One Billion Smartphones Were Shipped In 2013—And That’s Not Even The Interesting Part

One way to boost growth: Convince people they need two phones.

As reported by Quartz: In 2013, the world’s phone manufacturers shipped (as opposed to sold) just over a billion smartphones according to IDC. 

Strategy Analytics, a competing research firm, puts the number for smartphones slightly lower at 990 million. Either way, what’s interesting isn't the nice round ten-digit number—it’s the suggestion that the big manufacturers at the top are running out of road.  

Start with Apple. It accounted for 15.3% of all smartphone shipments in 2013, even though it makes only a handful of very expensive models. That’s down 3.4 percentage points from the previous year. Samsung looks to be in slightly better shape, growing market share a smidge from 30.3% to 31.3%. But both companies announced disappointing numbers over the past week, with Samsung’s fourth-quarter handset sales down 9% (paywall) on the previous quarter and Apple selling 10% fewer iPhones than expected.  

Then look a bit further down the rankings The next three biggest companies by shipments—Huawei, LG, and Lenovo—together grew their market share to 14.2%, up from just 10.9% last year.  

The numbers point to an inescapable conclusion: The era of high-margin, high-growth smartphone sales is over. Huawei, LG and Lenovo make good phones, but few of their handsets aspire to be the very top of the market where the iPhone competes with Samsung’s Galaxy S series. Indeed, Samsung’s growth can probably be attributed to the lower-priced models it peddles in emerging markets, rather than its flagship phones.  

Despite the astronomical numbers, smartphone growth is slowing in percentage terms, up a mere 38% in the past year compared to 46% between 2011 and 2012. One reason is that much of the low hanging fruit has been picked; many people in the developed markets of the west who were going to buy smartphones already have. Now comes the more difficult task of convincing them to keep buying new ones every couple of years, and digging into the lower end of the market where most of Earth’s less prosperous residents reside.

 The low-end still has quite a way to go: smartphones remain prohibitively expensive for vast numbers of people. 

Unmanned U.S. Aircraft Plunges Into Pacific

As reported by NBC Montana: U.S. Customs and Border Protection grounded its fleet of unmanned aircraft Tuesday after losing one worth $12 million in the Pacific Ocean.

The unarmed aircraft had a mechanical failure while on patrol of the southern California coast.

The crew determined that it wouldn't make it back to Sierra Vista, Ariz., "and put the aircraft down in the water," the agency said in a statement.  It's unknown what caused the failure.

The majority of the aircraft is submerged. The Coast Guard is assisting in recovering any floating pieces, an official said.

Unmanned aircraft systems are technically not "drones," which operate under preprogrammed instructions, Customs and Border Protection said.  They are piloted remotely.

Customs and Border Protection's fleet of 10 is now down to nine, all grounded, an agency official said.  The one lost Tuesday cost about $12 million, plus another $6 million for the ground system.  The agency lost a smaller unmanned aircraft in 2006. It ultimately crashed about 200 yards from a home, the official said.

Last November two sailors were treated for minor burns after a drone malfunctioned and crashed into a guided missile cruiser off the coast of Southern California.  The ship was testing a combat weapons system.

The drone was being used to test the ship's radar tracking when it malfunctioned, veered out of control and struck the cruiser, the military said.

Why GPS Is A Productivity Booster And Liability Reducer For Vending Operators

As reported by Vending Times: Owners and managers in the vending industry are aware that it's essential to monitor and manage their fleets. In an industry that relies on drivers servicing their routes in company vehicles, operators know that overseeing those vehicles and drivers is a necessary task. Fleet and asset tracking are becoming more common than ever, as fleet managers look to increase efficiency and cut back on costs in their fleets during a tough economy.

Vending operators today are using a range of new information technologies to improve efficiency and boost profit in a tough economy. State-of-the-art automated vehicle location can contribute substantially to this effort. Less "windshield time" makes drivers more productive while reducing fuel expense, and the ability to monitor route trucks remotely can enhance security, improve safety and cut maintenance costs. The global positioning system (GPS) is the key to deploying a versatile set of tools for intelligent vehicle tracking.

While a GPS fleet-tracking solution can go a long way toward doing that, managers are often reluctant to employ such a solution because of concern over employee resistance. Just as with route drivers asked to use data-retrieval devices instead of their familiar manual route cards, securing employee "buy-in" by explaining the benefits to them and involving them in the implementation of the system can go a long way toward overcoming this.

And it is worth doing. A comprehensive GPS fleet tracking solution is an essential business tool for fleet-based route delivery companies as it cuts back on costs and liability in a number of ways.

