Android Circuit: New Galaxy S6 Model Leaked, Sony's Smartphone Error, Samsung Attacks Apple.


Sony Xperia Z3 (image: Ewan Spence)
Sony Xperia Z3 (image: Ewan Spence)
Taking a look back at seven days of news across the Android world, this week’s Android Circuit includes the leak of two new Galaxy handsets, the Galaxy S6′s weak sales numbers, nine secrets of Android M, Samsung’s new adverts attacking Apple, Sony’s job cuts in R&D, the poor PR around the Xperia Z4, Google Map’s improvements to real-time transit data, and Nokia’s updated Z Launcher.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can read the weekly Apple news digest here).
Samsung’s New Galaxy Handsets For The Summer
After the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, the Galaxy S6 Active was discovered. To be honest it was more confirmation than surprise, as the pattern followed Samsung’s device playbook from the S4 and S5 days. So again, it’s not a surprise to realise that there are two more S6 branded handsets on the way from the south Korean company.
A pair of fascinating leaks have emerged this week claiming to reveal the existence of both a high-powered 4.6-inch Galaxy S6 and a 5.5-inch ‘Galaxy S6 Plus’, the latter of which has the same curved display as the Galaxy S6 Edge.
How credible are these? In my opinion, very.
It looks like there is one major deviation from Samsung’s standard playbook, and that is the S6 Mini comes with the same high-end specifications as the vanilla S6, compared to the path charted by last year’s slower and cheaper S5 Mini. The full details are here.
Galaxy S6 Sales Falling Short
The tech world is still waiting on Samsung to confirm sales numbers for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. With a plan to sell 70 million units during 2015, realistically the South Korean company will be looking for around twelve to fourteen million in the first month of sales. Recent data from Counterpoint Research suggests it is achieving just over half of that target:
It’s worth noting that Counterpoint’s research is based on estimates of sales to consumers, and not shipped handsets. That reduces the ‘ten million units‘ numbers around the Galaxy S6 family to around six million sold, with another four million left in the channel. Samsung has yet to comment on the ‘ten million S6 units sold’ stories. If the S6 and S6 Edge between them sold just six million handset in the three weeks of April, then the mobile devices division of Samsung is going to be an even bigger drag on the company compared to last year.
Nine Secrets of Android M
With the reveal of Android 6.0 (code letter ‘M’, confectionary branding to follow) developers, analysts, and the wider geekerati are getting to grips with the potential of the new operating system. Forbes’ Gordon Kelly is no exception and he has taken a look at Mountain View’s latest to find out nine great secret features:
Secret # 1 – Full App State Backup
Quite frankly I’m stunned Google left this out of its presentation because it’s huge. With Android M Google will now automatically backup all app preferences and settings within Google Drive.
This brings Android into line with iOS and means restore or upgrading a phone will be virtually painless: apps will not only be reinstalled, but fully setup. Better still apps don’t need to do anything to be compatible with this change, Full App State Backup is built into the core of Android M.

