To date, Apples iPhone has carved out a 5.3 per cent share of smartphone sales around the world, selling over 1.7 million units in the first quarter of this year alone.
In North America, where Nokia’s offerings seem to continuously fail to make a lasting impression, RIM commands first place with a 42 per cent share of the smartphone market, followed by Apple with a 20 per cent cut.
RIM has said the Blackberry exploded with over 107 per cent increase in sales between 2007 and 2008, going from 2 million sales to 4.3 million worldwide and Nokia also managed an impressive growth spurt of more than 25 per cent, according to Gartner.
However, if predictions are correct, it’s the company named after a piece of fruit that will have the most impressive sales figures soon.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has predicted that he will sell 10 million iPhones in its first 18 months. So far, Apple has sold just over 5 million phones.
Many analysts agree with Jobs saying that a lower price and new international markets means another 5 million sales will be an easy target for Apple this year.
Furthermore, Apple reported sales revenue of $US24.0 billion in 2007 and analysts say that sales growing to $US34 billion this year is well on the cards, eventually hitting just below $US50 billion in 2009, all thanks to the iPhone.
Not bad for a company that 8 years ago was almost on the verge of becoming irrelevant.

smarthouse.com.au

Launching a new hit franchise with Assassin’s Creed may be the most visible success that Ubisoft achieved over the last year, but the French publisher spread the love around a little more broadly in its fourth-quarter financial report today.
Assassin’s Creed was just one of a few big wins to which the company attributed its 36 percent full-year sales increase. The publisher also said that existing brands such as Rainbow Six, Rayman, Settlers, and Ghost Recon all turned in strong sales performances. Furthermore, its Games for Everyone range of casual games, which includes the Petz, My Coach, and Imagine series, tripled its sales over the course of the year.
For the 12 months ended March 31, Ubisoft racked up revenues of €928 million ($1.46 billion), up from €680 million ($1.07 billion) for the previous year. The Wii- and DS-centric Games for Everyone line accounted for nearly a full quarter of that haul, bringing in a total of €230 million ($361 million).
As for the most recent quarter, revenues were up a more modest 10 percent to €217 million ($340 million), which was still above Ubisoft’s original guidance. The publisher’s gamble on a Rainbow Six Vegas sequel paid off, with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 coming in second on the March sales charts in both the US and the UK, and more than 2 million copies of the tactical shooter shipped to retailers. Assassin’s Creed also continued sneaking off of shelves, with the stealth action game now having shipped 6 million copies worldwide.
Looking ahead, Ubisoft executives said in a conference call with investors that 2008 appears set to be another record year for the company, in part due to the company’s recent purchase of the Tom Clancy brand. The battle plan calls for continued emphasis on building existing franchises and expanding the casual lineup with games like a new Wii party game. To help the publisher achieve that, it’s ramping up the hiring process, looking to hire an additional 500 employees for new offices in Singapore, China, and India, with an extra 400 being added to the mix in more established studios.

gamespot.com

A dip into DSU’s Pool
Here’s a quick look at the teams in Pool A at the NAIA national softball championships in Decatur, Ala. Pool play begins today and ends Saturday.
Dickinson State: The eighth-ranked Blue Hawks are making their second consecutive trip to nationals. Boasting a 35-7 record, the Blue Hawks are led by junior first baseman Nikki Marcoux, sophomore third baseman Jody Lantz and freshman pitcher Sara Jane Webster. DSU has been ranked in the NAIA Top 10 all but one week this season. Over the past three seasons, the Blue Hawks have compiled a 110-22 record.
California Baptist: The Lancers are the No. 1 ranked team in the NAIA and sport an incredible 54-6 record. Erin Moore and Sarah Hurlbut have each hit 10 homers for the Lancers. They reached the 2007 national championship game before losing to rival Point Loma Nazarene 4-2 in 12 innings. During last season’s national tournament, Cal Baptist, which is located in Riverside, Calif., defeated DSU 4-0 in pool play. They face the Blue Hawks at 1 p.m. today.
Bethel: The 13th-ranked Pilots have the NAIA’s best record at 49-4 and are the Region VIII champions. Just like DSU, Bethel is led by young talent. Freshman first baseman Katie Boocher bats .507 with 65 RBI while junior pitcher Brittney Hire has 235 strikeouts and boasts a 0.90 ERA. Bethel, based out of Mishawaka, Ind., faces DSU at 6 p.m. today.
Shorter College: The seventh-ranked Hawks, who are 49-11, were the Region XIII runner-up this season. They are led by freshman pitcher Libby Munson, who ranks seventh in the nation with 26 wins and bats .429. Shorter is located in Rome, Ga. The Hawks face DSU at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Indiana Southeast: The 33-11 Grenadiers are led by senior outfielder Carmen Davis, who has hit 11 homers and 31 RBI. Indiana Southeast, which is located in New Albany, Ind., defeated Virginia-Wise to win the Region XII championship. The Grenadiers face DSU at 6 p.m. Saturday.

