Numbers

Verizon Sees 4.2 Million iPhone Sales For Last Quarter

Verizon has reported a record-breaking number of iPhone sold during the fourth quarter of 2011:

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile carrier, sold 4.2 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, more than doubling from the third quarter, said Fran Shammo, finance chief of the company’s parent.

The iPhone sales will narrow gross margins at the wireless business by 500 to 600 basis points, Shammo, chief financial officer of Verizon Communications, said today at a Citigroup Inc. event in San Francisco. U.S. carriers sell smartphones such as the iPhone to subscribers at a loss to get them to sign up for contracts that typically run for two years.

Comparatively, carrier sold 2 million iPhones during the previous quarter.

iOS Finishes 2011 With 52% Share of Mobile Web Browsing

Apple's iOS platform finished 2011 with a strong showing in the mobile web browsing department, with iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches combining to capture 52.1% of mobile devices accessing the web.

Apple was top of the list in 2011 with over half of all devices. Jave ME came second with 21.3% share, while Google's Android took third, coming in with a respectable 16.2% share.

The numbers, courtesy of Net Applications, show iOS actually dropping in share when compared to November (54%) and October (61.5%), although December's result was not Apple's lowest of the year...

iPhone Made Up 66% of AT&T’s December Smartphone Sales

The iPhone has without a doubt been one of the (if not the) year's most popular handsets. The iPhone 4 led smartphone sales at Verizon for the better part of 2011, and both the 3GS and 4 have done the same at AT&T. But is the device still on top?

According to a recent report from The Mac Observer, it is. At least with AT&T anyway. The site claims that it has spoken to a source within the company that says that Apple's smartphone dominated its handset sales during the month of December...

iPhone 4S Pushes Apple’s US Smartphone Marketshare to 29%

The iPhone 4S was met with much criticism when Apple debuted the handset back in October. Some publications have even listed the device as one of 2011's biggest flops, but sales have suggested otherwise.

In fact, according to popular marketing research firm comScore, the 4S has been so popular that it's managed to push Apple's US smartphone marketshare up more than 1% percent in the short time it's been available...

iPhone 4S Causes 83% Surge in November App Store Downloads

When Apple launches a new iPhone or iPad, it invariably has an affect on the rest of its business.

The number of downloaded apps is one metric that will always see an increase when Apple brings a shiny new iOS device to market, simply because of all the new customers want to get some apps! Whether they are paid or free apps, Apple benefits in the long run.

The release of the iPhone 4S was no different, with new numbers showing just what a jump it caused in those all-important download figures. The iPhone 4S helped the App Store see an 83% increase in app downloads for November when compared to the same month last year...

Popular Science Sees Readership Boost Thanks to Apple’s Newsstand

Apple's Newsstand is proving to be a big hit, both with those who own iPads and iPhones and with those behind the magazines and newspapers themselves.

New figures released by the people behind Popular Science show just how big a difference to subscriber numbers Newsstand has made. In the wake of iOS 5 and Newsstand's release, Popular Science has seen its subscribers jump by around 4,000, and its customer base continues to grow...

iPad Receives 84% Approval Rating with Huge App Install Base

We love surveys here at iDB. Sometimes we get results that surprise us, and other times – and this is a prime example – we are mildly amused, but far, far from surprised.

The survey we are speaking about was done by the Software Usability Research Laboratory and shows that 84% of iPad owners are satisfied with their choice of tablet – a stat that should take few by surprise.

After asking users how happy they are with their iPads, the survey also asked how they use their tablets, probing the use of apps and the location where people use those apps the most. The results are just as predictable here, too...

iPhone’s US and UK Share Grows, Rest of Europe Turning to Android

A new report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech today claims that the iPhone 4S is responsible for a growth in market share for Apple's iPhone in both the UK and US, with consumers rushing out to pick up Apple's latest tech.

The situation is not quite so rosy in some of Apple's other European markets, though, with some seeing a reduction in iPhone demand, rather than the usual increase.

It is better news Down Under, however, with Australia seeing strong iPhone demand and the 4S continuing to "fly off the shelf" as we close in on the end of 2011...

Over 60% of Developers Prefer iOS Over Android

Google's CEO Eric Schmidt made some waves at the recent Paris-hosted Le Web conference with comments regarding Android and its iOS competitor. Schmidt was at the conference to talk about Android's big update, Ice Cream Sandwich.

During his speech, the CEO made a pretty big 6-month prediction for Google's mobile platform, saying things like "developers will soon start choosing Android over iOS." But a recent research report from Flurry Analytics suggests otherwise.

Apple Expected to Sell 4 Million Apple TVs This Year

Apple has long described its Apple TV as a "hobby." And with sales of the set-top box not reaching anywhere near the numbers of Apple's other iOS devices, that makes perfect sense.

But even though Apple treats it like a side project, the Apple TV has done fairly well. A new report suggests that Apple's media hub has captured nearly a third of the market.

Steve Jobs Biography Ranked as Best-Seller Across Multiple Formats

Last week we reported that Walter Isaacson's recently-released Steve Jobs biography had reached a major milestone on Amazon. In less than two months on the market, the book has become the online retailer's best-selling title of 2011.

After making a few adjustments, Amazon re-released its list of top 10 books today. The company figured that, since Kindle e-books outsell hard covers, they should be included in the counting. Where does the Steve Jobs biography rank now?

iPhone 3GS Sales Continue to Impress

Apple's iPhone 3GS is still proving to be popular after being on the market for over two years.

New numbers coming from the notoriously questionable DigiTimes suggest that Apple could see its iPhone 3GS production top the 2 millon mark during the fourth quarter of 2011. Those are stellar figures for a handset that is not one, but two generations old.

The news comes as further reports claim Apple is set to sell around 30 million iPhones during the holiday season...