2011
Latest
Sprint announces Q3 earnings: net subs reach five year high, net losses at $300 million
Sprint has just unveiled its Q3 earnings report, and it's looking pretty bittersweet. According to the company, net operating revenues reached $8.3 billion during the quarter (about two percent higher than Q3 2010), while additions of new wireless net subscribers reached a five year high, with 1.3 million customers hopping onboard. Of those 1.3 million, 304,000 were of the postpaid variety, 485,000 were prepaid and about 835,000 were wholesale. Sprint lost about 44,000 net postpaid customers this quarter, but that's a major improvement over last quarter, when a little over 100,000 jumped ship, and marks a 59 percent improvement over last year's report. At the same time, however, the carrier reported net losses of $301 million -- lower than Q2's figures, but not exactly encouraging, either. As far as the future goes, the folks at Overland Park expect to end the year with even more new subscribers, though it remains to be seen whether that long-awaited LTE rollout can make much of a dent in its bottom line. Check out the press release in full, after the break. Update: Listening in on the earnings call it's clear Sprint is really counting on the iPhone to help it run with the big dogs. According to some convoluted metaphor, the carrier is the Oakland A's in Moneyball and Apple's handset is A-Rod (who never spent a day with the Athletics... but we digress). Still, Sprint expects more loyalty and bigger profits from customers who choose the iPhone -- at least for the next four years, after which it'll have to negotiate a new deal with the Cupertino crew. Update 2: Sprint also clarified that, in addition to its deal with LightSquared, it will be working with Clearwire to deliver LTE network coverage. The carrier has reached a preliminary agreement with its WiMAX partner, but expects to announce a wholesale deal soon. Update 3: We already knew that the iPhone 4S launch was the company's best launch ever for a family, but now the company's confirming that it was its best launch ever for any device.
Amazon focusing on 'lifetime' Kindle revenue, anticipating record device sales for Q4
Today's Amazon earnings were decidedly split -- the company revealed both a 44-percent increase in net sales and a 73-percent decrease in net income. So, why the discrepancy? It may at least partially be due to the much discussed suggestion that the company actually loses money for each Kindle sold -- a trend which, if true, has likely only been compounded by the release of the uber-cheap ad-supported version of the device. The company addressed the matter in part, suggesting that it is focused on "the lifetime value [of the Kindle], not just the economics of the devices and accessories." The total economic picture of the Kindle includes the device itself, accessories, downloaded content and ad-revenue. Things are apparently looking up for the company, as well, with Amazon anticipating "a record quarter in terms of device sales" for Q4. The positivity is a reflection, in part, of greater than anticipated Kindle pre-orders. Says CEO Jeff Bezos, "In the three weeks since launch, orders for electronic ink Kindles are double the previous launch. And based on what we're seeing with Kindle Fire pre-orders, we're increasing capacity and building millions more than we'd already planned."
Amazon net sales up, net income down for Q3 2011
Amazon pulled back the financial curtain for Q3 2011, revealing $10.88 billion in net sales for the quarter, a 44 percent jump over this time last year. Net income, on the other hand, decreased 73 percent year over year, down to $63 million. The quarter also saw the company's "biggest order day ever for Kindle," according to CEO Jeff Bezos -- September 28th, the introduction of three new reader devices from the company. The company's Q4 report will likely be affected by the coming launch of the Kindle Touch and the long-awaited Fire tablet.
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.
Nokia Q3 2011 earnings: operating profit sinks 60 percent, but sales beat estimates
Man, can Nokia World get here any faster? Nokia needs Windows Phone in perhaps the worst possible way, and if you had any doubt whatsoever on that, just take a look at the outfit's woeful Q3 2011 earnings. Right off the top, net sales dropped 13 percent year-over-year (and three percent from Q2), while operating profit plummeted a staggering 60 percent year-over-year (and 36 percent since the prior quarter). All told, the company recorded net sales of €9 billion ($12.35 billion), and while things are gloomy in comparison to the glory days, it still has a whopping €5.1 billion ($7 billion) in its coffers. And the good news doesn't end there. The company's shares actually surged on word that the losses weren't as bad as anticipated, and that overall sales beat estimates. Only in a stock market can the loss of €68 million ($93 million) be "positive," but hey -- we're sure Nokia will take all the silver linings it can find. Of course, things should be on the up-and-up after a spate of WP7-based Nokia devices are revealed later this month in London, but it still remains to be seen how soon the company can ship, and if it can penetrate a smartphone market that's gaining iOS and Android loyalists by the truckload each day. Hit the links below for more percentages than the average simpleton can shake a stick at.
