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IDC: Android has a heady 59 percent of world smartphone share, iPhone still on the way up

Jon Fingas — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:25:00 EST

We've been jonesing for a more international look at smartphone market share for the start of 2012, and IDC is now more than willing to oblige. In case you'd thought Android's relentless march upwards was just an American fling, Google's OS has jumped from 36.1 percent of the world's share a year ago to exactly 59 percent in the first quarter of this year. That's nearly two thirds of all smartphones, folks. As we've seen in the past, Android is siphoning off legacy users looking for something fresher: Symbian and the BlackBerry have both lost more than half of their share in one year's time, while Linux (led mostly by Bada) and Windows Mobile / Phone together lost small pieces of the pie despite raw shipment numbers going up. As for Apple? Even with all the heat in the kitchen, the iPhone's share grew to 23 percent, leading to a staggering 82 percent of smartphone buyers siding with either the Cupertino or Mountain View camps.

Continue reading IDC: Android has a heady 59 percent of world smartphone share, iPhone still on the way up

IDC: Android has a heady 59 percent of world smartphone share, iPhone still on the way up originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ABI: Galaxy Note and other phablets will ship at 208 million a year by 2015, blot out the sun

Jon Fingas — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:22:00 EST

Some of us aren't convinced that phablets will last as more than a short-term success. That hasn't stopped ABI Research from predicting that enough of the size XXL smartphones will sell to block all natural sunlight. The study team sees phones like the Galaxy Note and Optimus Vu as just the start, with help from Huawei, HTC and others leading to a crescendo of 208 million phablets shipped in 2015 alone. Of course, as with many of these predictions, the estimate is based on a little bit of knowledge and a lot of speculation about the market's tastes: the researchers have a hunch that the values of navigation, reading and the web will steer us to big screens, and they're including devices just over 4.6 inches like the One X or the upcoming Galaxy S III. There's a bit of evidence to support the claims -- Samsung sold five million Notes in five months, and HTC has seen some brisk One X sales -- but that's still no guarantee that regular-sized smartphones will have to fight in the shade.

Continue reading ABI: Galaxy Note and other phablets will ship at 208 million a year by 2015, blot out the sun

ABI: Galaxy Note and other phablets will ship at 208 million a year by 2015, blot out the sun originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 18:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flat-panel TV shipments to fall for the first time ever in 2012?

Ben Drawbaugh — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 07:59:00 EST

The past fourteen or so years have been a great run for flat-panel TV sales, but according to IHS (formerly iSuppli), that run is finally going to turn in the down direction in 2012. The expected drop off is predicted to be five percent, which still leaves the total TVs sold in 2012 at 37.1 million, more than a few dollars for sure. The fact that last year saw a modest one percent raise is as good of an indicator as any that the good times are over. Of course this is but a single prediction from a single analyst firm and we'll all have to wait until the year is over and earnings are announced to know anything for certain.

Continue reading Flat-panel TV shipments to fall for the first time ever in 2012?

Flat-panel TV shipments to fall for the first time ever in 2012? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Mar 2012 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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30 million NFC-equipped phones shipped in 2011, could reach 700 million by 2016

Sharif Sakr — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:55:00 EST

Those working on life-changing uses for NFC in phones will now find it even harder to explain why life still hasn't changed. According to Berg Insight, annual global sales of NFC-equipped handsets increased ten-fold to reach 30 million units in 2011 and are forecast to grow to 700 million units by 2016. The analysts attribute this rise to general smartphone adoption rather than to demand for NFC as such, which makes sense from where we're sitting. Aside from a few proximity-based apps, Google Wallet and some other handbag-spurning payment schemes, there's still no overwhelming reason to gear up. GPS and WLAN, on the other hand, remain must-haves, and the PR below looks at their prevalence too.

Continue reading 30 million NFC-equipped phones shipped in 2011, could reach 700 million by 2016

30 million NFC-equipped phones shipped in 2011, could reach 700 million by 2016 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon elbows past Samsung for No. 2 tablet spot in Q4, according to IHS

Jason Hidalgo — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:51:00 EST

Amazon had some serious trombone action going on last year -- what with all the horn tooting it did about Kindle Fire demand. Turns out Amazon was on to something, as the company has apparently grabbed the No. 2 spot from Samsung for tablet sales in the last quarter, according to research firm IHS iSuppli. Based on its numbers, Amazon sold 3.89 million tablets during the fourth quarter, eclipsing Samsung's 2.14 million units. The numbers equal a 14 percent share of the tablet market for Amazon while Samsung grabbed an 8 percent share, down from 11 percent in the third quarter. The brisk sales came at a price for Amazon, which saw fourth-quarter profits drop since it sold Kindle Fire tablets at a loss. Amazon's tablet sales also were still below the 15.4 million iPads sold by Apple for the period. All the competition is apparently taking a bite out of Apple's market share, however, which fell to 62 percent in 2011, compared to 87 percent in 2010. Samsung did manage to hold on to the No. 2 spot for the year, but with rumors already swirling about new iPads plus the Galaxy Note 10.1, the tablet wars aren't likely to cool off anytime soon.

