After Years Of Losses Apple Is Starting To Destroy The Market For Android | ||
| | ||
Apple is fighting back against Android in the smartphone market in a big way. Kantar Worldpanel released new sales data that shows the iPhone 6 launch has given Apple's iOS mobile platform a massive step up in market share. Apple now accounts for 39.5% of British sales, its highest ever level. Across Europe, iOS is up by 5.7%. In the US, Apple gained 1.1 percentage points of share to claim 53.8% of the market. Even in China, where it has much less of an impact, Apple recorded a push. Sales there climbed by 0.2% to 15.7% — modest, but significant. Apple has only paid attention to China for a year or so.
In Spain, Android accounts for around 90% of the whole smartphone market. And while Apple deliberately pitches itself at the top end of the smartphone spectrum, the fact it only sells one out of every 10 phones there isn't good. But that's changing.As Business Insider predicted, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has forced the issue. Kantar Worldpanel explains that in the last three months up to October 31, Apple's market share increased nearly everywhere. Only Japan truly bucked the trend. Have a look at the figures:
Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, comments: “Apple has experienced a huge jump in sales share across almost all major markets thanks to the launch of the iPhone 6. In major European economies, the US and Australia, Apple’s share of sales has risen. This success is particularly evident in Great Britain where Apple now has its highest ever share of sales with 39.5%. Most of these sales were driven by loyal Apple users. Some 86% of British buyers upgraded from an older iPhone model, only 5% switched across from Samsung.” One reason Android has taken a hit might be the poor performance of the Samsung Galaxy S5 — a key player for the operating platform. Samsung's latest smartphone suffered sales 40% below the company's projections. The decline of the Galaxy S5 appears to have occurred in part because a huge number of consumers were waiting for iPhone 6. Those consumers seem to have eschewed the smaller screens of the iPhone 5C and 5S updates. Many of them went for the Galaxy S4 which remains a huge seller for Samsung. But iPhone 6 appears to have turned the market on its head and Apple is now reversing years of declines in market share. The situation got so bad that JK Shin, head of mobile, only narrowly escaped the chop, The Register notes. Android is still the market leader in smartphones. But see for yourself how Apple is making a huge comeback by clicking on Kantar's interactive map for country by country data. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
.jpg)
Although Apple is arguably the coolest tech company on the planet, it is far from the most dominant in the smartphone market. 
Conservative MP Mark Pritchard Has Been Arrested After Rape Allegation | ||
| | ||
The arrest was announced in Parliament's Votes and Proceedings this morning:
More to follow... Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
The Next Bond Movie Will Be Called 'Spectre' — Here's The Full Cast | ||
| | ||
The cast and name of the next Bond movie was announced Thursday morning by director Sam Mendes at an event in London at Pinewood Studios. Bond 24 will called "Spectre" and will be released in theaters Nov. 6, 2015. Daniel Craig will return as James Bond, Ralph Fiennes as M., and Rory Kinnear will reprise his role as Tanner. Naomie Harris will also be back as Moneypenny. Here are the new members of the cast: Andrew Scott ("Sherlock") will play Denbigh. Christoph Waltz will star as Oberhauser David Bautista ("Guardians of the Galaxy") will play Mr. Hinx. Monica Bellucci will play Lucia Sciarra. Léa Seydoux will star as Madeleine Swann. The new car in the film will be the Astin Martin DB10.
The movie will film over the next seven months in locations including London, Rome, Mexican City, Moracco, and Austria. Here's the first teaser poster for the movie.
