Earlier this month, research firm Gartner released stark numbers that demonstrated massive growth for Apple in the 4th quarter of 2011 while PC numbers were in an unequivocal decline. Specifically, Apple computer sales jumped by 20.7% while HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Acer all saw declines. When this chart originally made its way around the Net, everyone pointed to that 20.7% figure and compared it to the summary at the bottom, which showed a -5.9% growth for the PC market in general.

The caveat, though, is that Apple computers are included in that final number. When you remove Apple from the equation, it actually becomes -8.5%. Ouch. If there is a silver lining, though, this all refers to sales in the US. On a global scale, Lenovo, Dell, and Asus all saw significant growth, so Windows is still popular in some areas. And when you look at pure market share values, Apple only accounts for 11.6% in the US. If these numbers are anything to go by, though, that number will continue to soar.

[via The Small Wave]

Compared to last year, the percentage change in units and revenue in the iPhone category was 128% and 133%, this meaning that the change is only slightly greater there than it was between this quarter and the last quarter of 2011. So the first quarter of 2011 and the last quarter of 2011 are fairly similar in their overall totals. The difference between Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 then, percentage-wise, is 117% in units and 122% in revenue. This of course means that we can guess that the last quarter of 2012 will be somewhat similar to this first quarter, the first quarter of 2013 then being the next big jump in sales.

Another point to pick out of all the statistics on this particular earnings call is that the only negative numbers anywhere in the whole report are seen when you compare iPod sales to last year at this time. Units sold when you compare Q1 of 2012 to Q1 of 2011 were down 21%, with revenue also falling 26%. Is this the end of the iPod age? Will we never see a rise in sales again? This all depends on if there’s an equitable model popping up before the end of the year, of course – seeya then!

There are three Ultrabooks that are rather important to Acer’s success this year, that being the Aspire S5 and the Acer Timeline Ultra in both of its iterations, the 14-inch and the 15-inch. These three models plus the fact that the Acer Aspire S3 will have its price slashed by “as much as $200,” should make for quite a killing in the seasons ahead for Ultrabook sales by Acer. As Acer chairman and CEO J.T. Wang says, as quoted by Digitimes in Taiwan:

“Sales of Acer’s first Ultrabook, the Aspire S3, totaled about 250,000-300,000 units in the first quarter after launch, and the company expects sales for its new Aspire S5 tablet PC will be even better. … Acer’s notebook shipments are expected to drop 10-15% sequentially in the first quarter of 2012, but total shipments for all of the year will still post an on-year growth of 10%, said the company.” – Wang

These notebooks are all really nice machines, as you’re about to see. First have a look at the Acer Aspire Timeline 14 and 15 in hands-on photos from that faithful day over a week ago, then check this video out:

What you’re seeing is the Acer Aspire S5‘s most magical feature, that being a bit of a mechanism working with a motor that pushes the back out and down, this revealing a set of ports that otherwise would increase the size of the notebook by a significant amount. This way you’ve got the option to stay thin in the backpack. Will it and the rest of the full packages Acer has to offer this year be enough to clobber the competition in the Ultrabook world? We shall see!

[via Digitimes]

Apple’s virtually 33 percent market share of all-in-one desktops puts it squarely ahead of the second place company, Lenovo. In third place, with a not-to-shrug-at 21.4 percent was Hewlett-Packard. Together, these three companies account for more than three-fourths of the entire all-in-one PC consumer market.

Though 33 percent of the all-in-one market may feel like a surprisingly lower than expected estimate for Apple, it’s a much higher proportion than its market share of the computer industry in general, and leave us to believe that that Windows PC makers haven’t been successful with the desktop form factor as, well, Apple has.

Apple Insider

[via Apple Insider]

While our first impressions with the device were quite favorable, we were worried that the size would be too much to pocket but with the kind of sales it has already seen it’s proven to be a surprise hit. Obviously the Note doesn’t have Galaxy S II type sales numbers but then it’s not on almost every carrier imaginable either. The beautiful and large display bundled with a phone, and a stylus has made this a bigger success than we originally thought. Our own Chris Davies loved the Galaxy Note and you can see his amazing pictures and thorough review in the timeline below.

With recent reports of an AT&T 4G LTE version headed to the US and clearing the FCC the wait shouldn’t be much longer and today Samsung has apparently confirmed just that. Back in November they announced and showed off the beautiful white version with 4G LTE so things are starting to align for this phone/tablet hybrid.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is poised to do well as many Americans have been throwing their money at Samsung to get one even without a current US release. Enjoy our one of many hands-on videos below of the 5.3″ AMOLED HD rocking device while we wait for some more details on US availability.

