Macs overtake Dells and HPs of this world as most sought-after PCs this holiday season

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 5, 2013

As per its annual survey of top consumer electronics that are planned for holiday purchases, Market research firm Parks Associates reported that Mac desktops for the first time have usurped Dell and other competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer as the most sought-after desktop PCs this holiday shopping season.

Back in 2012, Apple was ranked second so this jump in popularity clearly indicates that a lot of people are now digging Apple’s latest desktop Mac hardware. Back in 2011, Apple was ranked third in the category.

Not only is the sweet victory a nice testament to Apple’s design and engineering prowess, it’s humiliating to Dell, the computer maker whose CEO fifteen years ago infamously advised leadership of the then-nearly bankrupt Apple to sell off the company and return the money to shareholders… Read More

 

Survey finds that Apple Stores now account for 25% of US iPhone sales

By Cody Lee on Nov 25, 2013

During a summit in San Francisco’s Fort Mason on June 27 of this year, Tim Cook spoke to Apple Retail Store leaders about upcoming changes to the company’s iPhone marketing tactics. He said he was hoping the changes would help their stores start selling more handsets.

Well here we are, nearly 6 months later, and it looks like the changes have done just that. According to a new survey from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, the amount of iPhones purchased from Apple stores has increased from 20% to 25% over the past several months… Read More

 

iPhone 5c supply cuts, iPad losing revenue game, overpriced iPhones… It must be a Friday.

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 15, 2013

What better way to manipulate AAPL than trash-talk the company on a Friday and let bloggers disseminate FUD? First, UBS analyst Steve Milunovich articulated his disappointment with iPad sales because the tablet in general “simply isn’t a must-have device” (I swear I’m not making this up).

Next, Henry Blodget (who runs Business Insider) is back with his ‘iPhone dead in the water’ meme: Apple’s refusal to go for low-value customers has been ticking Blodget off for some time, even if the move carries the real risk of damaging the brand beyond repair.

Then, a Chinese blog asserts Apple is further trimming the iPhone 5c production as early adopters continue to prefer the flagship iPhone 5s. Finally we have Morgan Stanley creatively putting all of the Android tablets together – including those sold on the Moon plus sub-$50 no-names sitting in the drawer collecting dust – to proclaim Google’s platform a revenue winner.

Grab your popcorn and chillax… Read More

 

Survey finds iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c attracting fewer early upgraders

By Cody Lee on Nov 9, 2013

Before the iPhone 5s and 5c went on sale this fall, pundits predicted that Apple would have trouble attracting early upgraders with the two handsets. With them featuring few changes from last year’s model, the consensus was that most iPhone 5 owners would skip this generation.

And this week, the folks over at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (or CIRP) have published a report that proves these forecasts accurate. According to their data, just 6% of the folks who have purchased an iPhone 5s or 5c in the last 6 weeks upgraded from an iPhone 5… Read More

 

Samsung beating budget phone vendors in China, Apple losing ground

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 6, 2013

Apple may be winning in the United States, the world’s top market for smartphones, but in the 1.33 billion people market of China – which is Apple’s second most-important territory revenue-wise – Samsung is beating local vendors of cheap handsets to the punch.

According to data from research firm Canalys, Samsung has overpowered rivals in China.

The company has grown its September quarter share to 21 percent, a notable jump from just fourteen percent a year earlier. The Galaxy maker was estimated to have shipped nineteen million smartphones during the third quarter ended September 30. It’s worth underscoring Samsung does not disclose unit sales like Apple does, citing competitive reasons.

For the most part, Samsung’s growth came at the expense of local vendors who build dirt-cheap handsets. But what about Apple? Read More

 

Apple hits 40.6 percent share of US smartphone subscribers

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 6, 2013

Research firm comScore is out with its new report measuring the state of the United States smartphone market for a three-month period ended September 30 and Apple’s iPhone grew its share to comprise a healthy 40.6 percent of the nation’s smartphone units. In other words, four out of each ten smartphones in the country were iPhones.

Samsung also gained share, LG stayed flat while HTC and Motorola both lost ground amid strong competition from Apple and Samsung devices. All told, iOS seems to be gaining ground overall, adding 0.7 percentage points to its share versus 0.2 percentage points for Android. The full reveal and charts can be found after the break… Read More

 

iPad Air costs $274 to build, $42 less than iPad 3

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 5, 2013

Thanks to Apple’s economies of scale, advanced manufacturing, smart engineering and the latest technological solutions, Apple’s fifth-generation full-size iPad, the iPad Air, is actually cheaper to produce than the third-generation model – despite packing in the latest technology, research firm IHS Suppli has discovered in a new teardown analysis.

