iPhone is #1!

International Data Corporation (IDC), a technology market research firm with over 1,000 analysts in 50 countries, has released its quarterly report on global smartphone sales.

For the first time, Apple has topped the list while Nokia, which has been in first place since IDC began tracking smartphone sales, has dropped to third place overall. Rounding out the top five are Samsung in second place and Research In Motion and HTC in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Apple earned the win by shipping 20.3 million iPhones in the second quarter of 2011 for a 19.1% share of the market. Compare this with the 8.4 million iPhones that Apple shipped in the same quarter last year and one can see how quickly Apple’s smartphone sales have grown. Ramon Llamas, a senior analyst at IDC, noted that

(e)ver since the first iPhone launched in 2007, Apple has made market-setting strides in hardware, software, and channel development to grab mindshare and market share. Demand has been so strong that even models that have been out for one or two years are still being sought out.

If you would like to help keep Apple on top in the third quarter of 2011, you can get your iPhone at any of Small Dog Electronics’ retail locations.

As an authorized AT&T retailer, we have the iPhone 3GS for just $49.99. We also have the iPhone 4 in both colors (black and white) and both sizes (16GB for $199.99 and 32GB for $299.99). Please note that we can only offer these phones in-store and with a two-year AT&T contract.

Similar Posts

  • iPad Goes Pro!

    Apple has released the iPad Pro and some of the first reviews are in. I haven’t had a chance to play with one yet but I think this new iPad pushes Apple into two markets for iPad that it has only brushed before. One is the enterprise market and the other is the creative market. My good friend Dave Sellers, is an architect and I often see him with yellow tracing paper sketching up new designs for whatever harebrained scheme he might be working on. I told him about the new iPad Pro and the Pencil and I know I will want to get that into his hands as soon as possible to see if that old guy can do some magic on this new technology. The business or enterprise market for iPad is blossoming with Apple’s partnership with IBM and Cisco and the iPad Pro is going to push that window even further.

    When Apple announced the iPad Pro with its A9X chip, they stated that it would be faster than 80 percent of the PCs that shipped this year. It appears to be true and the $799 base model iPad Pro is faster and more powerful than the $899 Microsoft Surface Pro 4. But speed is not the whole picture. With 5.6 million pixels the 12.9 inch Retina display is the highest resolution of any iOS device. It is a fully laminated display with anti-reflective coating and technologies like Photo Alignment and Oxide TFT to deliver rich contrast, stunning color and deeper blacks.

    One would expect the first generation of the iPad Pro to be a bit clunky in size but at just 6.9mm thick and about a pound and a half, it is a very thin and lightweight powerhouse. The iPad Pro features four speakers which will give you amazing sound and more than three times the sound output of any iPad. The speakers are orientation savvy so whether you are in landscape or portrait mode the low frequencies play on all four speakers and the higher frequencies play for the top.

    iOS 9 was built for the iPad Pro and this new iPad takes advantage of the multitasking, split view, picture-in-a-picture, Siri and Spotlight search capabilities of iOS9. Touch ID makes your new iPad Pro more secure and easy to use and with iSight and FaceTime cameras those of you that like to take photos with a giant iPad can do so.

    The Smart Keyboard is probably the feature that might make this iPad replace a Mac for some. It is a full size keyboard that is water and stain resistant and very thin. It does not require Bluetooth and connects via the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector. This provides a connection for both power and data. It is not just some third-party keyboard paired to the iPad Pro; this Apple-designed keyboard is fully integrated into the iPad Pro and iOS9. Steve Jobs once said that he saw no need for a stylus because we all have ten pointing devices, called fingers. I don’t think he rolled over in his grave when Apple introduced the Pencil because it is not designed to be a pointing device but rather as a drawing device. It is weighted but won’t roll off the desk and the Pencil is sensitive to both tilt and pressure allowing your creative impulses to flow from the thinnest line to deep shading. I am no artist but I can’t wait to see some of the digital art produced with the combination of the iPad Pro and the new Pencil.

    I hope to give you some first-hand feedback soon on this new member of the iPad family!

  • Diagnosing & Treating Bash "Shellshock"

    OS X is a descendant of a long lineage of UNIX operating systems, from which it inherits its incredible stability and enhanced security….

  • Getting Ready for El Capitan

    Downloading the latest Mac OS this next week is the easy part. Unless you start the download when another 2 million people are doing the same thing, Apple makes the upgrade process very painless. And of course, it is free, too! There are some steps you should consider as you prepare for El Capitan to make it a smooth process.

    BACK UP!
    Yes, I am shouting! Back up your data all the time but especially whenever you are updating your operating system. We have talked endlessly about how fabulous Time Machine is as a tool to back up your data. DO IT NOW. Upgrading to El Capitan is a great excuse to make a fresh back up of your priceless data.

    Do you know who you are?

    Do you know your Apple ID and the password? You are going to need that to upgrade. It will be asked for when you start the download and you will also be asked for it during the El Capitan and iCould setup. If you wrote it down on that little scrap of paper that is somewhere in your wallet, now would be a good time to find it.