 Time To Attack Apple?
Samsung is back on its favourite subject for a commercial about a Galaxy smartphone… throwing some curveballs towards Apple and the iPhone.
Both adverts have a pop at Apple’s iPhone 6 for lacking functionality. The playful cool-guy voice-over helpfully points out that the iPhone 6 doesn’t have wireless charging *burn*, wide-angle selfies *burn* or even a curved edge *burn*. Rounding off with one large burn: “when you do the math, it’s clear, 6 is greater than 6”. Finishing with the final sentence “the next big thing is here”.
As Jay McGregor points out, this follows the same style and attitude as the campaign that pushed the Galaxy S2 to greatness. It worked then as Samsung was the scrappy underdog fighting Apple… now it might not have the same impact.
Sony’s Managed Smartphone Decline
Sony’s mobile division has cut 975 staff from its Research and Development unit in Sweden. Sony noted earlier this year that the layoffs would be happening as part of a restructuring to reduce costs and hopefully bring the smartphone and mobile devices. Ingrid Lunden summarises the news at TechCrunch:
Sony Mobile is cutting 1,000 jobs in Sweden, one of the company’s key manufacturing and R&D centers, as part of a larger restructuring to push the struggling handset maker into profitability… In all, 575 staff and a further 400 contract positions will be eliminated across all divisions, covering both administrative positions and technical staff. The reduction will cut the total number of people working at Sony Mobile’s operations out of Lund, Sweden by nearly half, with 1,200 people remaining.
I’m not sure how reducing staff and selling fewer devices will help Sony. With the news that the Xperia Z4 in Japan is being rebranded the Xperia Z3 Plus in Europe, this feels like another step along a managed decline, rather than a radical idea to revitalise the team behind some of the smartest smartphone designs on the market.
Xperia Z2, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z4, Xperia Z3 Plus
Staying with Sony, the issue with the Xperia Z4 flagship being renamed the Xperia Z3 Plus for its European release continues to amaze industry watchers. Tommi Ahonen has written about the decision that could destroy Sony’s chances of an Android smartphone recover with a typically furious and  forensic post:
The phone is the same! What the world was shown as the Xperia Z4 is now to the rest of the world only the Z3 Plus. All the marketing was done to convince the world to want the Z4. Now we only are given a Z3 Plus instead. What is wrong with Sony? Do they want their sales to fail? This was their Razr Moment.
Some who own a Z3 have been waiting eagerly to buy a Z4. Some Samsung owners who were disappointed with the Galaxy S6 were told that wait a few weeks, the brand new Sony Xperia Z4 is coming. Now they will be offered a Z3plus instead. Nobody with a Z3 will bother to buy the ‘modest upgrade’ Z3plus and will rather wait for – yes – the ‘real’ Z4…
An employee of Japanese electronics giant Sony displays the new smartphone ‘Xperia Z4′ connected to wireless headphones (YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)
Take The Next Bus After The Bus You Are On Just Now
Looking to maintain its advantage with mobile mapping (ahead of a potential update to Apple Maps at the upcoming WWDC), Google has improved the data available to the public transport route planner. Jordan Kahn notes down the details at 9to5Google:
Google announced today that it’s improving transit data in Maps with real-time updates showing a summary of your journey that’s easily accessible. It also announced that it’s adding 25+ new partners to the 100+ it works with to gather real-time transit data. The new additions bring more transit data to customers in the U.K., Netherlands, Budapest, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.

forbes.

Popular posts from this blog

UK GENERAL ELECTIONS:Inquiry announced into memo alleging Sturgeon wants Tory election victory.

Image
Civil service instigates investigation into leaked memo from Foreign Office about supposed comments made in February Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, with David Cameron in her office at the Scottish parliament earlier this year. Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty A civil service inquiry into a leaked memo which claimed that Nicola Sturgeon privately wanted to see David Cameron remain in power after the general election has been instigated following calls from the First Minister. Ms Sturgeon described the allegation as “100% untrue” and accused Whitehall of “dirty tricks”.
Read more

