Hasta La Gadget!

We’re used to hearing about Apple devices selling out here in the US, and it appears that in China things aren’t much different. Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White is saying today that iPad minis are flying off shelves there, after its launch in Hong Kong on back in November and China earlier this month. According to White, many stores in China and Hong Kong are out of stock, while the fourth-generation iPad, which launched at the same time, is still relatively easy to get.

So, it would appear that the iPad mini is quite a bit more popular than the fourth-gen iPad, something that White attributes to the smaller size and price tag. “Prior to the China launch, we indicated that the iPad Mini would be the ‘next big thing in China’ and we believe this phenomenon is starting to develop,” he said in a note to CNET. “In our view, the smaller form factor and lower price point will allow Apple to sell the iPad Mini in more meaningful volumes versus the regular-size iPad.”

The iPhone 5 has been selling well too, though unlike the iPad Mini, it remains readily available. Apple has experienced some issues with yields when it comes to iPad mini components, which means that the company hasn’t been able to keep up with demand. A recent rumor said yields are improving though, and that Apple should be able to sell as many as 13 million iPad minis in quarter 1, 2013.

Achieving that figure relies heavily on Apple getting these yield issues sorted out, which we hear are mainly affecting iPad mini screens. Whatever the issue, you can bet that it’s a top priority for Apple to get more iPad minis shipping out to stores. We’ll see if Apple can hit that 13 million mark soon enough, as quarter 1 2013 is right around the corner. Stay tuned.

iPad mini tipped to make a massive splash in China is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It may very well be time that Apple introduces another new product, this time taking what they’ve already got on the market with the ThunderBolt display and the Apple TV set-top box and combining them into one next-level product. This product – or something like it – was tipped this week by Jefferies analyst James Kisner whose anonymous source spoke with a North American cable provider (aka he said, she said, down the line) who said they were “working to estimate how much additional capacity may be needed for a new Apple device on their broadband data network.” Another possibility here is that the talks earlier today with Dish and Google may have leaked over into Apple’s universe.

When you think about a new Apple product – or the possibility of one, in this case – you have to consider how Apple would be able to market said product. They would never release a television set that just works with cable TV. That’s backward thinking. They also wouldn’t release a product that only works with online content the way the current Apple TV does – that would be a sideways move that, given the sales of the Apple TV now, wouldn’t make any sense either.

Instead you’ve got to consider how a new product would be marketable, and for Apple it’d be something like this: Apple TV, a new product that replaces your set-top box and your standard television, doing it all with a high definition display the likes of which have never been seen before! But they’d have to present an ecosystem of apps and content that could work with the device right out the gate.

Regardless of this, Kisner spoke the following: “we believe this potentially suggest an imminent launch of the Apple TV.” It’s interesting that they choose to use the term Apple TV since that’s the product that’s already on the market now as a content box that connects with Netflix and Hulu and your iPad and iPhone. But there’s nothing else to call it at the moment, is there? Apple HDTV is just about the best bet at the moment.

Apple HDTV product tipped as “imminent” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Third quarter figures from Gartner are out, reporting worldwide mobile phone sales slowed again in Q3 2012. Smartphones, however, showed a 46.9 percent increase in sales over the same period last year, with 169.2 million units sold. As you would imagine, Apple and Samsung sold the most, accounting for almost half of all worldwide smartphone purchases. Nokia sales declined during the quarter, and with only 7.2 million of its smartphones filling customers’ hands, its ranking in this segment plummeted from third to seventh (although Gartner expects sales of the new Lumia devices should soften the fall in Q4). In contrast, Apple had a solid quarter, with sales up 36.2 percent year-on-year, which is expected to continue into the fourth quarter as the iPhone 5 launches in more markets. Samsung didn’t do too bad either, increasing sales by 18.6 percent year-on-year thanks to its Galaxy range (although it’s important to note this figure is for total phone sales, not just smartphones). In the OS wars, Android continued to grow its market share up to 72.4 percent, with iOS taking the second spot with 13.9 percent. Stalwart RIM made a leap into the top three with its BlackBerry OS, as aging Symbian saw its usage decline further. If you want to pour over the figures yourself, check out the source below.

