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mobile
February 2, 2012
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Android and iOS see continued growth in Q4 as BlackBerry, Windows and Symbian slide

By on February 2, 2012 at 5:20 PM.

Android and iOS see continued growth in Q4 as BlackBerry, Windows and Symbian slide

ComScore released its most recent U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share report for the three-month period ending in December, 2011. The research firm found that Samsung remained the top mobile phone vendor in the fourth quarter with a 25.3% market share — the same share as it held in the third quarter. LG’s market share dropped 0.6 percentage points to a 20% share for second place followed by Motorola, which fell 0.5 percentage points to 13.3%. Apple had the fourth largest share with a 12.4% market share, up 2.2 percentage points, and RIM fell 0.4 points to a 6.7% share. Read on for more. More →

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mobile
February 1, 2012
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Most mobile daily deal users are from high-income households, study finds

By on February 1, 2012 at 7:30 AM.

Most mobile daily deal users are from high-income households, study finds

If you’re signed up for a daily deal service on your phone, odds are you’re from a high-income household. According to new data from comScore, 36.5% of U.S. phone owners who are signed up for a daily deal service have an annual income of more than $100,000. 19.6% come from households that have an annual income of between $75,000 and $100,000, 18.1% have a household income of between $50,000 and $75,000, 16.9% fall between $25,000 and $50,000, and 8.9% earn less than $25,000 per year. ComScore did not specifically name the mobile deal services included in the study, though Living Social and Groupon are among the more popular daily deal services. More →

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Business
January 30, 2012
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Canalys: Apple blazes past HP to dominate global PC market in Q4

By on January 30, 2012 at 5:45 PM.

Canalys: Apple blazes past HP to dominate global PC market in Q4

Apple pulled ahead of HP in the fourth quarter to become the largest player in the client PC market, a new report suggested Monday. The Cupertino-based company shipped more than 15 million iPads and 5 million Mac computers last quarter, and those figures represented 17% of all PCs shipped around the world during the fourth quarter. The report, which comes from market research firm Canalys, said PC shipments grew 16% annually to reach 120 million during the quarter, and the firm’s categorization of “PC” includes desktops, notebooks, netbooks and tablets in its figures. Tablets drove PC growth, however, and Canalys said the market would have declined by 0.4% without taking tablets into consideration. Read on for more. More →

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Business
January 24, 2012
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Apple is now the largest buyer of semiconductors in the world

By on January 24, 2012 at 4:00 PM.

Apple is now the largest buyer of semiconductors in the world

Apple is now the largest buyer of semiconductors in the world, according to market research firm Gartner. The Cupertino-based company trailed both Samsung and HP in 2010, however Apple’s spending is estimated to have jumped 34.6% in 2011. The company spent $17.3 billion on semiconductors in 2011, or 5.7% of the total share of chip purchases. Coming in second was Samsung, which spent $16.7 billion or 5.5% of all chip purchases, and HP came in third with $16.6 billion. Leading electronics manufacturers spent a total of $105.6 billion on semiconductor purchases last year, representing a year-over-year increase of $1.8 billion. ”The major growth drivers in 2011 were smartphones, media tablets and solid-state drives (SSDs),” said Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Those companies that gained share in the smartphone market, such as Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC, increased their semiconductor demand, while those who lost market share in this segment, such as Nokia and LG Electronics, decreased their semiconductor demand. Media tablets were also a growth driver for the semiconductor market throughout 2011.” Gartner’s press release follows below. More →

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mobile
January 20, 2012
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Tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase online than smartphone owners

By on January 20, 2012 at 7:20 AM.

Tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase online than smartphone owners

Tablet owners spend big bucks online according to a new report. In fact, the new study published by Adobe Digital Marketing Insights suggests that tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase than smartphone owners on retail purchases, and over 20% more than PC users. The study found that smartphone owners spent about $80 per purchase on average but tablet owners spent an average of $123. Laptop/PC users spent $102 per retail purchase on average in 2011. Tablet owners are three times more likely to make a purchase on a retail website than a smartphone user is, too. Adobe Digital Marketing Insights gathered its data from more than 150 U.S. retailers last year and more than 16.2 billion transactions made online. More →

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mobile
December 21, 2011
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LTE pricing may drop as much as 60% by 2016

By on December 21, 2011 at 7:30 AM.

