Hasta La Gadget!

Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you’re like us and really want to know what’s going on, then you’ve come to the right place. This past week, the Galaxy Nexus for Sprint and Verizon Wireless each became available for free, while in the MVNO world, Simple Mobile dropped the price of its high-speed unlimited smartphone plan to $50. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of July 30th, 2012.

Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of July 30th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Mobile Miscellany: week of July 30th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Viacom’s frenemy, DirecTV, has announced that it suffered a net loss of subscribers for the first time in its history. The revelation came in its second quarter filing, which claimed that the exodus is actually a purge — due to a tighter credit policy and a change of focus toward “higher quality” customers. The dip in numbers hasn’t hurt the balance sheet, however, with revenues up seven percent to $5.65 billion, leading to a net profit of $604 million. This time out, there’s no reference to the recently-minted deal to keep Viacom’s stations on the service, believed to be in the region of $600 million per year — but we expect it to appear on the books in the next quarterly report.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

DirecTV waves goodbye to 52,000 subscribers in first ever net loss of customers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  BusinessWire  | Email this | Comments

IDC’s latest figures offer some predictable reading. More phones are being sold than ever before; 406 million units were sold in Q2, against 401.8 million in the same period last year — with a 42 percent increase in smartphone sales. The winners? Perennial court antagonists, Samsung and Apple, with the duo doubling their combined market share over the last two years. Samsung maintains its lead, reaching over 50 million phones sold — and a new quarterly sales record — while Apple saw a quarter-over-quarter decline, as buyers presumably wait for Cupertino’s latest iteration, or go elsewhere. Nokia, meanwhile, had another “transitional” quarter, with sales of both Symbian and MeeGo devices shrinking, although its Windows Phones proved stronger. According to IDC‘s figures, Nokia and Microsoft’s team-up handset sales have doubled since last quarter. HTC misses out on a top three spot, but its fortunes appear to have improved over the last two quarters, with the IDC pointing the finger at a more streamlined product range from the Taiwan manufacturer. ZTE continues to nip at its heels, reaching the top five thanks to strong entry-level smartphone sales in China, while continuing to inch onto US shores. If you’re looking for a full breakdown of all phones sold, dumb and otherwise, read up at the source below.

Filed under: Cellphones

IDC: Samsung and Apple ship almost half of all smartphones, but Korean manufacturer maintains lead originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  IDC  | Email this | Comments

The numbers for Samsung’s Q2 2012 earnings period are in and it was another big one, with the electronics giant reporting an operating profit of $5.9 billion, driven largely by growth in its smartphone business — just as it predicted. That’s up 79 percent from the same period last year, with the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note specifically mentioned as having contributed to both high sales and higher average selling prices. The company doesn’t break out exact selling figures in its earnings reports, however that business unit contributed $3.65 billion in profit to the bottom line. Sales of memory chips and processors declined slightly from last year, TV sales were up slightly, thanks to demand for 3D and LED models. Samsung is claiming a mid-80 percent share of LED HDTV sales and plans to keep that going by pushing “entry level” models in emerging markets. Ready to dig through the numbers yourself? The press release follows after the break, if we find any more details or hear anything on the earnings call, we’ll let you know.

Continue reading Samsung’s Q2 2012 earnings show $5.86 billion operating profit, that’s a lot of Galaxy S IIIs

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment

Samsung’s Q2 2012 earnings show $5.86 billion operating profit, that’s a lot of Galaxy S IIIs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Samsung Q2 2-12 Earnings slides (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

When internet mega retailer Amazon kicked off its fiscal year this past spring with $13.8 billion in net sales, the prognosis for the quarter ahead was dour, to say the least. At the time, the company projected its Q2 2012 performance would see an operating loss of $40 million to $260 million versus Q2 2011, as well as a slight down tick in revenue at $11.9 billion to $13.3 billion quarter to quarter. Well, the numbers are in and it looks like the forecast was right on the money. The Seattle-based outfit posted $7 million in net income for the quarter, a year over year loss amounting to a whopping 96 percent decrease. As for net sales, that picture’s a bit rosier given the 29 percent increase over Q2 2011 that saw the Bezos-backed co. pull in $12.83 billion — a figure that would have risen to 32 percent were it not for a $272 million hit due to “changes in foreign exchange rates[.]” Operating cash flow for Q2 2012 was down by nearly half at $107MM compared to the same segment last year.

Unsurprisingly, the company’s budget Kindle Fire tab — which has enjoyed relatively weak competition up to now — is still the number one item across Amazon’s site, with titles in its Lending Library growing to over 170,000. Bezos also made note of Prime’s growth, pegging that subscription offering’s catalog of items at 15 million and highlighting the addition of 18,000 movies and TV shows to its streaming service.

As for the future, the company expects Q3 net sales to grow by at least 19 percent year-over-year, landing somewhere between $12.9 billion and $14.3 billion, with a projected operating loss of $50 million to $350 million. Hit up the PR after the break for the full load of financial highs and lows.

Continue reading Amazon Q2 2012 earnings: net income down 96 percent to $7 million, net sales up 29 percent to $12.83 billion

Amazon Q2 2012 earnings: net income down 96 percent to $7 million, net sales up 29 percent to $12.83 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments