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Apple’s iPad is the primary driver responsible for a 56 percent annual bump in shipments in the tablet display market, according to a new report from supply chain research firm IHS. Total shipments are expected to hit 126.6 million units, up from 82.1 million last year, with larger devices including Apple’s iPad driving the bulk of those shipments.

But the 7-inch market is growing quickly, and will account for a much larger percentage of the tablet industry in 2012 than it did in 2011. 9.x-inch displays will account for the majority with 59 percent, but 7.x-inch displays are projected to grow in shipment volume from 20.8 to 40.1 million units between last year and 2012. That’ll give it 32 percent of the overall tablet display market by the end of the year, versus just 26 percent in 2011, and IHS expects that trend to continue.

New, low-cost devices from both Amazon and Google are probably helping the growth of smaller devices along, but it’s also worth noting that the 9.x-inch segment is still getting larger overall, going from 55.2 million display shipments in 2011 to a projected 74.3 million units by year’s end. And in case anyone was thinking that this represents a potential weakness regarding Apple’s tablet game, it’s worth pointing out that IHS included in its considerations the possibility of a 7.x-inch device release from Apple in the form of an iPad mini coming out later this year. If anything, the growing market at that end of the spectrum is merely an indication that Apple should be looking in that direction to grow its own hold on the tablet market.

The big winners on the manufacturing side this season were LG Display and Samsung, with 42 and 38 percent market share respectively. Both are key component suppliers to Apple, and that should help them continue to hold their lead in at least the near future. IHS notes that others are poised to enter the game, however, as panel suppliers in general see the growth opportunity in the emerging tablet market.

With new products out from Amazon, Kobo, Google and other manufacturers using Android including Samsung, the two big wildcards remain the possibility of an iPad mini, and the effect Windows 8 devices will have on the tablet space once they ship. Both are expected either later this year (an iPad mini announcement could come as soon as October, and the anticipated ship date of Microsoft’s Surface tablets is October 26).

As soon as Apple had taken the wraps off its new flagship smartphone, iPhone 5, there was praise as well as criticism. Many said that the new iPhone lacked innovation and that iPhone 5 may finally lead to Apple’s decline in the smartphone market. As it turns out, the facts point to the contrary.

We reported earlier that Apple as well as the wireless carriers offering the device ran out of the pre-orders stock within hours. The demand was so high that the shipment date for those who are now placing the pre-order had to be pushed weeks away. And now, Apple has divulged exactly how many pre-orders it has landed within the first 24 hours. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Geekbench results: iPhone 5 narrowly beats Galaxy S3, iPhone 5 pre-orders begin at Friday midnight, Pacific Time,

The ASUS PadFone was officially launched in May last year, so after more than a year in existence, it would be fair to say that a sequel is in the works. In fact, it seems that the ASUS PadFone 2 (you can’t get any more creative than that when it comes to naming convention) will be powered by a quad-core processor, or at least that is what was divulged when spotted in action over at an AnTuTu database.

We are looking at the ASUS PadFone 2 running on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, accompanied by a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, and 2GB RAM amidst other hardware specifications. Of course, all of the above mentioned should be taken with a grain of salt until there is an official confirmation or announcement released, but in the meantime, you might want to keep a keen eye out for news on the ASUS PadFone 2. Who knows, there might be a prototype in store when MWC 2013 rolls around early next year?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Nexus 7 does 720p webcam recording, Nexus 7 3G Variant Coming Soon [Rumor],

Innovation. According to one Mads Thimmer, it’s a word that held a great deal of mystery some 10-plus years ago, but today, “it’s thrown around as a cliché.” When you really get down to it, though, the art of innovating is a hugely delicate and complex one, fraught with frustration and a curious passion for never settling on the here and now. In covering the world of consumer technology, I’ve come to form my own understanding of what innovation is, what it isn’t and how companies are embracing (or outright shunning) the idea. After an evening with the cofounder of Innovation Lab, however, I was rightfully ready to toss my own preconceived notions aside.

Continue reading Dreams, curiosity and a passion for what’s next: picking the brain of Innovation Lab’s Mads Thimmer

Filed under: Misc

Dreams, curiosity and a passion for what’s next: picking the brain of Innovation Lab’s Mads Thimmer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re going to make a blockbuster smartphone pre-order splash, selling 23 iPhone 5 handsets a second for a solid 24 hour period is probably a good way of going about it. AT&T’s enthusiasm about the iPhone 5 launch tipped some impressive numbers incoming, and Apple didn’t disappoint, revealing the latest iteration of the iconic handset broke its predecessor’s (already healthy) pre-order record. More than 2m units in a single day – or, for those of you without a calculator to hand, more than 23 units a second or 1,389 a minute – sets the bar high for the weeks and months ahead.

It’s already clear that, even with Apple’s best efforts, initial stock for the new iPhone was inadequate. The company burned through its release-day stock for the US in under an hour, despite sales kicking off at midnight Pacific time, a pattern that was quickly followed in other regional Apple Stores.

As it stands now, Apple warns that shipment estimates for online orders have slipped into October. Carriers aren’t talking about specific availability, for the most part, but have also warned in general that supplies are tight. Queues have already begun to form outside brick & mortar Apple Stores in the US and the UK.

Day one preorders are only the first step of the journey, however; what remains to be seen is how much momentum the iPhone 5 can maintain. There’s been a pent-up demand among iPhone 4 owners waiting to upgrade – delayed somewhat by Apple’s pushed-back release schedule – and perhaps unimpressed by the internally-changed but externally-identical iPhone 4S, which may have led to an initial gush of sales, but can that torrent maintain its strength?

iPhone 5 hands-on:

Analysts seem to think so. Notorious Apple-addict Gene Munster was already predicting 10m iPhone 5 sales in September alone, even before the handset was officially unveiled, but he’s been joined by Canaccord Genuity’s Michael Walkley, CNET reports, who has upped his own estimate from 6m to 9-10m for this month.

Maintaining a 2m-per-day average for the rest of the month would add up to a crazy 17m sales by the end of September. It’s also almost certainly not going to happen. The next rush will likely be at the end of this week, when in-store sales begin; assuming Apple and its carrier partners have sufficient stock on hand to meet demand, walk-in sales over the weekend should provide a second surge.

More on the iPhone 5 in our full hands-on.

Define success: 23 iPhone 5 sales a second? is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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