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China has overtaken the US as the worlds top smartphone market by volume terms. Strategy Analytics found that 23.9 million smartphones were shipped in China during the third quarter, representing sequential growth of 58%. In the U.S., smartphone shipments fell to 23.3 million units, a 7% dip compared to the second quarter. Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics said the following:

China’s rapid growth has been driven by an increasing availability of smartphones in retail channels, aggressive subsidizing by operators of high-end models like the Apple iPhone, and an emerging wave of low-cost Android models from local Chinese brands such as ZTE. Nokia currently leads China’s smartphone market with 28 percent share, while HTC heads the United States smartphone market with 24 percent share.

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Yesterday International Trade Commission (ITC) in the US finally agreed to investigate Apple’s claims that Samsung’s lineup of Galaxy smartphones and tablets infringe on Apple’s lineup of iOS products. BGR shared this sometime back, “The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to institute an investigation of certain electronic digital media devices and components thereof,” the Commission said in a statement. “The products at issue in this investigation include mobile phone handsets and tablet computers, in addition to components such as software, touchpads, and hardware interfaces.” Here is that ITC press release:

USITC INSTITUTES SECTION 337 INVESTIGATION ON CERTAIN ELECTRONIC DIGITAL MEDIA DEVICES AND COMPONENTS THEREOF

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to institute an investigation of certain electronic digital media devices and components thereof. The products at issue in this investigation include mobile phone handsets and tablet computers, in addition to components such as software, touchpads, and hardware interfaces.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, CA, on July 5, 2011. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain electronic digital media devices and components thereof that infringe patents asserted by Apple. The complainant requests that the USITC issue an exclusion order and cease and desist orders.

The USITC has identified the following as respondents in this investigation:

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., of Korea;
Samsung Electronics America, Inc., of Ridgefield Park, NJ; and
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, of Richardson, TX.
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-796), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC’s Acting Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s five administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.

The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.

Looks like Google has finally cracked Adobes Flash market leadership. They shared an interesting piece of code known as Swiffy, that can easily convert Flash files into HTML5 friendly ones, but will remain locked up in the Google vault.

Swiffy allows Flash authors to run flash code through it, and splits it into a JSON file, then renders it with HTML, scalable vector graphics, and cascading style sheets (CSS). The resulting files are only slightly larger and have rendering performance that is “quite good,” according to Google.

Flash authors who come to Google with their SWF files can run it through the Swiffy converter, which splits it into a JSON file, then renders it with HTML, Scalable Vector Graphics, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). As a result of the process, Google says the converted files have rendering performance that’s “quite good,” with a file size that’s “slightly larger” than the original, reports CNET.

[via - CNET]

Zokem did a study of 10,000 participants on what they often do with their Smartphones. Zokem’s data covers not only the types of applications and uses of smartphones, but also the frequency of engagement for different types of activities, reports Gigaom where I found these interesting list.

Some interesting observations based on the Zokem research is worth reading. Thanks to Kevin of Gigaom for these pointers:

• While most smartphone users take advantage of the native or a third-party calendar application on the handset, most already have a good handle on their personal schedule and only check their calendar once every few days. In my case, if something isn’t on my calendar, it doesn’t exist in my world.
• Not even half the respondents use the smartphone for locally-stored music and even fewer, roughly 25 percent, are streaming music to their smartphone. Costs of bandwidth and subscriptions likely eat into the streaming audience, but I expected far more smartphone owners to carry music and listen to it on their device.
• Location-based services are used relatively often, at more than 15 days per month, but not by many. Fewer than 10 percent of survey participants use LBS apps or activities.
• Even fewer smartphone users are hitting adult entertainment on the go, although such activities are as engaging as checking the weather.
• Speaking of weather, the Zokem survey panelists get outside far more often than I do. They only check the weather about seven days out of the month. As an avid runner with limited offline time, I’m checking the hourly forecasts multiple times per day for just the right window of running opportunity.
• Instant messaging use appears extremely low, with about a third of the survey respondents taking part in the activity on a handset — and only for a limited amount of time. The likely reason is the high reported use of text messaging; something that ought to make carriers happy considering messaging plans are nearly pure profit.
• While every smartphone comes with a camera (or two) these days, consumers aren’t hitting the shutter button that often. However, around 70 percent report using the camera at least a few times per month.

Engagement studies are extremely useful to developers, both third-party programmers and creators of native apps at Apple, Google, Microsoft, HP, Nokia and Research In Motion.

Here is the Smartphone Usage Matrix:

[via - Gigaom]