HTC's Thunderbolt, the most recent Verizon 4G smartphone offering. Photo by Jon Snyder/Wired.com
After two weeks on the shelves, Verizon’s latest 4G smartphone is holding its own against the Verizon version of the popular iPhone 4. According to reports from analysts, it may even be outselling the Apple device in many locations. Read More…
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This post was written by Journalist on April 1, 2011
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Year-over-year smartphone sales are up 98% worldwide. Over 80 million of the over 400 million handsets sold in the third quarter were smartphones.
The sheer growth of the global market and the meteoric rise of Android means that hardware and software companies who once dominated this market can ship tens of millions additional units and still lose share, in some cases by double digits.
Smartphone OS providers have entered a period of accelerated platform evolution, stimulated by more regular product releases, new platform entrants and new device types, said Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza. Any platform that fails to innovate quickly either through a vibrant multi-player ecosystem or clear vision of a single controlling entity will lose developers, manufacturers, potential partners and ultimately users.
Market share and unit numbers don’t tell us everything, even how profitable a mobile company has become. But they do reveal an evolving space.
Customers in North America, Western Europe, and East Asia — what Gartner’s report calls “mature markets” — are gravitating towards full-featured, name-brand, consumer-oriented smartphones. This seems to be partly a function of wider 3G data capability, greater hardware and software choices, and especially lower prices. Gartner’s report singles out ZTE’s sub-100 Android phone with the UK’s Orange carrier. Smartphones can be burners now.
Meanwhile, generic manufacturers are cranking out handsets for developing markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Growth in non-3G mobiles isn’t as sharp as smartphones in terms of percentages, but the global distribution is radically different.
This growth on either side squeezes out name-brand midlist feature phones — Gartner’s report singles out LG — who can’t command the prices or share they used to hold through carrier sales in Europe, Asia and North America.
The report closes by predicting that the growth of the media tablet market (projected sales of 54.8 million units) will begin to affect smartphone sales, attracting consumer dollars and developer attention away from some platforms and towards others — especially Apple’s iOS.
It’s a sharp reminder that companies with forthcoming tablets like Samsung or RIM/Blackberry aren’t simply trying to open up new growth areas or slow iPad purchases. These companies need to offer tablets in order to protect their customer and developer relationships in their core businesses — multimedia entertainment for Samsung, smartphones for RIM.
“Apple’s dramatic expansion of iOS with the iPad and the continuing success of the iPod Touch are important sales achievements in their own right,” said Carolina Milanesi. “But more importantly they contribute to the strength of Apple’s ecosystem and the iPhone in a way that smartphone-only manufacturers cannot compete with.
Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Grew 35 Percent in Third Quarter 2010; Smartphone Sales Increased 96 Percent [Press Release]
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This post was written by Journalist on November 10, 2010
Apple may be selling millions of iPads today but in a few years Android tablets are likely to surpass the iPad in market share, says a Wall Street analyst.
The Google designed Android operating system will be the iPad’s primary competition and newer releases of the OS coupled with choice of devices for consumers could help put Android tablets ahead of the iPad, Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray told Business Insider.
“As in the smartphone market currently, we believe Google’s Android OS will power the stiffest competition to Apple’s iPad,” Munster wrote in a research note to his clients. “Long term, we believe Android could surpass the iPad in tablet market share due to devices from numerous manufacturers.”
The prediction is surprising because Munster is a long-time Apple watcher and in recent years has been extremely bullish about Apple’s prospects.
At least, in the smartphones category Android is surging. More than 20 Android smartphones are available in the U.S. today. Android is now the most popular OS among people who bought a smartphone in the past six months, according to August data from The Nielsen Company. Blackberry RIM and Apple iOS are in a statistical dead heat for second place among those bought a smartphone recently.
Munster says the tablets category might see something similar. Apple launched its iPad in April and since then has sold more than three million devices. But competitors are taking on the iPad. Samsung plans to make its 7-inch Android tablet called Galaxy Tab available through all the major wireless carriers in the U.S. Dell has already released a 5-inch Android tablet called Streak and says it will introduce a 7-inch model early next year. Meanwhile, smaller companies such as ELocity have also introduced a Android tablet.
The release of Android 3.0 ‘Gingerbread’ version could accelerate the development of Android-based tablets says Munster. Android 3.0 is expected to support 1280 x 768 resolution for displays, the same as that on the iPad. That will make it easier for device makers to take the Android OS and port it on to larger displays–something LG has already indicated it will do. Last week, LG said it will hold off on creating tablets till Android 3.0 is launched–later this year or early next year.
For now, though, Apple has little to worry about. Next year, Android will make up just 26 percent of the tablet market compared to the iPad at 57 percent, says Munster.
Photo: (laihiu/Flickr)
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This post was written by Journalist on October 12, 2010
Following the The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg reports that Verizon is launching an iPhone early next year.
Bloomberg cites multiple anonymous sources who claim Verizon will begin carrying the iPhone in January 2011, ending AT&T’s exclusive partnership with Apple.
Bloomberg’s report follows The Wall Street Journal’s article in May, which claimed that Apple is scheduled to produce CDMA iPhones this September. CDMA is the standard used by Verizon iPhones.
Technology publications and analysts have speculated about a Verizon iPhone for years, but the stipulations of Apple’s exclusive contract with AT&T remain unconfirmed. However, it’s notable that two mainstream news outlets are now claiming a Verizon iPhone is due soon.
In response to Verizon iPhone rumors in May, AT&T said during an investor conference that the company was not intimidated by a Verizon iPhone because discounted family and business plans would make it difficult for subscribers to transition multiple devices to a new carrier.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
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This post was written by Journalist on June 29, 2010
