2010

mobile
January 31, 2011
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Android dethrones Symbian as No. 1 smartphone OS, says Canalys

By on January 31, 2011 at 9:45 AM.

Android dethrones Symbian as No. 1 smartphone OS, says Canalys

Canalys today becomes the first major firm to report a changing of the guard we all knew was coming. According to the industry watcher’s fourth-quarter 2010 data, Google’s Android platform outsold Nokia’s Symbian OS to become the best-selling smartphone platform in the world. Canalys’ figures show 32.9 million Android-powered smartphones having been shipped last quarter, while Symbian device shipments slid in at 31 million units. In terms of market share, Android reeled in 32.9% of the market in the fourth quarter while Symbian owned 30.6% of the market. This marks the first time in 10 years that another smartphone operating system has outsold Symbian — and as fast as Android is growing, it most definitely will not be the last. Other notable takeaways from the report: Apple shipped 16.2 million smartphones to take 16% of the market, down 0.1% from the same quarter in 2009, and RIM’s global market share slid from 20% in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 14.4% last quarter. Despite losing ground in market share, Apple and RIM both saw year-over-year growth in terms of device shipments — up 85.9% and 36%, respectively. Hit the break for Canalys’ full press release. More →

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General
January 28, 2011
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Samsung reports Q4 earnings: revenue and income grow, profit slides

By on January 28, 2011 at 10:50 AM.

Samsung reports Q4 earnings: revenue and income grow, profit slides

Samsung on Friday reported its fourth quarter and full year 2010 earnings, highlighting revenue and net income growth but missing Wall Street’s consensus as operating profit slid for the first time in six quarters. The company posted fourth quarter revenue of 41.87 trillion won, up 7% from the same quarter in 2009, and net income was up 13% year-over-year to 3.42 trillion won. Operating profit missed the Street’s consensus, however, falling 12% year-over-year to 3.01 trillion won. Samsung reported record revenue for the full year, up 13% from 2009 to 154.63 trillion won. 2010 net income set a full-year record as well, up 65% year-over-year to 16.15 trillion won, as did full-year operating income, which came in at 17.3 trillion won. Samsung’s mobile division reported a record profit of 1.44 trillion won in the fourth quarter, up 38% year-over-year, and the company shipped 80.7 million cell phones in the quarter. Full-year shipments reached 280 million units, up 23% from 2009 and outpacing the global market. Hit the break for Samsung’s full press release. More →

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mobile
January 28, 2011
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ZTE displaces Apple as No. 4 phone maker; RIM bumped from top 5

By on January 28, 2011 at 9:27 AM.

ZTE displaces Apple as No. 4 phone maker; RIM bumped from top 5

Chinese consumer electronics company ZTE exploded from the “other” category in the fourth quarter of 2010 to displace Apple as the No. 4 cell phone maker in the world. In doing so, the Chinese manufacturer also bumped RIM off of the top 5 list for the quarter and, more alarmingly perhaps, for the full year. Market analysis firm IDC on Thursday issued its data for the final quarter of 2010 and ZTE was without question the biggest shock. Growing 76.8% year-over-year, ZTE shipped 16.8 million cell phones in the fourth quarter, compared to 9.5 million in the same quarter a year prior. Apple bested ZTE’s growth, ballooning by 86.2% year-over-year, but fourth quarter shipments slid in at 16.2 million units. Apple blew past RIM in the third quarter of 2010 as the company finally broke into the top 5 thanks to explosive iPhone sales. RIM now finds itself in the troubling “other” category — a position it will fight to escape using an army of new BlackBerry smartphones in 2011. The cell phone market grew 17.9% overall in the fourth quarter according to IDC. Hit the break for IDC’s full press release, including charts showing the top 5 cell phone companies by shipments in the fourth quarter and full year. More →

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General
January 27, 2011
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Microsoft reports record revenue in fiscal Q2

By on January 27, 2011 at 4:15 PM.

Microsoft reports record revenue in fiscal Q2

Microsoft on Thursday announced its earnings for the second quarter of the company’s 2011 fiscal year. In the quarter, which ended on December 31st, 2010, Microsoft saw record revenue of $19.95 billion, up from $19 billion in the same quarter last year. Operating income slid slightly, however, from $8.51 billion in the second quarter of Microsoft’s 2010 fiscal year to $8.17 billion last quarter. Diluted earnings per share were up to $0.77 compared to $0.74 in the same quarter a year prior. “We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including the launch of Kinect,” said Microsoft CFO Peter Klein in a statement. “The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations. The pace of business spending, combined with strong consumer demand, led to another quarter of operating margin expansion and solid earnings per share growth.” Microsoft also noted that its Business Division grew 24% year-over-year, and Office 2010 is the fastest-selling version of Microsoft Office in company history. Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division grew 55% year-over-year on solid Xbox 360 console and accessory sales. Hit the break for Microsoft’s full press release. More →

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General
January 27, 2011
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Nokia Q4 earnings: profits fall for third straight quarter, market share slides

By on January 27, 2011 at 10:21 AM.