Sandhurst's sheikhs: Why do so many Gulf royals receive military training in the UK? A parade outside the building at Sandhurst Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine The death list that names 5,000 victims Is this woman an apostate? Voices from a WW1 prison camp The Swiss selfie scandal Generations of foreign royals - particularly from the Middle East - have learned to be military leaders at the UK's Sandhurst officer training academy. But is that still a good idea, asks Matthew Teller. Since 1812, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, on the Surrey/Berkshire border, has been where the British Army trains its officers. It has a gruelling 44-week course testing the physical and intellectual skills of officer cadets and imbuing them with the values of the British Army. Alongside would-be British officers, Sandhurst has a tradition of drawing cadets from overseas. Many of the elite families of the Middle East have sent their sons and daughters. Perhaps the most notable was King Hussein of Jordan. Continue reading the main story Find out more Matthew Teller presents Sandhurst and the Sheikhs, a Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4, on Wednesday 27 August 2014 at 11:00 BST It will be available on iPlayer shortly after broadcast Four reigning Arab monarchs are graduates of Sandhurst and its affiliated colleges - King Abdullah of Jordan, King Hamad of Bahrain, Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, and Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Past monarchs include Sheikh Saad, Emir of Kuwait, and Sheikh Hamad, Emir of Qatar. Sandhurst's links have continued from the time when Britain was the major colonial power in the Gulf. "One thing the British were excellent at was consolidating their rule through spectacle," says Habiba Hamid, former foreign policy strategist to the rulers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. "Pomp, ceremony, displays of military might, shock and awe - they all originate from the British military relationship." Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, King Abdullah, Sultan Qaboos Sandhurst alumni: King Hamad of Bahrain, King Abdullah of Jordan and Sultan Qaboos of Oman It's a place where future leaders get to know each other, says Michael Stephens, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute, Qatar. And Sandhurst gives the UK influence in the Gulf. "The [UK] gets the kind of attention from Gulf policy elites that countries of our size, like France and others, don't get. It gives us the ability to punch above our weight. "You have people who've spent time in Britain, they have… connections to their mates, their teachers. Familiarity in politics is very beneficial in the Gulf context." "For British people who are drifting around the world, as I did as a soldier," says Brigadier Peter Sincock, former defence attache to Saudi Arabia, "you find people who were at Sandhurst and you have an immediate rapport. I think that's very helpful, for example, in the field of military sales." The Emir of Dubai Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum with his son after his Passing Out Parade at Sandhurst in 2006 Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai, with his son in uniform at Sandhurst in 2006 Her Majesty The Queen's Representative His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, The Emir of Qatar inspects soldiers during the 144th Sovereign's Parade held at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on April 8, 2004 in Camberley, England. Some 470 Officer cadets took part of which 219 were commissioned into the British Army Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar until 2013, inspects soldiers at Sandhurst in 2004 Emotion doesn't always deliver. In 2013, despite the personal intervention of David Cameron, the UAE decided against buying the UK's Typhoon fighter jets. But elsewhere fellow feeling is paying dividends. "The Gulf monarchies have become important sources of capital," says Jane Kinninmont, deputy head of the Middle East/North Africa programme at the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House. "So you see the tallest building in London being financed by the Qataris, you see UK infrastructure and oilfield development being financed by the UAE. There's a desire - it can even seem like a desperation - to keep them onside for trade reasons." British policy in the Gulf is primarily "mercantile", says Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, of the Baker Institute in Houston, Texas. Concerns over human rights and reform are secondary. The Shard at dusk The Shard was funded by Qatari investors In 2012 Sandhurst accepted a £15m donation from the UAE for a new accommodation block, named the Zayed Building after that country's founding ruler. In March 2013, Sandhurst's Mons Hall - a sports centre - was reopened as the King Hamad Hall, following a £3m donation from the monarch of Bahrain, who was educated at one of Sandhurst's affiliated colleges. The renaming proved controversial, partly because of the perceived slight towards the 1,600 British casualties at the Battle of Mons in August 1914 - and partly because of how Hamad and his government have dealt with political protest in Bahrain over the last three years. A critic might note that the third term of Sandhurst's Officer Commissioning Course covers counter-insurgency techniques and ways to manage public disorder. Since tension between Bahrain's majority Shia population and minority Sunni ruling elite boiled over in 2011, more than 80 civilians have died at the hands of the security forces, according to opposition estimates, though the government disputes the figures. Thirteen police officers have also lost their lives in the clashes. "The king has always felt that Sandhurst was a great place," says Sincock, chairman of the Bahrain Society, which promotes friendship between the UK and Bahrain. "Something like 20 of his immediate family have been there as cadets. He didn't really understand why there was such an outcry." David Cameron and King Hamad David Cameron meeting King Hamad in 2012... A protester is held back by police ... while protesters nearby opposed the Bahrain ruler's human rights record Crispin Black, a Sandhurst graduate and former instructor, says the academy should not have taken the money. "Everywhere you look there's a memorial to something, a building or a plaque that serves as a touchstone that takes you right to the heart of British military history. Calling this hall 'King Hamad Hall' ain't gonna do that." Sandhurst gave a written response to the criticism. "All donations to Sandhurst are in compliance with the UK's domestic and international legal obligations and our values as a nation. Over the years donations like this have saved the UK taxpayer a considerable amount of money." But what happens when Sandhurst's friends become enemies? In 2001, then-prime minister Tony Blair visited Damascus, marking a warming of relations between the UK and Syria. Shortly after, in 2003, Sandhurst was training officers from the Syrian armed forces. Now, of course, Syria is an international pariah. Journalist Michael Cockerell has written about Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi's time at the Army School of Education in Beaconsfield in 1966: "Three years [later], Gaddafi followed a tradition of foreign officers trained by the British Army. He made use of his newfound knowledge to seize political power in his own country." Ahmed Ali Sandhurst-trained Ahmed Ali was a key player in the Egyptian military's removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi That tradition persists. In the 1990s Egyptian colonel Ahmed Ali attended Sandhurst. In 2013 he was one of the key figures in the Egyptian military's removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, now rewarded by a post in President Sisi's inner circle of advisers. In the late 1990s there were moves by the British government under Tony Blair to end Sandhurst's training of overseas cadets. Major-General Arthur Denaro, Middle East adviser to the defence secretary and commandant at Sandhurst in the late 1990s, describes the idea as part of the "ethical foreign policy" advocated by the late Robin Cook, then-foreign secretary. Tony Blair and Robin Cook Tony Blair and Robin Cook at one point planned to end Sandhurst's training of overseas cadets The funeral of King Hussein in 1999 appears to have scuppered the plan. "Coming to that funeral were the heads of state of almost every country in the world - and our prime minister was there, Tony Blair," says Major-General Denaro. "He happened to see me talking to heads of state - the Sultan of Brunei, the Sultan of Oman, the Bahrainis, the Saudis - and he said 'How do you know all these guys?' The answer was because they went to Sandhurst." Today, Sandhurst has reportedly trained more officer cadets from the UAE than from any other country bar the UK. The May 2014 intake included 72 overseas cadets, around 40% of whom were from the Middle East. "In the future," says Maryam al-Khawaja, acting president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, "people will look back at how much Britain messed up in the [Middle East] because they wanted to sell more Typhoon jets to Bahrain, rather than stand behind the values of human rights and democracy." "It's one thing saying we're inculcating benign values, but that's not happening," says Habiba Hamid. Sandhurst is "a relic of the colonial past. They're not [teaching] the civic values we ought to find in democratically elected leaders." line Who else went to Sandhurst? Princes William and Harry, Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming, Katie Hopkins, Antony Beevor, James Blunt, Josh Lewsey, Devon Harris (From left to right) Princes William and Harry Sir Winston Churchill Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond (but did not complete training) Katie Hopkins, reality TV star Antony Beevor, historian James Blunt, singer-songwriter Josh Lewsey, World Cup-winning England rugby player Devon Harris, member of Jamaica's first bobsleigh team line Sandhurst says that "building international relations through military exchanges and education is a key pillar of the UK's international engagement strategy". Sandhurst may be marvellous for the UK, a country where the army is subservient to government, but it is also delivering militarily-trained officers to Middle Eastern monarchies where, often, armies seem to exist to defend not the nation but the ruling family.