Amazon elbows past Samsung for No. 2 tablet spot in Q4, according to IHS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IDC: iPad maintains tablet dominance, HP's TouchPad fire sale burned brightly

Mat Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:46:00 EST

While the Android tablets continue to roll in, Apple can still lay claim to the lion's share of the tablet market according to IDC's latest report. Its research suggests that the iPad holds onto 61.5 percent of the worldwide market share, down from 63.3 percent last quarter. Android devices in total also saw a slight contraction, down from 33.2 percent to 32.4 percent. This is partly explained by the HP TouchPad's final hurrah, which rocketed the ill-fated webOS tablet up to third place with a 5 percent of share of tablet sales and an estimated 903,354 devices sold. Samsung maintained its Honeycomb tablet crown, nabbing 5.6 percent of all tablet sales. The Korean manufacturer was closely tailed by Barnes and Noble's Nook Color with 4.5 percent and Asus, arriving at fifth place with a four percent share. Tablets in total sold less than the analysts had predicted, although growth has still exploded 264 percent compared to this time last year. Meanwhile, E-readers outperformed estimates, with 6.5 million E-readers sold in the third quarter, up 165.9 percent from last year. IDC expects some disruptive new tablets will spice up the fourth quarter results and you can take a look at its findings and predictions at the full press release below.

Continue reading IDC: iPad maintains tablet dominance, HP's TouchPad fire sale burned brightly

IDC: iPad maintains tablet dominance, HP's TouchPad fire sale burned brightly originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: 3.5 million 3D Blu-ray discs 'sold' in first year, half were bundled with hardware

Zach Honig — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:55:00 EST

If we're looking at sales figures of 3.5 million units in the first year for a new laptop, smartphone, or camera, then we might be impressed. But 3D Blu-ray discs? When half were included in the box with a Blu-ray player? Man, that's gotta sting. Those numbers are based on an IHS Screen Digest estimate, tallying US sales beginning in June of 2010 and ending last month, though many larger titles didn't make their debut until later in the year. Still, if those results are even in the ballpark of official (unreleased) numbers from BD distributors, then things really aren't looking up for 3D. With fewer than 100 titles even available on Blu-ray, however, we're not really surprised that discs aren't exactly flying off the shelves. Obviously, as a growing number of movies are filmed in 3D we'll see BD title availability increase as well, but with the technology's lackluster beginnings over the last year and no sign that consumers are ready to spend more to embrace that new dimension, 3D may continue its slow crawl toward the mainstream for some time to come.

Report: 3.5 million 3D Blu-ray discs 'sold' in first year, half were bundled with hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gartner: Apple will dominate tablet space for years, Android won't drink its milkshake until after 2015

Tim Stevens — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:51:00 EST

The inundation of tablets upon these very pages from day to day should give you an idea that manufacturers see this as a golden opportunity to grab a big chunk of a fledgling market. According to Gartner, though, the prospects are a little less rosy -- for the next five years, anyway. Analyst estimates indicate that the tablet market will boom over the next five years, from 17,610,000 units last year to 294,093,000 in 2015. No, not 294,092,000. 294,093,000. Apple will be the dominant force, its market share not dropping below 50 percent until the terminal year of this study. Android will take up the lion share of the other half, with the remaining dredges shared by MeeGo, WebOS, and QNX. The latter, which powers RIM's upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook, is scheduled to have a 10 percent share. That'll be the closest thing to a threat that Google and Apple will face -- if you believe any of this.

Update: The figures above are in thousands of units.

Gartner: Apple will dominate tablet space for years, Android won't drink its milkshake until after 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IDC fails to learn from previous mistakes, issues 2015 smartphone predictions

Vlad Savov — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:19:00 EST

The stat guardians at IDC are among the most reliable sources for keeping track of the latest developments in the smartphone market, but we've got to say their forecasts haven't always benefited from the same accuracy. It's with this disclaimer that we present you the world of 2015 as seen through the IDC prism. In just four years' time, says the data, Windows Phone 7 (or whatever version it reaches by then) will have ascended to occupy a fifth of the market and second spot overall behind Android, whose leading position is expected to stabilize somewhere around the 45 percent mark. Apple and RIM are projected to hold steady with shares close to where they are today. It has to be humbling for the IDC, which predicted Symbian would continue to dominate all the way into 2013, to now have to foretell of its almost complete extinction (a mere 0.2 percent) and total irrelevance in the smartphone market. Alas, while the new prediction sounds very reasonable today, four years of unknown unknowns is a mighty long time to try and forecast through, and we have a feeling we'll be looking back and chuckling at this within a few short months -- probably (hopefully!) in the midst of a massive webOS revival.

Continue reading IDC fails to learn from previous mistakes, issues 2015 smartphone predictions

IDC fails to learn from previous mistakes, issues 2015 smartphone predictions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple's Tim Cook hints at cheaper iPhone, prepaid possibilities to come?

Sean Hollister — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:49:00 EST

Apple COO Tim Cook got all buddy-buddy with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi this week, talking about Apple's business strategy -- nothing out of the ordinary there -- but this morning, that analyst decided to publicly paraphrase an intriguing part of the interview. Guess what? It sounds like a cheaper iPhone may indeed be in the cards:

While Tim stopped short of explicitly stating that Apple would pursue a lower price iPhone, he did state that Apple was working hard to "figure out" the prepaid market and that Apple didn't want its products to be "just for the rich," but "for everyone"; he also stated that Apple "understood price is big factor in the prepaid market" and that the company was "not ceding any market." Cook noted that Apple executives - including himself - had spent "huge energy" in China, noting that it is "a classic prepaid market." He further noted that the handset distribution model was poorly constructed and that Apple would look to "innovate" and do "clever" things in addressing that market.

