IDC sees global smartphone shipments growing 11.3 percent in 2015, less than half the 27.6 percent growth the market experienced in 2014, the research firm said in a “tracker” report Tuesday. “While overall smartphone growth will continue to slow, many markets will have robust growth in 2015 and beyond, and worldwide shipment volumes are forecast to reach 1.9 billion units annually by 2019.” Though the firm sees iPhones dominating Android smartphones this year in terms of year-over-year growth -- 23 percent vs. 8.5 percent -- it forecasts that iPhones and Android devices will have fairly identical (7.3 percent vs. 7.5 percent) compound annual growth rates through 2019.

Though most consumers own a mobile device they can use to take notes, “60 to 65 percent of us still prefer pen and paper, and 20 percent type with a keyboard,” Gilles Bouchard, CEO of the paper-based computing platform Livescribe, told us in a London briefing. “So let’s not fight, let’s join them.” Bouchard was previewing a new app that lets owners of smartphones and tablets with Android 4.4.2 or newer use them with the latest Livescribe 3 capture pen. Previously, the pen worked only with iOS devices. The smart pen captures text as it is handwritten in a Livescribe paper notebook, while Livescribe’s Android app stores a synchronized sound recording of anything being said at the same time on the Android device. So students, for example, can jot lecture notes while recording the lecturer. The text is displayed on the device’s screen and tapping on a written word triggers playback of whatever was being said as the note was written. Unlike the original Livescribe Echo and Pulse pens, the Livescribe 3 smart pen has no on-board screen, mic or speaker for audio capture and play. That functionality is now handled by the Android device. The pen uses a Bluetooth Smart data link to connect to multiple devices, and can deliver up to 14 hours of continuous writing on one charge. Recognizable words are digitized in the Android device for searching and saving. Users can also share notes and recordings as PDFs that play on other mobile devices or computers. The Livescribe 3 smart pen has a USB socket for charging only, not data transfer as in the previous pens. Bouchard demonstrated the system with a Nexus 9 tablet and it worked well. We then tried the pen with a new upmarket Huawei P8 smartphone and also with the low-cost Hudl 2 tablet heavily promoted in the U.K. by Tesco. The system was easy to set up and use with the P8, but we couldn't get it to work with the Hudl. Livescribe said it’s investigating why.

Americans want to watch TV on their smartphones and tablets, but usually don’t, because the price of data remains too high, Writers Guild of America, West said in comments posted Tuesday in FCC docket 12-268. “Unfortunately, as more spectrum has become available, wireless data has not become appreciably more affordable,” the group said. “The lack of competition in the wireless market allows the dominant carriers to keep prices high and the lack of pro-competitive safeguards has only exacerbated the problem.” One answer is setting aside at least 40 MHz of spectrum in the TV incentive auction, in each market, for competitive carriers, the group said. “Improving the pro-competitive spectrum reserve will promote a more competitive wireless market and help accelerate the growth of the online video market.”

Nearly four in every 10 smartphone users tap into social media while driving, almost three in 10 surf the net, and one in 10 video chat, shows new research from AT&T, the company said in a news release on Tuesday. Seven in 10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving, but texting and emailing are still the most prevalent, it said. Among social platforms, Facebook tops the list, with more than a quarter of those polled using the app while driving and about one-in-seven said they're on Twitter behind the wheel, the study showed. With those findings, AT&T is expanding the "It Can Wait" campaign from a focus on texting while driving to include other smartphone driving distractions, the release said. The research found that 62 percent of drivers keep their smartphones within easy reach while driving. It also said 30 percent of people who post to Twitter while driving do it "all the time" and 22 percent of those who access social networks cite addiction as a reason. Of those who shoot videos behind the wheel, 27 percent think they can do it safely while driving, the study showed. The study was commissioned by AT&T and done by Braun Research. The firm polled 2,067 people in the U.S. aged 16-65 who use their smartphone and drive at least once a day, AT&T said.

FCC rules for the TV incentive auction must prioritize the rights of companies that buy spectrum in the auction to build out those frequencies, CTIA said in reply comments on a public notice on defining the term “commence operations” in the context of the 600 MHz band transition rules. The FCC should “err on the side of protecting primary uses” of the spectrum, said the filing posted Monday in docket 12-268.. Carriers should be able to “engineer and test their networks free from interference by defining ‘commence operations’ as the moment of first transmission on the licensed spectrum,” said the association. “This will ensure that the band is cleared of secondary uses early enough in the testing process that essential network testing functions are not subject to interference.” After carriers buy licenses in the auction, they have lots to do to build out their networks and test services and equipment before service begins, CTIA said. The 600 MHz licensees face a tough spectrum environment, with white spaces devices, low-power TV and wireless mics also using the 600 MHz spectrum, the wireless association said. “These secondary operations have the potential to interfere with the testing and use of licensed spectrum if permitted to operate in close proximity to licensed wireless transmissions.”