    How Old is Your Mac?

    Sorry, that old SE 30 will not support El Capitan so you should make sure that you know if your Mac will support the new operating system. Here’s a list of the supported machines:

    iMac (mid-2007 or newer)
    MacBook (late 2008 Aluminum, or early 2009 or newer)
    MacBook Air (late 2008 or newer)
    MacBook Pro (mid- to late 2007 or newer)
    Mac Mini (early 2009 or newer)
    Mac Pro (early 2008 or newer)

    If you do not know your model you can go under the Apple menu and select About This Mac and if you are running Yosemite you will see something like this screen shot that will show you the vintage of your Mac.

    RAM and Storage

    The two mostly commonly confused terms in technology. Well, you need enough of both memory and storage. In the case of memory, Apple recommends a minimum of 2GB, however; Small Dog Electronics would set that minimum at 4GB. I think you will find your experience with El Capitan to suffer with only 2GB. If your Mac’s memory can be upgraded, now might be a good time!

    Storage is also important. We always recommend that you have at least 10-15% of your hard drive or SSD drive free just for cases like this. The installation of a new operating system creates a lot of temporary files that need space to live before they are ultimately deleted by the installation. Apple says that El Capitan takes about 6GB and that you should have 8GB free. That is cutting it pretty close. I would recommend that you have a minimum of 10GB free and pay close attention to the 10-15% free space. Now would be an excellent time to purge some files and old stuff that you really don’t need – like that downloaded copy of the Sopranos last season.

    Are you up-to-date?

    Is there a number in the icon of the App store? Have you done all your updates for the operating system and apps? Developers have been optimizing their Apps for El Capitan for several months so doing all those updates before you upgrade to El Capitan may make things go easier for you, too!

  • Use Old iOS Devices as Security Cameras!

    Are you one of those people who have old iOS devices laying around your house just waiting to be brought to the recyclers or given to a friend in need? I have always kept my old devices as a backup in case I ever need to send my new one out for repair.

    For those of you planning on upgrading your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch soon, you might rethink selling or recycling it, and instead, turn it into a home security system. Huh? Yes, you heard me.

    With a new app by “*People Power*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/presence-by-people-power/id618598211?mt=8 you can easily make an old iOS device your new home security system. The system supports the iPad 2 and newer, iPod touch (5th gen.) and newer and iPhone 3GS and newer.

    The app is called “*Presence*;”:http://peoplepowerco.com/products/ it’s free and it has some seriously great reviews. All you need to do is download the app on at least two devices, connect over Wi-Fi and set up your device in the desired spot you wish to watch. You can then set up specific alerts for when motion has been detected.

    The alerts might be for when your kids get home from school, if someone breaks into your apartment, or maybe you have elderly parents who you’d like to make sure are up and moving that day. Throw a waterproof case on the phone and you can set it up outside and get video clips to see what kind of animal is eating your freshly sprouted blueberries.

    People Power will soon have a subscription, allowing you to upgrade to Presence Pro for more storage and added features. Even if you don’t feel the need to monitor any activity going on, it might be fun just to play around with the app since it is free, and who knows, you may just find a cool use for it!

  • Cut Across Shorty, Cut Across

    Keyboard shortcuts are handy ways of using simple keyboard commands to handle tasks that might require multiple clicks of your mouse or trackpad. Sometimes using these shortcuts can save time and make your work flow easier. As an example, from time to time I grab screen shots to include in Kibbles or to send to customers. I can launch the Grab app to capture these screen shots but I can also hit ⇧⌘3 (shift/command/3) to capture the screen. Easier yet, if I frequently use that key combination I can customize the keys I use or make one of my function keys do the screen grab. Here’s how you would do that:

    # Choose System Preferences -> Keyboard->Shortcuts
    # You will see a bunch of shortcuts that are already there
    # Select Screen Shots
    # Pick the one you want – i.e. Save Picture of screen as a file and select it
    # Click on the existing key combination until it is highlighted
    # Enter your new key combination

    !{display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;}http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4451.png!

    You will get a warning triangle if you choose a key combination (or function key) that is already in use.

    You can also add key combination shortcuts that are specific to an App. Selecting the App Shortcuts will take you there. Unless you have already set up some shortcuts, you will see only the key combination for “Show Help Menu” for all applications. To add a new shortcut to your favorite application you hit the + sign and a dialog box will pop up to allow you to select an app. From there you can set up the new shortcut:

    # Choose your App – or select all Apps if you want to set the key combination for the same menu command that appears in many Apps.
    # Type in the menu command for which you want to create a shortcut. VERY IMPORTANT – You must type the command exactly as it appears in the Application menu, including ellipses and any other punctuation. To type an ellipse, use three periods without spaces.
    # Click in the Keyboard Shortcut box and type the key combination or function key you wish to use and click “Add”.
    # Quit and restart any Apps that are open for the new keyboard command to take effect.

    !{display: block;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;}http://blog.smalldog.com/images/4452.png!

    If you assign a shortcut that already exists for another command or another App, your new shortcut will not work and you will have to find the menu command that is using that shortcut and change it.