In this week's Distro we've brought you everything you need to know as we lead up to CES with our in-depth previews of every major device category.
Those on multi-line accounts can still share their upgrades as long as it's within the same device category, but they won't have the option to transfer a hotspot or tablet upgrade.
Tablets are a prime example of this trend generating traffic levels that will grow 62-fold from 2011 to 2016 -- the highest growth rate of any device category tracked in the forecast.
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And the logic works with servers as well as storage, as each device category continues to decrease in size, improve in capacity and performance, and reduce its power consumption per unit of work with each new generation.
Samsung expects strong seasonal demand to drive sales of its diverse portfolio of smartphones in the fourth quarter assisted by the launch of new premium devices, including GALAXY Nexus which features the latest Android 4.0 operating system for the first time in a smartphone, and the 5.3-inch GALAXY Note which is opening a new mobile device category.
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Watchmakers dream of creating an iconic, breakthrough device that opens up an entirely new category, just as the iPod did.
Sprint plans to support the device a marketing campaign to promote the new category of tablets, according to David Owens, who is runs the carrier's marketing for product launches.
Bob O'Donnell, vice president of the firm IDG, said he expects the new tablet or slate computer category to result in 3 million to 4 million device sales this year, an amount he said was on par with e-reader sales for 2009.
Tiny upstart Sling Media is now a veteran in this category, with a nearly two-year-old device that tosses video over the Web from a TV screen to a computer or portable device.
And even though a large majority of games are free apps, the category is one that generates a lot of interest in a device and system from both the users and developers.
Apple's challenge is that getting people to buy an iPod, a new type of device, is easier than getting them to switch loyalties in an existing product category.
According to the new naming structure, new class designators refer to the specific category that the smartphone product fits into, for example a premium device, or an entry-level device.
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But one key unresolved question for the category is a whole is what will be worth watching on such a device.
The truth is that BlackBerry does not have a category-changing product on its hands -- classy, smart and effective though the device is.
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The device seemed to handle the challenges fairly well, and while the options in the four-inch NAV category are nearly endless, the LN740 did a decent job of standing out.
One example is a device for Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, which was added by CMS to the competitive bidding list as a new category.
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