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Screens for Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, the much-rumored high resolution upgrade to the company’s entry-level mainstream notebook, are already in production according to analyst whispers. “The supply chain indications are that it’s for a MacBook Pro 13.3″ NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shin told CNET, rather than for the similarly-sized MacBook Air ultraportable. According to the estimates, meanwhile, Apple looks to be going big for the smaller Retina laptop.

Whereas production of the high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display was comparatively low, in partial response to the notebook’s very high starting price, Apple appears to be aiming for the more mainstream market with the new, smaller model. “With 15.4 it’s production of a few hundred thousand units” Shin commented, “versus one to two million for the 13.3.”

That could see the smaller Retina model escape the supply order backlog that affected the original, larger model. Online orders of the notebook were prolonged to up to four weeks, with Apple surprised by the extent of demand.

Exactly which company is providing the panel is unclear, though both Samsung and LG Display are known to be working with Apple on Retina-branded screen technology, and Shin says Sharp is also involved. The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro will run at a lower resolution than the 15-inch – 2,560 x 1,600 versus 2,880 x 1,800 – but the more compact screen size will mean the individual pixels are equally as difficult to identify to the human eye.

Benchmarks for the mysterious new MacBook Pro were spotted online in recent months, fueling rumors of an imminent launch. The MacBook Pro 13 with Retina would be cheaper and likely less powerful than the current version, though likely lighter and more portable as well.

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina panels in 2m production tips analyst is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When it comes to technology and the end of a financial quarter, you can bet your wage there’ll be an analyst report or two letting you what’s what. And according to Gartner’s latest estimates for Western Europe, PCs didn’t fare too well in Q2 of this year, with a 2.4 percent decrease in shipments compared with the same period in 2011. Consignments of mobile PCs (read: not tablets) grew by 4 percent, while desktops floundered, dropping 12.8 percent. Of this, a minor growth of 0.4 percent was recorded in consumer PCs, while the professional market decreased by 5.3 percent. Among the big hitters, HP remained at the top of the pile despite losing some market share, and Acer remained in second position with a mild increase in the same. ASUS put in a healthy performance, moving the company up to bronze medal position, while Dell dropped off the podium to fourth. The vendor statistics for the whole region were echoed in France in Germany, but during the quarter Apple managed to break into the top five in the UK market. Meike Escherich, principal analyst at Gartner, attributes the overall performance to economic uncertainty in the region, as well as lackluster demand in the wait for Windows 8 machines. We don’t want to spoil all the fun, so a comprehensive breakdown of the numbers awaits you at the source link.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Gartner reports Western Europe desktop shipments down, portable PCs up in Q2 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung had an iPhone-squashing Q2 2012, analysts predict, shipping twice as many smartphones in the three month period, though the specter of the iPhone 5 is expected to put a dampener on Korean celebrations. The Galaxy S III helped lead Samsung to a total of 52m smartphones in Q2, Juniper Research estimates, more than double Apple’s market-disappointing 26m iPhone sales.

Of course, Samsung’s strength is its spread across the smartphone playing field. The Galaxy S III shipped 10m devices itself, but Samsung also has “Galaxy products hitting all price points” Juniper highlights, having “leveraged its global brand strength and the popularity of the Android OS to drive sales of smartphones in all price tiers.”

Meanwhile, other players in the smartphone game aren’t coming out as shiny as Samsung. RIM shipped 7.4m smartphones in Q2 and Nokia 10.2m, “yet to show any clear indication it is benefitting from the switch to Windows Phone 7, with its hopes riding on Windows 8 [sic]” Juniper suggests. HTC’s “early promise” has been stymied by Samsung, while Motorola is described as being “distracted by the Google acquisition” and weak in Western Europe.

In fact, beyond Apple and Samsung, Juniper is most positive about Sony’s potential, though critical of its current performance. “Sony should be doing better” Daniel Ashdown, Juniper research analyst suggests, “it, like Samsung, has a global name and the Xperia brand is well-established but its marketing and products have been disappointing so far.”

Samsung shouldn’t rest on its laurels, the analyst firm warns, though. Apple’s next-gen iPhone is expected to arrive in the second half of 2012 and “undoubtedly narrow the gap.”

Samsung trounced iPhone twice over in Q2 smartphones claim analysts is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s iPad Mini takes styling cues from the 4th-gen iPod touch rather than the new iPad, sources supposedly familiar with the latest tablet prototypes have claimed, with production expected to kick off in September. Sales of the slate will begin in time to monopolize the holiday shopping season, Macotakara‘s insiders say, complete with WiFi-only and 3G/4G models. Even at the rumored price premium over the Nexus 7, meanwhile, analysts reckon Apple would have a multi-million seller on their hands by the end of the year.

Notorious Apple-enthusiast Gene “Where the heck is my Apple television?!” Munster of Piper Jaffray has informed investors that the iPad Mini could shift as many as 6m units this holiday season, AppleInsider reports. According to the analyst’s latest research note, “Apple could sell 4-6 million smaller iPads in the December quarter, assuming a holiday launch … if the launch occurs in [Q4 2012], we believe the smaller iPad would add about 1-percent to revenue and [earnings per share] in December.”

Meanwhile, although Munster concedes that there would likely be some cannibalization of Apple’s existing iPad sales, he believes it would be outweighed by the impact on Android-based tablets. 10-percent of current full-sized iPad sales would likely migrate to iPad Mini sales, the analyst estimates, whereas 30-percent of total Android tablet sales would likely be stolen by the smaller iOS model.

Aesthetically, the new iPad Mini is believed to follow in the footsteps of the 3.5-inch iPod touch rather than the new iPad. That could imply a chrome-finish back rather than the brushed aluminum of the 9.7-inch tablet, or it might simply be a reference to the media player’s curved edges rather than the more angular bevel of the iPad’s rear cover.

As for thickness, exact numbers are in short supply, but it is supposedly thinner than the current thinnest model; it’s not clear whether that’s a reference to other tablets on the market in general, or the 9.4mm thick new iPad. Previous leaks have indicated a roughly $299 starting price for the iPad Mini.

iPad Mini to borrow iPod touch style tip prototype insiders is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve seen so much Ultrabook news recently we’re beginning to think they’re catching on. Market research firm the NPD Group has stepped in to confirm our suspicions, reporting a 39 percent jump in sales of premium Windows laptops (900 bucks and up) during the first five months of this year, compared with the same period in 2011. Despite a three percent drop in sales of $700-plus Windows notebooks, the Ultrabook share of this bracket increased steadily to nearly 11 percent. The analysts predict sales of these lower-end models will pick up as back-to-school purchases sooth the post-summer blues, with a general boost to the whole Ultrabook market expected when Windows 8 arrives. One thing the figures don’t tell us is what impact these sales are having on the revenue of Apple’s skinny flagship, but we’d sure like to know. If numbers are your thing, the PR is past the break.

Continue reading Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently

Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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