FUEL COST SAVINGS

In an industry that relies heavily on vehicles, fuel costs are a major concern for vending operators. A GPS fleet-tracking solution can assist in reducing these costs in two ways: efficiency and vehicle reporting. According to AAA's 2013 Your Driving Costs study, the cost of owning and operating a vehicle in the United States has risen by 1.96% from 2012.

Additionally, fuel costs have increased 1.93%, on top of a 14.8% increase in the previous year. All these rising costs affect a business's financial performance, and controlling them directly bolsters the bottom line.

The routing feature of a GPS fleet-tracking solution not only ensures your driver arrives at the next stop on time, but it also ensures that he or she has the most direct route to the location, reducing fuel consumption and saving time. Some solutions integrate with personal navigation devices (PNDs) such as Garmin. The ease of use of these consumer systems has encouraged their adoption for fleets. 

A GPS fleet tracking solution that integrates with a PND can offer advantages besides a quick adoption rate. Integrating these technologies can cut down on unnecessary driving in a fleet by providing voice-guided turn-by-turn directions. By taking advantage of this integration's routing feature, vending fleets are able to increase driver productivity and reduce fuel costs and wear and tear on trucks.

In addition to increasing route efficiency, a comprehensive GPS fleet tracking solution can reduce costs by providing detailed reports on vehicle usage. These can contain a wealth of information about how and where a vehicle is being used, through idle reports and detailed activity reports. This information allows fleet managers to analyze fuel use and identify fleet inefficiencies or incidents of fuel slippage, which directly affect operating costs. A comprehensive GPS fleet-tracking solution can provide actionable data based on these reports, showing managers clear ways to improve processes.

A study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that trucks left idling for long periods of time waste approximately 960 millions of gallons of diesel fuel each year -- and commercial vehicles left idling often invite complaints about air pollution. Variable costs, such as idling, can be monitored through the real-time data collection and alerts provided by a comprehensive GPS fleet-tracking solution. Companies are increasingly tracking their fleets so that they can report on key metrics, including idling time, fuel consumption and driving speeds.

MAINTENANCE ECONOMIES

When selecting a GPS solution, it makes sense to choose one that offers reports on vehicle status and provides the option to implement maintenance schedules. These features offer two major benefits: extending vehicle life and reducing repair costs, both of which contribute to cost savings. Proper vehicle maintenance keeps assets running with optimum fuel efficiency.

AAA's Your Driving Costs reported that the costs associated with maintaining a vehicle showed the single largest percentage increase from 2012 to 2013, growing by 11.23%. With the increasing cost of maintaining and operating a vehicle, fleet managers should consider a solution that can help bring that cost down. Automated vehicle maintenance reports allow fleet managers to decease the frequency of major repairs, saving money not only on the repair itself, but also on loss of productivity from vehicle downtime.

SAVINGS FROM TRACKING ASSETS

In the vending industry, companies own and manage a number of expensive vehicles, assets and equipment. If an asset is stolen or lost, the cost of replacing it is a major concern -- as is the effect on productivity. A fleet-management solution that provides GPS-asset tracking features enables the operator to monitor, track and recover assets quickly, returning operations to normal as soon as possible.

A solution also can ensure that vehicles and their associated assets are being used appropriately. Drivers using their vehicles for personal errands unrelated to the job concern fleet managers. A comprehensive package includes a provision that can send an alert to the manager if a vehicle is moving after hours or on the weekends. Advanced solutions also can allow managers to place "geofences" around specific areas to monitor vehicles within them and alert the manager if a vehicle leaves its designated area. And drivers are glad to know that if the truck is stolen, it is easy to locate and coordinate a rescue with the police.

REDUCING LIABILITY

Fleet-tracking and vehicle-maintenance reports can also have a very positive effect on cost and company image by reducing liability. By knowing where their vehicles are located and how fast they're going, fleet managers can be confident in both the driver and the vehicle, should an accident occur. A GPS fleet-tracking solution allows operators to ensure that their employees are obeying the rules of the road, that accident risk is reduced, their liability exposure is less and their trucks are improving their companies' professional image in the community.

Google Ad Patent May Offer Consumers Free Cab Rides To Businesses

As reported by Red Orbit: Technology giant Google has acquired a patent for a free (or highly discounted) taxi service that would provide transportation to an advertiser’s business location. This could include restaurants, shops and other entertainment venues, and could possibly encourage consumers to respond more often to location-based special offers.  

The technology is based around algorithms that would determine a customer’s location, find the best route and desired form of transport.

