Worldwide sales of mobile phones saw a 2 per cent decline from the first quarter of 2011 due to a slowdown in demand from the Asia/Pacific region, but the launch of the Apple iPhone 5 will help drive a stronger second half of the year in Western Europe and North America, according to Gartner. The report also notes that Apple’s sales in China were “particularly strong” despite people holding of sales in the hope of an iPhone 5.

As a whole the market saw a decline, notes the Gartner report: “Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached 419.1 million units in the first quarter of 2012, a 2 per cent decline from the first quarter of 2011″.

RIM, Nokia, Motorola, LG, and HTC all saw their share of the market shrink when compared to the first quarter of 2011. “Global sales of mobile devices declined more than expected due to a slowdown in demand from the Asia/Pacific region,” said Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta.

“The first quarter, traditionally the strongest quarter for Asia – which is driven by Chinese New Year, saw a lack of new product launches from leading manufacturers, and users delayed upgrades in the hope of better smartphone deals arriving later in the year,” added Gupta.

In contrast, “driven by the continued success of the iPhone 4S, Apple’s sales grew 96.2% in the first quarter of 2012 as the new model expanded into new markets and carriers. Sales in China were particularly strong this quarter. with more than 5 million units, China became the second-largest market for Apple after the US,” notes the Gartner report.

The drop in sales was partly a result of the downturn in Asian markets. “We were not expecting a slowdown in Asia,” Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta said in a statement. “China is usually a particularly big market in the first quarter, with the Chinese New Year normally leading to a sales boom. but this year consumers have held off upgrading, waiting for other high end devices, like the new Apple iPhone.”

Gartner research indicates that Apple sold 33.1 million iPhones sold in the first quarter of 2012 (below what Apple claimed in its financial results last month). The sales place the smartphone maker in third place behind Samsung and Nokia, with 8% of all worldwide mobile phone sales. that is the total mobile phone market, including standard handsets as well as smartphones.

Samsung is in first place with 86,567.6 million units sold in the quarter for 20.7% share of the market. Samsung overtook Nokia for the first time that quarter. Nokia sold 83,162.5 million units worldwide for a 19.8% share of the market.

The report notes that Nokia’s mobile handset sales reached 83.2 million units, a 22.7% decrease from the first quarter of 2011. Gupta blames this on Nokia’s slow progress in the smartphone market: “Smartphone sales are becoming of paramount importance at a worldwide level. for example, smartphone volumes contributed to approximately 43.9% of overall sales for Samsung as opposed to 16% for Nokia.”

Among smartphone operating systems, Apple’s iOS saw a year-over-year increase from 16.9% share in the first quarter of 2011 to 22.9% share to kick off 2012. Apple and Samsung accounted for 49.3% of all smartphone sales worldwide. This is above the 29.3% the two collectively represented in the first quarter of 2011, notes the report.

Gartner notes that Android is beating the iPhone: “In the smartphone OS market, Android accounted for more than half of all smartphone sales (56.1%) in the first quarter of 2012.”

However, Gartner analyst Gupta said the smartphone market has become highly commoditized and differentiation is becoming a challenge for manufacturers, particularly those using the Android OS. “This is particularly true for smartphones based on the Android OS, where a strong commoditization trend is at work and most players are finding it hard to break the mould. At the high end, hardware features coupled with applications and services are helping differentiation, but this is restricted to major players with intellectual property assets.”

Gupta adds: “In the mid to low-end segment, price is increasingly becoming the sole differentiator. This will only worsen with the entry of new players and the dominance of Chinese manufacturers, leading to increased competition, low profitability and scattered market share.”

RIM is a sorry tale. The Blackberry maker sold 9.9 million mobile handsets in the first quarter of 2012, with its global share declining to 2.4% as competition increased in its international market strongholds, according to the report. “RIM desperately needs to deliver winning BB10 products to retain users and stay competitive. This will be very challenging, because BB10 lacks strong developer support, and a new BB10 device will only be available in the fourth quarter of 2012,” said Gupta.

Whereas you’d be hard pushed to tell a 3G and a 3GS apart, the iPhone 4 has a completely new look. It’s flatter, thinner, and even die-hard 3GS fans would probably admit that it has a much more stylish, high-end look to it. but its looks are just the start, and the appearance of an extra camera on the front, and an LED flash for the main camera, give you an idea of the extra features that have been crammed into this smaller, better-looking iPhone.