SEE ALSO: Theives have stolen $1 million worth of James Bond Range Rovers Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Here Comes The ECB's Big Decision... | ||
| | ||
Th latest decisions from the European Central Bank on monetary policy will be announced at 12:45 GMT on Thursday. Investors and analysts will be listening closely to ECB president Mario Draghi when he speaks at the press conference at 1.30 p.m. GMT. A lot of analysts are expecting that the ECB will announce a bigger programme of asset purchases in the first few months of next year. That's one way they could try to boost economic conditions, either by buying government bonds (usually known as quantative easing) or a wider range of corporate bonds. Draghi has committed to boosting the amount of assets the ECB owns to around €3 trillion. The current level is about €1 trillion shy of that, meaning the banks needs to seriously up its game to get there. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (DIA, SPY, SPX, QQQ, TM, BBY) | ||
| | ||
Good morning! Here's what you need to know. Get Ready For The European Central Bank. At 7:45 a.m. ET, the latest decisions from the ECB will be announced, followed 45 minutes later by an hour-long press conference with Mario Draghi. Analysts are expecting more dovish noises but less firm action from Frankfurt. Asian Markets Are Up. Japan's Nikkei closed 0.94% higher on Thursday, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently climbing, up 1.39% from Wednesday's close. Get Ready For US Jobs Data. The US Department of Labor will release its latest weekly tally of initial unemployment insurance claims. Economists estimate the pace of weekly claims fell to 295,000 from 313,000 a week ago. "The four-week moving average of initial claims has been below the 300k threshold for almost three months, a sign that involuntary separations have reached their nadir," Nomura economists said. Toyota Is Recalling Another 190,000 Cars In Japan And China. Toyota will recall 190,000 vehicles in Japan and China to replace potentially defective front passenger-side air bags made by Takata Corp, the latest in a long line of recalls for the embattled auto safety parts supplier. Best Buy Is Getting Out Of China. "US retailer Best Buy Co Inc said on Thursday it will sell its struggling China business, Five Star, to domestic real estate firm Zhejiang Jiayuan Group in order to focus on its North American operations," Reuters' Adam Jourdan reported. "Best Buy has struggled to fend off Chinese rivals in a crowded market, as other US firms have complained that operating in the country has become more of a challenge." Intel Is Cranking Up Its Investments In China. "Intel Corp will invest $1.6 billion to upgrade its factory in the city of Chengdu in western China, the latest sign of how the chipmaker is deepening ties in a market that is proving increasingly troublesome for some U.S. technology peers," Reuters Gerry Shih reported. "As part of the upgrade, Intel said in a statement on Thursday it would bring its most advanced chip-testing technology to China. In exchange it will receive local and regional government support for construction." SoftBank Is Betting On An Uber-Style Taxi Service In Asia. Japanese telecoms firm SoftBank Corp has pumped in $250 million to become the top investor in Southeast Asian mobile taxi-booking application GrabTaxi, its biggest investment in a Southeast Asian Internet firm. Brazil Hiked Interest Rates. The central bank lifted Brazil's benchmark interest rate to 11.75%, as investors expected, in an attempt to control inflation, according to the Financial Times. Europe Will Struggle To Reform, But China Will Manage, According To Jamie Dimon. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon spoke in Washington Wednesday, saying that growth would be "sub-optimal" and reforms would be hard. Dimon added that Chinese authorities "can macro-manage and they can meet their short-term growth objectives, which is good for everybody else," according to Bloomberg. Qatar Just Swapped Out The Head Of Its Massive Wealth Fund. The $300 billion fund is getting a new chief, according to the Financial Times. Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family, will take over from Ahmed al-Sayed, just a year after he took the role. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
After Years Of Losses Apple Is Finally Clawing Back Some Market Share Against Android | ||
| | ||
Apple is fighting back against Android in the smartphone market in a big way. Kantar Worldpanel released new sales data that shows the iPhone 6 launch has given Apple's iOS mobile platform a massive step up in market share. Apple now accounts for 39.5% of British sales, its highest ever level. Across Europe, iOS is up by 5.7%. In the US, Apple gained 1.1 percentage points of share to claim 53.8% of the market. Even in China, where it has much less of an impact, Apple recorded a push. Sales there climbed by 0.2% to 15.7% — modest, but significant. Apple has only paid attention to China for a year or so.
In Spain, Android accounts for around 90% of the whole smartphone market. And while Apple deliberately pitches itself at the top end of the smartphone spectrum, the fact it only sells one out of every 10 phones there isn't good. But that's changing.As Business Insider predicted, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has forced the issue. Kantar Worldpanel explains that in the last three months up to October 31, Apple's market share increased nearly everywhere. Only Japan truly bucked the trend. Have a look at the figures:
Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, comments: “Apple has experienced a huge jump in sales share across almost all major markets thanks to the launch of the iPhone 6. In major European economies, the US and Australia, Apple’s share of sales has risen. This success is particularly evident in Great Britain where Apple now has its highest ever share of sales with 39.5%. Most of these sales were driven by loyal Apple users. Some 86% of British buyers upgraded from an older iPhone model, only 5% switched across from Samsung.” One reason Android has taken a hit might be the poor performance of the Samsung Galaxy S5 — a key player for the operating platform. Samsung's latest smartphone suffered sales 40% below the company's projections. The decline of the Galaxy S5 appears to have occurred in part because a huge number of consumers were waiting for iPhone 6. Those consumers seem to have eschewed the smaller screens of the iPhone 5C and 5S updates. Many of them went for the Galaxy S4 which remains a huge seller for Samsung. But iPhone 6 appears to have turned the market on its head and Apple is now reversing years of declines in market share. The situation got so bad that JK Shin, head of mobile, only narrowly escaped the chop, The Register notes. Android is still the market leader in smartphones. But see for yourself how Apple is making a huge comeback by clicking on Kantar's interactive map for country by country data. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Pantani died from mixture of drugs and medicine: doctor | ||
| | ||
Milan (AFP) - Marco Pantani may have accidentally committed suicide after voluntarily ingesting a "mixture of medicinal drugs and cocaine", a leading forensic scientist commissioned to reinvestigate the legendary Italian cyclist's death has claimed. In a report obtained by AFP, Professor Franco Tagliaro's assertions appear to contradict claims by Pantani's family that the 34-year-old cyclist was the victim of homicide a decade ago. They have also added to speculation that Pantani may have accidentally committed suicide. Officially, Pantani died from a heart attack brought on by massive cocaine consumption at the Hotel Le Rose in Rimini on the night of February 14, 2004. An autopsy by state pathologist Giuseppe Fortuni, of which AFP has obtained a copy, released two days after his death said Pantani died from a "terminal cardiovascular collapse, edema and congestion of the brain with small subarachnoid hemorrhage, massive pulmonary congestion." The investigation was reopened by Rimini prosecutors in August after Pantani family lawyer Antonio De Rensis provided fresh evidence said to support claims of foul play. Prosecutors turned to Tagliaro to reassess the evidence but he believes Pantani died "from an acute heart attack brought on by a mixture of medicinal drugs and cocaine." He added the death may be "due to excessive consumption of anti-depressants... with the ultimate aim of self-destruction." In a video of the crime scene investigation, seen in its entirety by AFP on Monday, packets of anti-depressant pills called Surmontil can be clearly seen in Pantani's room, where cocaine is also found.
