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The Daily Roundup for 02.07.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Canalys: Apple hits 20 percent of PCs through iPad sales, HP up to second place
Canalys is still staking its market share estimates on the view that mobile tablets are as relevant to PC market share as desktops and laptops. If we accept that interpretation, Apple was easily on top of the heap during the fourth quarter. Combining iPads and Macs would give it 27 million computer shipments in the fall, or 20.1 percent of the 134 million computers that left factories -- the first time it would have had more than a fifth of the market. Not that Apple was the only one having a good time, however. HP reportedly took back second place from Lenovo by shipping 15 million PCs and claiming 11 percent of the market, while Samsung stepped into the top five for the first time at 11.7 million PCs and 9 percent share. The upswings may have masked deeper problems. Apple and Samsung benefited from the iPad mini and Galaxy Tab lines, but they, Amazon and other tablet makers were reportedly propping up the market. Canalys doesn't believe Windows 8 or RT moved the needle for demand, noting that laptop shipments were flat year-over-year where tablets surged 75 percent. It was a tough market for most conventional PC builders -- just ask Dell -- and there's no immediate signs that it will be any easier for them in 2013.
If an iPad's a computer, then Apple is the world's PC shipment leader
Is an iPad a portable media device? A tablet computer? Something entirely "post-PC"? The answer, of course, is "it depends who you ask." Let's go ahead and define the parent category for iPads (and other tablets like the Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Google Nexus) as "mobile screens that run a touch-centric OS, don't ship with a hardware keyboard, are larger than a mainstream smartphone and don't offer telephony as a core feature." Call that a tablet, or a "pad" if you must to distinguish it from legacy tablet PCs and the potential fridge toasters of Microsoft's Surface devices. If that's the bucket we're talking about, some reasonable sales comparisons are available. The fourth quarter of 2012 saw Samsung ship 7.6 million pads, and Amazon shipped 4.6 million, according to a report released today by research firm Canalys. With Apple's reported sales of 22.9 million iPads, it's pretty clear who's leading the category. Canalys's report doesn't leave it at that, however. With a wave of the marketshare wand, the report combines 22.9 million iPads with Apple's reported sales of 4.1 million Macs in the quarter. Accordingly, the firm puts Apple's total PC sales at 27 million for the quarter, handily crushing second-place HP's 15 million units shipped. In fact, if you admit the iPad to the PC club, Apple's quarter put it above 20 percent of the global PC share for the first time. From October 1 to December 31, in that 13-week quarter -- given the looser, flatter, touchable definition of a PC that Canalys is proposing -- one out of every six PCs sold worldwide was actually an iPad. I wish to take nothing away from Apple's achievements with the iPad. Selling 23 million of anything is really rather tough, and a jar of salsa's a far cry from a device with an average selling price $150 higher than a ticket from New York to LA. But just because consumers may be choosing the iPad as an alternative to buying a laptop or a computer doesn't necessarily mean they should be counted as members of the same taxon. Both by form and function, the iPad and its fellow "pad" products should really be considered post-PC devices distinct from PCs and also from smartphones -- they don't require a keyboard or mouse, they don't run legacy Win32 or Mac apps, they don't usually make phone calls. And they surely don't sell the way PCs do. [via NYT Bits]
Canalys: PC and tablet shipments hit new high in Q2 with Apple in the lead, HP next in line
Wondering how the industry fared in the second quarter of 2012? Shipments in the PC sector, which in Canalys' book includes tablets, were higher than ever, totaling 108,708,780 units globally. iPad sales put Apple in the lead, with more than 21 million devices shipped (this figure also includes desktops and notebooks) in Q2, compared to just over 13 million during the year-ago quarter, representing a massive 59.6-percent year-over-year growth. HP, which led the way in Q1, has fallen to the second-place spot, with nearly 13.6 million shipments during the quarter ending yesterday, followed by Lenovo with about 13.2 million, Acer with nearly 10.7 million and Dell with roughly 9.7 computers sold. Manufacturers like ASUS and Samsung are represented in the substantial "others" category, which totals about 40.6 million devices. There's no question that the iPad is behind Apple earning the number-1 slot, and with the upcoming Windows 8 launch, those figures could shift drastically the next time around. Click on through to the source link below for the full Canalys breakdown.
HP reclaims top spot in PC sales, market as a whole climbs 21 percent
Well, Apple's reign atop the list of the world's top PC makers was short lived. After clawing its way into the lead, if you counted the iPad as a PC, HP is back atop the heap -- even with Cupertino's tablet-inflated numbers. According to Canalys, the Palo Alto company shipped 15.8 million units in the first quarter of 2012, barely sneaking passed Apple by 40,000 computers. Of course, remove Apple's 11.8 million iPads, and it's not even a competition. Lenovo, Acer and Dell rounded out the top five, with the total market shooting up 21 percent over the same time last year. However, there is plenty of reason to believe we won't see client PC fly out the door at such an incredible rate. Amazingly, according to Canalys, tablets accounted for 40 percent of all PC shipments in the US. For more details check out the PR after the break.