thedickinsonpress.com

While Bluetooth headsets vary widely in design and sound quality, many of them offer the same old set of features: call answer, call reject, voice dialing, and the typical theoretical range of 33 feet. Callpod wants to go farther with the Dragon, literally, with a claimed extended range of up to 328 feet. You also get dual-mic noise canceling, two-way headset-to-headset communication mode, and a generous array of included accessories.
The Dragon is available in three colors—black chrome, carbon fiber, and titanium silver (like my test unit). The package includes the headset, an AC/DC wall adapter, a car charger, a USB charging cable, and a five-pin mini USB adapter. With all that gear, you’ll never be far from a full charge, which takes only 2 hours. There’s also a zippered carrying pouch and an extra, larger ear loop, which I needed; in fact, for me, both of the ear loops felt tight. The larger one felt okay once I managed to put the headset on, a task that never got any easier, even after numerous attempts. The upside was that between the ear loop and the in-ear, rubber design of the earpiece, I could walk, run, or shake my head without its budging even slightly.
Users who also make Skype calls will particularly appreciate the Dragon’s ability—shared with the Plantronics Voyager 520—to connect to two separate devices simultaneously (say, a mobile phone and a PC). It has enough memory, in fact, for eight total connections. I had no problem pairing the Dragon with a BlackBerry 8130. But I had less luck with a Motorola Q; on every attempt except one I experienced a connection error, even with the nearby BlackBerry 8130 powered off to prevent conflicts.
Worse, the headset’s voice quality wasn’t great. Voices sounded muffled, mechanical, and distant on my side. That’s with the earpiece inserted firmly in my ear, and both the Dragon and the BlackBerry 8130 turned up to maximum volume. Callers thought that my voice’s timbre was natural enough, but one person noticed a “speakerphone” effect when I spoke.

pcmag.com

ROY WARD JR.: Passionate about the Tigers
By David Lazenby
The Cullman Times
Cullman County is full of Tiger fans, but most are not as enthusiastic about Auburn football as Roy Ward Jr.
The former president of The Cullman County Auburn Club, whose black Dodge Intrepid bares a tag with the phrase “AUBURN #1,” has a wall in his living room that is a personal shrine to his pigskin passion that began when Ward became a fan at 5.
“My mother and uncle would go to the Auburn games played at Birmingham and they would bring me shakers,” said Ward before remembering, “They didn’t have shakers back then.”
They did, however, have “pinups” purchased for Ward, who used the souvenirs to decorate his room.
Today, the 65-year-old has an Auburn emblem made by his late mother, Evelyn Ward, using crochet that is a centerpiece of Ward’s wall of War Eagle memorabilia.
One thing the former financial office manager hasn’t forgotten are the plays that have become part of the collective consciousness of longtime Tiger fans. The wall serves as a daily reminder of those celebrated moments that turned collegiate athletes into Plains legends.
Ward’s voice goes up a notch when he remembers “The Sack Game,” pointing to a photo in which a few Big Blue defenders recognizable only by their numbers stand over former Alabama quarterback Brody Croyle.
Other photos are captured moments of Tiger lore, including the “Punt Bama Punt” game. And a memorable game in which sports legend Bo Jackson vaulted over his less legendary playmates. A personal favorite for Ward is a photo of himself with Ralph “Shug” Jordan, the Tigers’ answer to Paul “Bear” Bryant. Ward and Jordan met in 1973.
You Can’t Win
Of course, the record shows they weren’t all good days at Jordan-Hare stadium, particularly the era sandwiched between the university’s two Heisman trophy winners, quarterback Pat Sullivan who won in 1971, and Jackson, who scored the award named after former AU coach John Heisman in 1985.

cullmantimes.com

Woody Mosby, a 59-year-old semi-retired architect, got to know the concrete corridor between Dunkin’ Donuts and tracks 1 & 2 of Philadelphia’s Suburban train station really well this Easter weekend. Mosby was registering voters on behalf of Barack Obama, and by his count he’d gotten more than 130 forms filled out by Monday afternoon. “The deadline’s today, register to vote!” Mosby, in an Oxford shirt and slacks, shouted over a flutist — a lifelong Republican Mosby had already converted — busking nearby. When people stopped he not only offered help filling out their forms, he gave them his pitch on why he changed his registration from Independent to Democrat to vote for the Illinois senator. “He’s the greatest breath of fresh air I’ve seen in eight years, and possibly in my whole voting career,” Mosby said.
Despite the hard work of dedicated volunteers like Mosby, Pennsylvania’s April 22 closed primary — in which only registered Democrats may vote — is a problem for Obama, who has done better in states where Republicans and Independents can just show up at polls and register on-site. In an attempt to compensate, the Obama campaign for weeks has been running a quiet but massive effort in Pennsylvania to register tens of thousands of new Democrats, many of them traditional Independents and Republicans but also new voters. To the exclusion of virtually all else, his 150 campaign staffers and more than 2,000 volunteers across 25 offices have focused the power of Obama’s grassroots organization on the registration effort, which ended at midnight Monday night when the state closed its books.
It’s impossible to tell how many of the newly registered voters are Obama supporters — Hillary Clinton’s campaign also made a big “March Madness Final Four Days” push to register voters, and she made surprising inroads with Republicans and independents in recent contests in Texas and Mississippi. But there is no denying that there has been a huge and sudden groundswell of registered Democrats.

