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Gartner reports Western Europe desktop shipments down, portable PCs up in Q2 2012
When it comes to technology and the end of a financial quarter, you can bet your wage there'll be an analyst report or two letting you what's what. And according to Gartner's latest estimates for Western Europe, PCs didn't fare too well in Q2 of this year, with a 2.4 percent decrease in shipments compared with the same period in 2011. Consignments of mobile PCs (read: not tablets) grew by 4 percent, while desktops floundered, dropping 12.8 percent. Of this, a minor growth of 0.4 percent was recorded in consumer PCs, while the professional market decreased by 5.3 percent. Among the big hitters, HP remained at the top of the pile despite losing some market share, and Acer remained in second position with a mild increase in the same. ASUS put in a healthy performance, moving the company up to bronze medal position, while Dell dropped off the podium to fourth. The vendor statistics for the whole region were echoed in France in Germany, but during the quarter Apple managed to break into the top five in the UK market. Meike Escherich, principal analyst at Gartner, attributes the overall performance to economic uncertainty in the region, as well as lackluster demand in the wait for Windows 8 machines. We don't want to spoil all the fun, so a comprehensive breakdown of the numbers awaits you at the source link.
NPD: Apple grabs over a quarter of the mobile PC business in Q4 2011 (including iPads), HP tops with laptops
Just what is a "mobile PC" these days? According to market research firm NPD, that category now includes both tablets and laptops -- and by that definition, Apple is unsurprisingly way ahead of its competitors. Based on its preliminary numbers, Apple shipped 23.4 million mobile PCs in the fourth quarter of 2011 (nearly 80 percent of which were iPads), which was enough to snag a market share of 26.6 percent (and keep it in the top spot for the year). In contrast, the four companies rounding out the top five relied almost entirely on laptops to fill their numbers, with HP coming in at just under a 10 percent market share, followed by Dell, Acer and Lenovo. Looking just at laptops, however, HP comes in first with a 15.5 percent market share, while Apple falls to fifth with just over eight percent. As for tablets, Apple is estimated to have a 59 percent market share for Q4, followed by Amazon at 16.7 percent (based on shipments of 5.3 million), and Samsung, ASUS and Barnes & Noble each in single digits. Additional numbers can be found in the press release after the break and at the source link below.
ARM hopes to strengthen grip on mobile PCs, take 50 percent of the market by 2015
We've already heard rumors that chip designer ARM has been trying to get its wares into the Macbook Air. While we can't add anything to that particular story, we do have further evidence that ARM is going beyond smartphones and tablets in order to target bigger form factors. The company's president, Tudor Brown, has just appeared at Computex to declare that ARM wants to conquer the "mobile PC market", where the company currently only has a 10 percent share. He's aiming for 15 percent by the end of this year, and an Intel-provoking 50 percent by 2015. "Mobile PC" is a pretty ambiguous category, but we think it's safe to assume the focus is on low- and mid-power netbooks and ultraportables. Such devices could potentially run off ARM's forthcoming multi-core chips -- like perhaps the quad-core beast inside NVIDIA's mind-blowing Kal-El processor, or the more distant Cortex-A15. It's hard to imagine these tablet-centric chips ever competing with Intel's top performers, but four years is a mighty long time in this business.
Ask Engadget: what's the thinnest, lightest, sleekest 17-inch laptop?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Shimon, who clearly longs for the best of both worlds. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I am looking to replace my 17-inch MacBook Pro. I am looking for a 17-inch ultraportable laptop, or as close as I can get to one. Key features: light, thin, good battery life, high resolution screen, no lap burn, no noisy fan and doesn't break the bank. Thanks!" Seems as if Mac / PC isn't an issue, so we're assuming they're all on the table. Considering that he's leaving a 17-inch MBP, what else out there can compare given the needs? Any suggestions from 17-inch laptop owners out there? Go on, answer away in comments below -- you've got the time (and screen real estate) to spare.
iPad accounts for 8 percent of global mobile PC shipments
Apple is the number one mobile PC manufacturer in North America and third overall in the world, according to published results from research company DisplaySearch. While these rankings account for all of Apple's mobile computers combined, the iPad accounted for 8 percent of mobile computer shipments in the third quarter alone, a decent percentage of the 55 million mobile PC units shipped for the three month period. With the majority of these iPad sales going just to North America, Apple should increase that percentage once it pushes further into up-and-coming markets in Asia and the Middle East. As for the worldwide rankings, Hewlett-Packard remained number one with 17.3 percent of the market share while Acer came in second with 16.5 percent. Apple finished third with 12.4 percent of the worldwide mobile PC market. However, as we noted earlier today, iPads may also be hurting netbook sales. HP and Acer are getting smaller than expected deliveries on hardware, meaning that their vendors may be clearing inventory. Could that be to make room for the more popular tablet PCs? [via GigaOm]
MMOs to get more massive, even mobile
As if our lives aren't dominated enough by raids, guild-runs, and the newest beta tests, it would appear that the next trend in MMO development is finding ways for games to reach you when you're away from the computer. At the recent Virtual Worlds Forum, business leaders have been salivating at the opportunities posed by expanding their IPs to mobile platforms. Moshi Monsters, an MMO from Mind Candy aimed at kids, banks heavily on their MoPod technology. MoPods are small, cheap, virtual pet-esque devices that kids can bring with them to school to keep plugging away at the game's puzzles on the bus or in the cafeteria.Then when you consider that Katsuya Eguchi, lead developer in the rumored Animal Crossing MMO, has talked openly about integrating mobile phone and PC applications into their new game, it could very well be the beginning of a new wave of mobile integration. Publishers are always looking for new ways to boost their numbers, and this would certainly be a very marketable away to go about it. It doesn't take a genius to imagine the possibilities of the technology: they could give players the ability to monitor the auction house from their phone or allow you to raise a pet on a portable gaming platform and then use it in-game. In addition to being marketable to current MMO fans, this sort of pan-technological approach to games also has a strong appeal to casual gamers, a coveted demographic if ever there was one.It's an idea that's probably still a long way from coming to light, at least for a mainstream MMO, but it's fun to speculate about, and it's a trend we'll definitely be keeping our eye on.
HP Compaq's 2510p laptop / 2710p tablet to rock LED displays
If you can somehow look back all the way to this year's humble beginnings, you'd know that HP was already whispering about LED-backlit laptops, and while it's taken a tick to hear something official, it looks like the long-awaited upgrade to LED-based displays will be landing shortly. The HP Compaq 2510p 12.1-inch laptop and 2710p tablet PC will reportedly be the first two on the list to receive such treatment, and while we've already seen the majority of the specifications for the both of 'em, the tantalizing Illumi-Lite display is definitely icing on the cake. Unfortunately, pricing information is still being held behind tight lips, but the firm's duo of LED-packin' machines are scheduled to ship out in Q3 of this year.
