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IDC: Nokia, Samsung, Apple are the new top 3 handset makers
The latest figures are in from IDC: the top three global smartphone makers are Nokia, Samsung and Apple, in that order. Drilling down into the figures finds some surprises: Cupertino's third-place with only 8.7 percent of the market, while the giants of Korea and Finland are duking it out with 22.8 percent and 26.6 respectively. LG and ZTE are tied for fourth, but that's hardly good news for Goldstar, given that it's lost a staggering 42.2 percent of its market share in the last twelve months (Nokia was the other loser, eating 8.2 percent). The cause for the drop is in part the world's rejection of feature-phones (dropped faster than fashionistas rightly abandoned Ugg Boots and Jeggings) as millions upgraded to smartphones. After the break we've got the tables in full for anyone who wants to have their mind blown at the sheer quantity of handsets shipped in the last year, both financial and calendar.
Motorola announces Q4 2011 earnings: $3.4 billion revenue, $80 million net loss
Motorola offered a estimate that lowered expectations for its Q4 2011 earnings earlier this month, and it's now out with the final numbers, reporting net revenues of $3.4 billion and a GAAP net loss of $80 million. That's a swing in the opposite direction from $80 million in net earnings during the same quarter a year ago, although the company did achieve the "modest profitability" it had promised on a non-GAAP basis, reporting earnings of $61 million by that accounting standard. Its earlier estimates of device shipments for the quarter also proved to be on the mark, with the company confirming that it shipped 10.5 million mobile devices in total, 5.3 million of which were smartphones. Mobile device shipments for all of 2011 totaled 42.4 million, with 18.7 million of those being smartphones. As for the company's efforts to break into the tablet business, it says it "shipped" 200,000 tablets in Q4 and an even one million during the year, although there's no word on actual sale figures to consumers. Motorola's Sanjay Jha also says that the company remains "energized" about the proposed merger with Google, which is still expected to close in early 2012 (it's also, incidentally, precluded an earnings call for today). Those interested can find all of the company's numbers at the source link below.
Apple bucks declining PC shipment trend, according to latest estimates
Apple remains conspicuous by its absence (again) at this year's CES, but preliminary shipment estimates for PCs sold in Q4 2011 show that the company appears to be bucking the generally declining trend. Worldwide shipments dropped 1.4 percent compared to the same period last year, with the US seeing a 5.9 percent decline. The global drop includes an estimated 16.2 percent decrease from HP while Acer battled an 18.4 percent loss in shipments. Staving off any decline, both Lenovo (23 percent) and Asus (20.5 percent) managed an increase. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mac shipments -- including both desktop and notebook models -- saw a 20.7 percent increase since Q4 2010. Who needs booth babes?
Samsung eyes Nokia's cellphone throne, seems pretty confident about it
Nokia has enjoyed a healthy 14-year reign as the world's top cellphone manufacturer, but Samsung thinks that run will come to an end this year. Speaking to reporters at CES last night, Samsung CEO Choi Gee-Sung said his company overtook Espoo in revenue last quarter, and predicted that it'll soon pass Nokia in shipments, as well. Choi's forecast was apparently based on the Korean firm's strong momentum, coupled with Nokia's recent struggles. The executive went on to say that Samsung's sales have grown at a surprisingly quick rate, and that the company plans to ramp up investment in the coming years. "With the current sales growth rate, we are likely to... achieve the 2015 sales target of $200 billion earlier [than expected]," Choi explained. Consider the gauntlet laid.
MacBook Air now makes up 28 percent of Apple's notebook shipments
Thanks to some NPD figures brought to light by Morgan Stanley (via AppleInsider), it's now clear how much of an impact the MacBook Air's mid-2011 update had on Apple's diminutive notebook. Though Apple's thinnest laptop accounted for a mere eight percent of overall notebook shipments in May, just two months later that jumped to 22 percent. Today, the MacBook Air makes up 28 percent of Apple's overall notebook shipments. Since Apple discontinued the plastic MacBook in July (with the exception of educational sales), it's safe to assume the MacBook Pro accounts for the bulk of the remaining 72 percent of shipments. Because Apple keeps such a close eye on its supply chain, these shipment numbers probably reflect very closely on actual sales numbers. The deletion of the plastic MacBook from the lineup may in fact account for some of the MacBook Air's newfound success. The US$999 11-inch MacBook Air has supplanted the plastic MacBook as Apple's "entry model" notebook. The vast upgrade it received in July is probably a much bigger factor in the MacBook Air's newfound popularity; by itself the addition of Thunderbolt vastly expanded the device's capabilities, but the addition of i5 and i7 processors arguably made the MacBook Air an attractive standalone Mac for the first time. I even considered replacing my current (out-of-warranty) 17-inch MacBook Pro with a 13-inch MacBook Air, but I decided to upgrade my current machine with an SSD instead. Apple is likely pleased with how well the MacBook Air has taken off after its last update, and with rumors constantly swirling about a 15-inch addition to the MacBook Air line, it's certainly possible that the Air lineup may eventually take over from the Pro as Apple's most popular notebook model.
