Tag: apple

Samsung has some ambitious plans for the future

This year has been a very powerful year for the mobile sector, but 2013 may be even more so, at least that is what Samsung is predicting. The mobile technology giant has big plans for 2013, many of which have yet to be unveiled. Over the past year, Samsung has made significant strides in establishing its dominance in the mobile space, especially with the recent launch of the Galaxy S III. In 2013, Samsung will be working to distance itself from what it considers to be its most significant competitor: Apple.

Samsung rivalry with Apple expected to heat up in 2013

Samsung and Apple have been entrenched in a volatile rivalry that has spanned years. Earlier this year, the two companies finalized a lawsuit, the results of which took both Samsung and Apple down a peg in the eyes of consumers and investors. Samsung has managed to fortify itself against Apple in recent months, and part of this involves increasing its production of mobile devices. In 2013, Samsung will ramp up production by 20%, with plans to ship at  least 510 million new mobile devices over the next year.

Company plans to ship at least 390 million smart phones

Approximately 390 of these mobile devices are expected to be smart phones. A portion of these will be equipped with NFC technology, which is also included in the Galaxy S III. This technology has been well received by consumers because of its ability to facilitate wireless data sharing. The technology is also widely used in the mobile commerce space, where it can make payments from a mobile device possible.

Apple will not be going down without a fight

Samsung predicts that the demand for smart phones may diminish over the next 12 months as the market becomes over-saturated. Despite this potential problem, the company has plans to continue developing and shipping devices that are meant to provide consumers with a viable alternative to Apple products. Apple itself has very ambitious plans for 2013 and the two companies are expected to continue butting heads as they vie for dominance in the mobile space.

Google manages some success in mobile commerce

Mobile commerce continues to be a tricky subject for large companies. Telecommunications and technology companies, as well as financial institutions, are well aware of the potential benefits of involvement in the mobile commerce industry, but many of these companies have had difficulty establishing a foothold witch consumers. The challenges facing these companies has not slowed the expansion of mobile commerce and some have even managed to find some success with their endeavors in the industry. Such is the case with Google.

Apple eyed as potential competitor

Though Google has managed to corner a part of the mobile commerce market with its Google Wallet platform, the company still faces strong competition from other platforms, such as Isis. Now, Google is eyeing what it thinks may be a challenge from an unlikely source: Apple. Apple is currently a very modest player in the mobile commerce field, but could be poised to make a big splash with its Passbook platform, which is designed to be a sort of digital wallet for a user’s information, tickets, coupons, and other content.

Update to Google Search to make it more competitive against Passbook

Though Passbook itself does not support mobile transactions on the same level that Google Wallet does, Google is still poised to beat out its potential competition. Thus, the technology company has launched a new update for its Google Search application. The application is now capable of monitoring a user’s email account to keep track of tickets, such as boarding passes. When the application detects this content, it generates a QR code that can be used for check-ins. This is identical to a feature of the Passbook, but Google takes it a step further by also offering information on nearby stores and activities.

Application boasts of new features

Google has also introduced a new camera search function that acts as a reverse image lookup feature as well as a feature that provides notifications on tracked topics, such as “mobile commerce news.” While the Google Search application will not be able to facilitate mobile payments any time soon, Google believes that providing consumers with yet another form of digital wallet may be what is needed to gain a strong foothold in the realm of mobile commerce.