LTE pricing may drop as much as 60% by 2016

The monthly price we pay for 4G LTE data could drop drastically over the next five years. Currently, 4G LTE networks are blazing fast but there’s no doubt that the technology comes at a price. 4G LTE handsets sold directly by wireless carriers typically cost more than their 3G counterparts, and tiered 4G data prices are still a bit too costly for heavy data users looking to ditch their cable companies. Verizon Wireless, for example, currently charges $80 for 20GB of data per month while Time Warner Cable sells digital TV service and a 10Mbps unlimited monthly data connection for $89 per month (in New York City). But 4G LTE data prices could fall as much as 60% by 2016, or to about 20 Euro ($26) on average for monthly service according to Tariff Consultancy (TCL). Pricing is expected to decline as more wireless operators begin to offer 4G LTE services and the amount of subscribers on those networks increases. Verizon Wireless and AT&T have each deployed 4G LTE networks in the United States this past year, and Sprint will be the third major wireless carrier to deploy its LTE network next year. The TCL report also suggests that there will be more than 250 million 4G LTE subscribers by 2016. More →

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Legal
November 30, 2011
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FCC bashes AT&T/T-Mobile merger in public report

By on November 30, 2011 at 8:30 AM.

FCC bashes AT&T/T-Mobile merger in public report

The Federal Communications Commission released a 109-page report on Tuesday evening that provides a great deal of insight into what the government agency thought of AT&T’s planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA. However, AT&T has questioned exactly why the government agency decided to release the report since, hours before the report was released, AT&T successfully withdrew its merger application. The FCC said that the acquisition would give AT&T a “unilateral incentive” to increase its prices, which could have had an echo effect on the industry should Sprint and Verizon Wireless follow suit, The Wall Street Journal reported. Read on for more. More →

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Business
October 20, 2011
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iPad and iPad 2 dominate enterprise, represent 98% of tablet activations

By on October 20, 2011 at 8:20 PM.

iPad and iPad 2 dominate enterprise, represent 98% of tablet activations

Apple’s iPad and iPad 2 tablets continue to dominate in the enterprise market, according to the Good Technology Device Activations Report for the third quarter of 2011. 4% of all tablet activations in the enterprise were for Android tablets, while the iPad and iPad 2 were responsible for 96% of activations. The iPhone 4 was the most popular handset with 28.3% of all device activations during the quarter. It was followed by the iPad 2 (15.6% of all activations). Sprint’s EVO 4G was the most popular Android device with 1.6% of all enterprise smartphone activations. Read on for more. More →

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mobile
September 28, 2011
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41% of mobile users in North America plan to buy iPhone 5, study suggests

By on September 28, 2011 at 1:56 PM.

41% of mobile users in North America plan to buy iPhone 5, study suggests

According to research recently released by mobile ad network InMobi, 41% of mobile users in North America plan to purchase the iPhone 5. 50% of those planning to purchase the phone will buy it within the first six months after it is launched, which could propel its current 27% smartphone market share to 41%. InMobi added one caveat: if Apple decides to release a minor upgrade to the current iPhone, just 15% of consumers will purchase the new device. InMobi’s research revealed that consumers hope Apple upgrades the processing speed, screen resolution, battery life and service quality in the new device. 51% of current iPhone owners, 27% of BlackBerry owners and 52% of Android owners plan to upgrade to the iPhone 5. If Apple reveals an iPhone 4S, however, just 11% of iPhone and BlackBerry users and 28% of Android users plan to make the purchase. “Apple is currently the clear leader in terms of compelling user experience and customer loyalty, and we feel that their quality and pace of innovation when it comes to mobile devices will continue to improve the content and advertising experience for consumers for iPhone 5 and beyond,” InMobi vice president of global research and marketing James Lamberti said. Read on for the full press release. More →

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mobile
September 28, 2011
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Nielsen: AT&T smartphone users more likely to be satisfied than users on other carriers

By on September 28, 2011 at 7:01 AM.

