HTC One turnaround tipped as supply bottleneck loosens

A sluggish start to HTC One shipments hasn’t robbed the new flagship of all its stream, new analyst figures claim, with a “mini turnaround” predicted as the One picks up the pace. 1.2m One units are expected to ship in April, J.P. Morgan Securities’ supply chain checks indicate, up from just 300,000 in March after the phone’s stumbling launch, with around 2m expected to ship in May.

AT&T HTC One

“We have previously said that the new ‘One’ is HTC’s last chance for a turnaround” analyst Alvin Kwock wrote in an investors note last week, concluding that “we now think HTC has done enough to at least see a mini-turnaround.” According to his inquiries with HTC’s suppliers, the issues that had hamstrung stock of the smartphone “have significantly improved in the last two weeks.”

It’s enough to prompt Morgan to predict a 50-percent rise in Q2 revenue over Q1, though arguably that would not be hard since HTC recorded its worst ever quarter at the top of this year. The company blamed a shortage of UltraPixel camera components for the stock problem, which saw the One launch in just three of the eighty countries it had intended by the end of March. Supply chain sources claim the company also had problems getting sufficient voice coil motors for the phone.

That, among other reasons, led to suggestions that HTC had been downgraded as a customer by the supply chain, something Kwock says has also been addressed. The Morgan analyst cites new vendor qualification and technology transfer as key parts of that turnaround, along with a greater volume increase of orders, Focus Taiwan reports.

Nonetheless, there’s a long way to go before HTC is out of the woods, particularly with the GALAXY S 4 fast approaching. Last year’s Galaxy S III shipped 10m within two months of going on sale, and demand for the fourth-gen flagship is likely to be even higher as Samsung cranks up its marketing machine.

[via Android Beat]


HTC One turnaround tipped as supply bottleneck loosens is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Galaxy S 4 won’t stop iPhone research warns

Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 won’t be enough to stem the flow of iPhone buyers, new US research suggests, with the freshly-revealed fourth-gen flagship facing waning brand loyalty. Just 15-percent of US consumers intend to buy a Samsung phone within the next six months, Yankee Group‘s March research indicates, versus 40-percent aiming to buy an iPhone. Meanwhile, Samsung faces more difficulties persuading existing owners to replace their handset with another Samsung, the research group claims, compared to Apple loyalty.

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In fact, 85-percent of iPhone owners apparently said they would replace their phone with another iPhone. Only 61-percent of Samsung owners said they’d buy another Samsung. Yankee highlights that consumers aiming to buy Samsung phones within the next six months was actually down in Q1 2013, versus Q4 2012.

Although the focus of Yankee’s current report is the Galaxy S 4, in some ways the numbers illustrate a trend within the Android and iOS marketplace overall. The Android to iOS defection rate is 17-percent, the research firm claims; in the other direction, the rate of iOS users jumping ship to Android is 8-percent.

Of course, a survey of consumer intentions toward their next smartphone purchase coming right as the Galaxy S 4 is announced likely means that individual opinions on the new handset are based on rumor, rather than the content of the actual launch. Whether those opinions will change now that the full details of the phone are public remains to be seen; Yankee Group joins the clamor of people arguing that the Galaxy S 4 was really more of a “Galaxy S III S” (to borrow some of Apple’s nomenclature) than a true update.

On the flip side, of course, the phone has a bigger and higher-resolution screen, faster processor, higher-resolution camera, updated software, and accommodates a larger battery, all in a chassis that measures roughly the same as the Galaxy it replaces. There’s an argument that, if the Galaxy S 4 didn’t stick so closely to the Galaxy S III/Note II aesthetic, it would’ve been more readily acknowledged as a greater change.

Whatever the truth, Yankee Group warns that Samsung has some homework to do if it wants to see the Galaxy S 4 claw market share from Apple. “Unless Samsung works very hard to change consumers’ minds in the next six months, we actually see Apple gaining ownership share on Samsung in the U.S. in 2013 rather than the other way around” Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe concludes.