As you can see, there aren't any statements of fact here, just some general strategy ideas, but if Apple indeed plans to put an iPhone in every pot, it would be helpful if it didn't have to rely on the carrier subsidy model.

Apple's Tim Cook hints at cheaper iPhone, prepaid possibilities to come? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iTunes stays on top of growing internet movie business in 2010, but 2011 could be very different

Richard Lawler — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:44:00 EST

While much of the news lately has surrounded subscription internet movie and TV services the video on-demand market was up nearly 40% last year and is expected to keep growing. According to stats from IHS Screen Digest, video revenue for the Apple iTunes store grew 60 percent last year, but saw its overall market share shrink from 74.4 to 64.5 percent. This is mostly explained as a side affect of the Kinect driving up Microsoft Xbox 360 sales at the end of last year and introducing its Zune store to a new market of families looking for digital entertainment. The up and comer to watch for 2011 appears to be the Wal-mart/Vudu combo, currently fourth in line behind Sony but poised to grow by showing up on more devices and increasing its promotional efforts. Of course, as NewTeeVee points out, the ultimate wild card in all of this is the launch of Ultraviolet buy-once/watch-anywhere DRM later this year (without support from Apple or Disney) and the effect it could have by causing consumers to see digital downloads as a viable option instead of the fragmented mess they are now -- good luck with that.

[Thanks, Aaron]

iTunes stays on top of growing internet movie business in 2010, but 2011 could be very different originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM: BlackBerry PlayBook battery life is still being optimized, won't cause delays

Vlad Savov — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 04:38:00 EST

If you've been keeping an ear to the techie ground, you'll probably have heard some analyst chatter suggesting RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook may be delayed due to issues relating to its supposedly poor battery life. That scuttlebutt has now turned out to be mostly unfounded, with RIM clarifying the situation through a communiqué sent to Erictric:

"Any testing or observation of battery life to date by anyone outside of RIM would have been performed using pre-beta units that were built without power management implemented. RIM is on track with its schedule to optimize the BlackBerry PlayBook's battery life and looks forward to providing customers with a professional grade tablet that offers superior performance with comparable battery life."

To be sure, it's not an outright denial that there may be PlayBooks floating about with disappointing battery performance, but the immaturity of the software on them is clearly such as to invalidate any conclusions drawn. Perhaps more important than the imprecise discussion of battery longevity (what does "comparable" even mean in this context?) is the note that the company is still on track to complete its software optimizations and deliver its first tablet on schedule. Guess we can all quit worrying now.

RIM: BlackBerry PlayBook battery life is still being optimized, won't cause delays originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 04:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung nabs Tegra 2 for Galaxy Tab 2, Google makes Tegra the Honeycomb reference platform?

Sean Hollister — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 14:13:00 EST

It sounds like all of NVIDIA's wrangling and cajoling finally paid off, if a couple of analysts are to be believed -- both say the company's dual-core Tegra 2 chipset is racking up wins in the tablet space. We've seen it seemingly raise the bar for smartphone silicon in the LG Star and tease us in slate after slate, but Citigroup's Glen Yeung says that Samsung has "placed a sizeable order with Nvidia for Tegra 2 chips in the first half of 2011, geared for both tablets and smartphones," and BMO Capital Markets analyst Ambrish Srivastava anticipates the next Galaxy Tab will be one of the devices that use it. If that sounds obvious, remember that Samsung was supposed to be producing a dual-core chip of its own. What could cause companies to embrace Tegra 2, if that's indeed what's happening? Any number of reasons, to be sure, but Glen Yeung also says that Google has made Tegra the reference design for Honeycomb, aka Android 3.0, and so Tegra 2 may sound like a fast track to victory in the budding tablet space. Here's hoping it's a good choice for consumers, too.

Samsung nabs Tegra 2 for Galaxy Tab 2, Google makes Tegra the Honeycomb reference platform? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 14:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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55 people think the iPad is more valuable than the Galaxy Tab (updated)

Joshua Topolsky — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:40:00 EST

If you read tech news today, expect to see a story making the rounds concerning a "consumer poll" rating the iPad versus the Galaxy Tab. According to the report, an "overwhelming majority" of consumers prefer Apple's tablet over its nearest Android competitor -- a whopping 85 percent of those queried felt the iPad had a higher perceived value than the Tab. Sounds shocking, right? Except there's one small problem. The "survey" (and really, you have to use the term loosely here) consisted of 65 people. Let's just say that again: 65 respondents. That's problem number one.

Problem number two is that the survey was conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who is not only using a bizarre and somewhat useless metric like "perceived value" to judge these devices, but is also known for wildly miscalculating sales numbers and expectations for Apple products. In fact, Gene Munster should probably be close to the top of the most wanted list for irresponsible analysts. Some of his famous misses? Take the wildly speculative report that Apple would sell 5.6m iPads in 2010 (a baseless prediction which he quickly reassessed to more reasonable digits... the day after the device's launch), or the prediction that Apple would build its own search engine (so far so good!), and of course, Gene's news that Apple will have an HDTV on the market by 2011. Did we mention the $1,000 AAPL stock price call? No? Okay.