The improvements continue with the amazing new display. By doubling the number of pixels, the high contrast screen makes everything appear so much brighter and clearer. whether you are surfing on the web, reading emails, looking at photos, or watching high resolution video, the new display makes everything look great, even in bright sunlight.

One of the criticisms of previous iPhones, has always been the camera. while fans have admired the look and functionality of the 3G and 3GS, many felt let down by a 3 megapixel camera and no flash. The iPhone 4 fixes that, and while the megapixels have only gone up to 5, the advancements in the software and light sensing technology mean that photos and video on the new iPhone look as good as those from some of the best camera phones on the market. The addition of a second camera for Apple’s ‘Facetime video calling, and a flash to help in low-light conditions, help to boost the iPhone 4′s camera credentials.

The iPhone 4 also has a totally new operating system with some very nice features. you can now arrange all your homepage icons into folders, so you have all the similar ones in the same place, and can extend the number of icons you get onto your homescreens. plus, genuine multitasking is now possible with the iPhone 4, letting you work in a number of different apps at the same time, easily choosing which one you want as the rest continue to run in the background.

The media might have been quick to point out some of the initial flaws with the new iPhone 4, but this shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow the impressive improvements Apple have made to how their new iPhone looks and functions. new iPhone users will love the iPhone 4, and the only frustration for those who have a 3GS might be the length of time they have to wait before they can upgrade.

The first consideration is the hardware you need to be able to do the downloading in the first place. as well as your new trusty iPhone, you will need access to a personal computer with an internet connection, and a connecting lead to connect you iPhone to your computer. the final need is for a site from which you can download the music files, and it is here where you need to exercise the most care.

Your computer can be pretty much anything. as long as it wasn’t built over a decade ago, it is more than likely to be sufficient for the needs of downloading music. the internet connection is more significant, and if you are lucky enough to have one of the new super fast broadband connections, take full advantage of it. if you are stuck on a slow dial up connection, you can still download music, it will just take longer. At least you only have to download the file once to have it on your hard drive for good.

Finding how to download music to iPhone is not difficult, and hopefully this article will give you the basics to get you started. You first need to download the music files from the internet to your computer, before you transfer them. the hardest part is finding a reliable, trustworthy source for the downloads. In the past, many people would use P2P sites. these sites are now illegal, and you could find yourself with a criminal record just for trying to download a piece of music. these sites are fraught with danger anyway, as the downloads can often contain viruses, which can stop your computer running properly, or create serious data security risks.

A much better choice is to use one of the legal download sites, where you can pay a small one off fee to join, and then have access to unlimited downloads. the fees are just to maintain the servers and keep the listings up to date. Finding a good download site of this type will be the final piece in the puzzle of how to download music to iPhone.

That’s pretty much all you need to know. Check out the links below for the most reliable download sites.

If you are unfamiliar with what Google Apps is exactly, then, from the wikipedia entry on it: Google Apps is a service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. it features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including: Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites.

The Standard Edition is free and offers the same amount of storage as regular Gmail accounts. the Premier Edition, which offers additional e-mail storage, is available for an annual fee. the Education Edition, which is free, combines features from the Standard and Premier editions.

The Marketplace has created a place for third party companies to create apps (just like your iPhone and Android apps) which can be plugged in to the core Google Apps items – Gmail, Docs etc. the potential power of this setup could be incredible. You will be able to set up your business using a single centralised cloud system of apps, all of which communicate with one another and allow you to keep everything well organised. Your accounts working with your calender working with your analytics working with your customer management..

As with all new marketplaces though, it is difficult to find the best applications to meet your needs. Not only because your needs are specific to your business, but also because every company wants you to believe that their piece of software is the best for their market. that is where you need an independent body reviewing the software available and offering feedback, opinions and insights in to which application is the best, and why.

Google Apps has a simple user rating system built in to it, which serves this function to some extent, but the best example of an independent review service is surely Google Apps Review. they provide a ranking of the best apps based on category, going in to much more detail than the default GoogleApps system. they also provide recommended bundles of apps for specific business structures.

iPhone unlocking is in fact most requested hack, and unlocking means that the iPhone can be used on any network and not just AT&T’s. There have been a couple of claims to have managed this iPhone hack ultimate but so far it’s all just rumors though it seems that a couple are indeed getting close and have managed to gain ownership of the file system. Sieving through the iPhone software and especially the gif images that are embedded seems to be the number preoccupation of any self respecting iPhone hack merchant around the globe.