AT&T warned the FCC that without changes to its designated entity rules, bidders could continue to game the system in future auctions, in comments filed Thursday at the FCC. On Monday, AT&T and small carriers, proposed revisions to the DE program (see 1505110048). The AWS-3 auction raised new questions about the DE program as a result of Dish Network’s use of two DEs to attempt to buy $13.3 billion worth of licenses for $10 billion (see 1501300051), which Dish has repeatedly defended as being within FCC rules. “It is clear that these rules are no longer serving their intended purpose -- to benefit true small businesses to ensure diversity in spectrum ownership,” AT&T said. “Without major reform of the DE rules, such gamesmanship could be repeated in future auctions. AT&T believes that the Commission should adopt changes aimed at ensuring that designated entity benefits inure only to true small businesses and new entrants.” The rules the FCC developed should be “clear, readily understood, easy to administer, and free from loopholes that jeopardize auction integrity,” the carrier said. The filing was made in docket 14-70.

Sprint began offering the budget-friendly LG G Stylo smartphone Wednesday in plan offerings geared to customers with varying financial requirements. Sprint’s Boost Mobile will sell the phone in metallic silver for $199.99 in a no-contract plan starting at $30 per month for 2 GB data for customers who also sign up for an automatic billing plan, said Sprint. Beginning June 7, the phone will be available for $199 on Sprint Prepaid with monthly billing starting at $35 for 1 GB of data and no credit check or long-term commitment required. Customers on the Sprint Family Share Pack (20 GB data for up to five users for $100 per month), or $60 Unlimited plan, get the phone for $0 down and monthly payments of $12 ($288 over 24 months) beginning June 12, said Sprint. The LG G Stylo packs a 5.7-inch HD IPS touch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass, 8-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front cameras, QuickMemo drawing feature using supplied stylus, Android 5.0 and a 1.2-GHz quad-core processor, said Sprint.

There’s “plenty to like” about the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but “surprisingly, these phones don't score as highly as their top-ranked predecessor,” the Galaxy S5, Consumer Reports said in ratings published Tuesday. “Bleeding-edge innovations” are what helped the Samsung Galaxy S line “earn its reputation as the leading alternative” to the iPhone, the report said. But with the new S6 and S6 Edge, “Samsung has pulled an about-face on the Galaxy S line's anti-iPhone persona,” it said. They’re “significantly more Apple-like than previous models” and these modifications “actually hurt these devices” in CR’s ratings, it said. For example, these are the first Galaxy S models with nonremovable batteries, it said. Also gone are the memory-expansion slots, it said. “That means Galaxy S6 owners will have to bring their phone to a service center to replace the battery, or buy a more expensive version of the phone if more onboard storage is needed (just as you do with an iPhone).” They’re also not water-resistant like their predecessor, “so you’d better hold on to it tightly when you’re near a sink, puddle, or pool.” Samsung representatives didn’t comment.

Kyocera will use Immersion’s TouchSense touch feedback technology in its mobile devices under a global multiyear license, the companies said in a Monday announcement. Terms weren’t disclosed. TouchSense technology lets device manufacturers, content creators and software developers “design high quality tactile effects that enhance the mobile device user interface, apps and entertainment content,” Immersion said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Friday rejected an appeal by the nation’s largest flight attendants union unhappy with a directive from the Federal Aviation Administration permitting airlines to change their rules so passengers don’t have to put away their iPads or other portable electronic devices during take-off and landing. The challenge was made primarily on procedural grounds, by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. In October 2013, the FAA issued FAA Notice N8900.240, which said airlines could allow passengers to keep reading their tablets throughout the flight. Two months later, the union challenged it, arguing that the FAA "impermissibly and substantially altered and effectively amended” regulations for carry-on baggage on aircraft “without adhering to the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act,” the court said. The APA is not implicated, said the decision, written by Senior Circuit Judge Harry Edwards. “Notice N8900.240 does not alter this regulatory regime,” Edwards wrote. “The Notice merely provides guidance to aviation safety inspectors who enforce FAA regulations. Moreover, Notice N8900.240 creates no rights or obligations, and generates no legal consequences. No airline need alter any policy in response to it. The Notice does not eliminate the discretion of safety inspectors or require that any particular carry-on baggage program be approved or denied. And the Notice does not contradict existing regulations regarding stowage of carry-on baggage.” CTIA saw the decision as good news for consumers. It means “Americans will be able to use their mobile devices during take-off and landing since the FAA found there is no threat of interference to airplane communications or public safety,” said Jot Carpenter, vice president-regulatory affairs.