[via Android Community]

Mainland Europe, specifically France, Germany, Italy, and Spain all saw declines, with the most significant coming from France, a 29 percent drop to 20 percent, while Germany fell from 27 percent to 22 percent. Germany is also where Android has seen one of its largest leads, where 61 percent were getting Android phones, lead by Samsung’s Galaxy S II. Kantar ascribed the French decline to “price sensitivity,” but much of mainland Europe was likely being hit by a potential reversal in economic growth since 2008.

Moreover, the decline can also be attributed to the ever-growing Android platform, the smartphone industry being more and more dominated by Google, the company holding market shares of between 46 and 61 percent in all markets. Reuters reports that “European consumers are keeping a lid on their expenses as government spending cuts and job losses deprive companies of demand for goods and crush exports.”

Who can blame them? Google keeping their prices competitive to Apple may just have been the trick this time around.

[via Reuters]

The former leading search engine’s company board is expected to meet tomorrow to discuss the sales of its stakes in Chinese internet company Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan, claimed sources close to the New York Times. If the company decides to go along with the deal, it could possibly choose to reject investment proposals by Silver Lake and TPG Capital, stated the same sources.

However if the board can’t reach a consensus, the situation could very well incite Yahoo’s Asian partners into going hostile. As we reported earlier last month, both Alibaba and Softbank are quite keen to regain their stakes from Yahoo. Should the board reject the Asian assets deal, the two companies are prepared to bid for all of Yahoo in conjunction with both veteran private equity firms Blackstone Group and Bain Capital.

[via New York Times DealBook]

According to IDC, Android now holds 49% of the entire smartphone market share in Australia, with Apple’s iOS following close trailing behind at 36% market share. IDC market analyst Yee-Kuan Lau offers the following explanation that “While Apple’s iPhone shipments slowed down in preparation for its new iPhone 4S launch in New Zealand, Samsung led the smartphone market for the first time with some of its flagship models such as Galaxy S II and Galaxy 5 performing very well”.

She also stated that there was a gradual shift in demand by consumers to low-cost Android smartphones from feature phones across Australia and New Zealand, as more low-cost smartphones are becoming steadily more available in the market. Lastly, IDC expects nearly 9.5 million smartphones to be shipped to Australian and New Zealand by the end of the year. Well, here’s to Samsung, and in general, Android, for winning the battle, at least down under.

[via IDC]

The folks who hold the rights to Call of Duty are using this opportunity to call the franchise as amongst media empires like “Star Wars”, “Harry Potter”, “Lord of the Rings” and the National Football League (NFL) as whenever a new game comes out, everyone who loves the line freaks out and has a heart attack until they get to play it. Purchases come almost as a matter of fact rather than after a vetting process by reviewers and in-store previews like a lot of the rest of the games in the market today. When you’ve got a game series that’s continuously done as well as this one has, people just don’t hesitate anymore.

Call of Duty Elite, they also mention, is one of the fastest growing online services today with more than six MILLION new players registered since November 8th, 2011 including over a million paid subscribers to date. They compare this to such services as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Sirius XM and Xbox LIVE, noting that they didn’t have a million paid subscribers until at least a year after launch.

Are you amongst those who have joined the cause, the cause being the blasting of enemies and gathering together in a mutual love for the exploding of human bodies? If you’re not playing this game yet, why not? Don’t you want to be part of the biggest murder party since the last edition of Call of Duty? Join in on the fun!

Though the banners as of yet are only appearing in the UK, Australian, and Italian online stores, it should be rolling out to the US store shortly (hence the emphasis on it being a worldwide sale day for Apple). Unfortunately, at the current moment, We don’t know what exactly going to be on sale, or how much, but rest assured, we’ll have updates once we get more information. Until then, here’s all we have, including apparently the iPad, iPod, and various Mac models “for everyone on your list”:

Mark your calendar now, and come back to the Apple Online Store for the special one-day event. You’ll discover amazing iPad, iPod and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.

So SlashGear readers, what’s on your Black Friday wishlist from Apple this year? Apple’s Siri-enhanced iPhone 4S? A sleek and sexy iPad 2? A Mac? Which Mac? Go ahead and reveal to us in the comments below. And let’s hope that Apple will be nice enough to knock off a couple hard-earned dollars off your dream gadget come this Black Friday.

[via 9To5 Mac]

Note here that these prices are not being bumped by the cash it takes to purchase one of these games, as each of the last few entries in the game history have all cost $60 a unit. What’s more, there’s another record on the line with the same two contenders: the five day video game sales record is on the line, and Call of Duty can’t lose! Are you amongst those millions of purchasers of the game?

