Top ten smart phone suppliers

Research from ontablets.es, in 2014, the total sales volume smart phones is 1.17 billion pieces,compared with last year, it was increased by 25.9%. Among the sales, about 453 million pieces are from China, taking about 40% market share. In the top 10 smart phones suppliers, six are from China.

The top two suppliers are still Samsung and Apple, their total sale volume is 518 million pieces.

2014 is not a good year for Samsung. Its market share was reduced to 28% from 32.5%. Its market share is 16.4%. Its annual growth is only 8.4%. The total sale volume is 326 million pieces.

Another supplier from Korea, LG, has a great growth in 2014. Its annual growth is 75.4%, and total sales volume is about 70 million pieces, and ranked 4th in the list.

In the forth quarter, Lenovo acquired Motorola. Its total sale is 90 million pieces, annual growth is 100%. Among all the suppliers from China, Lenovo is the top one. It is ranked following Samsung and Apple, and market share is nearly 8%.

Another well known supplier from China, Huawei, was grown 70%.Total sale is 70 million pieces, was ranked 5th, nearly the same as LG.

XiaoMi is ranked 6th with 60 million pieces sales. The other three suppliers from China in the list are CoolPad, ZTE,and TCL.

Huawei may launch 7 inch Honor X2 mobile phone

In the last WMC 2014, Huawei launched one 7 inch smart phone, Honor X1. This unit owns one 7 inch IPS screen, resolution is 1920*1200 pixels. It comes with the Kirin 910 quad core processor and 2GB RAM. Its front camera is 5M pixels, and rear camera is 13M pixels. Totally speaking, the performance is not bad. Now, the new WMC 2015 is coming, as news from Ontablets.es, in the new WMC, Huaiwei will launch the upgrade edition, Honor X2.

The performance of this Honor X2 will be enhanced based on X1. The battery capacity will be 5500Mah, CPU will be new Kirin 925 octa core, and RAM will be 3GB. Regarding the screen, the size will be still 7 inch, and resolution will be same as X1 as well.

Regarding its price of this new Huawei mobile phone, it will be less than 250 euros.

Next generation Qualcomm CPU

Recently, ontablets.es disclosed the detail information of Qualcomm next generation CPU, including low end, middle end and high end processor. All of them are octa core processors. The high end units will adopt the Qualcomm 64 bits framework. GPU is even Adreno 5 series which is more powerful.

First, let's talk about the low end first. The Qualcomm snapdragon 616 adopts the ARM Cortex A53 octa core framework. Frequency is between 1.8GHz to 2.2GHz. CPU is the Adreno 408 and support 4G LTE network.This chipset will adopt the 28nm process.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 62X series are for middle end market. It has octa core and quad core chipsets. Snapdragon 620 is one quad core processor, and Snapdragon 625 and 629 are octa core. GPU of Snapdragon 620 and 629 is Adreno 418, Snapdragon 629 adopts the Adreno 430 GPU. They will adopt the 20nm process technology.

Snapdragon 815 is for high end market, it is also octa core processor, adopting Big.LITTLE framework, owning 2MB 3rd level cache. GPU is Adreno 450, but this chipset does not integrate the base band. It is also adopting 20nm processor, it will compete with the Nvidia Tegra K1.

The top one is the Snapdragon 820.It owns octa 64 bits TS2 cores and integrates Adreno 530 GPU. It comes with MDM9X55 LTE-A Cat 10 base band. It will adopt the 14nm process technology from Samsung. As schedule, it will be launched in the second half of 2015, but latest news said it may be delayed.

New XiaoMi Note smart phone launched

New from ontablets.es, yesterday afternoon, Xiaomi launched its latest smart phone in China, XiaoMi Note. There are several editions available. Compared with the XiaoMi Mi4 smart phone, the basic edition does not have too much enhancement, but higher edition has some improvement, the price is quite expensive, and more important, it is not available for sale now.

The basic edition of XiaoMi Note owns one 5.7 inch IPS screen. Screen resolution is 1080P and is not 2K resolution. In fact, to our eyes, we can hardly tell the difference of 2K resolution and 1080P, and 2K resolution screen will be a problem for battery life and CPU performance. Contrast of the screen is 1400:1. The front camera is 4M pixels, and rear camera is 13M pixels from Sony. This unit has the ES9018+OPA1812 chips, and very good hi-fi performance. Its CPU is the same as XiaoMi Mi4, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801. RAM is 3GB. Unit can support 3G and 4G network.

