This time last year we witnessed the Meizu M9 madness in Shenzhen, so we decided to pay our favorite gadget city another visit for the MX launch today (still the 1.4GHz dual-core model, of course). Surprisingly, the lines in Huaqiangbei this time were significantly shorter, but we were told that this was due to tighter security measures as requested by the local authorities — if you’ve seen last year’s photos you’ll know why. Instead, this year the customers are told to line up only when they get a phone call; but a few keen beans still arrived last night, and the first guy in Shenzhen even turned down hotel accommodation offered by Meizu. Yep, that’s how you do a “first” properly, folks. Other big cities in China also saw a similar phenomenon, including Beijing, Guangzhou and even Hong Kong — it’s hard to miss the long line formed along the south end of Sai Yeung Choi Street outside the new Mongkok store.

Meizu also informed us that the MX’s final hardware benefits from an improved camera (tweaked white balance and the lens now benefits from an oleophobic coating), while the software’s been giving many enhancements since our review — these are mostly the weird default settings we mentioned previously, such as the max clock speed out of the box (now at 1.4GHz instead of 1GHz) and the default video recording resolution (now 1080p instead of the weird 1,080 x 720 setting). Oh, and if you’re still rocking the older M9, Meizu has confirmed that it’ll also get the Ice Cream Sandwich update later this year, so stay tuned. More in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Meizu MX launches today, lines dotted all over China as usual

Meizu MX launches today, lines dotted all over China as usual originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Supply chain reports released on Friday indicate that Apple will opt for indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) instead of in-plane switching (IPS) display panels for its upcoming iPad 3. The change would provide benefits in terms of energy consumption, cost reduction and improved resolution.

The report, which comes via DigiTimes, suggests that Apple will source the IGZO panels from Sharp and that they will allow Cupertino to release an iPad 3 that has “full HD” displays without added bulk, something some reports have suggested wasn’t possible with IPS LCD technology.

DigiTimes doesn’t specify the resolution of the displays, and its reputation is somewhat tarnished by claims on Thursday that new iPads could be unveiled at Macworld/iWorld in January. But IGZO displays actually make a lot of sense for Apple, and this isn’t the first time we have heard the company might use them.

Back in November, MacRumors noted that Jefferies analyst Peter Misek claimed that Apple would use the IGZO panels in the iPad 3 in order to achieve 330 ppi resolution (which would exceed the 326 ppi of the iPhone 4 and make for a true Retina Display) while avoiding the use of IPS and dual-bar LED lighting. That would allow the iPad 3 to be as thin or thinner than its predecessor and also offset battery costs related to improved screen resolution, Misek said.

DigiTimes may be hit-and-miss with its supply chain rumblings, but this report makes a lot of sense in terms of Apple’s likely goals with next-generation iPad technology. As long as the IGZO technology looks good, battery cost reductions and a decreased physical footprint definitely seem like things Apple would want to pursue. A thicker iPad 3 with worse battery life than the iPad 2 definitely doesn’t seem like an ideal successor to Apple’s tablet legacy, in any case.

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We get it. Really, we do — photo filters fun. We also get that sometimes an app just isn’t gonna cut it. You want quick access to double, triple or even quadruple image lenses as well as colored overlays. Well, iPhone 4 and 4S owners had their prayers answered in mid November a $25 Holga case, now Android fans have their own version — provided those Android fans own a Galaxy S II. If you don’t mind adding some bulk to your super-svelte super-phone head on over to the source link to get your own rotary-style lens case for the somewhat reasonable price of $28.

Holga brings its retro, rotary, filter phone case to the Galaxy S II originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile users love their apps and that love affair has outstripped their interest in browsers. That’s according to comScore’s latest mobile subscriber data for November, which found that the percentage of users who use apps has finally surpassed the percent of subscribers who turn to a mobile browser.

ComScore said that 44.9 percent of people used apps in November, compared to 44.4 percent who used a browser. That appears to mark the first time since comScore started noting mobile content usage that app usage has surpassed browser usage. Apps have trailed the browser by just a few percentage points for most of the last two years, but people have still preferred the browser until now.

This follows a similar finding from earlier this year from Flurry, which found that minutes spent per day on apps eclipsed that of time spent on a browser for the first time in June. As some of our commenters noted, it doesn’t necessarily mean that HTML5 is waning, and in fact, some apps are built in HTML5 and wrapped with a native shell. But it shows that people’s interest in apps continues to grow, and that there is value for a lot of people in purpose-driven software that can take them directly to what they want or can make better use of their mobile hardware.