Nokia Q4 earnings: profits fall for third straight quarter, market share slides

Nokia revealed its third consecutive decline in profits as the struggling cell phone maker reported its fourth-quarter 2010 earnings. Net sales grew 6% year-over-year to €12.65 billion, but operating profit slid 26% from €1.47 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009 to €1.09 billion. Operating profit margin in the company’s Devices and Services division was also down substantially from 15.4% in Q4 2009 to 11.3% in Q4 2010, and Nokia said it expects a further decline in the first quarter of 2011, dropping to between 7% and 10%. Smartphone shipments actually grew to 28.3 million in the fourth quarter, up from 20.8 million in the same quarter in 2009 and 26.5 million sequentially, but the market outgrew Nokia at a truly alarming pace. Despite this growth, Nokia’s share of the global smartphone market slid to 31% from 38% in the previous quarter. “The game has changed from battle of devices to war of ecosystems,” Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said on the company’s earnings call. “Our industry has changed and we have to change faster.” Hit the break for Nokia’s full report. More →

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mobile
January 26, 2011
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Microsoft partners sold 2 million Windows Phone 7 devices last quarter

By on January 26, 2011 at 7:39 PM.

Microsoft partners sold 2 million Windows Phone 7 devices last quarter

Microsoft confirmed to Bloomberg that its partners sold over 2 million Windows Phone 7 devices to carriers and retail partners last quarter. The company also claimed that according to its findings, 93% of Windows Phone 7 customers are satisfied with the operating system and brand awareness has increased by half to 66%. “Sales are an important measure, but for a new platform we think customer satisfaction and active developer support are more important indicators of how sales will be over the long term,” senior product manager Greg Sullivan said in an interview. Sullivan stated that there are 24,000 developers signed up to build apps for the Windows Phone 7 platform, and 6,500 apps are currently available in Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace. More →

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General
January 26, 2011
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Motorola Mobility reports Q4, full year earnings; Q1 2011 guidance bleak

By on January 26, 2011 at 6:00 PM.

Motorola Mobility reports Q4, full year earnings; Q1 2011 guidance bleak

Motorola Mobility on Wednesday reported its fourth quarter and full year 2010 earnings. It also gave grim but anticipated guidance for the first quarter of 2011 as Verizon Wireless, the company’s top carrier partner, prepares to launch the iPhone 4. Motorola’s revenues were up 21% year-over-year to $3.4 billion and net revenues from the company’s Mobile Devices division grew 33% year-over-year to $2.4 billion. Smartphone shipments were well under Wall Street’s consensus, however, coming in at 4.9 million units. Some analysts’ expectations were as high as 5.6 million units. Shipments totalled 13.7 million smartphones for the full year, and the company shipped 37.3 million feature phones and smartphones combined in 2010. Motorola forecasts a loss of between $26 and $62 million in the first quarter of 2011, which amounts to $0.09 and $0.21 per share in the red. Analysts had projected a profit of $0.01 per share in the quarter. Hit the break for Motorola’s full press release. More →

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General
January 25, 2011
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Verizon adds 872,000 subscribers, doubles profit in fourth quarter

By on January 25, 2011 at 11:07 AM.

Verizon adds 872,000 subscribers, doubles profit in fourth quarter

Shares of Verizon Communications stock slid over 1% in after-hours trading Tuesday morning as the company reported its fourth quarter earnings. Despite almost doubling profit from $2.37 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $4.65 billion in 2010, earnings of $0.54 per share missed the Street’s consensus of $0.55 per share and revenue fell 2.6% to $26.4 billion. Subscriber growth of 872,000 net postpaid customers crushed Wall Street’s consensus, however, which sat in the mid-600,000s. “Verizon ended 2010 with strong results, driven by solid execution across all our businesses,” Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said in a statement. “The fourth quarter capped a strong second half of the year, resulting in improved earnings, solid momentum and an even stronger balance sheet. Verizon Wireless produced another quarter of impressive growth, with record-high profitability, as we continue to drive higher smartphone adoption and data use. Following another solid quarter in our wireline businesses, we are optimistic about opportunities to continue to expand wireline margins.” Verizon also noted that only 26% of Verizon Wireless’ 83 million postpaid wireless subscribers owned smartphones at the close of 2010. This creates a tremendous opportunity for the carrier as it prepares to launch the iPhone 4 next month. Hit the break for Verizon’s full press release. More →

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General
January 20, 2011
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Google reports strong Q4 results; $8.4 billion in revenue, $7.81 earnings per share

By on January 20, 2011 at 6:30 PM.

