Apple : iPad share reportedly sinks to 38 per cent as cheap Android tablets dominate

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iPad share reportedly sinks to 38 per cent as cheap Android tablets dominate Posted: British consumers flocked to snap up affordable Android tablets in 2013, with slates running Google's mobile operating system owning 56 per cent of sales in the first 9 months the year, according to new stats. Tablets like the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire range, proved massive hits, alongside cheap alternatives like the surprise Tesco Hudl, and own-brand solutions like the Argos MyTablet and Aldi Lifetab. That leaves the iPad with a 38 per cent share of the pie, IDC claims, although the arrival of Apple's most most impressive line-up, yet with the iPad Air and iPad mini 2, may have spearheaded a rival in the Christmas season. However, the Air and Mini 2 start at £400 and £320 respectively, and the figures for the first 9 months suggest British shoppers are more concerned with value and functionality over high-end specs, design and high-powered apps. Low end hits the heights "The very low end tablet market saw very strong sales this year, which is something we're expecting to continue into next year and beyond – especially for Christmas," said IDC research director, the awesomely-named Francisco Jeronimo. According to IDC demand for tablets was up 92 per cent in the UK during the first three quarters of 2013, with 7.6 million shipments in total. Whether the iPad was able to gain ground during the final three months of the year remains to be seen.

Apple's latest patents cover heart rate monitors and hover touch displays Posted: Apple was granted two patents on December 24 for new tech that could be integrated in future iPhones and other iOS devices. One patent covers a heart rate monitor that could be integrated directly into portable devices. The other is for a touch panel display that can detect hovering fingers and improve accuracy by automatically compensating for "signal drift." Both patents were filed in 2010 and approved on the day before Christmas. Improving hover interactions Some non-Apple smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S4, already include hover controls called Air View, allowing users to interact with the device's display without actually touching it but by hovering a finger nearby. But Apple's hover-related patent notes that integrating both hover and touch interactions in a single device is difficult, as the display can get confused. The patent focuses on a variety of ways to improve a device's accuracy at detecting inputs when both touch and hover interactions are available. It also focuses on improving accuracy when signal drift, i.e. environmental factors confusing a device's sensors, are present. The patent proposes, among other solutions, recalibrating the sensors periodically so that environmental factors are considered when the device determines whether it's receiving touch- or hover-based inputs. Groove is in the heart The other patent in question today concerns a "seamlessly embedded heart rate monitor" for iOS devices. The heart rate monitor reads a user's EKG data for authentication or mood determination purposes. The monitor's sensors can be embedded in a number of places in a mobile device. As always with these patents it's not clear whether Apple will ultimately use any of the features or solutions they describe. But as it did with the fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S, it seems Apple might be experimenting with even more new smartphone features in 2014. iPad mini 2 with Retina display review: a great tablet that still costs a little too much

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