Image
Generations of foreign royals - particularly from the Middle East - have learned to be military leaders at the UK's Sandhurst officer training academy. But is that still a good idea, asks Matthew Teller. Since 1812, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, on the Surrey/Berkshire border, has been where the British Army trains its officers. It has a gruelling 44-week course testing the physical and intellectual skills of officer cadets and imbuing them with the values of the British Army. Alongside would-be British officers, Sandhurst has a tradition of drawing cadets from overseas. Many of the elite families of the Middle East have sent their sons and daughters. Perhaps the most notable was King Hussein of Jordan. Four reigning Arab monarchs are graduates of Sandhurst and its affiliated colleges - King Abdullah of Jordan, King Hamad of Bahrain, Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, and Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Past monarchs include Sheikh S
Read more

Ebola Outbreak: Guinea Declares Emergency As Overall Deaths From Ebola Rise To 1,069

Image
Health workers take passengers' temperatures infrared digital laser thermometers at the Felix Houphouet Boigny international airport in Abidjan on Aug. 13, 2014. Ivory Coast on Monday banned air travellers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries worst-hit by the Ebola outbreak, and ordered its flagship carrier Air Cote d'Ivoire to cease flights to and from them. Reuters/Luc Gnago Guinea, one of the worst-hit West African nations in the ongoing Ebola outbreak, announced a state of emergency Wednesday. The World Health Organization, or WHO, also  said  that four new people died in Guinea between Aug. 10 and Aug. 11. The total death count in Guinea from the latest epidemic was estimated at 377 by WHO while the number of cases reported had risen to 510. Overa
Read more