Vodafone Indicates Support for Ubuntu Based Smartphone:

Vodafone Group has indicated support for an Ubuntu based smartphone after it joined the OS's Carrier Advisory Group.

As a member of the CAG, Vodafone Group will join national and multi-national carriers in discussions that influence the development of Ubuntu for smartphones.

The advisory group currently includes 15 companies, from Hutchison 3G, to China Unicom and T-Mobile.

Members of the CAG have the opportunity to be a launch partner and gain the right to ship Ubuntu based smartphones in markets they serve.

"The mobile industry still needs an independent platform that enables innovation and differentiation. That platform is Ubuntu. The Carrier Advisory Group will have the opportunity to influence the Ubuntu roadmap, and take full advantage of the potential of this emerging platform." said David Wood, CAG Chairman

4G Network Key to China Mobile-Apple Partnership:

China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile carrier recently announced it started offering Apple 5S and 5C as of 17th January. ­It is likely that China Mobile and Apple have high expectations to improve respective sales from this deal, however given the current characters of the market, and the Smartphone purchasing trend in China, the two companies involved will need to do a lot more to yield any significant return.

The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the global market leader in consumer panels, reports by the end of Q3 of 2013, approximately 63% of all Apple handsets in China are already on China Mobile's network, which means even before the recent sales agreement, over half Apple devices is already on China Mobile's network.

The report also shows, for every 100 smartphones on China Mobile, approximate 18 handsets are iPhones, a similar ratio for China Unicom and China Mobile who have had been selling iPhone under their official sales agreement for a while.

Obviously, customers on China Mobile who wanted an iPhone, obviously had found a way to source one via other channels, and since Apple has already made some progress within China Mobile, its room for growth is somewhat limited, and unlikely to see a huge sales boost for both organizations.

China's 4G Smartphone Market Set for Explosive Growth This Year:

China's domestic market for 4G smartphones is poised for a massive liftoff this year as shipments grow sixteenfold from 2013 levels, according to a new report from IHS Technology.

Shipments in 2014 of 4G smartphones within China are forecast to reach 72.4 million units, up nearly 1,500 percent from just 4.6 million last year, with the market expected to take off after the second half. It will be the first big year for 4G smartphones in only its second year in the country, up from a practically nonexistent base two years ago.

For the next few years the 4G smartphone market in China will see unstoppable growth, doubling in shipments next year to 144.1 million units, rising another 53 percent to 219.8 million, and then ending 2017 at 298.5 million units.

"With support from the government and increasing clamor from the public, 4G smartphones will be the new hot market in China," said Kevin Wang, director for China research at IHS. "Already Beijing has granted licenses for TD-LTE, China's homegrown version of the 4G Long Term Evolution standard, to the state's three carriers. This way, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom can all launch commercial 4G services whenever they wish."