Or is it foolish to ask since everyone who has the game is undoubtedly still playing it right this very moment?

Meanwhile we’ve got at least one of our writers with quite the controversial set of opinions on the game and its release, Don Reisinger. If you don’t know about Don, he can be rather heavy on the knowing of everything and the not caring if you don’t like it, if you know what I mean – have a peek at his article Modern Warfare 3 is what’s wrong with the Game Business. Don’t get too broiled up if you feel different!

That said, we know of a few other people that’ve been bubbling as of late because of this game and the service that surrounds it – first of all, Elite Service has been having errors in both login and loading, users freaking out in hoards. None so insane as one Lomorin Sar though, a man who upon finding his pre-order was not shipped to Best Buy properly promptly threatened employees with threats of murder and the entire store with the notion of a bomb!

It’s only a game!

Or is it?

[via LA Times]

What happened was that when GameStop discovered the OnLive coupon in the boxes for the PC game in question, they ordered employees to open all boxes and remove the coupon before they were sold. OnLive is a service that’ll soon be competing with GameStop’s own similar streaming gaming project. This resulted in a sort of gamer uproar amongst those who’d purchased the game and would have loved to have used the coupon. The developers of the Deus Ex game took some of the responsibility for not having told GameStop that they’d be including this competitor’s coupon in their game’s boxes, agreeing to take back unsold copies to remove coupons (then re-ship them back re-sealed, we can only assume.)

Now comes the next step, a move which GameStop hopes will help users gain back any trust they lost in the company during this whole evil affair. In this email (text included below) you’ll find the coupon information – note that it is customers that purchased the game via the online GameStop store as well as those who are members of the chain’s Power Up Rewards card program.

Dear GameStop customer,

Earlier this week, GameStop removed a competitor’s coupon from standard edition PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a recent release by Square Enix. We were not aware that the product box would contain this competitor’s offer. We regret the events surrounding this title release and that our customers were put in the middle of this issue between GameStop and Square Enix, the publisher of this game. And for this, we are truly sorry.

For your inconvenience, we would like to offer you a free $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free pre-owned purchase. We want to earn back your trust and confidence in the GameStop experience. Please bring in this email and your store receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com and present it to a Game Advisor.

Sincerely,
Paul Raines
CEO, GameStop

We can only assume that this offer will be good for anyone who purchased the standard edition of the game, but only a visit to the store you purchased the game from with the receipt from the game will let you know for sure.

Lenovo continued its fast-paced growth, experiencing a year-over-year growth of 23.4% in China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, with sales totaling $2.8 billion in Q2. However, Apple’s growth was even more tremendous with a sixfold increase since the previous quarter last year reaching a total sales of $3.8 billion.

Strong demand of iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers boosted Apple’s Q2 sales as Lenovo’s Android-based LePad tablet and smartphone lineup didn’t perform as well. The iPad 2 was reportedly sold out in China in less than four hours—pictured above is the Beijing Apple Store’s iPad 2 line in the early mornings. Fake Apple stores are also now rampant throughout China.

Apple is perceived as a luxury brand in the country that is now seeing more consumer confidence and buying power. China will be a key market for Apple and it will be interesting to see how things develop when the rumored iPhone 5 hits the market.

[via FT]

Goodyear is an Akron, Ohio maker of tires, a place and a business where sensitivity to the cost of raw materials is key. In particular the cost of rubber and steel affects the way Goodyear does business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Goodyear has recently passed on costs to customers through both tire price increases and a push for the purchase of higher-end tires. This strategy they say has been the reason why the company has been able to report that it has successfully offset a recent increase of $428 million USD in the cost of raw materials.

The mix of prices and pushes for higher end tires has brought the tire group’s operating income up by $554 in the second quarter of 2011. Wells continued his talk in Detroit by noting that raw materials were reaching $600 million in the third quarter of 2011 but that the company is confident after seeing July results that they’d have no trouble overcoming the cost once more:

“I can tell you, in July, we continued to have good performance in price/mix. And in fact now, I think we’re feeling very good, I think we feel confident that for the third quarter, we’ll be able to fully offset raw material cost increases with price/mix.” – Wells

Goodyear shares year-to-date are up 14.7 percent while shares yesterday rose $1.22, or nearly 10 percent to $13.78. How about that? Do you own any Goodyear stock? Do you wish you did? What do you think about raw materials?

Smartphone sales to end users, a totally different number than what’s quoted above as final sales, were up a whopping 74 percent when compared to last year. This number of sales to end users accounts for 25 percent of overall sales in the second quarter of 2011, this again a gigantic 17 percent increase from the same period last year. The changes in sales for most of the devices on the big list of brands here in this Gartner study tell a different story.