time.com

Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler was taken 11th overall and immediately challenged for the starting role against veteran Denver QB Jake Plummer.
Winning his first start, Cutler showed he had what it took to lead an NFL team to victory, becoming the first rookie QB to throw two TD passes in each of his first 4 games.
A concussion in the first half of Denver’s final game against San Francisco didn’t stop him as he carried the Broncos on a game-tying touchdown drive in the final minutes of what turned out to be an overtime loss (26-23) that booted them out of the playoffs.
The Broncos missed the playoffs again in ’07 with Cutler at the helm for his first full season. Cutler finished with a 63.3 percent completion percentage (third highest in team history) 3,500 yds, 20 TD, and 14 interceptions.
Cutler has a weapon that joined him out of the ’06 Draft class in WR Brandon "Baby T.O." Marshall. Marshall showed he is a more than an adequate target for the strong-armed Cutler by snagging 102 receptions in his first year as a starter. Tight end Tony Scheffler contributed 49 grabs in 2007, including five TDs.
Cutler has the intangibles in that he is a strong leader, gutsy, and smart. He also has a great civic and work ethic and a very strong arm, which allows him to improvise when flushed. His arm strength allows him to commit the cardinal sin of throwing back against the grain to the middle of the field when rolling out and complete it with frustrating regularity.
Though young, Cutler is definitely a star on the rise and will need to be pressured and accounted for by the Raiders in the years to come and with salvaged Chris Clemons recovered and off to a lucrative Philly contract, the Raiders will need to generate pressure elsewhere to rattle the young Cutler.

bleacherreport.com

Los Angeles, CA. (Top40 Charts/ CineMedia Promotions) - Lakeshore Records will release the original motion picture soundtrack for JUMPER on iTunes February 12th and in stores on February 19th. The album features original music by John Powell (UNITED 93, SHREK).
Composer John Powell has written music for animated films (HAPPY FEET, SHREK, ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN) and comedies (PLUTO NASH, ALFIE, MR.
3000) but is probably best known for his work in the action film genre on such films as MR. AND MRS. SMITH, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, FACE/OFF, THE ITALIAN JOB, and the BOURNE series of films (THE BOURNE IDENTITY, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM).Powell’s work on these action scores seamlessly blends orchestral and electronic elements.
The British born Powell began originally trained as a violinist. In 1995 he founded a London based commercial music house before moving to the United States 2 years later. He is one of the best known former members of the Remote Control (formerly Media Ventures) team of composers, where he first teamed with Harry Gregson-Williams, his collaborator on several scores (ANTZ, CHICKEN RUN, SHREK).
From the director of MR. & MRS. SMITH and THE BOURNE IDENTITY, Doug Liman, comes JUMPER. A genetic anomaly allows a young man to teleport himself anywhere. He discovers this gift has existed for centuries, and finds himself in a war that has been raging for thousands of years between “jumpers” and those who have sworn to kill them. The film stars Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Diane Lane, based on the novels by Steven Gould.

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THERE are two Beth Morgans. The first is the woman portrayed in the media, the femme fatale who slept with powerful property developers and became the centre of an extraordinary corruption hearing into Wollongong City Council.
The second is the one I’ve been sitting next to for the past two weeks.
The first is the woman in the sunglasses, her shield against the world. For the media, the sunglasses help preserve the mystery. For Morgan, they give her a faint hope that people will not recognise her. The second is the woman in clear prescription glasses, fighting to salvage what she can of her reputation and future livelihood, carefully studying transcripts of evidence.
For the past fortnight Morgan, 32, has been the most talked about woman in Australia. Each day, as she left the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption in Sydney, media chased the former Wollongong town planner down the street.
Armed only with her sunglasses, she stared straight ahead. It was as if she were following Winston Churchill’s famous saying: if you’re going through hell, just keep going.
Inside the ICAC, she sat in the same seat every day, checking transcripts and taking notes of new evidence.
For 10 days we got into a pattern: we both sat in the back row, leaving a vacant seat in the middle. In the early days she cut a solitary figure. At lunch she was alone, flicking through a magazine.

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