Nielsen: AT&T smartphone users more likely to be satisfied than users on other carriers

A recent Mobile Insights report from research firm Nielsen suggests that AT&T customers are more satisfied with their phones than any other carrier customer in the United States. “Nielsen’s results reinforce that our customers have the highest device satisfaction compared to all carriers,” AT&T Mobility chief marketing officer David Christopher said. “Our data shows that as of the second quarter this year, about half of our postpaid customers had smartphones — more than any other wireless provider — and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.” Christopher attributed AT&T’s success to its wide selection of smartphones, the ability to talk and surf at the same time, a large network of Wi-Fi hotspots and its developing HSPA+ “4G” network. Read on for the full press release from AT&T. More →

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Software
August 24, 2011
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AirPlay drives iTunes momentum in online movie market share

By on August 24, 2011 at 1:15 AM.

AirPlay drives iTunes momentum in online movie market share

A new report from research firm IHS suggests that Apple’s iTunes share of “consumer spending for movie electronic sell-through (EST) and Internet video on demand (iVOD)” grew during the first half of 2011, the first time since 2009, despite an increase in competition from Walmart and Amazon. iTunes had a 65.8% market share during the first half of this year, up from 64.9% during the first half of 2010. It also had the largest increase in revenue growth among its competitors. “Much of iTunes’ success can be traced to the rising usage of Apple’s AirPlay system, which allows wireless video streaming to consumer electronic devices including televisions,” said IHS research director Arash Amel. “This has expanded the reach of iTunes to new platforms, boosting sales of movies from the system.” Microsoft’s Zune Video Marketplace maintained the second largest share of consumer spending in the market with a 16.2% share, down from 18.5% during the first half of 2010. Walmart’s Vudu service saw the largest share increase among market leaders: it jumped from a 1% share during the first half of last year to a 5.3% share during the first half of 2011. Sony’s PlayStation Store now has a 4.4% share, down from 8.2%, and Amazon’s share grew slightly from to 4% from 4.2%. Read on for the full report. More →

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Gaming
July 28, 2011
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Nintendo posts first quarterly operating loss; 3DS now just $169.99

By on July 28, 2011 at 8:33 PM.

Nintendo posts first quarterly operating loss; 3DS now just $169.99

Nintendo posted its first quarterly operating loss ever on Thursday in its fiscal first quarter earnings report. The Japanese gaming company recorded a net loss of 25.5 billion Yen ($328 million), which was on a par with the net loss of 25.2 billion Yen ($324 million) the firm reported during the same quarter last year. In addition, it posted a net operating loss of 37.7 billion Yen ($485 million), down from an operating profit of 23.3 billion Yen ($299 million) during the first quarter of 2010. Nintendo also slashed the price of the 3DS to $169.99, down from the portable gaming console’s original $249.99 price point. Nintendo attributed the poor quarter to a lack of Wii and DS sales, as well as a lack of attractive games for the 3DS. More →

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Legal
July 21, 2011
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Cell phone retailers must now warn consumers of radiation risks in SF

By on July 21, 2011 at 7:01 AM.

Cell phone retailers must now warn consumers of radiation risks in SF

The city of San Francisco has approved an ordinance that will require cell phone retailers to warn customers about the dangers of cell phone radiation, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. The ordinance, which was passed in a 10-1 vote, asks that phone retailers “post general warnings” about risks. It’s unclear what exactly will be required of the retailers, and researchers have flip-flopped on whether or not there are any real risks associated with mobile wireless devices. On May 31st, the World Health Organization published a report that said cell phones are “possibly carcinogenic,” but The Economist fired back shortly after and said there’s no way the devices cause cancer. A second group wrote published a separate report in an issue of Environmental Health Perspectives and argued there is evidence “increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults.” A similar law was passed last year that required cell phone makers to publish specific absorption rate (SAR) figures on boxes of cell phones, but the CTIA sued before the law took effect.  More →

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