Galaxy S 4 won’t stop iPhone research warns is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung shores up suppliers as 10m Galaxy S4 sales predicted

Samsung has learned from its supply chain hiccups and has steeled its manufacturing partners to meet expected Galaxy S4 demand, it’s said, amid analyst predictions of potentially 10m sales in month one. The Korean company would not be drawn on what preparations had been made, but “ased on checks we had with suppliers,” IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo told Reuters, “Samsung has already done significant work to ensure smooth supply.”

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Although some of the components and parts industry observers believe may cause Samsung headaches are perhaps to be expected – the eight-core processor some countries will get, or the rumored 5-inch, 1080p display – others are more mundane. Manufacturing cases of the Galaxy S4 itself is supposedly encountering issues, with “tight supply” according to HMC Investment and Securities analyst Greg Noh.

To be avoided are the stock bottlenecks that impacted Galaxy S III availability in 2012, and which some estimated cost Samsung 2m sales in the space of a month after it couldn’t meet demand. That was in part down to manufacturing issues that affected the “pebble blue” version of the phone, which forced Samsung to recall all of the cases and re-make them.

Anticipation around the new device has reached iPhone-esque levels of furore, though recent leaks have prompted questions as to how evolutionary versus revolutionary the new Galaxy might be. The design – criticized in the Galaxy S III for being too plasticky, versus the metal of the iPhone – looks set to be largely unchanged, with the S4 simply further closing the gap between the current model and the 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II.

Even if that’s the case, and the changes are relatively marginal, analysts say that’s unlikely to have too detrimental an impact on Samsung’s overall sales. The strength of the Galaxy brand – and the company’s willingness to throw millions of dollars at reinforcing it through marketing – could well mean that, even if all expectations aren’t quite exceeded, that will have little to no effect on how many people want to actually buy one.

That given, Samsung can’t afford 2012′s stock issues; certainly if it wants to compete with the iPhone 5 in the US and abroad, where Apple’s flagship has been claiming the top spot in sales according to recent research. We’ll know exactly how appealing the Galaxy S4 is tomorrow, when SlashGear heads to NYC to bring back all the details from Samsung’s launch event.

[Image via iFixit]


Samsung shores up suppliers as 10m Galaxy S4 sales predicted is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

PS4, Xbox 720 Game Prices Could Reach $70 [Analyst]

PS4, Xbox 720 Game Prices Could Reach $70 [Analyst]

A few weeks ago, EA executive Blake Jorgensen raised a few eyebrows as he believes the next generation of video games will bring on another rise in costs to make new games cost $69. It seems he isn’t entirely alone in his way of thinking as gaming analyst Michael Pachter also believes a rise in video game prices should also be expected when the next generation of consoles is released.

Pachter spoke at the SXSW gaming conference with GameTrailers’ Geoff Keighley live-tweeting his lecture. During his presentation, Pachter shared a prediction of game prices to occur in the next generation of video game consoles saying “PS4 and next Xbox games will likely cost 70 dollars, 10 dollars more than current gen.”

Considering how Pachter said the next Xbox will outsell the PlayStation 4 and Wii U without even knowing the final specs for the PS4 and next Xbox, we think you should take this news with a grain of salt, especially since he also isn’t an official video games industry source. We just hope video game publishers don’t get the crazy idea of raising the prices for their games as we’re sure many of you already feel $60 for a new game is pretty high.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: StarCraft 2: Heart Of The Swarm Has Gone Live!, Leaked Star Wars Game Might Be Star Wars: Battlefront 3 Predecessor,

BlackBerry Z10 sales estimates cut significantly

While the BlackBerry Z10 released among a crowd of curious and eager onlookers, most of which were excited to see BlackBerry’s newest offerings, the general public doesn’t seem to be too crazy about the new Z10 according to Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley, who cut the sales forecast of BlackBerry’s new smartphone from 1.75 million units to just 300,000.