Research in Motion, the group responsible for BlackBerry devices, dipped from a 18.7 percent market share down to 11.7 percent, on the other hand selling approximately 1,000 more units than the same time last year. Bada having only had .9 percent of a share last year jumped up what must seem a large amount to them to 1.9 percent market share, while Microsoft, like RIM, dipped from 4.9 percent to 1.6 percent market share. If you were only taking a look at Bada and Microsoft, you’d think that consumers had lost faith in Windows Phone 7 and were going over to the Bada side of mobile, Bada selling nearly 1,500 units more than their 577 units last year, while Microsoft lost right around the same amount, 3,058.8 units sold last year, 1,723.8 units sold this year.

The “Others” category, accounting for 1 percent of the overall market share, remains insignificant with its 2,010.9 units sold dropping to 1,050.6 in 2011.

Then there’s the big guns. Android, Symbian, and iOS. The Apple story, that being the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, the only two smartphone devices on sale running the iOS platform since this time last year, reads like a russian nesting doll being put together piece by piece; though iOS unit sales leapt from 8,743 in Q2 of 2010 to 19,628.8 in 2011, their market share only crept up from 14.1 percent to 18.2 percent. Why didn’t they take a bigger piece of the pie? Because the entire market jumped up along with them.

Where last year at this time smartphone sales as a whole sat at 62,058.1 units, this year it increased dramatically to 107,740.4.

The top two spots are both brand new. Where Symbian held the market FIRMLY last year with a 40.9 percent market share, it now falls to second place with 22.1 percent. Android, on the other hand, takes a rocket into outer space with their jump from 17.2 percent market share in 2010 (placing them in third behind the then second RIM, to first with 43.4 percent. An astounding leap without a doubt. Symbian sales remain quite similar, having been at 25,386.8 units last year and 23,853.2 units this year, while Android made the biggest jump upward with 10,652.7 units in the second quarter of 2010 to 46,775.9 units in 2011.

Then for mobile vendors we’re seeing Nokia firmly in the lead with 22.8 percent market share and 97,869.3 units over Samsung’s second place 69,827.6 units with 16.3 percent, both of these groups having remained in their top spots from the 2010 study conducted last year. The vendor list, very unlike the operating system list, has remained very similar to what it was a year ago, with only a handful of groups increasing their unit numbers from last year.

[via Gartner]

Last month, Munster reported that Apple had a slow start to the quarter. Apple’s refreshed iMacs weren’t enough to boost sales as the bulk of sales rested on MacBook laptop computers. Munster suggested that sales numbers should bump up in June, when sales are typically stronger.

However, the news on the upcoming OS X Lion and revamped MacBook Airs slated for a July release hindered Mac sales in June. But stil, if Apple sales come out on the high side of estimates, pegging it at 4.2 million units would still beat the previous record of 4.1 million sold during the holiday quarter ending in 2010.

“We believe consumer anticipation of the new Mac operating system, Lion, announced on 6/6 to ship in July, and new MacBook Airs (estimated 16% of Mac units in the June quarter) likely shipping in July negatively impacted June quarter Mac sales,” wrote Munster. “However, we expect these same factors to cause a reacceleration in Mac growth in the Sept. quarter.”

[via Apple Insider]

And of course, it should be clear why sales for the original iPad “slipped” this past quarter: everyone knew, or at least suspected, that the iPad 2 was coming. Why purchase a tablet when you know a much better tablet is coming down the sled hill? Therefor watch, if you will, these numbers blast into outer space on next quarter’s call.

Oh Apple, you wily bunch, when will you ever stop growing?

Never, never ever, that’s what Steve Jobs essentially said on this call, “With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders. … We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.” Unless the end of the year comes, that is. In reality, compared to the numbers last year with revenue at $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, I and we are thinking their growth shows more than a little growth possibility.

Have a peek at the statistics below, and I’ll leave most of the conjecture up to Ben, but I’ve gotta say: no matter how you look at it, Apple continues to sell a whole barrel full of iProducts and will continue to do so until the end of time. They show no signs of letting up any time soon, and what we can all take away from this sales call is that the whole crew is definitely still on all four wheels.

April 20, 2011 20:30 UTC
Apple Reports Second Quarter Results

Record March Quarter Drives 83 Percent Revenue Growth, 95 Percent Profit Growth

Record iPhone Sales Grow 113 Percent

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 second quarter ended March 26, 2011. The Company posted record second quarter revenue of $24.67 billion and record second quarter net profit of $5.99 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.4 percent compared to 41.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 3.76 million Macs during the quarter, a 28 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 113 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.02 million iPods during the quarter, representing a 17 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company also sold 4.69 million iPads during the quarter.