The Daily Grind: What's your end-of-the-year MMO to-do list?
With only a little less than three months left in 2011, it's time to start thinking about what we want to accomplish before 2012's crop of MMOs arrives. Maybe you want to reach level cap in some of 2011's launches like Allods Online or DC Universe Online or dive into the newest shinies like Lord of the Rings Online's Rise of Isengard. Either way, there's a good chance you're completing your goals with one eye on 2012, which looks to be quite a year for the MMO industry. So tell us what your end-of-the-year goals are. Is it something related to completing a current game or some kind of rigorous sleep-deprivation exercise that gets you ready for the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, or another anticipated MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Will 2012 be our last chance?
As MMO gamers, we're getting used to disappointment. Not so much disappointment in any one game, but a general feeling of being let down by game closures, studio layoffs, shoddy launches, and the strange idea that every game has to mimic World of Warcraft to be successful. But 2011 has been our gateway to something different. Business models are changing, indie games are getting more recognition, failing games are getting a second chance, and developers are realizing that the customer's (almost) always right. This brings us to 2012, which will be upon us in a little more than three months. With Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, and other highly anticipated games on deck for 2012, we have a lot to look forward to. But what if those aren't as successful as they need to be? Will we see a drastic change in MMOs as we know them, or is it simply part of the evolution process for technology and gaming? Let us know what you think! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
360iDev: Getting ready for apps on the Apple TV
Developer Michael Gile took the stage at 360iDev in Denver to talk about the next generation of iOS development: Apple TV app development. Apple hasn't officially released or even announced iOS apps on the Apple TV yet, but that hasn't stopped Gile and a community of jailbreakers from diving in and getting code running on it anyway. Gile started his speech with a prediction: "Apple TV 2 will be the biggest game console in history," he said. If Apple implements a way to play iOS games on the device directly, it'll have a gigantic game library -- it's already larger than many of the biggest consoles in history combined. Gile said he believes there's still space to conquer in the living room. Xbox, Netflix, and Roku have all made bids for setting up "set-top boxes." No one has brought about the kind of "grand strategy" that Apple likes, with a complete vertical solution for selling hardware, software, and entertainment content (through iTunes, and its install base complete with credit cards ready for purchase). The rest of Gile's talk was mostly demos of the code he's already gotten running on the Apple TV. He started off with the GLTeapot, a traditional "Hello World" kind of demo used for 3D developers. He then dived into the code, showing off the interface Apple has already included on the Apple TV system (though none of it is yet officially documented or available to developers -- this is all internal code used by the company to run the device). While iOS uses the UIKit framework to run most of its code, the Apple TV uses a "BackRow" (or "BR") framework, apparently a twist on the "FrontRow" application that originated back in the days of Apple's "experiment." This "BRKit" does have lots of the standard UIKit ties, though Gile pointed out there are still quite a few differences in both names and functionality. Still, he and the rest of the jailbreak community have gotten quite a bit done already. Gile showed off a navigation app similar to Apple's own app, though hooked up to his own applications. He was able to load up and play media assets (in this case, a trailer for Sony's Spider-Man movie), and he ran through a few other demos and functions of what the code was capable of. But perhaps the most exciting parts of Gile's talk were two things he wasn't able to show off just yet. He says he's grabbed the recently released source code for id games' Wolfenstein 3D and Quake and has been working hard on porting it over to the Apple TV's system, with a nice bit of success so far. Gile also announced that next month he'll be releasing a version of the popular cocos2D iOS development platform that will also work with the Apple TV, essentially making it very easy for cocos2D developers to get their games up and running on Apple TV without issue. Gile was quite enthusiastic about Apple TV development. He made it very clear he thinks Apple is going to go big on this iOS device in the living room, and he was quite serious about building apps for the platform in order to have them running and ready to go on day one. "I want to be the Trism of Apple TV 2," he said (referring to the original jailbreak game that made it big when the App Store first launched), and he invited any other interested developers in the room to join him in his quest. It's still unclear just how Apple will approach iOS development on the Apple TV, whether it will simply extend the current SDK the way it did with the iPad or instead offer up an entirely new way to control and code apps and games. But whatever Apple decides, it's clear Gile wants to be ready for it.