-- Murder plot now in doubt --
Tagliaro's claims have delivered a blow to claims by Pantani's mother Tonina that her son, who became dependent on cocaine shortly after his expulsion from the 1999 Giro d'Italia for suspected doping, was murdered. Francesco Maria Avato, a professor at the Department of Biomedical Science at the University of Ferrara who was commissioned by the family earlier this year, claimed the "huge amount of drugs found in Pantani's body suggested he could not have possibly ingested the drugs, in such amounts, by traditional methods". Avato's testimony helped fuel speculation that Pantani was killed by a third party who forced him to ingests massive quantities of the drug. However Giovanni Greco, a doctor who treated Pantani in the years before his death, has already testified to saving Pantani from acute cocaine poisoning on five previous occasions. Professor Tagliaro said Avato's report amounted to "calculated estimations". Avato also evoked the possibility that Pantani, who was found with severe bruising to the right side of his face, was struck by a third party prior to his death. Tagliaro, who on Tuesday affirmed that Pantani "was neither assaulted nor hit before he died", believes the cyclist was not forced to ingest the massive quantities of drugs that killed him. "There is no concrete proof to suggest he was forced to ingest anything," Tagliaro added in his latest report. The Pantani family lawyer, Antonio De Rensis, also claimed the behaviour of a forensics team investigating the crime scene left many questions unanswered. Faced with increasing scrutiny in recent months, the officers in question released a statement through lawyers threatening to launch defamation proceedings. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Putin demands central bank act to stop ruble 'speculation' | ||
| | ||
Moscow (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the central bank and government on Wednesday to take "tough action" to stop speculation on the ruble after the currency hit new all-time lows this week. "I ask the Bank of Russia and the government to carry out tough coordinated actions to discourage the so-called speculators from trading on the fluctuations of the Russian currency," he said during his annual state of the nation speech in Moscow. Putin's militant anti-western rhetoric in the beginning of the address caused the ruble to tumble by nearly two percent but it then recovered on the remarks about central bank actions. On Wednesday the Russian currency, which took a hit in recent weeks due to falling oil prices and continuing Western sanctions over Moscow's stance on Ukraine, hit a record low of 54.82 to the dollar. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov moved to dispel widely circulated rumours that the government plans to limit foreign currency sales in Russia. "Nobody plans to place currency limits," he was quoted as saying by Interfax. He added however that the government and central bank plan to coordinate activity on the foreign exchange market by Russia's exporters. "Together with large recipients of foreign currency we plan to coordinate sales," he said.
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Cast unveiled for new Bond film 'Spectre' | ||
| | ||
London (AFP) - French actress Lea Seydoux and Italian star Monica Bellucci will star alongside Britain's Daniel Craig in the new James Bond film "Spectre", the producers said on Thursday at the historic Pinewood Studios. The film will be shot in Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Bond will drive a new sleek Aston Martin, which was shown off to reporters by director Sam Mendes. Bond will also return to the ski slopes in Austria and spy chief "M" will be played by Ralph Fiennes. "We start shooting on Monday," Mendes said. This will be the 24th instalment in the hugely successful series based on author Ian Fleming's fictional Secret Service agent, which began with Sean Connery starring in Dr. No in 1962. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Escaped horse causes chaos in rush-hour Vienna | ||
| | ||
Vienna (AFP) - A runaway horse sparked mayhem in evening rush-hour traffic in Vienna, galloping along a busy road pursued by nine police cars and the animal's distraught owner, police said Thursday. The young animal was being trained to pull one of the Austrian capital's famous Fiaker carriages popular with tourists when it escaped at dusk on Wednesday, police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said. Tearing along one of the main routes out of the city, "the horse collided with a car, damaging the vehicle, and then jumped onto another, smashing the windscreen with its hooves," Hahslinger told AFP. "The horse, bleeding heavily from its front legs, carried on running but eventually came to a halt and the owner managed got hold of it," he said. The animal's injuries were not serious. The driver of one of the cars also sustained light injuries and a police car was also damaged. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