One writer at GigaOM claims that they have gotten all the iPhone functions working except the telephone, voicemail and text features. To be honest I don’t see the point in all of this, getting an iPhone hack to unlock the beast is not going to be of much use unless you use the iPhone overseas and on top of that you’ll have no 3G support.

Where I do see a value in getting the iPhone software opened up, is that once we have the iPhone unlocked then being able to use the device as an ultimately portable minicomputer working over a wifi network then we have something that’s going to be useful.

On the iPhone news grapevine, it’s not just iPhone hacks that are streaming in thick and fast, there are also a series of full-blown web apps which I have to say is pretty impressive – well done guys Probably the best one at the moment is the iPhone hack iChat for iPhone which provides you with IM capability on AIM. More than that, the iPhone software source is available for this hack and you can host it on your own machine. if you are really serious about keeping up-to-date with the latest in iPhone unlocking and iPhone hacks then check out the iPhone Dev Wiki that seems to me to be the closest to getting an iPhone unlocking hack.

iPhone software that you can download onto your new iPhone can be found at iPhone Applications on the web. Here you’ll find all iPhone software and applications such as iWeather and more games than you can shake a stick at. unfortunately, until we get iPhone hack that will open up the iPhone to third party applications we are going to have to make do with Apple iPhone software that we’re allowed to play with at the moment.

How long before we have an iPhone hack that will help us unlock the iPhone completely is like asking how long is a piece of string, but with the energy that is being devoted to it, I guess it could be any day now.

The Samsung Captivate offers a 4.0 inches super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display and has a resolution of 480 X 800 pixels. it uses Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 user interface and can display up to 16 millions. an accelerometer sensor allows you to easily switch between portrait and landscape modes just by tilting the phone. A proximity sensor automatically turn-off the display when you are hold the phone near your ears. The high resolution display and colorful user interface offers a dynamic experience to the user.

Samsung Captivate is not only about looks and features. This sleek handset is powered by 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and has a 512 MB RAM which means you will never experience lags while multi-tasking or using high-end applications. The cherry on the cake is Google’s Android operating system. Users can easily download their favorite applications from the Android Market directly on their phones. The handset is available exclusively on AT&T in the United States and is already one of the most sought after devices in the market.

The Samsung Captivate offers a 4.0 inches super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display and has a resolution of 480 X 800 pixels. it uses Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 user interface and can display up to 16 millions. An accelerometer sensor allows you to easily switch between portrait and landscape modes just by tilting the phone. A proximity sensor automatically turn-off the display when you are hold the phone near your ears. the high resolution display and colorful user interface offers a dynamic experience to the user.

Samsung Captivate is not only about looks and features. This sleek handset is powered by 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and has a 512 MB RAM which means you will never experience lags while multi-tasking or using high-end applications. the cherry on the cake is Google’s Android operating system. Users can easily download their favorite applications from the Android Market directly on their phones. the handset is available exclusively on AT&T in the United States and is already one of the most sought after devices in the market.

In any case, stop with all the quarreling about what the heck the name is going to be. Lets get cracking on the specifics we do know for sure. the latest engineering marvel from Apple seems to have a slightly smaller screen than the 3GS, but the resolution should be better. the digital camera feature of Apple iPhone 4G HD comes loaded with a fantastic five megapixel auto focus camera that comes with excellent features for example LED flash, geo tagging and touches focus. one slight trouble with preceding iPhone models was the storage. regarding powerful music and video mobile phones, the 16gb and 32gb would have been a little light-weight. the new iPhone 4th generation is said to be available in both 60Gb and 80Gb versions, which will be a great upgrade and will be able to satisfy most people’s needs.

Customers ought to hope the call quality might be awesome. the addition of the additional microphone is yet another very good aspect for this phone. It’s buyers can also have a extended standby time with the Apple iPhone in between battery charges, this may be attained with the new battery which is is larger some say 16%, others say 18%. this has been achieved has the internals components have been reduced in size to allow space inside the device for this. the new iPhone also utilities the latest technology by using a MicroSIM card and with SIM card readers available or by using wireless Bluetooth, transferring information from an old SIM card shouldn’t cause too much of a problem.