Android apps more expensive on average than iPhone counterparts
As an unabashed iPhone fan, I often ask owners of Android smartphones why they chose their phone over an iPhone. Answers have included "I like larger screens and styluses" (from a Samsung Galaxy Note owner), "There are more choices," and the ever-popular "iPhone apps are so expensive!" Well, a Canalys survey released today is throwing that last response into the dustbin of questionable excuses. The Canalys survey cited in a post on Apple 2.0 notes that on average Android apps cost more than two-and-a-half times as much as their iPhone counterparts. When Canalys looked at the cost of the top 100 paid-for apps in the Android Market, the grand total was US$374.37. The top 100 iPhone apps tallied up to $147.00. Canalys cited two factors for this discrepancy. First, Apple's more controlled retail environment allows in-app purchases and drives competition in app prices; second, Android phone owners are less willing to pay for apps, driving developers to charge more to break even. Analyst Rachel Lashford of Canalys noted that "achieving big volumes of paid apps on Android is no small challenge," and she believes that more aggressive price competition within Android apps would encourage more consumers to make their first app purchases. That, in turn, would drive greater volumes of downloads and help the Android app ecosystem. You might wonder if there is an overlap between the best-seller lists for the Android Market and the App Store. Only 19 apps appeared on both lists, and the pricing was usually higher for the Android apps. As an example, EA's Monopoly game is on both lists and has a price tag of $4.99 for Android and just $0.99 for iPhone.
Canalys: More smartphones than PCs shipped in 2011
2011: the year Smartphones supplanted computers, at least according to the bundle of spreadsheets that just arrived from Canalys Research. Vendors shipped (shipped, not sold) 488 million of the devices, compared to 414.6 million "PCs," which erroneously includes Tablet PCs of all shapes and sizes. Looking at Smartphones exclusively (IDC's numbers from yesterday concerned all mobile handsets), Apple remains king of the hill having shipped 93.1million iPhones. Samsung is close behind, with 91.9 million and Nokia is kicking along in third with 19.6 77.3 million. For all of the doomsaying around RIM, it's nestled in fourth, although Canalys chose not to include its numbers. Framing the research as "PCs versus Smartphones" isn't the wisest, given the fragmentation and hybridization prevalent in the market today. Drilling down into those numbers, we learn that 63.2 million tablets were pushed out last year, cannibalizing netbook shipments (dropping 34.5 percent in a year), but desktop and laptop movements remained relatively stable. We've included the full report and the most relevant table of data for your perusal and insight (hint: there's no points for saying netbooks are on the way out). Correction: Nokia sold 19.6 million phones in the last quarter, but sold 77.3 million in total last year.
Canalys: Apple leading PC maker in Q4 2011, if you count iPads
Best quarter in Apple's history? Check. Retaking the smartphone crown from Samsung? Check. How about becoming the world's largest PC manufacturer? If you're Canalys and you factor iPads into the equation, then yes, another check. Per the research firm, "client PCs" (which include "desktops, netbooks, notebooks and tabs") grew by 16 percent to hit 120 million in Q4, from which Apple's 20 million units (15 million iPads + 5 million Macs) grabbed the leading 17 percent share. Cupertino's followed by HP, Lenovo, Dell and Acer in that order -- all of whom, save for Lenovo, saw their piece of the PC pie shrink. Not only did their slices shrink, but without slates the entire tart was .4 percent smaller than last year -- meaning that all of the growth in "client PC" segment was due to tablets. With that kind of statistical precedence Windows 8 can't come soon enough, right Stevie B?
Canalys: HTC nips Apple, Samsung to become top smartphone vendor in US for Q3 2011
Boo! No, that's not your doorbell ringing again, that's HTC popping out of nowhere in order to toss a Nah-nah-nah-boo-boo in the direction of Samsung and Apple. Just days after Strategy Analytics published a global smartphone shipment report for Q3 2011, Canalys -- another formidable name in the sector -- has pushed out a report of its own. Not surprisingly, the global figures line up almost precisely with what we'd already heard, with Samsung's Q3 numbers rising above those from Apple, Nokia and the rest of the industry. The difference here, however, is the focal point on the US of A. Here in the States, Taiwan's own HTC is pulling rank; the aforesaid handset maker edged out Apple and Samsung by shipping 5.7 million smartphones. All told, it owned "around a quarter of the market," with Samsung (4.9 million) claiming the second spot and Apple (4.6 million) pulling in for the bronze. Conspicuously absent from the leader board? RIM, which saw its volume decline 58 percent from a year ago and its US market share sink from 24 percent in Q3 2010 to just 9 percent this quarter. Our take? HTC (and Samsung, from a global perspective) best enjoy it while the quarter lasts -- as soon as the iPhone 4S and Nokia's spate of Windows Phone devices start figuring in, we're guessing that the top spots will be completely up for grabs all over again.