Dark Souls ships 1.5 million worldwide
Namco Bandai is expanding its captive audience for Dark Souls, the grim action-RPG that critics and fans like, loathe and then love. According to developer From Software in Japan, 1.5 million vectors for its brutal challenge have shipped to stores worldwide. North America has received the largest Stockholm Syndrome shipment of 620,000 units, followed by Europe with 470,000 and then Japan (370,000), where Dark Souls was published by From exclusively on PlayStation 3. The game's gauntlet landed in Asia last on October 18th, shipping 40,000 copies to that region. We'll be keeping an eye out for Dark Souls' commercial performance in North America once the NPD releases the next round of statistics. How effective is word of mouth, we wonder, when it's whispered seductively through prison bars?
IDC: Samsung, ZTE see jump in mobile shipments, Apple slides to fifth place
Q3 earnings reports have been pouring in over the past few days, which means it's time to check in with IDC on the state of the mobile market. The research firm's latest report, released today, is something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, Q3 global shipments increased by 12.8 percent year-over-year -- higher than the 9.3 percent that IDC had predicted for the quarter and the 9.8 percent growth observed last quarter. At the same time, however, the market grew at the second slowest pace in two years and shipments to Western Europe and the US actually declined over the year, something the company attributes to more restrained consumer spending and more widespread economic uncertainty. On the company level, both Samsung and ZTE came away as the biggest winners this quarter; Sammy's shipments increased by 23 percent over the year, good for second place, while ZTE's shot up by a whopping 57.9 percent, launching the company into fourth place. Apple, meanwhile, saw 26.2 percent growth in its shipments and a slight bump in market share, but still couldn't avoid getting leapfrogged by ZTE and dropping down to fifth place. And then there's LG, which had by far the worst quarter, relative to Q3 2010. The manufacturer saw shipments decline by nearly 26 percent over the year, while its market share slipped to 5.4 percent. All these horses, however, are still chasing Nokia, which saw a small drop in shipments, but managed to hang on to the top spot, with over 106 million shipments during the quarter -- good for 27 percent of the market. For more numbers and insight, check out the full PR after the break.
Netbooks slip under tablet shipments, achieve has-bEeen status
Still unconvinced we're headed towards a post-PC future? We can at least conclusively say we've entered a post-netbook present, as Q2 2011 marks the first time their numbers have been eclipsed by tablets, according to ABI Research. 13.6 million slates were shipped in the quarter, besting the 7.3 million the diminutive laptops were able to clock in. When compared to the prior quarter, that works out to 112 percent or 7.2 million increase (!) for the former, and a 1.1 million decline for the latter. Cost apparently isn't a driving factor, as the firm notes that tablets pack an average price of $600 -- nearly double that of their trackpad-toting brethren. Oh, and in case you were wondering, 68 percent of tablets shipped were of Cupertino's flavor. More cold hard facts await you in the PR after the break.
IDC and Gartner: Lenovo leaps past Dell for second place, still trails HP for the gold
IDC and Gartner have come out with their latest Q3 rankings of the world's PC manufacturers, which means it's time for us to do some dissecting. Not much changed at the top of the heap, where, according to IDC, HP still rules the roost with about 18 percent market share (despite that whole PC biz spinoff thing). But the most dramatic shift came from Lenovo, which scurried past Dell for second place, with 13.7 percent market share (13.5, according to Gartner) -- a 36.1 percent jump from the third quarter of 2010 (25.2 percent, says Gartner). Dell's pie slice, on the other hand, shrunk slightly to 12 percent this quarter, down from 12.6 percent last year. On the global scale, meanwhile, PC sales increased by about 3.6 percent compared to Q3 2010 (3.2 percent, in Gartner's books), though both research firms acknowledged that this figure was well below their respective projections. Why? IDC points to several economic factors, including the threat of a double-dip recession, while Gartner blames the rise of "non-PC devices," including tablets. Surprise!
Foxconn will reportedly ship 20M iPads this quarter
DigiTimes is reporting that Foxconn is set to ship a reported 20 million iPads to Apple this quarter, which ends September 30th. If the report pans out, it would represent 60% sequential growth in shipments. When Apple first unveiled the iPad 2, shipping times quickly rose to as high as 4-5 weeks due to overwhelming demand. It took until August 2nd for iPad 2 shipping times to hit 24 hours in Apple's online store. Apple usually retains a tight control over inventory and if it has ordered 20 million iPads, it's likely Apple thinks it will sell at least 75% of those this quarter, which would be significantly higher than the 9.25 million iPads sold last quarter. Also, a fourth-quarter order of this size suggests optimism for sales during the all-important Q1, Apple's holiday quarter, which runs from October 1 to December 31st.