So this latest report, in which Gene apparently just polled the families living on his block, seems beyond disingenuous. The margin of error on a group of 65 people is so high that it makes the results of the iPad vs. Galaxy Tab study all but meaningless, and further demonstrates the insidious, dangerous power of some analysts and their fantasy football stock manipulations. The moral of the story? Next time you see the names Gene and Munster in the same sentence, don't just take the news with a grain of salt -- use the whole shaker.

Update: Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Murphy (one of the other researchers on this report) got in touch and gave us some background on the sourcing and methodology for finding respondents. In his words:

The respondents were chosen randomly on their way in/out of a large national retail chain. After spending time with each device, they were asked which they'd prefer and what a reasonable price for each would be.

It's worth noting that that information is found nowhere in the report itself, nor is any other detail provided (type of store, geographic location, age / socioeconomic background, etc.), though this charming section is included:

Research Disclosures

Piper Jaffray was making a market in the securities of Apple, Inc. at the time this research report was published. Piper Jaffray will buy and sell Apple, Inc. securities on a principal basis.

55 people think the iPad is more valuable than the Galaxy Tab (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad becomes 'most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product,' analysts get giddy

Tim Stevens — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:02:00 EST

When the iPad finally dropped in April it was greeted with the expected fanfare, but opinions were rather divided about whether the thing would be a long-term success -- even amongst we humble writers. Six months on there can be no doubt, with the tablet selling 4.5 million units in its first quarter of availability according to CNBC. The truly magical iPhone? That managed a (relatively) paltry one million units in the same timeframe after launch, while the now ubiquitous DVD player pushed just 350,000 in its three four months of availability. You know what that means: it's time for analysts to start breaking out the hyperboles -- again. Colin McGranahan from Bernstein Research says "the iPad is a runaway success of unprecedented proportion," meanwhile Pete Najarian from TradeMonster.com calls it a "total media device" and concludes "there's not much a PC can do that you can't do on an iPad." That last bit is certainly debatable, and you know exactly where you can debate it. Just keep it respectful, yeah?

iPad becomes 'most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product,' analysts get giddy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Poll: Do women care about HDTV?

Richard Lawler — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:40:00 EST

UK-based research firm Mintel has taken some time out of their usual schedule tracking the sales of pies and pasties (Beef Pie is leading) to investigate consumer reaction to HDTV and says its results indicate women are far less enthusiastic than men about high definition televisions. Even with nearly 20 million HDTVs in Britain, less than half of the people surveyed are actually receiving HDTV broadcasts. According to Mintel, women are turned off by a focus on sports in the programming and don't think the increase in picture quality is worth paying for. Interestingly, while they were also less interested in 3DTVs, they were nearly as likely as men to be interested in watching 3D movies at the theater and to agree it was worth paying extra for. If you believe in the notion that targeted programming is the answer, on this side of the pond networks like E!, Lifetime, Food Network and others have jumped to high definition in recent years, not to mention that the overwhelming majority of primetime and daytime programming has already upgraded to a higher resolution so we're wondering if you're seeing the same results in your household.

View Poll

Poll: Do women care about HDTV? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell dropping Windows Phone 7 devices from its roadmap? (update: Dell responds, is definitely still in the game)

Joshua Topolsky — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:54:00 EST

Now we don't have much more to go on here than some analyst chatter and a lengthy article from TechCrunch, but if you believe what you read, a major player has just dropped Windows Phone 7 devices from its roadmap. ~~And that player is Dell~~. According to Jonathan Goldberg, an telecom analyst at Deutsche Bank, the only remaining partners currently working on Windows Phone 7 handsets are HTC, Samsung, and LG. If this is true (and that's a big if), that means that the seriously awesome looking Dell Lightning that we spied in leaks recently will never see the light of day -- as a WP7 device, at least.

We already knew that HP was out of the game (instead focusing on webOS phones), but the casual suggestion that Dell has made for the door here is somewhat suspect. The company itself hasn't made any statements (we've reached out but have yet to hear back), and while Dell has certainly concentrated a lot of effort on Android devices recently, its partnership with Microsoft is long-standing (despite dabbling in the world of open source). If the story turns out to be true, it could spell mixed (if not outright bad) tidings for the Windows Phone 7 launch, which Goldberg alleges may cost Microsoft upwards of half a billion dollars -- no small fee. Losing two of the biggest computer-makers in the world can't feel very good when you're trying to fight your way back to relevancy, but at least on the bright side, neither HP nor Dell have a track record of making anything other than heroically mediocre handsets. Take this all with a grain of salt right now, however, as the author of the TechCrunch article provides no source for the statements from Goldberg, and... well, he's an analyst, and they're prone to making up all kinds of crazy things. We're investigating, and will let you know as soon as we have more info.

Update: We've been pinged back by Dell's Matt Parretta, and he was 100 percent clear that Dell was most certainly still part of the Windows Phone 7 game. In the company's words:

Any reports, or speculation, that report Dell will not support Windows Phone 7 are false... Microsoft announced Dell as a supporting partner at this year's Mobile World Congress and nothing's changed. We are excited to collaborate with Microsoft on Windows Phone 7, and are looking forward to bringing customers amazing mobile experiences.