Total cost of components that go into the latest iPad is between $274 and $361, depending on the model, which is still $42 cheaper than the entry-level iPad with Retina display. The priciest iPad Air component by and large is its Retina display and the touchscreen assembly.

Both components incorporate a number of improvements such as fewer, more advanced LED lights providing the backlighting to the display and a new type of sensor known as a cycle-olefin polymer (COP) sensor located right underneath the outer layer of Gorilla Glass. More tidbits right bellow… Read More

 

JD Power offers bizarre explanation defending its botched tablet rankings

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 4, 2013

With the release of new iPhones and iPads, Apple has retired the somewhat defensive ‘Why iPhone’ and ‘Why iPad’ web campaign. It makes sense: Tim Cook & Co. probably think others should now defend themselves against the new iPhone 5s and iPad Air.

Fans will recall both of Apple’s web pages gave undecided customers plenty of reasons to consider an iPhone and iPad over competing products, citing – among other reasons – rampant Android malware and high satisfaction scores by J.D. Power.

On the other hand, the removal of J.D. Power scores from Apple’s web site could easily have everything to do with J.D. Power’s last week tablet scores giving Samsung the top tablet ranking even though the South Korean company won only on price.

The results of that survey have sparked a heated debate and prompted some tough questions among the Apple faithful because the iPad clearly bested Samsung in all of the remaining five categories: Overall Satisfaction, Performance, Ease of Use, Physical Design and Tablet Features.

And now in a seeming PR damage control maneuvering, J.D. Power is attempting to defend the indefensible by claiming the survey wasn’t botched and arguing the rankings hold up – even if the reputable research firm’s actual explanation is pretty bizarre, to say the least… Read More

 

Samsung bests Apple in latest J.D. Power tablet customer satisfaction survey

By Cody Lee on Oct 31, 2013

J.D. Power and Associates is an American-based marketing information services firm that’s highly regarded for its research on customer satisfaction. Apple loves to quote their surveys, and does so at media events and on earnings calls.

But this is one report Tim Cook and company are probably not going to be mentioning. In J.D. Power’s latest tablet customer satisfaction survey, Apple was bested by Samsung on overall satisfaction and in particular areas like device cost… Read More

 

Samsung now selling 1 out of each 3 smartphones

By Ed Sutherland on Oct 29, 2013

Although Apple sold 33.8 million iPhones during the third quarter, up from 26.9 million a year ago, South Korean Samsung continues to dominate smartphones on a global scale. The company sold more than 88 million smartphones during the same period, comprising 33.2 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, according to one market research firm.

Despite its uptick in unit sales, Apple’s share of the smartphone market for the quarter slipped to 13.4 percent, down from 15.6 percent – something that should be corrected in the fourth quarter, as sales of new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s smartphones come into full view… Read More

 

JD Power: Apple leads in satisfaction on AT&T/Verizon, Samsung on Sprint/T-Mobile

By Ed Sutherland on Oct 17, 2013

When it comes to smartphone satisfaction, carriers are key. That’s the central finding of J.D. Power, which Thursday released its latest study indicating Apple and Samsung lead in satisfaction across all four major U.S. providers.

When it comes to the iPhone, customers of long-time Apple partners Verizon and AT&T love the Cupertino, Cupertino, company’s smartphone lineup, more than any other smartphone brand.

As for South Korean Samsung, Sprint customers report are most satisfied by the Galaxy family of smartphones. Which U.S. carriers do the best job supporting smartphones? According to the study, AT&T and Sprint report the greatest satisfaction, followed by T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless… Read More

 

How rapid adoption of iPhone 5s/5c is preventing Android-like fragmentation

By Ed Sutherland on Oct 16, 2013

We’ve all heard the Android propaganda: vast numbers of cheap smartphones based on Google’s mobile software will overcome the quality of Apple handsets. Not so fast, say new web traffic numbers. In less than a month, 40.6 percent of iPhones online are the new iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c models.

Indeed, if this upward curve continues, the majority of iPhones will be using Apple’s latest technology at most one year old. By comparison, Android continues suffering from fragmentation marked by apps developed for a time when Apple’s iOS 3 was just launched… Read More

 

Apple’s iOS 7 hits 71% adoption in under a month

By Ed Sutherland on Oct 16, 2013

Apple’s iOS 7 continues to break records when it comes to how quickly the mobile software is being adopted. In less than a month, nearly 75 percent of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners have upgraded, topping the pace of iOS 6.