Having taken a detailed look at the pictures it is apparent that the iPhone 4G commands a high quality finish and doesn’t disappoint in the looks department. the handset will be available in both black and white and its svelte look is something to die for. the super sleek iPhone has measurements of 114.3×58.7×9.4mm and it weighs 140 grams.Without having sharp ends the metal frame and glass fascias fuse faultlessly to make the new Apple iPhone 4G HD a fantastic looking gadget. the thinner frame includes power, mute, and volume control keys are all steel silver.

Overall, we think these are great additions and features which the legion of iPhone fans across the world will welcome. please note, that these features have not yet been confirmed by Apple and we will have to wait and see what the final release specifications will be. Apple like to keep us guessing and are likely throw in a few surprises at the last minute.

Someone said that the best things in life are free – this is true for iPhone too. There are a number of popular iPhone apps that are available for free. in this article I review popular free gaming, utility, social and music apps for kids.

Social Apps

Apps by Facebook and Twitter are almost a necessity in today’s age. other than these ubiquitous apps, you can also get apps from Skype, foursquare and AIM’s free edition. If you do not know about foursquare, check it out. it is a website that allows you to explore any city. If you are a traveler, this should prove quite useful to you.

Utility Apps

These include the Dragon Dictation app that is a voice recognition app able to recognize any commands or voice overs. it is made by the leading voice recognition company of the world, Dragon NaturallySpeaking. another utility app is the currency converter created by OANDA corporation. You can search for the app by the publishers’ name. it keeps track of the latest currency prices, and allows you to convert one to another very easily.

Evernote is another utility app by the popular note-taking site called evernote.com. You can use this app to take notes, whether in writing or in pictures and videos. One of the great things about this evernote is that the notes are synced online, so you can access your notes from any computer.

Music and Entertainment Apps

If you want to use a personalized radio service, Pandora radio is your best free option. Just tell it the name of an artist or band, and from there you can start selecting tracks for your station, and listen to it right away. iCamcorder Lite is a free app that allows you to record video on your iPhone. it records the video at a smooth 15 fps with high quality audio quality.

SoundHound is a free app that allows you to find out the name of the song from its tune or fragment you may be hearing. Just fire up the app, and let it listen to the sound that you want to recognize. The app will search its online database of songs, and tell you the name and artist of the particular song.

Sports

SportsTap is an app for all baseball fans who want to access the complete statistics from the history of Baseball. want to know about the number of doubles hit by Marty Barrett in 1987? or perhaps you want to know who joined the Baseball Hall of Fame in the year 1999. all these and more are available in the free SportsTap app available at Sportstap.mobi.

Whereas you’d be hard pushed to tell a 3G and a 3GS apart, the iPhone 4 has a completely new look. It’s flatter, thinner, and even die-hard 3GS fans would probably admit that it has a much more stylish, high-end look to it. but its looks are just the start, and the appearance of an extra camera on the front, and an LED flash for the main camera, give you an idea of the extra features that have been crammed into this smaller, better-looking iPhone.

The improvements continue with the amazing new display. By doubling the number of pixels, the high contrast screen makes everything appear so much brighter and clearer. Whether you are surfing on the web, reading emails, looking at photos, or watching high resolution video, the new display makes everything look great, even in bright sunlight.

One of the criticisms of previous iPhones, has always been the camera. while fans have admired the look and functionality of the 3G and 3GS, many felt let down by a 3 megapixel camera and no flash. The iPhone 4 fixes that, and while the megapixels have only gone up to 5, the advancements in the software and light sensing technology mean that photos and video on the new iPhone look as good as those from some of the best camera phones on the market. The addition of a second camera for Apple’s ‘Facetime video calling, and a flash to help in low-light conditions, help to boost the iPhone 4′s camera credentials.

The iPhone 4 also has a totally new operating system with some very nice features. You can now arrange all your homepage icons into folders, so you have all the similar ones in the same place, and can extend the number of icons you get onto your homescreens. Plus, genuine multitasking is now possible with the iPhone 4, letting you work in a number of different apps at the same time, easily choosing which one you want as the rest continue to run in the background.

The media might have been quick to point out some of the initial flaws with the new iPhone 4, but this shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow the impressive improvements Apple have made to how their new iPhone looks and functions. new iPhone users will love the iPhone 4, and the only frustration for those who have a 3GS might be the length of time they have to wait before they can upgrade.