Furthermore, the analyst in question here (Jonathan Goldberg) has also reached out to us to clarify his statements, saying that he believes Dell is still a partner on Windows Phone 7, just not a launch partner. Dell was mum on release schedules, but one thing is clear -- they intend to follow through on this collaboration.

Dell dropping Windows Phone 7 devices from its roadmap? (update: Dell responds, is definitely still in the game) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ABI Research predicts Blu-ray players in 18% of TV owning households next year

Richard Lawler — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:01:00 EST

After successfully predicting shocking trends like Blu-ray player prices heading downwards and the PS3's continued install base lead on other players, analysts at ABI Research see 62.5 million Blu-ray players shipping next year. Analyst Mike Inouye sees this as a part of the growth potential of TV-centric devices related to price declines, plus new technology arriving like larger displays, internet access and 3D. With market penetration (in TV owning households) expected to rise from 7% in 2009 to 18% next year, we're wondering what's holding the format back from even more growth. Prices are relatively low now, full featured players are easy to find, and HDTVs are rapidly taking over. Is that other 82% happy with upscaled DVDs, movies on cable or on demand, internet downloading/streaming, or are we just being impatient?

ABI Research predicts Blu-ray players in 18% of TV owning households next year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gartner: Symbian is 're-arranging the deck chairs,' losing buoyancy fast

Vlad Savov — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:07:00 EST

We all know that Symbian is still holding the fort as the globe's most widely used mobile OS, but anyone interested in criticizing it nowadays will have to get into a queue. Nick Jones from Gartner is latest to launch a broadside against the apparently complacent market leader, opining that its user experience has been surpassed by iOS and Android, and arguing that future iterations do not promise enough innovation to make the platform stand out. He underpins these observations with his firm's latest estimates, which indicate Symbian's decline in share is accelerating, before positing the idea that the Foundation sets aside some talent for skunkworks projects in order to give itself fallback options should Symbian^4 not be blindingly marvelous. Nick might be going a little overboard with the bleakness of his outlook, but there's no questioning his "Android iceberg" analogy -- if Symbian doesn't find the right course soon, Google might well end up collecting a big chunk of its exasperated users.

Gartner: Symbian is 're-arranging the deck chairs,' losing buoyancy fast originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1 in 10 fliers using in-flight WiFi, Aircell 'thrilled' with repeat usage rate

Darren Murph — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:19:00 EST

US airlines are still struggling to keep pace with their Asian contemporaries, and while we won't be satisfied until each and every plane that soars over this great land has an integrated router, there's no question that carriers seem to be racing to equip their fleets with in-flight WiFi. According to recent analyst reports, fewer than 10 percent of fliers are using the service, but on the other hand, one in ten fliers are. There's obviously two ways of looking at this -- in-flight WiFi is still a fledgling technology, and it's only available on around a third of domestic flights. From that perspective, a 10 percent overall usage rate looks pretty impressive. But there's no question that cost is a concern here, as is time; many fliers are using their moments in the air to actually disconnect for a change, and few corporations actually have policies in place to reimburse employees for WiFi charges accumulated in the air. Furthermore, fliers can't even use their laptops for the first and last half-hour of flights, so unless you're flying coast-to-coast, you may assume that only having an hour or so to surf just isn't worth the hassle.

We pinged Aircell (the makers of Gogo, which is by far the dominant in-flight WiFi provider in America) for comment on the linked report, and while they wouldn't comment specifically, they did confirm that they have been "thrilled" with repeat usage rates. The company's own research has found that "61 percent of Gogo customers have used it again within 3 months," which is a pretty fantastic attach rate. Now, if only it could get more people to try the service once, it may just be on its way to taking over the world. Or something. Full comment is after the break.

Continue reading 1 in 10 fliers using in-flight WiFi, Aircell 'thrilled' with repeat usage rate

1 in 10 fliers using in-flight WiFi, Aircell 'thrilled' with repeat usage rate originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feuding analysts argue about whether the iPad is boosting Mac sales

Tim Stevens — Mon, 31 May 2010 10:48:00 EST

Think it's only Apple faithful who are adding an iPad to their gadget cache? According to Chitika Research, that's not true. The online advertising firm keeps a close eye on which platforms are downloading its ads the most, and it says that Mac computers accounted for 10.3 percent of wasted bandwidth in April. That's up from 7.4 percent in the January - March timeframe (you know, the pre-iPad era), and Chitika Research Director Daniel Ruby says "90% of that increase was due to the iPad halo effect." Meanwhile, NPD analyst Stephen Baker believes that the boost is instead thanks to the new MacBook Pro models that were released at the same time, and Technology Business Research analyst Ezra Gottheil says "early data on the iPad indicated that most buyers were already in the Apple club." Who is right? Survey says... your guess is as good as ours, and any of theirs, apparently.

Feuding analysts argue about whether the iPad is boosting Mac sales originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Many Verizon customers suffering from "extreme" interest in iPhone, BMX biking

Laura June — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:35:00 EST

A report over on Digital Daily this morning reveals something that may not come as much of a surprise -- people on other carriers (in this instance, Verizon) want the iPhone. Recent research out of Morgan Stanley shows there is "significant" demand for Apple's cellular delight -- with about 16.8 percent of Verizon's subscribers having "extreme interest" in the product compared to 7.5 percent in the overall population. What does this mean? It means that, if given the chance (i.e. if the iPhone came to Verizon), about 17 percent of current users would switch. That's a pretty high number, to be sure, and Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty estimates that such a deal could move around 7 or 8 million iPhones annually. Of course, all of this comes from an analyst, and it's based on an unscientific survey, so take it with a grain of salt. Still, what's the deal, Steve? We know you love money -- make it happen!