Except the basic edition, there is one higher edition. The looks is the same as the basic one. But performance is better. Screen size is still 5.7 inch IPS, but resolution is 2K. CPU is Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa core, 64 bits. RAM is 4GB LPDDR4, and 64GB flash memory. It can support the Cat LTE9 network.

The price of the 16GB basic edition XiaoMi smart phone is 300 euros, 64GB is 350 euros. Higher edition is 425 euros.

Mediatek denied it will develop dodeca core chipset

Yesterday, there was news saying Mediatek will develop deca and dodeca core chipset for smart phones. And many websites have reported this news. But today,Mediatek denied the news and said it had no schedule to develop dodeca core chipset.

As Mediatek launched the octa core processor firstly. By the octa core processor, Mediatek wins a lot of market. But Qualcomm which is the competitor of Mediatek repeated that now market needs the good processor, not more cores. So in a long time, Qualcomm did not launch any octa core processor. But as the demand from market, Qualcomm finally launched its own octa core processors.

Mediatek is one well known chipset supplier in China, and by the big market of China, in 2014, the incomes of Mediatek has increased a lot. Compared with last year, the income growth of each month is 30% at least. In Feb, the growth was about 158%. In most months, the growth is over 50%. The total income of Mediate in 2014 was increased by over 56% compared with 2013.

Chuwi first tablet pc with Intel Core M

Recently, there are many new tablets with Intel Core M processor. Suppliers like Teclast, Ramos, Cube have already launched their tablets pc based on Intel Core M solution. This morning, Suverimax disclosed one new tablet pc from Chuwi. It comes with Intel Core M processor. Now there is no information about its configuration. But its price is 400 euros.

From the above picture, we can see this tablet should own one 11.6 inch or 12.2 inch IPS screen. Resolution should be 1920*1080 pixels or above. Till now, we can not make sure which model of Intel Core M adopted. RAM is 4GB, flash memory is unknown. As news from Chuwi, this unit will adopt the Realsense camera.

When this unit will be available for sale is unknown, but we believe, we will have more information about in Feb.

Three new processor from Mediatek

Recently, Ontablets disclosed the latest Roadmap of Mediatek. According the the roadmap, Mediatek will launch three 4G processor in 2015. They are MT6753 octa core based on ARM Cortex A53, MT6735 quad core based on Cortex A53 and MT6735M.

Ontablets also disclosed that Mediatek is developing new mobile phone solution with over octa cores. New solution may be deca core or dodeca cores. If everything goes well, these deca cores or dodeca cores may be available in 2015.

If the apps are not refined, too many processor cores are not so useful. Qualcomm has similar words before as well. But more cores still have some benefits. Especially, when you test the performance of smart phone by 3rd party software, its score will be higher.

Though, Samsung and Qualcomm have already developed their octa core processor, but their sales volumes are much less than Mediatek.

We can not make sure octa core is really helpful, but obviously, deca core or dodeca core is not so helpful to users.

LG G Watch R with WebOS

In this CES trade show, there are many smart wearing devices, but most interesting is not the Android Wear OS, nor Samsung Tizen OS, but one smart watch from LG with WebOS system. Till now, we don't know the model name of this LG smart watch, but its design will be similar as LG G Watch R. Its WebOS system is very simple and interesting, the running is also very smooth.

This smart watch will adopt the round dial panel. And the WebOS matches the dial panel well. When holding the button in middle, the icons will be displayed on panel including calls, text, LG Heath W etc. Through the cooperation with Audi, users can control your Audi cars through this smart watch or lock or unlock the door through the NFC function.

Till now, there is little information about this smart watch, and LG did not tell when it will be available and what is the price. But it should be a bit more expensive than LG G Watch R.

Lenovo smart bracelet Vibe 10

2014 is the beginning of smart wearing devices. As a new big market, manufacturers launched a lot of new smart wearing devices in the CES 2015. Except the Alcalter One Touch smart watch, Lenovo also launched its first smart bracelet with E-ink panel, Vibe 10.

