There are obvious stats, bizarre ones, and then the good old informative ones. New data from Google revealed by Ad Age, falls into the latter category. According to Goog’s numbers, more people have a mobile internet-capable device than a PC or laptop in the five key markets it tested (US, UK, Germany, France and Japan). In the US, this figure is nearly 10% more, some 76% against 68%. The numbers were taken in September and October last year, which means any impact Christmas may have had won’t be taken into account. The trend away from featurephones towards smartphones is also drilled home, but that won’t be news to many people ’round these parts. No matter how you connect these days, any savvy netizen will tell you: it’s quality, not quantity that counts anyway.

Stat Alert: More connected phones than computers in key markets, says Google originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba debuts Windows 7-based Dynabook WT301/D tablet for Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew that Panasonic’s mobile division was summoning its strength for a return to the Old World, and finally we have some detail: it’s aiming to bring an “ultra-slim D-shaped” Android smartphone with a slim bezel, 4.3-inch qHD OLED screen, NFC and some rugged credentials to Europe in March next year. The manufacturer hopes to use Europe as a stepping stone to the US, China and the rest of Asia, aiming to broaden its range of Android devices and sell at a total of nine million of them outside of Japan by the end of March 2016. Read on for the full PR.

Continue reading Panasonic reveals 4.3-inch OLED smartphone with global ambitions, no name

Panasonic reveals 4.3-inch OLED smartphone with global ambitions, no name originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda fans, hope you’re down for some last-minute tickets to Japan, as the automaker plans to release not one, but seven (!) stunning concepts at the upcoming Tokyo Motor show. Ranging from plug-in hybrids to electric motorcycles, we’re most stoked about the Small Sports EV — a dashing two-seat roadster that reminds us stylistically of BMW’s i8. Details are light, but Honda promises that it’ll be fun to drive, yet also achieve “excellent environmental performance.” Alongside it is the plug-in hybrid AC-X, which looks like an LED-ridden redux of the lease-only FCX. And finally, there’s the Micro Commuter concept, which despite looking the least production-ready of the three, gets kudos for having a dedicated spot to load the accompanying Motor Compo EV motorcycle. Not much else to report on all seven this far out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ogle at photos of these three and their motorcycle brethren at the links below.

Continue reading Honda’s Small Sports EV concept proves electric can be svelte, comes to Tokyo Motor Show next month

Honda’s Small Sports EV concept proves electric can be svelte, comes to Tokyo Motor Show next month originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A recent job ad searched for language specialists fluent in a dozen additional languages to localize the Netflix service. The ad, which has since been taken down, read in part:

“We are looking for experienced linguists with the ability to translate and customize marketing, UI and content materials for the target market. We are looking for highly motivated individuals with the right mix of technical, organizational and communication skills to provide localization for the Netflix experience in the following languages: Turkish, Dutch, Russian, French, Hindi, German, Italian, Danish, Korean, Finnish, Japanese, and Spanish.”

Netflix first crossed the U.S. border when it expanded to Canada in September of 2010, and then surprised everyone with a massive expansion to 43 countries across Latin America and the Carribean in July. Most recently, the company announced that it will open shop in the U.K. and Ireland in early 2012, and a Variety report hinted at an expansion to Spain in 2012 as well.

This kind of aggressive international expansion doesn’t come cheap: Netflix announced in conjunction with its most recent quarterly earnings that it expects to lose between million and million in foreign markets during the current quarter, and CEO Reed Hastings said during the Q3 earnings call that any further expansion is put on hold until the company returns to global profitability, which could take “some number of quarters.”

So Netflix won’t come to Korea, or any of the other countries mentioned, in the next few months. However, one shouldn’t assume that the company stands by idle, watching revenue numbers without preparing any further international roll-out. Of course, Netflix also wouldn’t want to tell the world where exactly it is gonna go next, which is why we should assume that some of those languages mentioned were simply thrown in the mix to confuse competitors.

Still, it’s worth looking at the list, if only to evaluate what would make the most sense for Netflix. I have to say I see three likely scenarios:

• Russia and India: Netflix could further expand to emerging markets, which would be a similar long term bet as their launch in Latin America.

• France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Turkey: Targeting continental Europe could be harder and more costly for Netflix, but also possibly bring some short-term rewards as the Internet infrastructure in most of those countries is en par, if not better than in the U.S., and household income isn’t far behind. This would essentially be a logical follow-up to its U.K. and Ireland plans.

• Japan and Korea: Asia might be even more interesting to Netflix; Hulu of course recently launched in Japan, but I have a hunch that Korea would be an even better fit. The country has some of the home fastest Internet connections in the world, and people are already used to cloud media, thanks to countless Webhard-style offerings. Also, Netflix has seen a huge influx of Korean content in recent months, which would be essential to target the local market.

In the end, we’ll have to wait and see until Netflix makes some money again to figure out which of those countries it has had on the top of its list. A Netflix spokesperson told me that the company doesn’t discuss recruitment issues when asked about the job offer.

Map courtesy of Flickr user kcp4911.

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