New numbers show in only 27 days 71 percent of iDevice owners had adopted iOS 7 by Monday. By comparison, Apple’s previous version of iOS needed 30 days to reach 61 percent adoption, the Cupertino, California company’s previous record… Read More

 

iPhone 5s outselling iPhone 5c more than two-to-one

By Ed Sutherland on Oct 14, 2013

More sales estimates released today indicate the iPhone 5s continues to outsell the iPhone 5c, Apple’s other smartphone released in September. Indeed, the iPhone 5s – decked out in fingerprint sensor, new A7 processor and all – accounts for 64 percent of Apple handset sales, flying off shelves more than twice as fast as the more colorful iPhone 5c at 27 percent.

However, will that sales lead last beyond the early demand fueled by first-adopters and other Apple fanatics? Plus, can the two new iPhones perform as well as their iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s counterparts did? Read More

 

Chrome’s share of total iOS web traffic doubles since last year

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 11, 2013

Google’s Chrome went from zero market share to becoming the world’s most popular desktop web browser in just five years. And since its release on Apple’s iOS platform in June 2012, Chrome’s been consistently the top third-party browser on the App Store (free download), making its way on a lot of people’s Home screens. Research firm Chitika estimates that Chrome’s share of web traffic coming from the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices has doubled since June 2012 launch.

Just 24 hours into its launch Chrome became the App Store’s most popular free app and grabbed an estimated 1.5 percent share of total iOS web traffic. Today, Google’s iOS browser accounts for three percent  of total iOS web traffic… Read More

 

iPhones and iPads remain the top pick among US teenagers

By Ed Sutherland on Oct 9, 2013

Despite Samsung’s attempt to label the iPhone as past its prime, Apple remains the top pick among US teenagers. More than half of American teens own an iPhone with nearly three quarter of young people choosing an iPad when it comes to tablets.

When it comes to purchasing decisions, popularity of cheaper Android devices have barely moved the needle, if at all. The figures from Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster bode well for Apple and its continued growth among the key consumer demographic now driving technology purchases… Read More

 

iPhone gaining over Android in US, two-thirds of iOS users on Apple Maps

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 7, 2013

Breaking all of the preconceived notions about the cyclicality of the iPhone, a new survey shows Apple’s iOS gaining on Google’s Android and the embattled BlackBerry during a three-month period ended August 2013. The iPhone gained 1.3 percentage points ranking as the top smartphone vendor in the United States with a cool 40.7 percent share of the nation’s smartphone subscribers.

Although Google’s Android  led with a dominating 51.6 percent share, its slice of the smartphone platform market actually shrank by 0.8 percentage points. What’s really interesting about Apple’s growth is that iOS outsold Android without the new iPhones. The full breakdown is after the break…
Read More

 

iPhone boosts T-Mobile sales, overtakes Android in Japan

By Ed Sutherland on Oct 1, 2013

The iPhone has fueled smartphone sales by Apple’s latest U.S. carrier partner, Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile USA. In the three-month period ended in August, the service provider saw its share of domestic smartphone sales jump to 13.2 percent, up 1 percent.

According to a report released Monday, the carrier began in April attracting owners of feature phones upgrading to smartphones. Now, however, 56 percent of consumers buying an iPhone from T-Mobile are coming from another smartphone. Indeed, more than 38 percent of T-Mobile’s smartphone purchasers previously owned Android handsets… Read More

 

Apple yet again is most-innovative company, leading Samsung and Google

By Ed Sutherland on Sep 27, 2013

Apple again was named the most-innovative company. For the ninth year in a row, the iPhone maker topped a survey of senior executives polled Boston Consulting Group.

South Korea-based rival Samsung was No. 2 and Android’s Google was listed as No. 3. Microsoft and automaker Toyota rounded out the top five… Read More

 

Chitika: iOS 7 responsible for over half of iOS web traffic in just first week

By Ed Sutherland on Sep 26, 2013

The beat goes on for Apple’s iOS 7. The latest: in just a week the new mobile operating system now represents 52 percent of all online iDevice traffic, according to one Internet measurement firm. Indeed, in just 24 hours following its September 18 release, the new software for the iPhone, iPad and some iPods accounted for just over 18 percent of Apple’s web traffic, reports ad network Chitika.

By comparison, Apple’s previous iOS 6 required three days to top thirty percent of web traffic and not until February of 2013 did it attain 83 percent of online activity. Why has iOS 7 taken the tech world by storm, just yesterday being crowned the most user friendly mobile operating system?… Read More

 
Page 112345...