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Walkley trimmed his estimates based on mixed initial sales of the Z10 along with a later-than-expected launch in the US. Currently, the Z10 is only available in Canada and the UK, with a US launch on all major carriers sometime next month. However, once the Z10 launches in the US, Walkley isn’t expecting a lot of reception, saying that he anticipates carriers to not have large inventories of the device.

BlackBerry announced the Z10 earlier this month on February 5, where the company also introduced the Q10, which is another new touchscreen smartphone but with a physical keyboard on board. These two phones, along with the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, are the company’s answers to moving their business forward and attempt to bounce back from six straight quarters of losses.

Of course, Walkley mentioned that BlackBerry still faces stiff competition from iOS and Android this year. Both Apple and Samsung will most likely launch new smartphones this year: the rumored iPhone 5S and the Galaxy S IV, both of which are said to be arriving with some pretty mean features on board.

[via Investors.com]


BlackBerry Z10 sales estimates cut significantly is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Android And iOS Capture 91.1% Global Market Share

Android And iOS Capture 91.1% Global Market Share

IDC has released its the latest numbers that it has gathered about the smartphone industry, and they show that Android and iOS have captured a combined 91.1% mobile operating system market share. While we all knew that they both accounted for the large majority of the market, the number remind us how much of an uphill battle it is for competitors like Windows Phone, Blackberry, Ubuntu mobile, Firefox OS and Samsung’s Tizen. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Mysterious Nokia Lumia Device Spotted In Lumia 920 Ad, Google Launches Nexus 4 Store Locator,

Apple Launching The iPhone 5S In June [Rumor]

Apple Launching The iPhone 5S In June [Rumor]

iPhone fan art

How much speculation can a single man spark? Jefferies analyst Peter Misek  (again) seems confident about Apple launching the iPhone 5S by June. According to his predictions, Apple should start production of the iPhone 5S by March to unveil it at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Apple’s iPhone 5 sales are slowing, but analysts are interpreting the declining sales figures as indication of Apple cutting down on production of the iPhone 5. Peter Misek says that production is down from 40 million to 30 million. In his opinion there are very few changes between the 5 and 5S models.   (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPhone 6 Rumored To Have Been Delayed To 2014, Apple Will Release Budget iPhone June 2013, Says Analyst,

Analyst: Apple Could Finally Be Opening Up Apple TV To Developers At An Event In March

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The Apple TV could finally be getting a developer SDK that would allow third-party apps to appear on the platform, according to an analyst note from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek today. The note cites channel checks as the source of the info that Apple will hold an Apple TV-related event in March, at which time it may introduce an SDK for “iTV” development.

Misek also predicts that there will be an actual hardware Apple television set launching later in the year, around September or October, meaning Gene Munster isn’t the only analyst singing that particular tune. But so-called iTV or no, the possibility that Apple will finally open up its set-top box to developers the way it has done with the iPhone and iPad is exciting.

But we’ve been here before. The Apple TV has always seemed ripe for a third-party developer SDK, ever since it originally launched back in 2007, and especially once the second generation model came out in 201o. It was even running a version of iOS when the little black model debuted, which seemed like a guaranteed sign that it was only a matter of time before we’d see Apple do the same thing they’d done with the iPhone: unlock the potential of the platform with an SDK and developer program.

Instead, what we actually saw was Apple roll out third-party apps with various updates, one or a few at a time, carefully gating access to the platform. As to why it would do that, there are a few reasons, but I’d guess that at least part of it has to do with Apple’s ongoing efforts to negotiate content deals with major providers including networks and film studios. Move too quickly to unlock the platform, and you risk incurring the enmity of content distributors who want to have a say in who has access to a channel. Those old media giants probably aren’t too comfortable with a Wild West App Store-type vibe making its way to the living room, especially when it has the popularity and install base of Apple’s iOS users.