“With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.”

“We are extremely pleased with our record March quarter revenue and earnings and cash flow from operations of over $6.2 billion,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.03.”

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q2 2011 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on April 20, 2011 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq211. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue and earnings per share. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company’s reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company’s products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company’s need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company’s business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company’s dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company’s international operations; the Company’s reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Company’s dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company’s products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company’s sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of other legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included from time to time in the “Risk Factors“ and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations“ sections of the Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 25, 2010, its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 25, 2010, and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 26, 2011 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website (www.apple.com/pr), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

© 2011 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This comes after Apple “struggled” to keep their stock up during the first days of the iPad 2 launching across the nation. Yours truly stood in line at the Mall of America for just about an hour to get the tablet, during that time the AT&T and Verizon versions selling out completely while the Wifi-only editions remained in high stacks. During this time, every single model was pushed back several weeks for shipping if you purchased the tablet online.

On the other hand again, Radio Shack will be glad to take your order bright and early tomorrow morning, having completely hidden this release until now, the day before launch. On top of that, they’ve done absolutely no pre-orders and no public holds on the tablets. Limits! Man! Limits!

Here’s a question for all of you: do you own an iPad 2? Will you be getting one? Did you want one but were unable to pick one up yet, and plan on flying your feet out to Radio Shack tomorrow to swipe one up? Or maybe you just want to go to Radio Shack and hang out for fun?

[via MacRumors]

Apple didn’t even have a year to smoke the competition. Through April-December last year, Apple cornered 90% of the market on Tablets and still managed break 100 million total units sold on the various models of iPhone. This means 9.5 billion dollars in revenue for just nine months of 2010, and that’s from the iPad alone. Marry this to 200 million paying accounts with credit cards and one-click purchasing, and Apple has a revenue generating empire. They have consumer trust, they have brand identity, and they are kicking the competition out the window right now.

Some of the figures in this chart more specifically ring right around $15 billion for the iPhone and iPad last quarter, with iPod Touch generating $2.3 billion on its own. On the other hand, OS X powered products like laptops and desktops generated only 20% of the revenue where 5 years ago that percentage was closer to half. The total percentage of Apple product sold by Apple this past quarter that WASNT powered by one of its operating systems was 10%. Is Apple no longer a software company? Is Apple almost solely a hardware company? When answering a question on Quora on whether Apple is a Software, Hardware or Media company, the creator of the chart above, Horace Dediu answered by saying it’s all three. This question was of course answered before he made the chart.

[Via asymco]

When the question “What about iPad competitors?” came up during the sales call today, Apple COO Tim Cook had the following to say:

“There’s not much out there as you know. There are two kinds of groups today (in the market) — the ones using a Windows-based operating system. They’re big, heavy and expensive. Weak battery life. Need keyboard or stylus. From our point of view, customers aren’t interested in that. Then you have the Android tablets. The variety shipping today, the OS wasn’t designed for a tablet — but Google said this. So you wind up having the size of a tablet that’s less than reasonable. Or one that’s not even a real tablet experience. It’s a “scaled-up smartphone” – that’s a bizarre product in our view. Those are what is shipping today. If you do a side-by-side with an iPad, some enormous percentage are going to pick the iPad. We have no concern there. In terms of next generation. There’s nothing shipping yet. So I don’t know. “Today they’re vapor.” However, we’re not sitting still. We have a huge first-mover advantage. And a huge user advantage from iTunes to the App Store. Huge number of apps and an ecosystem. We’re very confident entering into a fight with anyone.”

A fight! Oh my goodness. He notes that they see the rest of the tablet market as cut between Windows and Android. He notes that with a Windows machine you need either a keyboard or a stylus, and that they’re big, heavy, and expensive, and have weak battery life. For Android, he notes that the tablets shipping today are shipping with an OS that wasn’t originally built for a tablet-sized computer.

Going on about Android and Android tablets out today, he mentions the words “scaled-up smartphone” and calls that product “bizarre.” Cook goes on to say that they’ve got no concern, that if faced with a choice between an Android tablet and an Apple tablet that “an enormous percentage” of people would choose the iPad, and that with what he’s seeing on the Android side of the plane he’d say “Today they’re vapor.”

He finishes this thought by saying they’ve got a “huge first-mover advantage,” noting that they’re not sitting still, and letting everyone know that they’ve got a huge user advantage “from iTunes to the App Store.” Then finally, “We’re very confident entering into a fight with anyone.”

