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FeaturePhones posts

NPD finds featurephones account for 72% of new handset sales in the US

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 19th 2009 @ 9:53PM

Smartphone sales may be growing at a steady rate these days but, if NPD's latest numbers are any indication, it looks like they still have quite a ways to go before they become the norm among cellphone users. As the market research group found during its latest survey, less expensive featurephones accounted for an impressive 72% of all new handset sales in the US during the second quarter of the year, which is only a 5% drop even in the face of a 47% jump in smartphone sales (to 28% market share) over the same quarter last year -- a 14% jump in overall handset sales accounts for some of that discrepancy. According to NPD's numbers, the LG enV2 (pictured above) and Samsung Rant were among the best selling featurephones during the quarter, while the iPhone 3G and Blackberry Curve were the best selling smartphones. Other interesting tidbits include the fact that the average selling price for a phone rose 4% over the year to $87, and that WiFi capability is now found on 20% of new handsets, while 26% of new phones have touchscreens (compared to 35% with QWERTY keyboards).

Qik video streaming service now ready for J2ME phones

by Darren Murph posted Oct 23rd 2008 @ 6:36PM

There's a decent chance you completely forgot about Qik, a nifty little startup that enables live audio / video streaming from feature phones to PCs, after hearing absolutely nothing from it since July. If so, it's all good -- the folks at Qik still want you to indulge in its first public alpha release for a slew of J2ME phones. For users with a Nokia 5300, 6300, 6500 classic, 6500 slide, 6555 or 8800 Arte, you can join your brethren with a Sony Ericsson K850, K858, W890, W910, W908, K660, G502 or Z750 in streaming live content right from your phone to your lovely posse. Give it a go and let us know how it turns out, will you?