Canalys: Android rules the smartphone world, Samsung could've done better
Thought Android was killing it in the US? Try the rest of planet Earth, bud. The latest from our friends at Canalys has Google's mobile OS on 48 percent of smartphones worldwide, or nearly one out of every two sold. Mountain View's stratospheric rise came at someone's expense, and it looks like Nokia's the loser here folks, which corroborates the data from last week's IDC report. Espoo's foibles are troublesome in a market that grew 73 percent year over year, especially when Samsung shipped 421 percent more handsets than it did a year ago. As a result, the Korean company has surpassed Nokia in smartphone marketshare, just like its rival in Cupertino. Despite the rampant growth, the research firm suspects Sammy could have done better, noting that it had failed to capitalize on Nokia's "weakened state around the world" with its "global scale and channel reach." We'll see if Samsung takes Canalys' constructive criticism to heart in Q3, but while you wait, you can read the full report after the jump.
Gartner and IDC dispute Android's dominance over Symbian in Q4 2010
According to Gartner's latest mobile sales numbers, the rise of Android hasn't been quite as meteoric as you might think -- even with 888.8 percent growth in 2010. Last month, Canalys quoted Android as the top earner for smartphone platforms in Q4 of last year, beating out Symbian for the top spot, but Gartner says it ain't so. In fact, IDC already quietly chimed in on the topic a few days ago saying that Symbian was still the smartphone OS "market leader." Gartner's numbers do show Android overtaking Nokia's Symbian devices in unit sales, but it points out that the OS' use across a variety of brands in Q4 actually "kept Symbian slightly ahead of Android." Symbian ultimately outsold Android by more than 44 million units last year, but considering the little green robot's astronomical growth in 2010, we'd say even super star is an understatement. Check out the PR after the jump to see how the rest of the competition stacks up.
IDC says 100.9M smartphones sold in fourth quarter, PCs outsold for first time
In case you had any lingering doubt that the smartphone is the new personal computer, just take a glance at IDC's new global smartphone sales numbers for the fourth quarter of 2010 where we learn that some 100.9 million units were pushed in the three-month period -- up a whopping 87.9 percent year over year. That figure compares to 92.1 million PCs sold during the same quarter, which, though a record for the PC industry, was left in the dust of the smartphone's stratospheric rise. This marks the very first quarter in history that smartphones have outsold traditional computers -- and considering the trajectories that both industries are in, we'd be surprised if they ever flip-flopped again. If anything, IDC and other analysis firms might need to readjust the nomenclature in their reports in a few years if (or when) convergence platforms like the Atrix 4G with its Laptop Dock start to gain traction. Of course, to Bill Gates and others, this technological cross-pollination comes as no surprise -- and really, who can argue with a handheld that's packing PC power? Update: It's also worth pointing out that IDC is still calling Symbian "the market leader" seemingly discounting Canalys' assertion that Android has overtaken Nokia's smartphone OS globally. Guess it all depends upon how your define "smartphone," eh?
Canalys: Android overtakes Symbian as world's best-selling smartphone platform in Q4 2010
One day somebody will write a book called "The rise and rise of Android" and this moment will be highlighted in bold. Canalys' latest smartphone sales figures show that Android phone makers managed to shift a cool 33.3 million handsets in the last quarter -- more than any other smartphone platform out there, including the previous leader, Symbian, which sold 31 million units. That's a mighty leap from the 20.3 million Android devices the stats agency estimates were sold in Q3 2010. Symbian itself grew from 29.9m in Q3 to 31m in Q4, but Android's pace of expansion has been so rapid as to make that irrelevant. Update: NPD's numbers are in as well, indicating that Google now has a 53 percent share in the US market, while Windows Phone 7 has managed to nab only two percent so far.
