After Apple announced its earnings for the second quarter of 2014, analysts began to question the future growth potential of the iPad. Sales were undoubtedly strong, but in an industry that expects constant improvement, the year-over-year decline was troublesome. Unfortunately, based on a recent research report shared by Business Insider from Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty, the relatively poor performance of the iPad is just one indicator signaling significantly slowed growth for the tablet market as a whole in the coming months.

“We lower our 2014 tablet growth forecast to 12% from 26% on the back of increasing penetration rates and the lack of new, differentiated products,” writes Huberty. “Although slower tablet growth should help PC demand, our global PC model remains largely unchanged at -5% in 2014 and 2015.”

Countless reports have predicted the impending domination of tablets as the primary platform for computing over the past several years, but this report is one of the first to stray from that narrative. Over time, tablets are still expected to replace notebooks, but it will be a slower process than many had assumed.

Speaking to suppliers in Asia, Huberty commented that the lack of “meaningful innovation” in the market is to blame for the stunted growth in sales. Looking at the latest tablets from the most popular brands in the world, it’s hard to argue with her analysis.

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Category: Tablets, iPad

Users who aren’t happy with something they purchased from Apple’s online store should be pleased to hear that Apple has significantly improved refund times in the U.S. to under a week, from the previous 10-day schedule. Reuters reports that, in a bid to convince even more buyers to purchase products directly from its online store rather than from Amazon or Best Buy, Apple is willing to pay more for expedited shipping, in order to return money to customers faster.

Apple is apparently using FedEx 2-day service to receive the returned goods from customers in three days. Apple has been using FedEx 2-day in its busy Christmas shopping season, StellaService noted, but it appears the company has now permanently moved to the quicker shipping method.

Customers who seek refunds don’t pay a dime to ship products back to Apple, as the company handles all shipping costs for refunds. A source familiar with the procedure confirmed that customers still won’t be charged for their returns moving forward.

“This is the first time we’re seeing an investment like this on the returns side,” StellaService’s vice president of research Kevon Hills told the publication.

“Speed is becoming a significant competitive weapon,” logistics and supply chain consulting firm MWPVL International president Marc Wulfraat said. “Returns are viewed as a hidden cost, so many e-commerce companies make the process very difficult. Returns are the first place to cut corners.”

Amazon offers in some cases instant refunds, although that procedure opens the door to fraud schemes, as some customers may end up not actually returning the item. Apple is apparently trying to refund unhappy customers as fast as possible, while preventing any fraud schemes in the process.

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Category: mobile, Apple, iPhone, Mac

Every leak we’ve seen about the LG G3 makes us think it will be a very impressive new device, even in a year that has already seen the release of three heavily hyped Android phones with the Galaxy S5, the HTC One (M8) and the OnePlus One. PhoneArena has received yet another set of leaked LG G3 pictures that show two versions of the device, one with rear casing that’s white and one with a rear casing that’s black. Apparently, the rear casing for the devices will be plastic but LG has given them a brushed effect that will make them look more metallic like HTC’s latest flagship smartphone.

LG is planning to launch the G3 on May 27th, which means the company has wisely timed the device to drop in between Samsung’s Galaxy S5 launch earlier this spring and the expected launch of the iPhone 6 this fall. Reported specs for the device include a 5.5-inch quad-HD display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and a 16-megapixel camera.

You can check out PhoneArena’s leaked LG G3 pictures below.

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Category: mobile, G3, LG

It’s official: big phones are in. As Android phone makers have continued to pump up the size of their devices in recent years, the response of consumers has been resoundingly positive. According to research firm Canalys, over one-third, or 34%, of smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2014 featured displays of 5 inches or larger. These figures represent a 369% increase in shipments — an even greater rate of growth than the smartphone market as a whole.

“This is still a market segment led by Samsung, but the trend is unmistakably toward larger-screen handsets at the high end of the market,” said Canalys Analyst Jessica Kwee. “It held a 44% share of devices with displays of 5″ and above, and 53% if the view is narrowed to look at 5.5″-plus displays.”

Considering the unmistakable shift in market trends, rumors of Apple’s upcoming 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch smartphones are more justifiable than ever before. Consumers at the high end of the market want larger devices with powerful specifications — in order to compete in the long run, Apple needs to keep up with Samsung, HTC and other Android phone makers that have already begun testing the limits of display size.