Update: We’ve tinkered with the post to remove some confusion between total mobile phone sales and smartphone sales. None of the figures have been changed.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Nokia, RIM

Gartner: smartphone sales up 47 percent in Q3, Android’s OS market share increases (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple may have quietly shored up Sharp with a $2bn display order fudge, one market analyst has suggested, in an attempt to stabilize the struggling Japanese firm and reduce reliance on arch foe Samsung. An unforeseen $2.3bn extra in Apple’s capital expenditure in 2012 – the bulk of which wasn’t reported as cash flow – caught the eye of Asymco‘s Horace Dediu, who speculates that the money could’ve been used to take control of an ailing Sharp production plant and pay for it by pre-purchasing displays for iPhones and iPads.

After a few record quarters, $2bn may not seem like a vast amount in the context of Apple’s cash flow. However, it’s how that $2bn was recorded and summarized that is prompting speculation of a helping hand for Sharp. Apple’s financial report said that overall expenditures were predominantly classed as “product tooling, manufacturing process equipment and infrastructure” but that cash payments were $2bn lower, indicating that Apple had “paid” for the extra in some other way.

“Circumstantial evidence points to the asset being production equipment (or even a whole plant) previously owned by Sharp. Sharp is a key supplier of screens to Apple but is also in financial distress. Sharp has also been the object of an intended investment by Foxconn [Hon Hai]. That deal fell through as Sharp’s finances deteriorated. My guess is that these attempts to shore up Sharp are directed by Apple to ensure both continuity of supply and a balanced supplier base (offsetting Samsung, another supplier.)” Horace Dediu, Asymco

Pumping $2bn into Sharp by purchasing a plant and paying for it in pre-ordered components is one possibility, Dediu suggests – though he couches it in the warning that it’s “strictly hypothetical” and based on evidence “hinting at an explanation” – and would represent an Apple stance that a reliable source of components that weren’t entirely from Samsung is better than $2bn in the bank. Should Sharp collapse, as its recent financial performance has indicated is a possibility, its production lines might be sold off and the supply of displays for key Apple products halted.

“I believe that Apple’s late and unprecedented expenditure was to secure this asset. I further believe that the financing for this deal was done through a swap of “pre-orders”. Stepping even further into the hypothesis, I believe Apple arranged to move a Sharp screen production line onto its books and “paid” for it through a pre-payment of components. This being a pre-payment it would be in the form of an “off balance sheet” commitment” Horace Dediu

It’s worth remembering that, if the situation did in fact pan out this way, Apple isn’t spending any money it didn’t envisage paying out in the longer-term. Instead, the company would basically have agreed to pay in advance so as to keep Sharp’s creditors at bay.

Sharp had been the subject of acquisition chatter by Foxconn, but stumbles in the display company’s performance supposedly soured that possibility. However, Apple is increasingly reliant on Sharp – as well as AUO and LG Display – as an alternative source of components to Samsung, a company Apple is increasingly looking (with mixed success) to dilute as a key supplier.

[via Fortune]

$2bn Apple life raft for Sharp rumored is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

IDC’s third quarter figures are in, complete with a few unexpected shake-ups. The entire cellphone market grew 2.4% over the same time last year, but smartphones drove the majority of that, showing growth of 45.3% and beating the analysts’ expectations. Of the 179.7 million smartphones shipped, Samsung and Apple devices accounted for almost half of them, with the companies retaining their number one and two positions in the market, respectively. IDC notes that iPhone shipments didn’t increase, but this is somewhat expected given the latest iteration was released only a short time before the end of the quarter. What we find particularly interesting is that Nokia was ousted from the top five smartphone players and replaced by RIM. Whether Nokia’s upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices will put it back in contention remains to be seen, as does the effect BB10 and RIM’s new handsets will have on the market. ZTE finished fourth in the list thanks to increased sales in North America, with HTC rounding up the top five vendors with continued uptake of its power devices. With a bunch of new handsets coming to the table and the holiday season fast approaching, look out for even more surprises in the fourth quarter numbers, due early next year.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, RIM

IDC: Samsung and Apple still kings of the smartphone market, Nokia loses top five spot to RIM originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 03:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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