Many Verizon customers suffering from "extreme" interest in iPhone, BMX biking originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nielsen finds 53% of homes have HDTVs, but only 46% can receive an HD signal

Richard Lawler — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:52:00 EST

So close, and yet so far away. The good news from Nielsen's latest Television Audience Report is that it reaffirms a CTAM survey indicating HDTV ownership has finally crossed into the majority (up from just a third a year ago) however there's still a significant number of people out there who can't actually watch HDTV on their new set. Even accounting for the cable cutters who simply choose not to watch pay-TV on their display, that's still a significant number of people not getting everything they can out of their television set. We'd point out that these numbers should mean considerably more focus paid towards the high definition capable viewers but judging by recent events -- it would appear broadcasters and content producers have gotten the message. As the ruling majority, the only question left is what exactly should we do with this power?

Nielsen finds 53% of homes have HDTVs, but only 46% can receive an HD signal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nook outsells Kindle in March?

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:15:00 EST

Given DigiTimes' spotty record when it comes to pushing rumors you might be inclined to read "Digitimes Research" as a kind of oxymoron. Unfortunately, as long as Amazon refuses to publish specifics with regard to units sold, these analyst estimates are as good as it gets. What's interesting is that DigiTimes' checks at upstream suppliers reveal that Barnes & Noble's Nook accounted for 53 percent of all e-book readers shipped to US vendors in March. Interesting since Kindle is Amazon's bestselling product and an increasing share of the company's revenue is based on sales of electronics and general merchandise. Still, it's our guess that Amazon doesn't care too much about selling its own hardware (it's in the business of selling other people's content and goods). Besides, the Kindle app is already available on a wide range of devices including Apple's iPad and a wide variety of smartphones. One place you can't install it, however, is on the steadily improving Nook.

Nook outsells Kindle in March? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Poll: Still waiting for the Apple HDTV?

Richard Lawler — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:40:00 EST

We don't know if an iPad has joined you for some couch computing yet -- or ever -- but reminiscent of its long journey from rumor to release, predictions of an Apple branded HDTV have appeared yet again. Our burning question for this week? Whether or not anyone is still waiting to see if the company makes the jump to such a competitive and often low-profit margin business. So if you can't see Apple mixing it up with the likes of VIZIO at Wal-mart, or can't wait for an improved UI and content experience engineered by the geniuses at Apple, let us know how you think things could go.

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Poll: Still waiting for the Apple HDTV? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Was Nintendo pressured into revealing the 3DS early?

Tim Stevens — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:22:00 EST

Hey, remember when Nintendo unveiled a 3D Nintendo DS, the 3DS, completely out of the blue? And you know how they announced it just a week before we Americans finally got our hands on the DSi XL -- effectively making it seem obsolete before it even hit retail? It seemed like curiously unfortunate timing, but according to M2 Senior Analyst Billy Pigeon, there was something more sinister behind the surprise unveil: the Japanese media. "Apparently, the Japanese press was all over it and talked with suppliers there and Nintendo just wanted to get out ahead by breaking the news to prevent a leak." That they did, but they also subverted the US launch of the oversized DSi in the process. It's a gaming system few really thought they needed in the first place, and now with confirmation of something better coming soon it looks even less appealing.

Was Nintendo pressured into revealing the 3DS early? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Research firm shocks the internet, says most viewers loved NBC's Olympics coverage

Richard Lawler — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:41:00 EST

We're not sure where the Americans Q & A Research polled live, but they must not have a decent network hookup out there because they appear to represent the most silent of majorities: the ones who absolutely loved how NBC handled the Winter Olympics. Also reported was an average of 20 hours of viewing each, with figure skating, hockey and speed skating taking top spots on the most watched events list. Even though the often ridiculous tape delay strategy was one of the most often heard complaints around these parts, it only warranted a single line in summary, noting "some" found it frustrating, but that the most notable problem was actually too much studio commentary. Are we that out of touch with the mainstream, with our DVRs, HDTVs and interest in interactive and online content, or is this study just completely off base?

Research firm shocks the internet, says most viewers loved NBC's Olympics coverage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad pre-orders estimated at over 150,000 -- possibly ahead of iPhone rate

Thomas Ricker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:17:00 EST

Let's get this out of the way right up front: the estimated number of iPads sold in the first 72 hours is nowhere near official. And if the numbers hadn't been scraped together by a well known amateur Apple analyst who regularly trumps the pros then we'd be skipping the fruits of his black magic algorithms altogether. Nevertheless, Daniel Tello (aka, Deagol), has applied his proven approach of extrapolating Apple web order numbers to come up with a 120,000 total for first day iPad sales that slowed to 152,000 after 72 hours (not including iPads reserved for pick-up). Tello told Fortune, "My best guess, although very tentative given the early stage and few data we have so far, would be that they hit the 1 million unit milestone by the second week after it ships." For those keeping track, it took the original iPhone 74 days to hit 1 million. Quite an accomplishment if these numbers pan out (and that's a big if!) considering that only 3 to 4 million tablets are sold globally each year.