The search giant described this patent as a “Transportation-aware physical advertising conversions.” It was actually filed on January 11, 2011 and received publication on January 14 of this year. Luis Ricardo Prada Gomez, Andrew Timothy Szybalski, Sebastian Thrun, Philip Nemec and Christopher Paul Urmson were listed as the inventors. These same individuals were among those previously responsible for Google’s patent for a driverless car and numerous other innovations.

“The present invention relates generally to arranging for free or discounted transportation to an advertiser’s business location,” Google noted in the abstract on the company’s official patent website. “More specifically, the invention involves automatically comparing the cost of transportation and the potential profit from a completed transaction using a number of real-time calculations. For example, the calculation may consider various factors including a consumer’s current location, the consumer’s most likely route and form of transportation (such as train, personal car, taxi, rental car, or shared vehicle), the consumer’s daily agenda, the price competing advertisers are willing to pay for the customer to be delivered to alternate locations, and other costs. In this regard, the customer’s obstacles to entering a business location are reduced while routing and cost calculations are automatically handled based on the demand for the advertiser’s goods and potential profit margins.”

Google has found that for many brick-and-mortar shops the most difficult part is getting people to their actual physical locations. Google’s invention could help bring those customers in. According to the patent this technology in essence works by determining a user’s location, the route and potential forms of transport to an advertiser’s business. It also looks to determine the price that advertisers might be willing to pay for the customer to be delivered to a particular location.

To accomplish this could involve advertisers calling upon databases that record people’s various habits, including likes and preferences so that the ads could be more highly targeted. It would combine that information with location data that could be gathered from Wi-Fi, cellular and GPS tracking that would in turn enable businesses to truly tailor very specific ads and special offers to customers. This could also be based on the daily habits of would-be consumers so the time of day and schedules are taken into consideration.

Those in the ad game seem to believe that this invention has merit.

“This is trying to turn advertising into a utility and remove barriers for consumers,” Gregory Roekens, chief technology officer at the advertising firm of AMV BBDO, told BBC on Sunday. “It’s a really interesting idea.”

The key part is ensuring the offers come when people are closer to the business trying to lure them in.

“Travel takes a huge amount of people’s time,” Roekens added. “So if people can use this time more productively and interactively while in the vehicle, there’s another opportunity for advertisers.”

Testing Drone Beer Delivery on the Frozen Northern Lakes

As reported by GIS User: What’s a beer company to do when it realizes its customers are located in isolated ice fishing shacks miles away from the nearest liquor retailer… and they’re thirsty?

Most beer companies would give up. But not Lakemaid Beer, the Fishermen’s Lager. Having recently launched its new Lakemaid Frosty Winter Lager, the perfect beer for ice fishing season, Lakemaid Beer has turned to new technology to meet the needs of its thirsty customers.

The answer: the Lakemaid Beer Drone.

Inspired by Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, which has been testing the drone delivery of its products, Lakemaid Beer has been testing a new drone delivery system on some of the top ice fishing lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Below is a video from their web site:

“Amazon faces a lot of obstacles,” said Lakemaid Beer Company’s president, Jack Supple. “Dense urban locations present a host of problems to drone delivery. But our tests are on vast, wide-open frozen lakes free of trees and power lines. Our drone can fly as the crow flies, straight to our target, based on GPS coordinates provided by an ice angler. Fish houses are very uniform in height, so we can fly lower than FAA limits, too.”

“It’s the perfect proving ground for drone delivery,” said Supple, “Our initial tests on several mid-size lakes have been very successful. We’re looking forward to testing the range of our drones on larger lakes.”

“We’d be happy to share our research with Amazon,” Supple added.

It may be awhile before Lakemaid Beer can officially deliver its beer by drone. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently restricts the commercial use of drones by small businesses, and remote verification of the legal drinking age of ice anglers will need to be addressed. The FAA is expected to issue new regulations governing the commercial use of drones by 2015.

“Our customers, distributors and retailers appreciate the extra effort we’re willing to go to get Lakemaid Frosty Winter Lager to them,” said Supple. “Even if our customers are located 4 miles out in one of the 5,500 ice shacks on Lake Mille Lacs (one of Minnesota’s largest lakes).”

To learn more about Lakemaid Beer, the official beer of Rapala, visit http://www.lakemaidbeer.com.

When A $65 Cab Ride Costs $192

As reported by NPR: I was in the car for about an hour, rolling around Manhattan in the middle of a snowstorm. The ride normally would have cost me $65. But when it came time to pay, my driver, Kirk Furye, was concerned for me.