Canalys report: iPad sales drive Apple PC growth 241 percent in Q4 2010
The iPad is an in-betweener device - it's too big to be a smartphone, and it's not quite a PC. It can be a conundrum for analysts looking to pick apart Apple's quarterly and yearly earnings as there is no established category for the device. Some analysts have chosen to separate the iPad into its own category ("media tablets"), and others prefer to take a different approach and group the iPad with PC sales. This latter category leads to some headline-grabbing reports similar to the one just released by Canalys. The market analysis firm proclaimed that Apple is now the #3 PC vendor in the world, trailing only HP and Acer. The climb to the third spot was propelled by Mac personal computing sales, which skyrocketed 241 percent in Q4 2010. Much of the growth in this category is due to sales of the iPad. This analysis is guaranteed to spark some discussion as rival firms IDG and Gartner separate out the iPad into a distinct category. Once you remove the iPad from the PC sales equation, Apple barely makes it into the #5 slot. [Via Engadget]
Canalys: iPhone most popular smartphone in the US, Android top OS
Tech analyst group Canalys has released a new report this week, showing that the iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the U.S., while Android remains the top OS. The group found that Apple's iPhone U.S. market share has jumped 26.2 percent since last quarter, making it the most popular smartphone (as far as hardware) in the U.S. In fact, it's a complete turnaround, as BlackBerries beat iPhones 32 to 21.7percent last quarter. Globally it's another story as Android is firmly at the top of the heap, experiencing an incredible 1.309 percent increase from this time last year. It held 43.6 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the third quarter. Microsoft is on the outside looking in with just 3 percent of the global smartphone OS market. However, Redmond is hoping that Windows Phone 7 (and the massive advertising blitz behind it) will change that.
Canalys: iPhone becomes most popular smartphone in the US, Android continues as most popular OS
The Canalys numbers are out, and with Android coming off an 886 percent jump reported at the end of the second quarter we were expecting something big. So, here it is: Android is up 1,309 percent worldwide from this time last year, taking over 43.6 percent of the US smartphone market in the third quarter. In terms of mobile operating systems that makes it the dominant player in America, but with Apple capturing 26.2 percent it now jumps into the lead when it comes to hardware, beating out RIM's 24.2 percent. That's a swap from last quarter, where BlackBerries beat iPhones 32 to 21.7 percent, and worldwide things are looking the same: Apple at 17 percent compared to RIM's 15. However around the globe it's Nokia and the Symbian Foundation still dominating the stage as the leading smart phone OS vendor, owning 33 percent of the market compared to 38 last quarter, while Microsoft sits at a lowly 3 percent. With WP7 ready to rock the world, and Ballmer ready to release the advertising hounds, that's a figure we'll be keeping a close eye on for the next few quarters. Update: NPD has posted its third quarter smartphone market share and Mobile Phone Track reports; they basically back up Canalys' report, though NPD gives both Apple and RIM slightly less market share. Interestingly, RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8500 series is identified as the second-best selling phone in the US in the quarter, while the lowly LG Cosmos for Verizon takes third. Weird, huh?
Canalys: Android takes Q2 smartphone market share lead in US with 886 percent year-over-year growth
We knew Android phones were selling like gangbusters -- Google has been none too shy in telling us as much -- but numbers were slightly less clear in a larger context. Well, if a new report by Canalys is to be believed, those numbers are just fine in a larger context. Canalys claims that in Q2 Android was up a whopping 886 percent over last year's sales during this time period (remember, the original Droid didn't come out until November), and those wild sales put it at 34 percent of the US market, compared to RIM's 32 percent and Apple's 21.7 share. Of course, RIM has a big launch on the way, and we're not sure how much of the iPhone 4's heady run this report captures, so things could naturally look different for Q3. Also, it's worth noting that the breakdown of phones actually in use is of course dramatically different. Still, nobody is doing that bad: the smartphone market is up 64 percent year-over-year, and Apple and RIM grew 61 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Oh, and remember Nokia? Yeah, they're still beating the world with a 38 percent market share and 41 percent growth. Check out the press release after the break for all the percentages your heart could ever desire.
Deutsche Bank says IT warms to iPhone
Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore says corporate IT is warming up to the iPhone. In a research note published yesterday das analyst says, "There is growing evidence that the iPhone is making inroads into the Enterprise." Whitmore thinks Apple will sell 2 million iPhones to big business by the end of the year, some through reimbursements to employees and some through IT department purchases. If those numbers hold, the iPhone will own about 7% of the Enterprise smartphone market in 2009, up from the 2% it controlled in 2008. What's up with the shift? Whitmore notes four reasons: User satisfaction - highlighted by the recent J.D. Power surveys of both consumer and business smartphone users Enterprise applications The iPhone's level of innovation The virtual keyboard - according to Whitmore, the thought that business users have to have a physical keyboard on a smartphone has turned out to be a 'fallacy.' However, businesspeople might not agree that they don't need a physical keyboard if their first virtual keyboard isn't on an iPhone. UK researcher Canalys has taken a look at touchscreens and future smartphone purchases. The firm finds the ground shifting the touchscreen's way. Of the 3,000 survey respondents in the UK, Germany, and France, 38% say their next phone will have a finger-oriented touchscreen, while 16% say theirs will have a stylus-operated touchscreen. But a lot of people who have virtual keyboard-only phones miss the physical keys. According to Canalys, 53% of people who own a touchscreen phone say they won't buy another one, though they may have bought the wrong one for them to start. A majority of iPhone and HTC users say they'll keep the virtual keys on their next phones, while less than a third of Sony Ericsson touchscreen phone owners say their next phone won't have buttons. [via Fortune, The Register]