“Consumers now expect high-end devices to have large displays, and Apple’s absence in this market will clearly not last long,” Kwee continued. “It is notable that 5″ and above displays featured on almost half (47%) of smart phones with an unlocked retail price of US$500 or more. Of the remaining 53% of high-end smart phones, 87% were iPhones. Apple plainly needs a larger-screen smart phone to remain competitive, and it will look to address this in the coming months.”

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Category: mobile, Apple, Samsung

We’ve been hearing about the potential of graphene in the electronics industry for years. Just last month, Samsung announced that it had discovered a new production method that could bring graphene to commercial products even sooner. Taking advantage of the material’s flexibility, Samsung believes that flexible displays will be much more than a gimmick in the coming years.

Sadly, we haven’t yet had the chance to see that potential in action as manufacturers continue to research ways to implement the recently discovered material into phones, tablets and other devices. As graphene hasn’t yet been used in commercial applications, most of us are entirely unaware of what the “miracle material” actually consists of, and why so many companies are spending time and resources on the production of graphene.

The Loop’s Dave Mark has pointed us in the direction of a video from The One Show on the BBC, which explains graphene in terms that anyone should be able to comprehend. As the show’s host explains it, graphene is “stronger than diamond, more conductive than copper, more flexible than rubber and it’s so thin you can barely see it with the naked eye.”

If you’re at all interested in what could be one of the landmark discoveries of the 21st century, it’s worth your time to understand some of the basics of graphene.

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Category: science, graphene

Google Now is one of Android’s best features and now Android Police has shown us a way to make it even more useful by setting it to remind us to cancel subscriptions to services that we no longer use.

So let’s say that you’ve just realized that you want to cancel Netflix the minute you’ve finished watching up every available House of Cards episode but you just keep forgetting to actually go online and do it once you’ve watched the season finale. You can solve this by telling Google Now to “cancel Netflix” and it will give you a card that contains a direct link to the webpage you need to visit to cancel the service. If you don’t want to cancel it right away, you can have it set up reminders for you so you’ll remember to do it in the future.

Android Police so far has found that the feature will work with Netflix, Hulu Plus, Comcast, Amazon Prime and, yes, even Google’s own Google Play All Access music streaming service. Now, if only there were some way to get Google Now to tell Google to stop trying to force us to use Google+, then it might be the single most useful service ever created.

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Category: mobile, google, Google Now

Samsung and Seagate on Monday announced a new external hard drive made specifically for Android mobile device users, which can help them fix any complaints related to bloatware or battery life. The “Samsung Wireless” is a $179 wireless hard drive that offers users access to 1.5TB of data and a backup battery.

The device will allow up to five simultaneous Wi-Fi connections and will connect via USB 3.0 to other supported devices. In addition to smartphones and tablets running Android 2.3 or later, the Samsung Wireless also works with Windows and Mac computers, but not iOS devices.

Samsung Wireless also packs a battery capable of powering it up for 7 hours, and it can also be used to charge a smartphone or tablet, although it’s not immediately clear how much of a charge the device’s battery will hold.

While not specifying how big the device really is, Samsung says that the Wireless drive has a “sleek,” “small form-factor” that is “light weight.”

An actual ship date for the Samsung Wireless drive isn’t available yet, and the device can’t be ordered from Samsung or Amazon at this time.

A similar solution already exists for iPhone and iPad users looking for more storage on the go, the LaCie Fuel announced at CES 2014, although the device doesn’t also let iOS device users recharge the batteries of their devices.

The official press release follows below.

Samsung HDD Business Unit Unveils High Capacity Media Streaming Device
Mobile Users Now Have Their Entertainment Hotspot Everywhere They Go

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) today announced that its Samsung® HDD business unit is shipping its new Samsung Wireless media device for mobile users. Consumers can now carry up to 750 movies, and unprecedented libraries of music and photos everywhere they go. Samsung Wireless allows up to five users to connect making this the ultimate entertainment hotspot. The Samsung Wireless is available globally for MSRP of $179.00.