"Are you going to get in trouble with NPR?" he asked. "You are almost at three times the [normal] amount."
Final cost of a one-hour cab ride: $192.00.

I had found Furye through Uber, a company that makes an app that connects cabs and cars with people who are looking for rides. One thing about Uber: When there's a lot of demand — like, say, in the middle of a snowstorm — the price goes way up.

Uber calls this surge pricing; a lot of people might call it gouging. But Uber drivers aren't employees with hourly schedules; they choose when and whether to drive. And, Uber says, raising prices when demand is high is a way to get more drivers on the road to meet that demand.

Uber tracks customers and drivers down to the street level, and even in normal weather there can be brief price surges in neighborhoods when demand spikes.


"When I first started out, I used to chase the surge," Furye said. "But that became exhausting, because it would always go somewhere else by the time I got there."

In other words, the surge system was increasing the supply of drivers to busy neighborhoods so quickly that, by the time Furye got there, prices had fallen back to normal.

But even if it works in the short run, surge pricing could hurt Uber in the long run if taken to extremes, says Richard Thaler, an economist at the Chicago Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Other industries that raise prices when demand is high, like hotels, put limits on their own surge pricing in order to keep customer loyalty. Hotels will rarely charge more than three times the normal price, even though they could charge far more at peak periods, Thaler says.

US Lab Developing Technology For Space Traffic Control

As reported by Network World: Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory say they have tested technology that could eventually help them monitor and control space traffic.

The driving idea behind the project is to help keep satellites and other spacecraft from colliding with each other or other debris in Low Earth Orbit. 

Recently the Lawrence Livermore team  said they used a series of six images over a 60-hour period taken from a ground-based satellite to prove that it is possible to refine the orbit of another satellite in low earth orbit.

Specifically, the Livermore team refined the orbit of the satellite NORAD 27006, based on the first four observations made within the initial 24 hours, and predicted NORAD's trajectory to within less than 50 meters over the following 36 hours. By refining the trajectory of NORAD 27006 with their ground-based payload, the team believes they will be able to do the same thing for other satellites and debris once their payload is orbiting earth, the team stated.

The technology used to redirect NORAD 27006 and refine its orbit are being developed for Livermore's still developing Space-Based Telescopes for Actionable Refinement of Ephemeris (STARE) mission.  Ultimately STARE will consist of a constellation of nano-satellites in low earth orbit, that will provide data and work  to refine orbits of satellites and space debris to less than 100 meters, the team stated.

According to the Livermore web site, "Each nano-satellite in the constellation is capable of recording an optical image of space objects (debris or assets) at various range and relative velocities as scheduled by the ground infrastructure based on their closest approach distance (typically less than 1000m). The ground infrastructure processes the data received from multiple observations of the objects and reduces the positional uncertainty on the probability of collision to a level typically less than 100m, warranting taking actions such as moving assets. For an 18 nano-satellite constellation, STARE has the capability to reduce the collision false alarm rate by 99% up to 24 hours ahead of closest approach."

In a 2011 paper about STARE, the Livermore scientists wrote: " STARE is a proof-of-concept mission whose goal is to improve upon the orbital ephemerides [the position of astronomical objects] obtained by ground based instruments for a small population of satellites and debris to the level where a predicted collision is actionable. To do this, two Cubesat satellites will be launched into a 700 km polar orbit where they will image other satellites at optical wavelengths during closest approach. The images will then be processed along with Global Positioning Service (GPS) data to refine the position and trajectory of the targets. If successful, the mission will pave the way for a small constellation of similar satellites capable of refining ephemerides for all of the satellites and debris pieces involved in close approaches."

According to Livermore scientists, accurately predicting the location of a satellite in low earth orbit at any given time is hard because of the uncertainty in the quantities needed for the equations of motion. Atmospheric drag, for instance, is a function of the shape and mass of the satellite as well as the density and composition of the unstable atmosphere. These uncertainties and the incompleteness of the equations of motion lead to a quickly growing error in the position and velocity of any satellite being tracked in low earth orbit.

To account for these errors, the US Space Surveillance Network (SSN) must repeatedly observe the set of nearly 20,000 objects it tracks; however, positional uncertainty of an object is about 1 kilometer. This lack of precision leads to approximately 10,000 false alarms per expected collision. With these large uncertainties and high false alarm rates, satellite operators are rarely motivated to move their assets after a collision warning is issued, the team stated,

The STARE mission aims to reduce the 1 kilometer uncertainty down to 100 meters or smaller, which will in turn reduce the number of false alarms by roughly two orders of magnitude, the Livermore team stated.