Hasta La Gadget!

Mobile manufacturer and platform market share stats for the US are in for the month of January thanks to comScore, and as usual, they tell a fascinating (and somewhat unpredictable) story of what’s actually going on at the cash registers. Motorola — which has long since fallen off its high horse on the global stage — still maintains a commanding presence in the American market by representing some 22.9 percent of all subscribers, though that’s down 1.2 percent from October 2009; that’s particularly interesting in light of the Droid’s success, and a possible sign that smartphones still aren’t on the cusp of dominating the phone market overall. Samsung recently touted the fact that it had held onto the States’ overall market share crown, though Sammy was undoubtedly referring to sales, not subscribers — in other words, there are still a ton of legacy RAZRs out there inflating Moto’s stats.

Turning our attention to smartphone platforms, BlackBerry OS, iPhone, and Android all saw gains, while Windows Mobile and Palm both saw significant downturns. You might use Palm’s loss of 2.1 percent of overall market share in a single quarter as a big nail in webOS’ coffin, but we’re inclined to believe this includes legacy devices — and considering the huge installed base of Palm OS-based handsets (Centros, for instance) that are coming off contract these days, it’s neither surprising nor alarming to see that kind of drop. Android’s gain, meanwhile, likely comes in large part from WinMo’s whopping four percent loss — it’s no secret that WinMo 6.x is well past its expiration date with customers leaving in droves (even before Windows Phone 7 Series announcement), and our informal observations lead us to believe that many of those folks are heading for Android. After all, it’s kind of convenient that Android gained 4.3 percent and WinMo lost about the same, isn’t it? BlackBerrys still dominate the American smartphone landscape, and the iPhone market looks like it might be mature for the time being — Apple added just 0.3 percent to its market share in the quarter, possibly a sign that folks are holding out for whatever Cupertino brings us come Summer. Is this a sign that Palm needs to step up its game yet again? Undoubtedly — but at the same time, we wouldn’t call the loss of those Palm OS subscribers a death knell just yet.

Android’s American market share soars, WinMo pays the price originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s pretty early in the game to call the iPad a winner (or loser) but that’s not going to stop analysts and industry execs from their god-given right to bluster. AppleInsider did a nice roundup of Wall Street types predicting year one sales to be anywhere from 1 million and 5 million units with potential to grow as Apple churns out future device iterations, more content and carrier agreements, and a broader global reach of its devices and services. Paul Peng, executive VP of AU Optronics’ global business unit, the company tasked with providing the iPad’s display apparently, sees Apple selling up to 10 million units annually. Then again, AUO’s going to hype this device with all it’s got in hopes of selling additional panels to more clients.

On the surface, these numbers are pretty optimistic when you consider that Apple sells about 13.5 million Macs per year (extrapolating 3.36 million sold last quarter). Even more so when you realize that only 3 million to 4 million tablet PCs are sold annually according to Peng and Endpoint Technologies’ analyst Roger Kay. Problem is, the iPad isn’t really a tablet PC is it? As Technologizer astutely points out, “the iPad isn’t a traditional PC — it’s more of an appliance. You don’t tinker with your television; you turn it on and consume services.” By that logic, it’s not a direct competitor to the netbook or e-reader either (though the markets definitely overlap). The only thing we can say with certainty is that it is divisive and that it has captivated the attention of the entire consumer electronics industry.

Apple’s iPad to demand lion’s share of tablet PC market? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading iPhone nabs 46 percent of Japanese smartphone market, the tiny Japanese smartphone market

iPhone nabs 46 percent of Japanese smartphone market, the tiny Japanese smartphone market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer’s far from being a major player in the smartphone space, but to call it irrelevant would be grossly inaccurate. Up until now, however, the outfit has relied largely on Microsoft’s mobile OS to power its phones, though even it seems shocked by the warm reception the Android-powered Liquid has received. According to the company’s own Aymar de Lencquesaing, Acer recognizes that “there is definitely momentum behind Android,” and he continued by stating that “the pace is faster than most would have anticipated one year ago.” He went on to proclaim that the company was apt to pump out 8 to 10 phones in 2010, with next year’s lineup being “much more balanced” in terms of the amount of Windows Mobile vs. Android handsets. Look out, world — Google just might take over another huge portion of your life while you’re fixated on the next great Black Friday deal.

Acer to unveil 8 to 10 phones next year, show more love to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia just posted a net loss of 559 million euro (834 million dollars) for the third quarter — its first quarterly loss in a decade according to the AFP. The loss comes after a reported 20% drop in sales and 1.17 billion euros in write-downs, mostly for impairment charges on Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia also said that its smartphone market share dropped to 35% versus 41% in the previous quarter. With fierce competition from Apple and RIM, and Palm just launching its Pre into Nokia’s European stronghold, well, it’s a good thing Nokia’s branching out into untapped markets like single-core Atom-based netbooks.

Read — Smartphone slip
Read — First loss in a decade
Read — Nokia Q3 statement

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia posts $834 million quarterly loss, smartphone share down to 35% originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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