The Samsung Wireless media device is designed as a portable accessory to consumers’ mobile devices (smart phones & tablets); its sleek design, small form-factor and light weight make it an ideal companion. The Samsung Wireless fulfills a variety of today’s multimedia demands and is a perfect accessory for every generation of mobile lifestyle. No internet connection is needed with the Samsung Wireless; it streams content wirelessly (via WiFi) to up to five devices. The Samsung Wireless is a simple and easy to use device.

“Samsung HDD continues to drive innovation of storage solution for enterprise level to consumer applications,” said Doug DeHaan, General Manager, Samsung HDD division. “Smartphones and tablets are more and more becoming the preferred method for consumers to watch video content but these devices have limited storage capacity. Samsung HDD is meeting this burgeoning demand by providing a device with the storage capacity consumers need to supplement their mobile device.”

“Android is the most popular OS for smartphones on the market with 78.1%* market share; Samsung leads smartphone vendors with 39.5%* market share. The Samsung Wireless gives those consumers a fitting accessory to carry with them. Consumers will now have the luxury of having all of their multimedia content with them everywhere they to go, to enjoy personally and share with family and friends,” said David Klenske, Product Line Director, Samsung HDD.

The Samsung Wireless is a 1.5 TB wireless drive; it holds up to 750 movies, 375k MP3s, 425k photos or a combination of these multimedia or other type files. It supports Android® 2.3 or higher, Windows® 8/7/Vista/XP SP2, and Mac® OS X 10.6 or later. It has long battery life, up to 7 hours**. The Samsung Wireless can connect to other wireless networks to provide internet access in addition to local streaming. Up to 5 mobile devices can connect to it at once. The Samsung Wireless comes with a USB 3.0 port. Also, users can use the Samsung Wireless to charge their mobile devices. To learn more about the Samsung Wireless, please visit http://samsunghdd.seagate.com. Seagate’s Samsung HDD Division Ships World’s Thinnest 2TB Storage

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Category: Accessories, Samsung, Samsung Wireless

Several Internet Service Providers in the United States use subscribers’ cable modems to broadcast free WiFi hotspots to other customers in the area. While notes about this practice are always buried somewhere in terms and conditions or other notices, subscribers are often unaware of this practice. And as might be expected, they’re often taken aback when they learn for the first time that their Internet connections are being used to provide strangers with free WiFi.

Earlier this year, Comcast subscribers in Minnesota were surprised to learn that their modems were broadcasting free WiFi to anyone and everyone nearby who might be a Comcast customer. While ISPs claim these free WiFi networks are secure and completely separate from consumers’ home Internet service, the continued threat from hackers who find new ways to steal our data is a concern that might still weighs heavy.

Now, customers are being reminded once again that Cablevision will also use its customers’ home Internet modems to broadcast free WiFi hotspots.

As reported by LightReading, Cablevision confirmed during its recent earnings call that it is upgrading its Optimum Online modems in order to add free WiFi hotspot functionality. Once the upgrades are complete, Cablevision says it will offer more than 1 million WiFi hotspots across the country.

It should be noted that Optimum Online subscribers will have the ability to disable the free public hotspot feature on their modems.

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Category: Internet, Cablevision, optimum online

Microsoft may be working on a smartwatch or smart band of its own, a new design patent titled “Electronic Band” and awarded on March 25, 2014, seems to indicate. Of course, the company has yet to make any announcements so obviously nothing is set in stone. WPCentral reports that Microsoft has been granted at least two patents describing wearable devices, including the “Electronic Band” one, which offers a few drawings that depict the potential Microsoft smartwatch or smart band’s design.

Interestingly, Xbox designer Carl Ledbetter is listed as one of the inventors of this patent. However, no other details are offered about the product aside from the various images provided by the company.

Microsoft’s interest in the wearable ecosystem can only be seen as normal, considering that its main rivals including Apple and Google are also interested in such products.

Apple is rumored to launch an advanced iWatch model later this year, which will include a variety of sensor for health and fitness purposes, while Google has already launched its Android Wear platform for smartwatches, which will power at least two such devices this year, including the LG G Watch and the Motorola Moto 360.

More images from Microsoft’s Electronic Band design patent follow below.

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Category: Wearables, microsoft