[Via TechCrunch]

Quite a varied group of analysts are still suggesting that Amazon will sell a number closer to 5 million Kindles this year: Citigroup, Barclays Capital, BGC Partners LP and ThinkEquity LLC. Close to these are Caris & Co. predicting 4.8 million, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are deciding to be that one guy on The Price is Right calling it somewhere between 4 and 5 million.

The only mathematical figure released by Amazon itself has been a report back in October (2010) which said that the new lighter, faster Kindles released in July had surpassed their total sales in the fourth quarter of 2009, the busiest time of the year for sales. It may be important to note that Barnes & Noble and Sony don’t release numbers for their e-reader sales either. I think they’re all just shy.

[Via BusinessWeek]

Once you approach one of these gigantic machines, (consisting of three coolers and a kiosk,) you are greeted by a screen, a breathalyzer, and a scanner. Once you’re at the machine, you’ll find yourself at the other end of the camera whose other end is in Reading, Pennsylvania, where the Liquor Control Board is located. There a REAL LIVE employee checks your face, and once you’ve scanned your drivers license makes sure you’re you. Once you’ve passed that test, you’re free to breath into what I hope is a replaceable-tipped breathalyzer that’ll see if you’re halfway in the bag or not.

Once you’ve done all this, the door opens, and your particular brand of wine is yours for the taking. I like this idea, and prepose we expand it to all items. All items in vending machines, including pets!

[Via WalletPop]

Now remember, these are hand-picked by our staff, and almost certainly are the best deals you’re going to find on the products (or similar products) sold on Black Friday. If you’ve got any additions or suggestions you’d like to make, feel free to comment below and we’ll more than likely add them to the big lists. This list is centered around electronics, but isn’t limited to them, as we know you love accessories and wacky weirdness as well.

Online
One Year of Eye-Fi Premium [DISCOUNT REVEALED DAY OF]
StealthArmor full-body kits for $15 [$45 DISCOUNT]
$89 Kindle 2 for Amazon’s Black Friday sale
M&M’s All Orders Over $30 [20% OFF]
Clear Spot® 4G for $20 at Clear [SAVING $80]
17.3″ Sony VAIO VPCEC3AFX/BJ Core i5 Laptop w/1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD5650 & Blu-ray for $1,099.99 with free shipping at Sony Style [SAVING $100]
Vannen Artist Watches for HALF OFF at VannenWatches Online Store [SAVING $42]

In the Streets
Panasonic TC-P50U2 1080p 50-inch HDTV for $700 at Best Buy [SAVING $150]
Vizio XVT553SV 1080p 55-inch LCD HDTV for $1,498 at Sam’s Club [SAVING $149.99]
Sony 15.5″ VAIO Laptop with 3GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive and Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor Blu-ray player and Karate Kid Blu-ray Disk for $499 at Best Buy [SAVING $239.97]
HP Pavilion p6624y with a quad-core AMD processor, 8GB of memory, and a 1TB hard drive with 23-inch monitor and wireless printer for $600 at Best Buy [NORMALLY $100 MORE WITH NO ACCESSORIES]
Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 for $150 at Staples [SAVING $60]
Magellan Maestro 3100 GPS Navigation System for $129.99 at Radio Shack [SAVING $85]
Klipsch Synergy III 8″ 2-Way Dual-Woofer Floorstanding Speaker for $222.99 at Best Buy [SAVING $160]
PlayStation 3 80GB with 15 Blu-ray movies for $499 at Wal-mart [SAVING $200] — NOTE, this is SATURDAY ONLY
10.1″ Acer Aspire AOD255-2331 netbook for $179.99 at RadioShack [SAVING $100]
Nintendo Wii Console (Black) w/ Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Remote Plus for $169.99 at Best Buy [SAVING $30]
Gowalla/Amazon.com $50 Gift Code for FREE at Hidden Locations (SCAVENGER HUNT) [SAVING 100%]
HTC HD7 for FREE at T-Mobile [SAVING $199] – WHEN YOU BUY ONE AT FULL PRICE W/2-YEAR CONTRACT

Now REMEMBER, as you go out (or stay at home, for that matter) on this day of massive buyings and sellings, be safe, and remember that NO DEAL is worth getting punched in the face over.

Take a peek at this advertisement:

Then, since I know you love ads and The Beatles and Apple and all that good rock and roll, here’s the rest!

Notice a trend yet?

There’s one different one with them jamming. Here it is:

Think of all the potentially brand new customers (and potentially old, yet brand new to the store customers) pouring in to find their favorite Beatles song, hopping around the store finding other songs, apps, movies, shows they like as well. Think of that. Brand ties like this come along only once in a great while, and this is a great one.