iPad pre-orders estimated at over 150,000 -- possibly ahead of iPhone rate originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst: Apple to be 'nimble' on iPad pricing, athletic on pommel horse

Nilay Patel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:21:00 EST

Apple's $499 starting iPad price tag is already lower than many people -- and a few competitors -- expected, but apparently Steve and company have left themselves a little wiggle room: Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope says that Apple told him it'll remain "nimble" when it comes to iPad pricing, suggesting that the price could drop if sales don't meet targets. That's not a hugely surprising thing to say, considering Apple's trying to be the first to achieve real success with a 'tweener device and strong pressure from netbooks, laptops, and smartphones threatens to collapse the space entirely, but a lot of people are taking it to mean some kind of drop is a done deal -- particularly since Apple cut the price of the first-gen iPhone by $200 just a few months after it launched and saw already-solid sales triple. We're honestly not so sure, though: Apple always tells investors that it's confident in how its products are priced but responsive to market changes, and it's not like a smaller price cut boosted the Apple TV into hit product territory. We'll see what happens after the iPad actually goes on sale -- we doubt we'll see any changes for another few months at least.

Analyst: Apple to be 'nimble' on iPad pricing, athletic on pommel horse originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In-Stat sees Blu-ray players closing in on DVD sales in 2013

Richard Lawler — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:58:00 EST

While Futuresource may still be sticking to its 2012 predictions of Blu-ray software dominance, In-Stat has taken a break from the tea leaves to mention it expects Blu-ray player sales to near 80 million by 2013. In its vision of the near-future that's not enough to overtake DVD player sales of 90 million, but with a higher average selling price Blu-ray players will own most of the dollars being spent. Naturally, Blu-ray recorders (and, we'd expect Blu-ray/VHS combos) are most popular in Japan, while Europe produces the most revenue for players. We're not ready to lay down $3,495 to find out more detailed forecasts, but we'll put a pin in the calendar and ask Jeremy Toeman to save the date for our 2013 podcast about whether or not Blu-ray sales have lived up to expectations.

In-Stat sees Blu-ray players closing in on DVD sales in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analysts debate P.A. Semi's role in forthcoming Apple wares

Darren Murph — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:19:00 EST

It's easy to forget that Apple snapped up P.A. Semi for a song way back when, but now that we're just days, hours and seconds away from Apple's expected tablet reveal, a new wave of processor-related conjecture is hitting the fan. Richard Doherty, director of technology consulting firm Envisioneering Group, has come forward with some exceedingly detailed rumors on said tablet, a touchscreen MacBook and an OS X-based unicorn that lives in the cloud. As the story goes, Apple's pickup of P.A. Semi was primarily an effort to acquire a huge pool of engineering talent to use for its own internal designs, and now Doherty is saying that "before the year is out, Apple will have the most powerful, lowest-cost SoC in the industry." According to him, there's nothing from "ARM licensees or Intel that could challenge the power-per-watt, the power-per-buck, the power-per-cubic-millimeter of size," and he anticipates that four new products are in the pipeline from Cupertino. Need details? How's about a touchscreen iMac, an "iPod touch on steroids" with a 5-inch display, and "two different versions of media pads in the 7- to 9-inch (screen size) area." Alright Dick, you just put your reputation on the line -- here's hoping you've got your story straight.

Update: Looks like UBS Investment Research has been hearing something similar. According to it, the forthcoming tablet "will be powered by a processor designed by P.A. Semi and built by Samsung."

Analysts debate P.A. Semi's role in forthcoming Apple wares originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst noise: Apple tablet in March for $1k, publishers on-board, Verizon iPhone coming too

Joshua Topolsky — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:25:00 EST

If you've been following mainstream news today, then it's likely you've seen the story doing the rounds on new Apple tablet rumors, spurred by a note sent to clients from Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner. Never heard of him? That's not surprising, since he has no real connection to Apple, and his job mainly consists of telling people how to move their money around -- a Master of the Universe gear-cranker, you might say. Anyhow, Yair is sure that Apple will be releasing its 10.1-inch, multitouch tablet around March or April, with a ramp-up on production sometime in February. He also notes that the device will sell for $1,000 (so far we've heard rumored price points from $699 all the way up to $2,000), but ultimately Reiner seems most concerned with how it will impact Amazon, the Kindle, and book and media publishers.

According to the note, Apple has been in talks with publishers concerning a "very attractive proposal" in which the company will split revenue with publishing houses 70 / 30, as they do with iTunes and App Store sales (just as we speculated in our post on the Time Inc. digimag). What's most disconcerting about the report is that it seems more interested in disrupting or dismissing what Amazon is doing (particularly noteworthy as the company is in the midst of its biggest season for Kindle sales ever). When financial analysts start squawking in this manner, we like to approach with caution. As of right now, we have zero solid evidence that Apple is even producing a tablet, let alone ready to drop one for a G come March. We have heard plenty of other rumors that corroborate much of this, but if the above is the plan, you can expect a big reveal from Cupertino around the time of Macworld or CES, so you won't have to wait long to know the truth. For now, keep your BS detectors set to "stun."

P.S.: See what we mean? Now a Piper Jaffray analyst is 70 percent certain (70 percent!) that Apple will introduce an iPhone for Verizon in 2010. Hold onto your hats folks, we've only just begun.

