"..... 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

Addendum:
We have a long history of verifying manufacturers’ claims and we know from experience that it’s certainly a fun game for marketeers to play.

Firstly, thank you to @NetMage for making a good point about the real thickness of the Motorola RAZR.   While I expect that the Motorola marketeers will claim it’s the part you hold in your hand which they have measured, I agree with @NetMage that any sensible person would use the slot test to determine a device’s thickness all the way down to determine its widest point.  The RAZR would certainly be thicker than the iPhone 5 in such a test.

Secondly, the often-cited example of the Oppo Finder phone is hiding a significant camera bump which probably makes it thicker than 7.6mm.

HOWEVER, the iPhone5 still isn’t the thinnest; we just have to look further afield to Korea and Japan to see the following devices:

•           Huawei Ascend P1 S (6.68mm) – Not yet showing on the 300 channels we track
•           Fujitsu ARROWS ES IS12F  (6.70mm) – Available in Japan on AU
•           Pantech Vega S5 (6.89mm) – Available in Korea from both KT and SK Telecom

Caveat; I have not measured these above devices to verify the manufacturers’ claims, but viewing online images suggests that they do not have significant additional chins, bumps or protrusions.

Conclusion: the iPhone 5 is certainly the thinnest iPhone ever, but NOT the thinnest smartphone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Various bloggers reporting from the iPhone launch mentioned the new iPhone 5 as "the thinnest smartphone". A quick Advanced Search of our SpecTRAX database clearly demostrates that various device vendors have launched thinner smartphones to date.

For devices which are thinner than 7.6mm then Motorola has at least 3 devices which are claimed to be 7.1mm thick; Motorola RAZR XT909, Motorola DROID RAZR CDMA, Motorola RAZR XT910

Below is the list of smartphones which are less than 8mm thick.

To try our SpecTRAX database which tracks global specs and availability of mobiles, smartphones, tablets and dongles click HERE

Steve Entwistle

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

So, yesterday we finally got to hear what Apple's latest tablet offering is all about. The "New iPad", which worringly seems to be the actual name for the device, boasts an impressive display resolution, new processor, LTE, 5MP camera, 1GB of RAM and iOS 5, but how does it measure up to some other lower-profile announcements from the competition?

The iPad 3, as I'm going to call it (if Apple doesn't give it a proper name then people are going to come up with names of their own), is powered by an Apple "A5X" processor with a dual-core CPU and a quad-core GPU. This is in contrast to several other tablets that have been announced recently based on NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3. 

The resolution of the iPad 3's display (2048 x 1536 pixels) has doubled along each axis from the iPad 2, resulting in 4 times as many pixels and a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch (ppi). Apple is reffering to the iPad 3 as having a "Retina Display", a term it coined when it announced the 326ppi on the iPhone 4. I agree that the iPhone 4 and 4S can be referred to as Retina Displays because the pixel density is so high that the human eye cannot distinguish individual pixels. Research from various institutions has shown that level to be at about 300ppi and above. So, although the display resolution of the iPad 3 is excellent, I have a problem with Apple calling it a Retina Display. It is stretching the definition to meet their marketing needs, in the same way that several US carriers have called their HSPA+ networks 4G. 

As far as the other hardware specs are concerned, 4G network connectivity is the key one for me. The iPad 3 comes in several versions, some with Wi-fi only and some with Wi-fi plus 4G. The 4G speed is reported to be an impressive 73Mbps on AT&T and Verizon networks. While the A5X apps processor is Apple's own technology, the 4G modem chip is likely to be from Qualcomm as it also supports CDMA.

For more analysis from Strategy Analytics on the iPad 3 launch , check Peter King's report and Jia Wu's interview with New England Cable News.

One final thought: our SpecTRAX database reveals that the iPad 3 is the 508th tablet model to have been announced in the last two years. I wonder how many of the 507 other models have been profitable! 

And now the spec comparison...

Stuart Robinson

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.

Stuart Robinson's latest Insight confirms that Bluetooth for mobile phones is no longer considered an optional feature.  Out of the 70 new handsets launched in September internationally, 95% had Bluetooth connectivity emphasising that handsfree functionality has become a universally expected feature.

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

So, Bluetooth is a an important trend, but what others 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.

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