestingly, larger OEMs such as Samsung now show a clear preference for smartphones and tablets over mobile phones. The mobile phone appears to have settled into a niche for new OEMs gaining traction in developing countries, but for how long?

SpecTRAX is a tactical database which tracks detailed handset specifications for smartphones, mobile phones, tablets and USB dongles. Currently there are over 13,000 unique models listed in the database. If you want to try the SpecTRAX database for yourself, just click HERE or contact the team to arrange a SpecTRAX demo.

We've recently completed a 'market insight' entitled:  

In their choice of smartphones, consumers look closely at the specifications of certain key components while bearing in mind their likely pricing.  So what are those particular components, their specifications and their pricing? 

Getting to the bottom of this, we analysed close on 100 smartphones using the massed data from our SpecTRAX and PriceTRAX databases which revealed strong linear trends between handset specification and smartphone tariffs.  If the relationship is linear, there is the basis for reliably predicting smartphone pricing - and with this knowledge, there will be opportunities such as targeting gaps in the market with new products.

Understanding product pricing is therefore powerful knowledge and you can read how we reached our conclusions by clicking here.

If you would like to learn more about SpecTRAX or PriceTRAX, just click their names.

Ref: E62

42 new smartphones were announced at MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2012 and their specifications are examined in detail in this complimentary report HERE->

ZTE announced 13 models followed by Samsung and LG with 5 each.  The analysis was carried out using SpecTRAX.

The highlights of smartphones announced at MWC are:

• Android dominated with the introduction of Ice Cream Sandwich and the continued presence of Gingerbread. Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS 7 and 7.5 (Tango and Mango) were on 2 handsets, and Symbian Belle was found on Nokia’s 808 Pureview – more on p.7 of the report.
• The average display size of these new smartphones was over 4 inches; larger displays are power hungry so battery power was increased in response.
• Huawei’s powerful and impressive Ascend portfolio is equipped with “retina displays” and quad core processors – full details are on p.3 of the report.  Quad core processors gave calculated effective clock speeds of up to 4.5GHz which surpasses even some newly announced tablets.
• Nokia’s 808 Pureview fitted with a 41MP camera revolutionised smartphone photography – more on p.5.

If you want to try the SpecTRAX databse for yourself, just click HERE.

Stephen Entwistle

We all know by now that only two flag ship Windows Phone 7 handsets were launched at CES 2012; the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC Titan II.

So how many Windows Phone 7 handsets are there now ?  Well prior to CES at the beginning of December 2011 we counted 33 variations of 28 Windows 7 models worldwide.  How do we know ?....the analysis was carried out using SpecTRAX, with over 13,000 handset models from 130 network operators in 29 countries. 

It's clear that for some time to come the number of different models of Windows Phone 7 handsets is not going to grow quickly.  With seemingly only two active vendors and the other previous vendors now in wait-and-see mode we certainly won't see the Android gold rush we saw in the past few years.   

This analysis is available to download HERE and quantifies and compares Windows 7 phone models and analyses their global and regional shelfshare track record.  This report also introduces the commercial power of PriceTRAX, a new web-based database of retail mobile phone, tablet, USB and dongle pricing information which is updated on a weekly basis.

This month’s report reveals that compared to other smartphone operating systems, in December 2011 Windows 7 phones outperformed their closest shelfshare rivals in terms of display size, camera resolution, processor speed and average battery capacity.  The Nokia 900 and the HTC Titan 2 are certainly continuing that high spec trend with the latter sporting a 4.7-inch display and a 16 megapixel camera.

If you want to try the SpecTRAX databse for yourself, just click HERE.

With all eyes on smartphones, the latest SpecTRAX insight report reveals the impact of miniaturisation of components. Out of the 70 new handsets launched in September internationally, an increasing number of new models are thinner yet heavier as OEMs cram more hardware into thinner cases.  This makes smartphones denser :-)

You can read Stuart's Insight in full by clicking HERE.

Out of these 70 new handsets, ten were 10mm or thinner with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S at 8.7mm and the Samsung Focus S at 8.5mm in both 16GB and 32GB versions.  Despite the presence of the bulkier handsets for rugged environments from Sonim and Huawei, the average thickness of models announced in September throughout 30 countries was down to 12.9mm.

Meanwhile September’s average new handset weight rose somewhat affected by the LG Esteem MS910 at 172g and the Motorola 3 at 184g.

What other trends are highlighted by Stuart in the 70 new handsets? 

The following picture of tables and charts showing the latest trends is compiled directly from this Insight and of course include Stuart's analytical comments.  You can gain access to this data by clicking HERE. 

Strategy Analytics maintains a finger on the pulse of mobile handset data by closely tracking the portfolios of 140 mobile network operators in 30 countries worldwide using SpecTRAX, Strategy Analytics' mobile handset tracking tool.

If you want to find out more about SpecTRAX, just click HERE.

Despite market share trends, network operators are still backing Nokia.  The simple fact is that Mobile Network Operators need week-by-week to stock their shelves with the most popular handsets, and when it comes to smartphones, the majority are voting for Nokia with Apple a very close second.

How do we know this?…. because we closely track the portfolios of 140 mobile network operators in 30 countries worldwide using SpecTRAX*, Strategy Analytics' mobile handset tracking tool.

The detail of the shelf-share tussle between Nokia's N8 handset and Apple's iPhone 4 (plus which other handsets are chasing those leaders) is contained in Stuart Robinson's in-depth analysis in his latest 'Insight'.  Read this in full by clicking HERE.

If you want to find out more about SpecTRAX, just click here.

When it comes to screen sizes, Apple's lead at the top of the smartphone market is under challenge as other suppliers catch up and exceed that of the iPhone.

But has that natural limit to handset screen size already been reached by the market, dictated by convenience, ergonomics and portability?

You can read Stuart Robinson's* opinion on the above question together with comprehensive data of smartphone screen sizes by clicking on the title of his 9-page report: 'Size Matters: HTC and NEC Knock Apple Off Top Spot as Display Sizes Grow 8 percent year-on-year in Q1 2011'

This highly focused report with detailed conclusions and implications is supported by heavily-researched data from the smartphone portfolios of 130 network operators in 30 countries. That comprehensive data was supplied by Strategy Analytics' SpecTRAX mobile phone market analysis tool.

If you would like to investigate SpecTRAX further just click HERE

*Stuart Robinson is Director of Strategy Analytics' Handset Technology Component Service including SpecTRAX.

Example charts from this report:

Steve Entwistle