Google reports strong Q4 results; $8.4 billion in revenue, $7.81 earnings per share

Aside from announcing a management change during this afternoon’s earnings call, Google also decided to go over its numbers for Q4 of 2010. Google raked in $8.44 billion in revenue, a 26% increase year-over-year, rewarding its investors with $7.81 earnings per share. Operating income for the quarter was $2.98 billion, or 35% of revenues — down from 37% last year — and 52% of total revenues came from overseas. Google reports $35 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities along with 24,400 full-time employees as of December 31, 2010. Pretty solid showing from the Big G. More →

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General
January 20, 2011
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Sony Ericsson sees small profit in Q4; shipments decline

By on January 20, 2011 at 8:40 AM.

Sony Ericsson sees small profit in Q4; shipments decline

Things have been rough for Sony Ericsson over the past couple of years. Intriguing new gear is on the way from this once-great Swedish joint venture, with a few sexy smartphones like the Xperia arc in the pipeline and the highly anticipated PlayStation Phone, the Xperia Play, finally about to become a reality. Unfortunately, however, none of the company’s forthcoming products could possibly have an impact on Sony Ericsson’s numbers in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company did manage to eek a pre-tax profit of €39 million, up significantly from the €181 million loss it reported the year prior. Profit was down €24 million compared to the third quarter of this year however, which is rough news for the holiday quarter. Shipments were down 23% year-over-year, dropping from 14.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 11.2 million in the final quarter of 2010. Full year shipments were down by almost a quarter compared to 2009, dropping from 57.1 million units to 43.1 million. On the bright side, Sony Ericsson has now reported four straight quarters in the black, and total shipments of its Android-powered Xperia line now sit at 9 million globally — not too shabby. Hit the jump for Sony Ericsson’s full press release.

More →

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Breaking
January 18, 2011
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Apple posts record Q1 results; 16.2 million iPhones, 7.3 million iPads, $26.7 billion in revenue

By on January 18, 2011 at 4:46 PM.

Apple posts record Q1 results; 16.2 million iPhones, 7.3 million iPads, $26.7 billion in revenue

Moments ago, Apple announced its fiscal year 2011 Q1 earnings. The Cupertino based technology firm sold a record 16.24 million iPhones, 7.33 million iPads, 4.13 million Macs, and 19.45 million iPods. Apple also reported a healthy $26.74 billion in revenue for the quarter with $6.43 in earnings per diluted share.

“We couldn’t be happier with the performance of our business, generating $9.8 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter,” said Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $22 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $4.90.”

The aforementioned figures handily exceed Wall Street’s expectations. Hit the jump to see the full earnings announcement.
More →

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Gaming
January 14, 2011
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Xbox 360 has biggest year ever in 2010

By on January 14, 2011 at 7:42 PM.

Xbox 360 has biggest year ever in 2010

Over five years after the Xbox 360 launched in November 2005, the console powered through the 2010 holiday season — racking up its biggest sales month ever and capping off the biggest year in the console’s history. Microsoft sold 1.9 million Xbox 360 units in December according to NPD Group, providing more icing on Microsoft’s gaming cake following news that the company sold over 8 million Kinect sensors in 60 days. Year-over-year growth came in at 42%, making Xbox the fastest-growing console in 2010. NPD also says consumers spent more money on Xbox 360 than any other game console in 2010 — a whopping $6.2 billion. The top three games for Xbox in 2010 were Call of Duty: Black Ops, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and Kinect Sports. More →

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Business
January 7, 2011
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MetroPCS announces record subscriber growth in 2010

By on January 7, 2011 at 3:41 AM.

MetroPCS announces record subscriber growth in 2010

MetroPCS announced on Thursday impressive subscriber growth in the fourth quarter of 2010. Having amassed approximately 1.5 million net new subscribers over the course of 2010, MetroPCS saw the highest subscriber growth in the company’s history. In the fourth quater, the carrier netted 298,000 subscriber additions and churn was down to 3.5% from 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009. As of December 31, 2010, MetroPCS served over 8.1 million subscribers — a 23% increase year-over-year. Hit the break for MetroPCS’ full press release. More →

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