Apple eclipses Lenovo's sales in emerging Chinese market
As if Apple needed further incentive to take a victory lap around its billion dollar war chest, the company can now add greater China to its list of top performing markets. According to the Financial Times, Apple's third quarter China sales outstripped Lenovo's $2.8 billion first quarter results, racking up a commanding $3.8 billion lead in the PC maker's own backyard. Lenovo's CEO, Yang Yuanqing, was quick to dismiss the 'apples to oranges' financial comparison, citing his company's inability to compete in the mobile phone segment, and continued strong focus on personal computing. For what it's worth, Lenovo does separate out both Hong Kong and Taiwan sales from its mainland report, putting the company on unequal footing with Cupertino which includes the two markets in its total Chinese earnings. Still, Lenovo has plenty of reason to keep its chin up. It does, after all, have that dominating 31.7 percent market share to lord over Mr. Steve Jobs.
Lenovo nearly doubles net profits in Q1 earnings report, not so certain about 'mainstream' Ultrabooks by end of year
Lenovo's enjoying a bright and sunny Thursday in Hong Kong today, where the company has just unveiled a Q1 2011 / 2012 earnings report that's full of rosy news. According to the report, Lenovo's revenues jumped to $5.92 billion during the fiscal quarter, representing a 15 percent increase over last year's figures, while net profits nearly doubled to $108 million (compared to $54.9 million last year). Global PC sales, meanwhile, nudged upward 23 percent -- even at a time when most other manufacturers are seeing relatively sluggish growth. During an earnings conference call this morning, COO Rory Read provided a little insight into his company's approach to the growing Ultrabook sector, while hinting at future price reductions. Speaking to reporters, Reed assured that Lenovo would "invest in innovation to be a leader" in the Ultrabook market, adding that prices for its MacBook Air competitors may reach "mainstream" (sub-$1,000) levels by 2012: "I wouldn't say by the end of the year necessarily but...that's definitely going to happen." Head past the break for Lenovo's financial summary, along with the full PR. [Original photo by Cory Grenier]
Apple now the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, Samsung checks in at number two
We make our own truth. That's how IDC can come up with roughly the same numbers as fellow research firm Canalys and crown Apple the king, when its rival called Android top dog -- it's all about how you slice it. See, where as Canalys bundled all Android handset makers together, IDC has broken them up, which leads to a rather interesting twist -- the largest smartphone maker in the world is now Apple. Cupertino's growth of 141.7-percent in shipments year over year was enough to push it past Nokia (which slipped to number three) and Samsung (which climbed two spots to take the silver medal), while RIM and HTC rounded out the top five. That being said, no one is running away with the lead here, and Sammy's continued stratospheric rise should keep Apple on guard. Check out the full report after the break.
IDC: Nokia, LG see significant Q2 shipping decline, Apple continues to grow
Well, the numbers are in and Q2's proved to be a mixed bag for the mobile market. According to IDC, cellphone makers shipped a total of 365.4 million units last quarter, a year-over-year increase of 11.3 percent. Nokia, while still the world's largest handset maker, suffered a significant blow, with shipments dropping from 111.1 million in Q2 2010 to 88.5 million; the company's market share was similarly down, hitting 24.2 percent, compared to last year's 33.8 percent. LG Electronics was the only other manufacturer to see a loss, with shipments dropping to 24.8 million from 30.6 million in 2010. Apple managed to maintain its recently acquired number four spot, with iPhone shipments hitting 20.3 million, up year-over-year from 8.4 million. RIM was conspicuously missing from the top five lineup, while ZTE landed the number five position. In news that shouldn't surprise anyone with a pulse, the feature phone market saw a decline this year, surprisingly its first since Q3 2009. If you're jonesing for more market share and shipping stats, hop on past the break for the full PR.
Samsung withholds mobile phone sales data due to Apple legal battle
Samsung reported its quarterly earnings today and, for the first time, the Korean manufacturer did not report its mobile phone sales. Samsung withheld this information because the company has a new information policy that discloses less information about its mobile phones and tablets. Samsung's chief of investor relations Robert Yi said, "As competition intensifies, there are increased risks that the information we provide may adversely affect our own businesses." Samsung refused to elaborate on the reason for this silence, but analysts believe it is the result of a heated legal battle with Apple. Perhaps Samsung does not want history to repeat itself. Earlier this year, a Samsung executive said the company redesigned its Galaxy Tab 10.1 after seeing the iPad 2. This offhand comment came back to bite the Korean manufacturer when the comment was cited by a judge in a recent trademark and trade dress dispute filed by Apple.