[Via WSJ All Things Digital]

The amount of people that work at Google is currently over 23,000. Those employees were more than likely happy to hear this month’s announcement to give ALL of its employees a 10 percent raise in 2011. I’m sure you’re also aware that Google is pretty constantly ranked in the top 10 in the top 100 places to work for. Most of the jobs are open for engineers and sales staffers, around half of them ending up being in the USA. There’s around 50 in china and more than likely one somewhere near you. Get out there and GET A JOB. That’s not a threat.

[Via Rueters]

This report tells a nice little story, really. It’s about a group of Hong Kong residents who devised a great idea: fly to the United States, find those scarce iPads, buy them all up (which consisted of 200 units), and then return to Hong Kong and sell them for a remarkable amount of price. These WiFi-only models, which sell for $499 here locally, went for a resounding $800 per unit in Hong Kong, which, obviously, makes for a very nice return.

Is this a bad thing? No, not really. Is it ethical? That would be the big question, now would it? We’re sure that Apple probably has their own opinion on the matter, but we’re willing to bet the people making money on this little ordeal don’t care what the Cupertino-based company has to say. Has anyone out there done the same thing? Even if you didn’t fly across an ocean to do it.

[via CrunchGear]

The consumer electronics giant brought in revenues of $15.68 billion, a 32% increase in revenue for its fiscal 1st quarter which ended December 26th.  Overall, Apple reported a quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 a share, up from $2.26 billion, or $2.50 a share, a year earlier.

Something worth noting is that with this quarter, Apple had adopted the new accounting principle for subscription devices such as the iPhone and the Apple TV this quarter.  As the WSJ reports, there are in place at Apple “new accounting rules that allow it to recognize all the revenue for iPhone sales at the time the phones are sold. Previously, it deferred such revenue over 24 months, or the length of time consumers are expected to use the handsets. the company also restated past periods to reflect this change.”

But what’s most impressive is how Apple managed to pull off these numbers in light of the current economic climate – what will the rumored tablet coming in two days offer next?

“”January and February were both up, and since the decline that began in March, only September experienced growth,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said, though ending on an upbeat note: “The big sales [in December], particularly on the hardware front, [are] a positive move for the industry headed into what will hopefully be a recovery year in 2010.””  We certainly hope so too.

Hardware (units)

3.81m – Wii
3.31m – Nintendo DS
1.36m – PlayStation 3
1.31m – Xbox 360
655k – PSP
333k – PlayStation 2

Software (units)

2.82m – New Super Mario Bros [Wii]
2.41m – Wii Fit Plus [Wii]
1.79m – Wii Sports Resort [Wii]
1.63m – Modern Warfare 2 [Xbox 360]
1.12m – Modern Warfare 2 [PS3]
1.01m – Wii Play w/remote [Wii]
936k – Mario Kart w/wheel [Wii]
783k – Assassin’s Creed 2 [Xbox 360]
729k – Left 4 Dead 2 [Xbox 360]
657k – Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story [DS]

Alternatively there’s $21 off an Apple TV, bringing the mediaplayer down to $208, while the iPod nano and iPod touch get $11 and up to $41 knocked off respectively.  You’ll still get free shipping on anything over $50, too.

What we like most about Apple’s sale is that it’s not restricted to the US.  The company’s regional online stores are also showing discounts – how about £71 off a UK MacBook Pro or iMac? – and while there are no earth shattering deals to be had, given how relatively rare it is to see discounts on Apple hardware it makes sense to pick up your latest Cupertino gadget today rather than tomorrow.

So, if you still have an interest in getting your hands on a Wii, it should be fairly easy. Well, if you have the extra money sitting around, that is. According to Bob McKenzie, an executive at GameStop, the company has plenty of Wiis on their shelves for the first time in three years.

It’s hard to say if there’s finally enough Wiis to meet demand because Nintendo caught up or because of the recession. Regardless, it’s good to know the console is there for your perusal should you want to purchase it. 

[via Joystiq]

Hitachi is primarily known for their consumer electronics division, but they also make car parts in Asia. These two divisions are now being split in order to save the company. But it was at a significant cost. Apparently, Hitachi lost $7 billion last year and to cut their losses, they’ve cut 7,000 jobs. This resulted in a cost savings of $5.1 billion, but that’s a hard pill to swallow in this economy.

When all is said and done, the consumer electronics division will employ 750 people and the automative division will employ 2,700 people. It’s somewhat of an interesting disparity, when you think about it, but if this is what HItachi feels will save them, it’s probably for the best.

[via CrunchGear]

The Playstation 2′s resiliance is due in large part to the amount of software support the system still receives, as well as the system’s lower price – it’s currently available for $129 in most stores.  This allows people who are interested in gaming to own a supported console without having to dish out $200+ for a next-generation system.