Just like the smart phones and other smart bracelet, this Vibe 10 also comes with one display. It is one 1.43 inch E-Ink display. Resolution is 296*128 pixels. Different with other smart devices, the battery life of this Vibe 10 is over 7 days.

This unit adopt the curved design to match your finesse well. It is complied with IPX7 water proof standard.Even put into 1 meter deep water for half an hour. On the side of the bracelet, there is one button, and there are several colors available for users' selection.

The screen of Vibe 10 can display 150 characters at max, supports making call, text, facebook, twitter etc.

The price of Vibe 10 is ony 99 US dollars, as estimation, it will land US in this April.

Two new tablets Windows from Toshiba

Except a 2 in 1 tablet pc which is quite similar as Microsoft Surface Pro 3, HP launched two new tablets with Windows OS as well. They are belonging to the HP Encore 2 Write series. One is 8 inch tablet, and the other is 10.1 inch. Both units come with TruFeel pen from Wacom. Their main feature is the drawing function.

The two tablets are quite similar. Both are adopting the Intel Bay Trail-T Z3735 quad core processor and owning 2GB RAM and 64GB flash memory. Rear camera is 8M pixels. Battery life is 11 hours. In meanwhile, they will be available for sale in 11th Jan. The 8 inch unit is 350 US dollars, and 10.1 inch is 400 US dollars.

Reviews on Alcalter OneTouch smart watch

One month ago, Ontablets has already disclosed Alcalter will launch several new products. This news is confirmed in CES 2015. In the fair, Alcalter launched OneTouch smart watch.

This features of this OneTouch is similar as other smart watches in market, including action monitor, remote control etc. As Alcalter has launched the OneTouch smart phone before, and the price is also very cheap. So we believe, this OneTouch smart watch will not be expensive, and should be within 200 US dollars.

This OneTouch also adopts the round dial plate. And it can pass the IP67 standard, supports Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connection.

But the bracelet of OneTouch smart watch can not be replaced. As we know, most smart watches allow users to replace the bracelet. Alcalter explained that is because the NFC chips and USB host are built in the bracelet.

The battery capacity is 210mAh. Alcalter said it can last working for 5 days, and battery can be recharged fully through the USB host in bracelet within 1 hour.

The screen size is 1.22 inch. This smart watch does not adopt the Android Wear OS, but its self developed OS. It can be connected with Android phone or iOS devices.

Alcalter did not tell too much information about it, but its CPU is ST Micro ST429.

Cube I7, tablet pc with Windows OS is available

Yesterday, Cube hold a presentation in Beijing, and presented its first tablet PC with 14nm Intel Core M processor. Model number is Cube I7, that is one 2 in 1 tablet. 

Cube I7 owns one 11.6 inch IPS OGS screen. Resolution is 1920*1080 pixels. CPU is Intel Core M, one 14nm process chipset. GPU is Intel HD Graphics 5300. Its RAM is 4GB LPDDR3 and flash memory is 128GB SSD. Unit can support an external 3G dongle to surf network. The front camera is 2M pixels, and rear camera is 5M pixels. Battery capacity is 5000Mah, and 7.2V.

Now, you can reserve it from Suverimax. But you need to wait till the end of this month for delivery.  Price is 450 euros. Its price is really high, so we can not make sure if it will be welcome in market. Anyhow, its performance is really top level. 

How powerful Nvidia Tegra X1 processor

In CES 2015, Nvidia displayed its new Tegra X1 processor. You can click here for the news. Nvidia said, the performance of X1 will be doubled than its last generation Tegra K1 processor. That means it will be the most powerful mobile processor in market. Today, let's have a review on it.

In 2014, Nvidia has already announced that its next Tegra processor will adopt Maxwell GPU framework. Maxwell framework is already existing in the desktop PC graphics. Now, Nvidia transplanted it into mobile devices.

The GPU of Tegra X1 is integrated by two Maxwell SMM added into one GPC. Total CUDA is 256. Compared with Tegra K1 owning single SMX, it is doubled.

Except CUDA amount, Nvidia also amends the ROP, now Tegra X1 owns 16 ROP, that is four times of Tegra K1, and the same as GM107. This is quite important for Tegra K1 to support 4K@60fps videos.