Motorola Mobility reports $56 million net loss in Q2, $3.3 billion in revenue, Bionic debut in September
Back in the last quarter of 2010, Motorola Mobility predicted a rocky road for future business, and its Q2 earnings seem to be right on track. The company reported total net revenues of $3.3 billion in the second quarter, up 28 percent year-over-year, but saw a net loss of $56 million, compared to earnings of $80 million in the second quarter of 2010. Mobile Devices saw an operating loss of $85 million, compared to the previous year's earnings of $87 million. Moto's not all doom and gloom however, as it predicts profitability in mobile devices by Q4. In terms of sales, the company reportedly shipped 11 million mobile devices, including 4.4 million smartphones and 440,000 Xoom tablets. Here's hoping Motorola's powers of prediction remain strong.Full PR after the break. We'd heard that the Droid Bionic was "coming soon," but up until today, we still didn't have a firm date for the LTE Android phone. Well, the cat is sort of out of the bag, as Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha has just announced that the long-awaited handset will hit stores in September. When in September is still anyone's guess, but we'll keep you posted as we learn more.
Apple outpaces Nokia in global smartphone shipments
Today's "clearly disappointing" news from Nokia just got even more clear in its disappointment. As touched on during an earnings call this morning, the Finnish handset manufacturer's smartphone shipments took a 34 percent dip down from the same quarter last year, to 16.7 million units -- that's markedly fewer than the 20.3 million that Apple shipped during that same time period, as announced in its far more celebratory earnings report. Despite his stated disappointment, however, Nokia chief Stephen Elop insists that the company is on the right track, making "better than expected progress." Really, it's important in times like these for a company to focus on the more positive side of things.
Apple passes Nokia on its way to the top of the smartphone market
Nokia is on a downward slide. The Finnish handset maker announced its quarterly earnings today and confirmed it shipped 16.7 million smartphones in the most recent quarter. This drop now puts Nokia in third place behind Apple and Samsung. Apple has risen to the top of the smartphone market having shipped 20 million iPhones in the last three months. Samsung will announce its quarterly earnings next week and is expected to slide into second place behind Apple with an estimated shipment volume of 19.5 million smartphones. Looking beyond shipments, Apple's smartphone revenue was also four times that of Nokia. Apple reported US$13.3 billion in iPhone revenue as compared to Nokia's lowly $3.4 billion. Nokia is hoping its partnership with Microsoft and platform shift to Windows Phone 7 will help boost these lagging numbers, but that may be a pie-in-the-sky dream. With iOS 5 and possibly the iPhone 5 on the horizon, Apple is in a positon to further its lead in the smartphone market. [Via The Next Web]
Apple jumps to no. 3 in US PC market, even without iPad
Gartner and the market intelligence firm IDC have made their quarterly proclamation about PC retail shipments, and things aren't too great for that market: Growth is much slower than expected, picking up only 2.3%, way off from the predictions of 6.7% or 12% growth made in the first quarter of this year. But even with the iPad and other tablets taking large bites out of the PC market, Apple's Mac sales are doing well, with shipments jumping up as high as 14.7%. Both of these numbers are shipments, not actual consumer sales, but still, the numbers have turned Apple into the third largest vendor of personal computers in the US, behind the lagging Dell and HP. In a press release, Gartner said that "the preliminary findings show Apple's performance far exceed the industry average, partly driven by an iMac refreshment that attracted both consumers and buyers in the education sector." Good news for Apple, then, all around. That's one of the wildest things about this company lately -- even as the folks in Cupertino prioritize mobile computing and emphasize the iPhone and the iPad, Macs continue to grow more popular than ever.
IDC: tablet shipments drop 28 percent in Q1 2011
Whether you believe we're living in a post-PC world or not, there's no denying the overwhelming growth of tablets in the past few years. Just this March, IDC put out figures saying 2010 saw the sale of 18 million tablets, but despite the recent boom, the outfit's now reporting a 28 percent drop in tablet shipments in Q1 2011, bringing first quarter worldwide shipments to 7.2 million. IDC's latest report points to "slower consumer demand, overall economic conditions, and supply-chain constraint," but nonetheless estimates that total tablet sales will reach 53.5 million by year's end, up from IDC's original estimate of 50.4 million. Once again, Apple's come out on top of the slate game, with the iPad 2 leading the market, despite its own dip in shipments. E-readers have apparently also seen a decline in the first quarter, with shipments dipping to 3.3 million units. Despite a slow start to the year, however, IDC's optimistic about future sales, but you don't have to take our word for it -- full PR awaits you after the break.