Analyst noise: Apple tablet in March for $1k, publishers on-board, Verizon iPhone coming too originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nielsen Three Screen Report: 99 percent of video still viewed on a TV

Ben Drawbaugh — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:02:00 EST

Yes you read that right, despite internet video growing at a rapid pace, 99 percent of video viewed in America is still done the old fashioned way. And although this is pretty crazy in and of itself, what's even more shocking is that while we've all but completely abounded linear TV, most only use their DVRs to watch about an hour of TV a week. But what this report really seems to prove more than anything else is that just like TV didn't kill radio, the internet and DVRs aren't going to kill TV as we know it, and instead the total number of hours wasted in front of one of the three screens is just going to keep getting higher and higher until the whole world comes crashing down -- or something like that.

Nielsen Three Screen Report: 99 percent of video still viewed on a TV originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forget HDTV and 3D, when is Ultra HDTV / Super Hi-vision coming home?

Richard Lawler — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:39:00 EST

Not willing to make predictions about the future of HDTV with all the other analysts, In-Stat has jumped ahead with its latest report, a peek at the future of Ultra High Definition (though the kids are calling it Super Hi-Vision these days.) We'd heard the 8K / 4K broadcasts could flip on as early as 2015, but this report pegs 2017 - 2022 as a more likely time period, with the expectation that 28.2% of European households will be sporting the 22.2-channel audio spec by 2025. Of course, if you must be first on the block with it, there's always JVC's $175k DLA-RS4000 available right now.

Filed under: Misc

Forget HDTV and 3D, when is Ultra HDTV / Super Hi-vision coming home? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst: More HDTV owners getting a steady diet of high definition for every day viewing

Richard Lawler — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:43:00 EST

Last seen belatedly dubbing HDTV "game changing" for 2008, analytical firm Knowledge Networks is back with its latest breaking observation, finding owners are 65% more likely now than they were two years ago to say they are watching HD programming daily. Up from 26% in an '07 survey to 43%, we sadly noted that amount of people that always check for the high definition feed instead of SD rose only slightly from 61% to 68% among the 510 surveyed. Seeing fair and balanced numbers on the appeal of stretch-o-vision (we already know how you feel about it) would have been nice, but check the press release to see the stats networks and advertisers are probably checking before deciding to spring for HD specifically broken down across genre and gender.

Filed under: Misc

Analyst: More HDTV owners getting a steady diet of high definition for every day viewing originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors of a Pre-less Verizon "off base" according to analysts

Laura June — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:01:00 EST

A dubious rumor from The Street floating around about how Verizon was snubbing the Pre due to lackluster sales and no outlet for its VCast Store (which was a bit too thin to make it onto these virtual pages, in fact) has been questioned by a couple of analysts today. According to Deutsche Bank's Jonathan Goldberg and Morgan Keegan & Co's Tavis McCourt, a combination of supply chain orders and Palm's own 2010 financial projections -- not to mention Verizon's long history with Palm -- all point to a Pre launch on Verizon early next year, as previously rumored by the WSJ and confirmed by Verizon itself in July. Jonathan specifically called the new rumor "off base" and "incorrect," while Tavis says that "We do not have insight as to the marketing support Palm will get from Verizon, but we see little risk in not getting a placement at this carrier." Analyst fight!

Read - Analyst debunk on AllThingsD
Read - Original story on The Street

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Verizon Wireless

Rumors of a Pre-less Verizon "off base" according to analysts originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors of a Pre-less Verizon "off base" according to analysts

Paul Miller — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Cellphones

Rumors of a Pre-less Verizon "off base" according to analysts originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Surprisingly, cheaper Blu-ray movies make everyone happy

Richard Lawler — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:34:00 EST

According to VideoBusiness, Rentrak reports show a 10% drop in pricing on new releases to $23.47 and 1/3 lower pricing on catalog titles to $17.23. Still, that's apparently not low enough for some retailers, who hope to see high definition flicks priced just a few dollars above their DVD editions. Of course, while we're more than willing to pay $25 for Jerry Maguire on Blu-ray (love Tom Cruise, even jumping on couches) we can see how that would be problematic for some consumers. Still, an NPD analyst is quoted saying "price is a moving target" as mainstream buyers enter the market, where do you think the magic number for Blu-ray acceptance is?

Filed under: Blu-ray

Surprisingly, cheaper Blu-ray movies make everyone happy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC sees revenue falling due to "delays in product launches"

Darren Murph — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:28:00 EST

HTC's been on somewhat of a hot streak here lately, but word on the street has it that the aforesaid outfit may not be able to ship all of its forthcoming handsets on time. A new Wall Street Journal report on falling revenue in the HTC camp notes that an undisclosed amount of delays, a larger-than-anticipated drop in contract orders and lower-than-expected sales in China could lead to drooping income in the short term, and some analysts are pointing out that the company's average selling price per phone is sliding due to looming Android competition from the likes of Motorola and Sony Ericsson. Aside from the Touch Pro2 that'll probably never, ever land on Sprint, HTC has about a gazillion other rumored handsets on the horizon, but it's hard to know for sure which "product launches" are expected to be stalled. So, is HTC secretly retooling a smattering of its handsets in order to stay one step ahead of SE and Moto? Or are old fashioned supply chain inefficiencies to blame?

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Misc, Android

HTC sees revenue falling due to "delays in product launches" originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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