In today’s update of technology news from around the web: the market for drones to qrow by 25 percent for the next five years; Apple, Samsung grab most smartphone profits; and Verizon rated tops in network coverage and performance in NC.

Drone market growth

The U.S. drone rate is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 25.11 percent from 2016 to 2021, according to a report from TechSci Research.

The report cites “a well-defined regulatory framework coupled with increasing adoption of drones in commercial markets as growth factors.

In 2015, about 45 states in the US considered 168 bills pertaining to drones and 26 pieces of regulations have been passed by 20 states including North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland. Georgia already adopted drone regulations.

For the report, Global Commercial Drone Market, see: http://tinyurl.com/z74mnwy

Apple and Samsung grabbing all the smartphone profits

Apple racked up 75 percent of the smartphone industry’s profits in the second quarter, Zdnet, notes, and that’s down more than 90 percent from a year ago because Samsung is cutting in on some of the cash with its Galaxy devices.

So Zdnet asks, why does anyone else bother with the smartphone market when there is no bottom line? Considering that we carry a Windows Phone even though Microsoft bowed out of the smartphone business, we’re glad they get some competition from less expensive models. But that might not last long if there is no money in the business. Lenovo has not had much luck with its smartphone business, either.

For the Znet analysis see: http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-samsung-capture-all-of-industrys-smartphone-profits/

Verizon Wireless has best network

RootMetrics has named Verizon as the No. 1 wireless network in North Carolina for the second time in a row, as rated by the new RootScore Report.

Additionally, for the sixth consecutive time, Verizon’s wireless U.S. network has been acknowledged by RootMetrics as the leader in overall performance among national wireless service providers across the country.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York City, has a diverse workforce of nearly 162,700 and generated nearly $132 billion in 2015 revenues.

Although Rootmetrics is an independent research firm and states that its ranking is not an endorsement of Verizon, the phone company provides more details on its web site:

http://www.verizon.com/about/news/its-sweep-and-six-peat-win-verizons-network