According to other comScore data, Android is close to taking a majority of all smartphone users in the U.S., with its market share growing to 46.9 percent in November, up from 43.8 percent in August. Apple also managed to grow to 28.7 percent, up from 27.3 percent in August. The two leaders continue to sap away market share from Research in Motion, which saw its market share decline from 19.7 percent to 16.6 percent over the same period. Microsoft also continues to wait for Windows Phone 7 to begin gaining traction. Its share of the smartphone market in the U.S. declined from 5.7 percent to 5.2 percent.

These two big data points aren’t completely unrelated. Users love their apps and the two most robust app platforms are iOS and Android. As subscribers continue to prize smartphones for their apps, they will increasingly look to the platforms that give them the best quality and selection of mobile software titles. That’s obviously not the only reason to buy a phone, but it shows again why it’s so hard for RIM and Microsoft to hold their own or close the distance on Apple and Google. They must overcome iOS and Android’s app advantage.

I think Microsoft has done a better job than RIM in cultivating a good mix of apps, but developers are going to be hesitant to really commit more than they already do to Windows Phone 7 when its market share is so small. It becomes a tough cycle to break for a platform like WP7 that got started late, or an OS like BlackBerry, which has hardware that doesn’t showcase apps as well as the competition.

Over time, if the pendulum swings the other way and people start turning to the browser much more, there might be an opportunity for a challenger to move ahead if the emphasis on apps is lessened. But with HTML5 still evolving and potentially always a step behind for some more intensive apps, it’s unclear how much advantage can be gained. And Android and iOS will still provide great browsing experiences as well, so it’s not clear that the rise of HTML5 will shake things up dramatically. This is partly why I’ve been skeptical about Windows Phone 7 leaping into second place in the smartphone wars by 2015. It could still happen, but it’s complicated by carrier and manufacturer relationships. And I think it’s important to remember that apps matter greatly, and will be a key factor in determining the smartphone wars.

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Apple has an immensely successful self-run retail arm, but it wasn’t always that way. Once, it depended heavily on the kindness of strangers, and those same strangers (third-party resellers) are now bristling at what they see as unfair business practices. The latest example is a new suit by eBizcuss, Apple’s largest reseller in France, which accuses its partner of favoring its own stores with inventory shipments and undercutting its ability to compete for small business customers.

According to its CEO François Prudent, who spoke to French newspaper Le Figaro (via AppleInsider), eBizcuss saw a 30 percent decline in business during the third quarter of 2011 due to stock shortages of iPad 2 and MacBook Air computers. That wasn’t due only to their popularity, Prudent claims. Apple’s tendency to prefer its own retail outlets when shipping new stock contributed significantly to its inability to meet customer demand. Likewise, the iPhone 4S has been in short supply in the fourth quarter, Prudent says.

EBizcuss has spent around $6.5 million getting its point-of-sale system up to scratch with Apple’s very specific criteria. Also, Apple also has taken away eBizcuss’ business customers by offering them prices that the third-party reseller can’t possibly match, since they undercut what it pays Apple itself for the hardware.

Apple’s practices have been the subject of legal action before. MACadam, an Apple reseller that shuttered its business in 2005, joined together with other third-party Apple partners to file a class-action lawsuit alleging unfair business practices, among other alleged wrongdoings. According to both that suit and this new one, Apple has preferred its own retail operations for available inventory since they began opening around the world.

Almost every time Apple unveils a new product these days, especially in the mobile space, early demand leads to supply shortages. According to Apple executives, these shortages result from Apple’s not being able to make product fast enough to keep up with consumer appetite; but these accusations suggest that when new stock does come in, it goes to Apple’s stores and online customers first. That would indeed harm the business of outside resellers, since customers will go with the retailer most likely to be able to meet their needs in a pinch.

Back in February, Dave Greenbaum talked about how Apple’s approach to dealing with its third-party reseller and service partners is beginning to look like outright hostility. This latest suit suggests that the problem isn’t improving as Apple’s own retail reach expands and its website continues to be a hit with consumers. After all, if Apple can sell direct, it will: It recoups more money and builds a stronger direct relationship with customers than through third-party sales. But is it worth costing the Apple user community the benefits of the local independent Mac shop forever?

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