The best-laid plans of Android tablet manufacturers are unlikely to see a significant change in slate sales this holiday season, analysts Gartner have predicted, with Apple's iPad 2 likely to maintain its dominance in the market. According to the report, while Apple's marketshare is expected to drop in 2011, it will still by far outweigh that of rivals: down from 83-percent in 2010 to an estimated 73.4-percent this year. In fact, Gartner expect the iPad to hold its lead until 2014.
Read The Full Story
- Join in on SlashGear’s WIMM Spring Developers Project!
- The PS Vita Will Be Sony’s Last Portable
- Why I Don’t Want to Imagine A World Without A DVR
- SlashGear 101: Windows 8 on ARM
- SlashGear 101: Android@Home
- Motorola DROID 4 Hands-On and Unboxing
- Nokia Lumia 800 White official: Hands-on
- Switching between Android 4.0 ICS and iPhone 4S
‘Analyst’ Stories
iPad will own 2011 holidays (and many after that) say analysts
Analysts flock to advise Apple: Tarry on iPad 3 and buy TiVo
A change of CEO has apparently invited a flurry of advice aimed at Apple, suggesting new chief Tim Cook should buy TiVo, create multiple iPhone sizes and be in "no rush" to launch the iPad 3. Although Steve Jobs' replacement hasn't actually asked for suggestions for Apple's strategy, that hasn't stopped J.P. Morgan analysts from pointing out that the Cupertino company can afford to take its time with the third-gen iPad, Benzinga reports, since rivals are still struggling to compete.
Read The Full Story
Windows 8 tablets to have 15% market share by 2014 says analyst
What a difference an “8” makes: Microsoft’s Windows 8 only broke cover properly earlier this week, and analysts are already declaring it a future sales success. RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Breza is predicting Microsoft will hold a 15-percent share in the tablet segment by 2014, the Financial Post reports, praising the new OS’ Metro UI as borrowed from Windows Phone.
Uninspiring iPhone and iPod touch upgrades incoming tips analyst
Apple's next-gen iPod touch will be broadly identical to the existing model, according to the latest analyst tittle-tattle, with the company merely introducing a white variant of the current PMP. Ming-Chi Kuo claims his supply chain sources confirm the pale all-touch iPod, Apple Insider reports, though the same analyst has also thrown cold water over recent iPhone 5 excitement. He reckons that, while leaks and rumors have tipped a considerable upgrade for the fifth-gen handset, in actual fact there's no evidence of such a departure in the pipeline, MacRumors reports. Instead, Kuo predicts, something a whole lot more mundane is in the offing.
Read The Full Story
Apple “iTV” HDTV rumors refuse to die
Rumors of an Apple TV set refuse to die, with the perennial speculation again igniting this week in the aftermath of Steve Jobs' resignation. The latest grist is from VentureBeat, which has pulled together various analysts and venture capitalists to weigh in on the gossip; Stewart Alsop, of Alsop Louie ventures and a board member of TiVo and Sonos, claims that multiple sources he's spoken to have confirmed the Apple television project is a work-in-progress, which would run iOS but on a significantly larger display than that of the iPad or iPhone.
Read The Full Story
Mac sales soar on Asia appeal: June up 67% in China
Strong demand for Mac computers in China has seen Apple's sales growth soar in Asia, it's reported, with Mac shipments growing at over 67-percent in June, far outpacing their PC counterparts. In a new investor note, Needham analyst Charlie Wolf, quoted by AllThingsD, claims that the incredible uptick in Chinese sales "represents a perfect storm between an iconic brand and a rapidly growing middle class that’s more brand conscious than consumers in virtually every other region of the globe."
Read The Full Story
Apple planning $1bn Sharp display investment tips analyst
Apple may counter Google's surprise acquisition of Motorola Mobility with further investment in the supply chain, analysts have predicted, leveraging its significant cash reserves to secure tablet and smartphone screen suppliers. MF Global FXA Securities analyst David Rubenstein suggests Apple will dump $1bn into Sharp, Reuters reports, so as to further soak up the limited supplies of top-spec display panels for future iPhones and iPads.
Read The Full Story
Apple A6 MacBook Air by 2013 says analyst: OS X and iOS to merge
Apple will need to merge OS X and iOS if its aim of satisfying seamless content management and cloud-service delivery is to work out, according to Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek. In a new investor note this week, Barrons reports, Misek argues that the MacBook Air will be first to make the switch, jumping to an Apple “A6″ processor in late 2012 or early 2013.
Apple and Samsung take top smartphone sales spots; Nokia falls to 3rd
Apple and Samsung have pushed Nokia into the number three position for worldwide smartphone sales, analysts have claimed, with strong Q2 2011 performance leaving Symbian devices significantly overshadowed. Apple is now the number one smartphone manufacturer, Strategy Analytics‘ figures suggest, with 18.5-percent of the market, while Samsung comes in at second place, with 17.5-percent. In contrast, Nokia has 15.2-percent in the last quarter, less than half the 38.1-percent in the same period twelve months ago.
Samsung Q2 smartphone sales could beat iPhone
Samsung is likely to have beaten Nokia for smartphone sales in Q2 2011, analysts have predicted, with the Korean company standing a good chance of also surpassing Apple’s iPhone sales in the same period. High-demand handsets like the Galaxy S II have pushed Samsung’s global sales to between 18m and 21m units, researchers at Strategy Analytics told Bloomberg, clearing the 16.7m smartphone sales Nokia reported last week and potentially neck & neck with Apple’s 20.3m iPhone sales.
iPad stays top tablet: Faces growing Android challenge as Amazon circles
Apple's iPad continues to dominate the tablet market, with global shipments up to 9.3m units according to the latest figures, though its percentage marketshare has declined by over 33-percent thanks to increasing competition from consumer-centric rivals. 61.3-percent of tablets sold worldwide run iOS, analysts Strategy Analytics calculate, with Android taking the lion's share of what remains, at 30.1-percent.
Read The Full Story
Android legal losses reportedly prompt exodus to Windows Phone and MeeGo
HTC's recent legal loss in the ITC Apple patent case, along with Microsoft's aggressive patent push amid Android OEMs, has reportedly left manufacturers increasingly wary of Google's open-source OS. According to the 21st Century Business Herald, growing Chinese brands like ZTE and Huawei are looking to adopt Windows Phone Mango either as a placatory measure toward Microsoft or the first step in a transition from over-reliance on Android. However, the platform spat could also have an unlikely beneficiary: MeeGo.
Read The Full Story
REVIEWS
VIDEOS
- POPULAR STORIES THIS WEEK
- Temple Run for Android postponed, still coming this month
- iPad twin-tier pricing tipped to topple Android rivals
- iPad 3's biggest boost will be its massive resolution
- Google "next-gen personal communication device" in testing
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 pricing set for disaster
- Google: We want 2.25% of the iPhone sticker price
- Tesla Model X all-electric crossover unveiled and detailed
- Mattel Hover Board prepped for 2012 holiday release
- RECENT COMMENTS