RIM's Q2 earnings report: $329 million in net income, not enough to fend off critics
The first quarterly earnings report post-Wake Up Call have just been published for Canada's own Research in Motion, and while the cash is still flowing, investors and analysts alike aren't feeling too rosy about the future. Despite Q2 revenue of $4.2 billion and a GAAP net income of $329 million, RIM's stock plummeted nine percent following the news. Why? That reality was at the lowest end of estimates, and as we've seen, it takes a blowout quarter to please the folks on Wall Street. Nevertheless, the company's touting a subscriber base that ballooned 40 percent year-over-year (surpassing 70m total), and while it's quick to trumpet the rollout of seven new smartphones, not a one of them managed to astound the QNX-desiring critics. The report also notes that 10.6 million handsets were moved in the quarter, around $780 million was invested as "part of a consortium of companies that successfully bid to acquire intellectual property assets from Nortel," and it's forecasting that BlackBerry smartphone shipments in Q3 will grow between 27 percent and 37 percent compared to Q2. Sadly, the company only "shipped" 200,000 PlayBook tablets, with the prevailing thought being that it actually sold far fewer. Moreover, nary a forecast was given for future PlayBook sales.As for thoughts from the head honcho(s)? Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, stated that "overall unit shipments in the quarter were slightly below our forecast due to lower than expected demand for older models," further noting that his firm will "continue to build on the success of the BlackBerry 7 launch to drive the business as we focus our development efforts on delivering the next generation, QNX-based mobile platform next year." Next year is a long, long way away, though, and there's no doubt whatsoever what kind of competition will be in place by the time 2012 rolls around. We'll be hopping on the analyst call here in a few, and you can look beyond the break for any notable mentions.
360iDev: How to make money from a free app
Developer Brian Robbins from Riptide Games gave a fascinating talk today about the apparent paradox of trying to make money off of a free app on Apple's App Store. Originally the App Store had only the two choices of a free or paid release. More recently, developers have a bevy of options for bringing in revenue even on free apps, including in-app ads, in-app purchases and freemium models, or even using "lite" versions of games to promote the paid versions. Robbins walked through a general overview of the models available and filled in the blanks with a lot of actual, clear numbers from his own company and its releases. Robbins first mentioned making free apps for portfolios and lite versions. Some developers will just put apps together to try to build up their brand or show off work for hire abilities, then release those as free apps for everyone to try. Lite apps are also a possibility, where devs can release free apps to promote their paid versions (or even promote upgrades via in-app purchase). But Robbins was unimpressed with the lite strategy; he said conversions to paid apps were basically a numbers game and not a really workable strategy. Many devs have been releasing free apps to try reaching a larger audience, then hoping that a larger audience would go for paid apps. "I don't personally believe that the lite version is a really good model going forward," Robbins said. Robbins was much more bullish on ad-supported apps, a strategy that his company has used to solid effect. There are a few different large ad networks on the iOS platform, the most high profile of which is Apple's own iAds service. But while Robbins said ads were a pretty stable way to make money (sometimes even earning up to $2 or $3 per CPM -- basically the number of clicks or views on a thousand ad shows), the "fill rate" is still a problem. iOS developers request ads from these ad networks all the time, but ad networks don't always have ads to show. "Fill rate" is the rate at which advertisers actually insert ads in an iOS app, for a user to see and a developer to make money off of. These fill rates are surprisingly low, no matter what ad network you're talking about. Even an established network like AdMob (owned by Google) only fills ads at a rate of about 80 percent. And that's high in the market; Robbins said other advertisers only filled at about 50 percent. Apple's own iAd service only filled at about 25-30 ercent. Outside of the US, said Robbins, the fill rate for iAd on apps was practically zero, and another developer in the audience said that when he tried to use full-screen iAds on the iPad, the fill rate turned out to be something like 0.01 percent. In other words, Apple is apparently having a tough time selling ads (something that we've heard before). However, Robbins also said that when Apple does sell ads, they are profitable. Last holiday season, Apple's ads were paying as much as $40 per CPM (though they've since been down to $0.90), and Robbins's set of ad-supported "iLook" apps take their biggest chunk of revenue from Apple's own service. The iLook apps have made over $53,000 for Robbins and his company so far, of which $26,000 came from iAds. Most of that came from a big Christmas boost last year. Robbins said the other networks paid less for shown ads, and he was surprised that networks have started to pay much less for games and a little more for non-game apps. iAds for Dove, for example, never showed up in his games, but he saw them all the time in his non-game photo apps. Finally, Robbins talked about the freemium model, which he and his company have since moved to using in a big way. The first game Riptide released under this model was Gravity Slide (a game actually prototyped at a previous 360iDev game jam). Since its release the app has pulled in 450,000 downloads, making up $14,000 in revenue from in-app purchases of level and content packs. The app has seen a 1 percent conversion rate (so 1 percent of people using the app have purchased something), but Robbins noted that among OpenFeint users specifically, that conversion rate more than doubled to 2.5 percent. Finally, Robbins walked through the stats on My Pet Zombie, his company's latest game, designed completely for the freemium model. This game uses "bones" as an in-app currency and has pulled in $53,000 in revenue though it's only been out on the App Store for a little while. In-app purchases made up $19,000 of that revenue, while ad campaigns and "incentivized promotions" (where advertisers pay for things like other app installs, or even getting users to watch a short video) made up most of the rest. Robbins also stressed the importance of metrics in freemium development, or the ability of developers to track and monitor just what their users are doing in the games and apps and how they're doing them. When My Pet Zombie first launched, said Robbins, it was only keeping users around for the first full week at a rate of 7 percent -- that is, after seven days post-download, only 7 percent of users were still playing the game. That kind of stat also led to a low conversion rate, which meant low revenue. But through some testing, Robbins has managed to get the seven-day retention figure up to 13 percent, with consequent revenue growth as well. He credited that growth to using metrics to figure out the audience, and he said he plans to grow the game even bigger in the future. Robbins's talk was really interesting, and those numbers he shared offer up some real food for thought for developers in this space. The freemium model definitely shows promise (which the "lite" app model is apparently lacking), and ad-supported apps look like a potential revenue boon for developers of free apps as well.
360iDev Denver: Matt Drance on the past and future of iOS development
This week's 360iDev conference in Denver, CO kicked off today with a keynote from former Apple employee Matt Drance, who offered a summary of what's changed (and what hasn't) since the last time he spoke to this conference two years ago. He also discussed the attitudes developers need to take this platform on successfully. Drance started out by saying that, quite obviously, "it's been a hell of a couple years" for both Apple and the iOS platform. Back in the early days of the iPhone, Steve Jobs said Apple hoped to sell 10 million devices, and to date, Apple has actually put 220 million devices out there (as of July of this past year). Drance was very enthusiastic about the platform -- he says that back when John Doerr said that the iOS platform was "bigger than the personal computer," even he, as an Apple employee thought, "I don't know, John. I'm paid to pump this stuff, and even I think that's a bit much." But Doerr was right, said Drance. The portability and power of iOS and the devices Apple has made transcends even what the personal computer was able to achieve, and it's only going to get even more influential from here on out. Drance also made the point, however, that some things haven't changed in the past few years. While the app landscape and individual app quality are both very different, the general system of making and releasing apps hasn't changed that much. And that's pretty amazing, said Drance, because not only is Apple supporting developers, it's still putting them front and center in commercials for iOS devices. This is one of the richest and most powerful companies in the world, said Drance, and Apple is using developers' work (by showing third-party apps its TV commercials) to sell their extremely popular devices. "Apple never puts its reputation in other people's hands," said Drance. "But they're still doing it" by showing off developers' apps, a tablet, and a pair of hands in the official commercials. Finally, Drance walked through a series of entreaties for the developers in attendance, which he said were designed to help them get in the right mindset of the conference. He walked through the general needs of an app (appearance, interaction, stability, performance), and then said while designers tend to work on an app's appearance and interaction, and developers tend to deal with stability and performance, in actuality, everyone working on an app or any piece of software should be concerned with quality across the board. Drance encouraged teams to share concerns with each other whenever questions of quality came up. "It's not about winning the argument," he said, "it's about having one." Drance also suggested developers start out with a plan and stick to it, and remain organized to do so. He shared a quick story of a sprinkler system issue in his yard, and showed pictures he took after digging up the pipes and finding a mess of criss-crossing and tangled PVC. "There are no comments here," he joked, nabbing a big laugh from a roomful of developers. But Drance said the lesson was to go for quality in everything, on every level of development. Finally, Drance asked the devs in attendance to keep moving forward, both in terms of the apps they're working on ("Ship" was one of his directives) and in their own skillsets. "Learn the language," he said, pointing out that being well-versed in Objective-C was the same as having a solid grasp on French or even English. Apple's own code doesn't use methods like "ApplicationLaunched" -- iOS uses a method called "ApplicationDidFinishLaunching," which Drance said reflected how even Apple approaches its own language. Drance's talk was an excellent start to the week. TUAW will be here in Denver all week long covering the conference and the developers attending it -- stay tuned for more.
Apple tops J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey, grim reading for RIM and Nokia
Not only is Apple shipping the most smartphones, it's also shipping the best smartphones -- if you believe the stats in J.D. Power and Associates' latest US customer satisfaction survey. It gave the iPhone a score of 838, versus HTC's handsets in second place with 801 and an industry average of 788. Sammy got a disappointing 777, but we guess it might have fared better if the Galaxy S II had been quicker to cross the Atlantic. Hapless RIM got shunted into fifth place, having come second in 2010. You'll find plenty more factoids in the PR after the break, including evidence that people just love 4G. Well, we could have told you that.
BlizzCon 2011 merchandise pre-sale begins early
After last year's BlizzCon merchandise presale delays, Blizzard is doing pre-sales early this year. The merchandise pre-sale will go live on Sept. 16 for BlizzCon ticket holders and Sept. 23 for digital ticket purchasers. If you'd like to avoid delays like last year and have your stuff available for the con, it is advisable to order early. We will have a gallery of the pre-sale merchandise available as soon as the store opens up for business. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Engadget's massive back to school 2011 sweepstakes ends tomorrow... find out how to win!
We really, really love gadgets, but nothing brings us greater joy than to see our readers unbox a new toy, especially when it can help improve your experience at school. So this year we're giving away bags -- 15 of them, in fact -- each filled with 20 amazing prizes. Each winner will score a laptop, tablet, a killer camera, and even a new dual-core cell phone, along with plenty of other awesome items. We'll be choosing one commenter from each of our back to school category pages, and one from our main contest announcement, so if you meet the qualifications listed on each post, simply leave a comment to be eligible to win. You won't be penalized for commenting more than once on each post, but it won't help your chances, either. And since we'll be randomly selecting one commenter from each post, enter at each of the 14 pages linked to here, along with this page to boost your odds. We'll wrap things up at 12PM ET tomorrow, so better get clickin'! Note: Comments added below will not be eligible, nor will those left on the main back to school page -- if you see a long list of terms and conditions above the comments section, then you've made it to the right place.
Foxconn posts $943 million net profit for first half of 2011, 20 million iPad 2s coming for Q3?
