Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
It’s beginning to look a lot like a big season for mobile gadgets. A major event is the still-rumoured launch by Apple in September of a new iPhone, expected to ignite fresh growth in the smartphone market worldwide.
Apple is also widely expected to unveil a new tablet computer that will be a smaller version of the hot-selling iPad.
But other big tech firms are not sitting idle. Microsoft is launching its new Surface tablet in late October, and will be pushing hard to sell Windows-powered smartphones.
Google has already launched its own branded tablet and smartphone selling alongside other devices powered by its Android system from makers including Samsung.
And many analysts expect Amazon to unveil at least one updated model of its Kindle Fire tablet computer at a news conference on September 6.
“This season is going to be exciting,” said technology analyst and consultant Rob Enderle. “This is the first time Apple has faced competition on a number of critical fronts. And it’s the first time competition is coming from Google directly.”
Jack Gold of the consultancy J Gold Associates said Samsung, the biggest maker of Android phones also expected to launch Windows-based devices, ‘is going to continue to be the market leader in smartphones’ because of its ‘huge momentum’. He said the new competitive landscape may be good for consumers, possibly bringing down prices.
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CHECK OUT Waitrose stores for its back-to-school event starting today and running until September 20 with assorted items at promotional prices.