In a roundabout way, there are already apps on the Apple TV, and not just the native ones Apple has given golden approval. AirPlay means most apps can mirror their content from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to the big screen, and do so with a high degree of fidelity, for the most part. But the difference is akin to when Apple originally said that third-party developers can build apps for iPhone, but they’d have to use the web browser to do it. There’s a lot you can accomplish, but it’s not the same as if the apps were operating natively on Apple TV itself.

So how likely is it that this time we’ll actually see Apple open things up? If it is planning a full television launch, an App Store ready to go and populated with content ahead of time would help it greatly, but that depends on Misek’s sources being right on both counts. Misek has been hit or miss when it comes to Apple rumors in the past, but he did get pretty close on iPhone 4S details ahead of its launch back in 2012.

iPhone 5S preliminary production tipped for March, launch in June/July

We were hoping after the launch of the iPhone 5 that we’d get at least a short break from the seemingly endless stream of rumor and speculation, but we quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. Here’s some more speculation to toss on the ever-growing pile: Jefferies analyst Peter Misek thinks Apple has two new iPhone prototypes in testing. Care to guess what one of those prototypes is?

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If you just yelled “iPhone 5S!” at your computer screen, give yourself a pat on the back. Misek predicted in a note to investors that Apple will begin preliminary production on the iPhone 5S in March, which is one of the reasons we’ve been hearing that the company has scaled back on component orders a bit. Other reasons for the reported component cut back include a healthy stock of some components due to a bottleneck caused by a shortage of others and demand that’s either in line with or only slightly below expectations, according to Misek.

In any case, Misek believes that Apple will launch the iPhone 5S in June or July – a prediction he’s made in the past. If Apple does launch the iPhone 5S in that window, it will be breaking from its history of late-year iPhone releases. He also believes that the company will ultimately decide to offer a less expensive version of the iPhone, which could be the second device Apple is believed to have in testing. A cheaper iPhone could help Apple in newer markets like China, and he believes such a device would ship with a polycarbonite case, a 4-inch display, and no LTE functionality.

Misek also took the time to make a prediction about the iPhone 6, saying that it will have a larger 4.8-inch screen. To put that in perspective, remember that the Galaxy S III has a 4.8-inch display as well, so iPhone users will be working with quite a bit of screen real estate if that prediction turns out to be true. We’ll have to wait and see if Misek hits the nail on the head with his analysis, so keep it tuned here to SlashGear for more.

[via Apple Insider]


iPhone 5S preliminary production tipped for March, launch in June/July is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Analyst: Wii U underperformed at GameStop during holiday season

With the holiday shopping rush comes the expectation that console and game sales will enjoy a boost. According to Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, however, that wasn’t quite the case for the Wii U. Bhatia said in a note today that sales of the Wii U and its games at GameStop have come in under expectations, which is a bit surprising considering that Wii U sales have seemed generally healthy so far.

WiiU

Indeed, the Wii U sold 400,000 units in its first week on the shelves in the US, and while we don’t have any numbers for Europe, we do know that the console managed more than 300,000 sales during its first weekend of availability in Japan. Despite that strong start, Bhatia said that there has been an abundance of Wii Us on shelves at GameStop, which suggests slow sales. Bhatia also said that the attach rate for new console sales was “low,” so players aren’t buying many games when they go to pick up their new Wii U.

That may be easily explained – after all, a number of launch titles for the Wii U were simply ports of older Xbox 360 and PS3 games. Perhaps gamers are waiting for more new titles before deciding to splurge on Wii U games? Bhatia points out that the Wii U Deluxe bundles are selling better than basic models, which is hardly surprising considering the Deluxe bundle offers a 32GB hard drive to the basic set’s 8GB of storage.

The Deluxe bundle also bestows a pack-in copy of Nintendo Land upon consumers, so it’s pretty easy to see why customers are opting for that edition over the basic set. If this is true, it’s rather disappointing news, but remember that the Wii U is still very young. 2013 will be a big year for the new console, so we’ll be getting a better idea of how it’s performing as we slowly make our way toward 2014. Stay tuned.

[via GameSpot]


Analyst: Wii U underperformed at GameStop during holiday season is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.