It looks like 2011 is shaping up to be a solid year for Foxconn. Earlier this week, the hardware manufacturer announced net profits of NT$27.38 billion (about $943.72 million) for the first half of this year, just a few months after posting a disappointing $218 million loss for all of 2010. These figures, however, are down about 21 percent from the first six months of last year, when Foxconn (AKA Hon Hai Precision) reported net profits of NT$34.74 billion (around $1.2 billion). In a statement, Hon Hai said its first semester results were "as expected and remain seasonal," considering today's harsh and uncertain financial climate. DigiTimes, meanwhile, is reporting that the electronics maker is "expected" to ship a full 20 million new iPad 2s during the third quarter of this year, though the Taiwan-based news outlet didn't offer much in the way of explanation or sourcing.
Meet Murkablo, the BlizzCon 2011 exclusive pet
BlizzCon 2011 attendees and live stream purchasers will receive a gift this year of Murkablo, an in-game companion pet resembling the fearsome Diablo, main antagonist in the third game bearing his name. From the included screenshot, Murkablo appears to burn characters with fearsome, fiery breath. Along with Murkablo, players will receive an as-of-yet unrevealed StarCraft 2 in-game gift. You can still purchase the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket at the site for $39.99, which gives you four channels, panels, game tournaments, the contests, and more, without actually having to run from panel to panel like we will be doing. Ever since Murkablo was datamined, players had been wondering if Murkablo was going to be this year's BlizzCon exclusive pet or a pack-in companion for Diablo 3's inevitable collector's edition. Since BlizzCon pets are usually of the murloc variety, it was a safe bet that Murkablo would be our new best friend come BlizzCon 2011. Official announcement and screenshot of fire-breathing action after the jump.
Packing for BlizzCon: Tips for booking air travel
BlizzCon is upon us! Get ready for the convention with travel tips, tricks, and preparation articles from WoW Insider. BlizzCon 2011 is happening soon -- Oct. 21-22, to be exact. You have nine weeks to wait until the biggest Blizzard event of the year. We're all preparing for the big trip, and now's a good time to talk about air travel arrangements. If you've already gotten your plane tickets, good for you, you early bird. For many people, now's the time to purchase plane tickets. Did you know that the Guardian thinks that the best time to purchase airline tickets is about eight weeks before traveling? That's soon! Here's some information to help you when purchasing tickets and flying in to BlizzCon.
Dell's Q2 earnings fall short of estimates: $890 million net income, $15.66 billion revenue
Shares of Dell were down nearly eight percent in after-hours trading after the Texas-based PC maker posted lower-than-expected second-quarter results. Still, the company's revenue was up one percent over last year, totaling $15.66 billion, compared to $15.5 billion in Q2 2010. Net income jumped 63 percent, from $545 million to $890 million, over the year-ago quarter. Corporate and government orders were responsible for the jump in income, according to an AP report, but new sales predictions hint that orders may not be coming in as often as anticipated. Dell expects modest growth of one to five percent for the full year -- citing "a more uncertain demand environment" -- compared to previous estimates of five to nine percent growth. Jump past the break for the full rundown from Dell.
Gartner: Apple's global mobile phone share almost doubled in Q2 2011
Gartner's numbers were released for the second quarter in 2011 and Apple continues to show strong growth. The smartphone manufacturer is number four globally in the mobile phone market trailing Nokia, Samsung and LG. Its market share almost doubled from last year, climbing from 2.4% in 2010 to 4.6% in 2011. These figures are impressive for a company that makes a single smartphone and is competing against companies that produce a variety of smartphones and feature phones. Apple is also the #3 platform with almost 20 million iPhones flying off the production line. It now has 18.2% market share, up from 14.1% in 2010. Much of this growth is due to Apple's partnership with 42 new carriers and its expansion into 15 new countries during Q2 2011. According to Gartner, Apple still trails Symbian which has 22.1% market share, a significant drop from its 40.9% in the same quarter of 2010. Apple also trails Android which now has a 43.4% market share, up from 17.2% in 2010.
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.