According to SCEA’s John Koller, director of marketing, the Playstation 2 will continue to be supported for some time to come.  That’s good news for those who are only interested in casual gaming at an affordable price.  Here’s to another 50 million, Sony.

[via Kotaku]

I never exactly saw the appeal of this device, especially since its one and only feature is email access. Is it trying to be an old school BlackBerry? I guess no one can really know. But if you need email and you need it now, the Peek might be for you.

The only catch here is that you’ll have to shell out $20 a month for the network access. Other than that, though, this is a pretty good deal. Again, if email is your one and only means of communication. 

[via Gadget Review]

Apparently, a bunch of people showed up for the Black Friday sale at a Wal-Mart in Long Island, NY this morning and at 5 a.m. when the doors opened, people pushed and shoved into the store, ripped the doors off their hinges, and trampled a 34-year old male clerk to death.

A pregnant woman was also trampled, but she went to the hospital for observation. This is completely and totally ridiculous. Is saving a few bucks on a new digital camera really worth someone dying? And all those people that streamed past him on the ground, even as medical workers tried to revive him, were a few discounted movies worth it? I guess what I’m saying, folks, is maybe finish your shopping online this year.

These deals are only good for today on their website, but they’re worth checking out. For instance, you can get a 19-inch Dell flat panel monitor for $129, $50 off its original price. Or, you could snatch up the Inspiron Mini 9 netbook for just $299.

Other deals include a $559 Inspiron 1525 notebook, which adds up to $282 off, plus discounts on Smartparts digital photo frames, Creative Zen MP3 players and more. The best deal by far, however, is the super discount on the 42-inch Sharp HDTV. While it normally costs $1,399, you can get it today for $779.

There’s also $21 off an iPod touch, or the same amount off the iPod classic.  The Apple TV has been reduced $21.  Accessories and software are also discounted, with everything from iPod cases, laptop bags, power supplies, headphones and speakers being reduced.  The iPhone Bluetooth headset has dropped $11 to $88.

Apple’s reduced MacBook prices aren’t as great as the offers from Best Buy and MacMall, and unlike those retailers the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Pro desktop aren’t discounted at all.  However Apple will apparently price-match competitors discounts if you bring proof with you to the store.

Beginning on Friday and ending on Sunday, you can get discounts on all sorts of titles from the Live Marketplace. Everything from Rez HD to Brain Challenge have gotten price drops, each only costing 500 Microsoft Points. They were formerly priced at 800 points.

Additional downloadable content is also on sale for Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band and Forza. Themes are included as well, such as those for Sonic Unleashed and Gears of War 2. Check out the full list of on-sale items below:

Xbox Live Arcade Games
Rez HD – 500 Microsoft Points
Arkadian Warriors – 500 Microsoft Points
Assault Heroes – 400 Microsoft Points
Catan – 500 Microsoft Points
Brain Challenge – 500 Microsoft Points
Boogie Bunnies – 500 Microsoft Points
Golf: Tee It Up! – 500 Microsoft Points

Paid DLC
GH3 Metallica “Death Magnetic” Full Album – 1000 Microsoft Points
Forza – March Car Pack – 400 Microsoft Points
Crackdown – Getting Busy Bonus Pack – 500 Microsoft Points
Rock Band All That Remains Pack 01 – 290 Microsoft Points
Lips – The Remedy (Jason Mraz) – 100 Microsoft Points

Themes
Gears of War 2 – Last Day – 180 Microsoft Points
Sonic Unleashed – 180 Microsoft Points
Castle Crashers Premium – 180 Microsoft Points

Between November 28 and November 30 (Friday-Sunday) you will be able to get your hands on the Motorola ZN5 for free from T-Mobile. And since the sale lasts all weekend, you can save this bargain for Saturday or Sunday instead of trying to cram it in on Friday when everyone else is having their super-limited sales.

However, there is a big catch here. When approaching the register with your brand new Motorola ZN5, you’re still going to have to shell out $99 on the spot. The whole “free” part comes in after sending in a mail-in rebate. Plus, you have to sign a two-year contract with T-Mobile. Talk about taking the wind out of that one! Still, if you were interested in the ZN5 anyway, this deal is certainly not one to pass up.

It looks like you can save 10% on every item in the store. While that might not be as much as some other online sales, considering the fact this discount covers the entire stock and includes high ticket items, it’s pretty significant. So, if you’ve been holding out on a replica lightsaber or a bronzed Yoda statue, now is the time to act.

Star Wars buffs usually can’t get enough memorabilia. So if you have one in your life, you might want to seriously consider taking advantage of this sale. I mean, why wait and spend more than you have to?

[via Gadgetell]