Till now, Nvidia did not tell the frequency of Tegra X1 GPU. But we still can see something. As Nvidia announced that the processing ability of Tegra X1 can be 1TFLOPs. Then can can calculate that its GPU frequency is about 1GHz.

1GHz GPU frequency is quite similar as the graphics of desktop PC. But we can not make sure what will adopt the Tegra X1 processor, but it is sure it will not available in short period. More important, its high power consumption is also a very big problem.

Picture of iPad Pro prototype

Recently, ontablets.es disclosed one picture of iPad Pro. This picture was disclosed by one staff from Foxconn. The staff told this picture is the iPad Pro prototype. But Apple are not happy with the performance. But the latest prototype is approved by Apple, that means the iPad Pro may be available in the 2nd quarter of 2015.

The picture just showed one corner of iPad Pro, but we still can see the power switch, volume button which are quite similar as the iPad Air.The thickness of the iPad Pro will be around 6.9mm to 7.5mm. There will be four speakers built in.

The screen size of iPad Pro is 12.2 to 12.9 inch.CPU is the latest Apple A8X processor, RAM is 2GB. It can support the Touch ID function. And it may be launched in second quarter of 2015.

Intel and Apple will not attend CES 2015

CES trade show is the biggest fair in world. Every year, we can see the latest products in the show. Recently, Apple and Microsoft announced that they will not attend the 2015 CES trade show.

In 2014, the total attenders of CES is about 160 thousand, in 2011, this number is 140 thousand, it was increased by 15%. The exhibitor in 2014 is about 52 thousand, in 2011, it is about 51 thousand. As the biggest trade show, many exhibitors have to attend it even they are not willing to.

Of course, in CES, we have seen many successful products, and many failure as well. In 1998, the HD TV was already displayed in the show, but after 7 years, its market share was only 7%. 5 years ago, 3D TV set was also shown in the show, but till now, few people would like to wear a 3D glasses to watch TV. In 1996, Apple also launched a failure product, named Pippin.

Now, Apple announced it will not attend the CES trade show. Even in 2014, Apple just sent out 4 buyers to visit the show.

In 2014, LG and Sony were working on the 4K resolution TV set, and we believe, in the show, 4K TV will be one highlight of the show, another new technology will be wireless recharge. As estimation, in 2016, there will be many wireless recharge products in market.

First Alcatel smart watch

In 2014, Alcatel has already launched its first smart phone, recently, it is aiming at a new niche market, smart watch. As one cheap smart phone supplier, its cost of smart phone is much lower than its competitors. Till now, it did tell any information about its smart watch, but from the following picture, we can see it is coming with round panel, quite similar as MOTO 360.

As one cheap smart watch, it is not like the MOTO 360 which the screen has taken all the dials.

Alcatel told this smart watch can connect with smart phone android, and receive notification, monitor your daily actions, for example heart rate monitor etc.


Alcatel will launched several different design for this watch. More information about this unit will be available when the CES 2015 trade show is opened. Ontablets will have further report for you.

Reviews on Ramos I7S

Tablets integrating smartphone will be the future. But the most well known smart phones suppliers in China are focusing on 5 inch or 6 inch smartphones, they don't launch too many 7 inch smartphones. the most welcomed 7 inch smartphones are Coolpad Great God, and Huawei X1. And their price are both around 200 euros. Of course, other suppliers also launch similar models, but they really have problem on the touch screen and battery life. Recently, Ramos launched one 7 inch tablet, I7S. Its price is only 90 euros.

Ramos I7S adopts the Intel Atom Z3735G quad core processor. This chipset adopts the 22nm process technology, quad core and quad threads, the max frequency is 1.83GHz. It is one 32 bit CPU. Its RAM is 1GB, flash memory is 16GB. The screen size is 7 inch, resolution is 1280*800 pixels.

Its battery capacity is 4500Mah, adding on the low power consumption of Z3735G processor, its battery life is very nice. It can support both GSM and WCDMA network, but it can not be compatible with 4G LTE network, we need to wait its next generation. Unit runs Android 4.4.2 OS. 

Generally speaking, its performance is not bad. As it has the latest Bluetooth 4.0, its battery life is quite long. But in my idea, its price is still a bit high. Of course, you can see more information on ontablets.es and keep for your reference.