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iPhone Nabs 16.6% of Smartphone Market; Staves off Industry Decline

Dave — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:44:49 +0000

According to a recent note from Needham analyst, Charlie Wolf, the iPhone is now not only the world’s second most in demand smartphone, but has actually had a hand in rescuing the entire market from decline.

Elecronista reiterates that for the second quarter which ended in September, the iPhone held 16.6 percent of the global smartphone market, placing it directly behind the world’s leading smartphone producer, Nokia, whose significant hold over the market has been since dwindling away. It is noted that the launch of the iPhone 3G had shown such success, that is was able to guise potential declines in the smartphone market as a whole. Wolf claims that Apple’s presence in the industry is the only reason that the market did not show significant declines.

For the US, the iPhone is second only to RIM, earning nearly 30 percent of overall sales to the Blackberry ensemble’s 40 percent. Wolf explains that while Windows Mobile and Pam OS are continuing to decline, users are making the shift to Apple and Rim products for the fact that they utilize proprietary operating systems, thus having greater control over their hardware. Smartphone producers have been disinclined to license operating systems for multiple devices, essentially unwilling to allow for another Microsoft monopoly. “The desire from companies such as HTC and Sony Ericsson to develop front-ends like TouchFLO or the XPERIA panels for Windows Mobile simply shows that many of them have felt a need to mask a difficult stock interface,” Wolf Adds.

“The Symbian operating system is generally considered to be less robust than
Windows Mobile or the Palm OS,” Wolf claims. “But Symbian was able to retain a huge lead over competing operating systems chiefly through Nokia’s endorsement and marketing muscle, especially in Europe, along with Microsoft’s difficulties in attracting major handset manufacturers.

Wolf maintains that one must also take into account how Google’s Android may chip away at Symbian’s share, as developers may opt to work with the free platform, while adding that Microsoft’s inherent advantages of Office and Exchange severs had been swept away by the Blackberry and the smartphone market in general.

Mac Web Share Hits Record 8.82%, Windows Dips Below 90%

Christina — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:11:47 +0000

According to a Net Applications web survey issued overnight Monday, Apple’s (AAPL) cut of the “Internet pie” increased in November as the Mac and iPhone hit record numbers in Internet share.

Naturally, this comes at the cost of Microsoft’s web presence, with Windows’ Internet share dropping below 90% for the first time ever and Internet Explorer’s market share coming in at less than 70%. After losing traction in October, Mac computers share of Web hits grew 7.43% in the month of November to a record breaking 8.82%. Additionally, the iPhone gained ground with an increase of 12.12% to 0.37%, on the heels of Linux.

“Reaching 20 percent worldwide market share is a significant milestone for Firefox and Mozilla,” Mozilla CEO John Lilly told Net Applications. “It’s a huge achievement by the global Mozilla community, one that just a few years ago most would have considered impossible.”

As Fortune.com points out, Net Applications’ monthly surveys are conducted by sampling browser data from some 160 million visits to Web sites operated by firm’s clients. Although the describes the results as “market shares,” Net Applications does not actually measure share of market in the traditional sense of sales revenue or unit sales. It does, however, provide a consistent methodology by which to measure browser and operating system trends.

New Apple Notebooks Boost Mac Sales By 28%

Aviv — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:35:22 +0000

Apple’s latest line of notebook computers has helped the company stay ahead of the pack, while Mac sales grew by 25% when compared to this time last year.

Gene Munster, a long time Apple analyst for Piper Jaffray, relayed some data by market research firm NPD Group, in a note to clients. As AppleInsider explains, Munster says Mac sales were up 28% when compared to the same month exactly one year ago. The October 14th Notebook Media Event definitely helped hammer home sales of the new Macbooks and Macbook Pros, which aside from some complaints, have been warmly accepted.

Munster continues to explain that even though he analyzes NPD’s data every month, he is going to wait until statistics from the months of November and December get finalized, before making a prediction as to how many Macs Apple sold in the fourth quarter of 2008. AppleInsider continues to explain that based on his experience, Munster is issuing a “preliminary prediction of quarterly Mac sales of between 2.5 million to 2.7 million units — a range generally in line with Wall Street’s consensus of 2.6 million units.”

“Given the MacBook launch in October, growth rates for Mac will likely decline in the months of November and December,” Munster explained to clients. “That said, our 25 hours counting Macs in US Apple stores from November 9th-16th suggest Mac demand remains healthy, and was up 90 percent year-over-year, and down 5 percent sequentially.”

Additionally, NPD’s data regarding iPod sales show the music player’s resilience in giving up market share, even if to its family member the iPhone. With the holiday season around the corner, Munster believes that Apple may still track sales between 18.5 to 19 million iPods during the months of October, November and December.

Apple sold 22.1 million iPods during this quarter last year, which represents a 14 to 16% decline. However, Apple sold roughly 2.31 million iPhones in the December quarter last year. Munster projects Apple to sell 6.4 million iPhones during this year’s final fiscal quarter, meaning that they will have sold 1 million more handheld devices than this time last year.

Despite the expectation for an extended consumer slowdown hitting the consumer electronics space, we believe Apple is well-positioned to weather the storm,” Munster said. “The company has recently leveraged its unit volumes in the iPod, Mac, and iPhone businesses to lower prices moderately while generally maintaining margins.”

At the moment shares of Apple (AAPL) are trading around $89.46 up nearly $1.32 (1.50%) per share.

Study Shows New MacBooks to Take Healthy Percentage of Holiday Sales

Christina — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:09:36 +0000

According to electronista, Apple’s recent MacBook lineup and the iPhone may make it one of the better positioned companies to survive a likely steep drop in spending during the holidays.

Initially reported by ChangeWave, the study shows that a full third of all studied US notebook buyers, or 33%, plan to buy some form of Apple notebook during the season or within the next 90 days from the start of November. This study indicates a slight increase from 29% in September and places Apple’s demand on par with Dell. Additionally, it shows that the demand may also favor Apple’s higher end notebooks, including the MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro with about 23% out of the 33% skewing towards the pricier laptops.

Unfortunately, Apple projected desktop sales continue to trail behind that of competitor Dell. Most of the respondents tell ChangeWave that the Dell systems’ cost is the primary factor and that Dell represents “great value.”

Naturally, Apple continues to lead in portable device demand with the iPhone and has positioned itself to outperform RIM based on early ChangeWave polling. Portable media players also see Apple continuing to be unopposed, even with most of the overall group having no intention to buy (probably because they already have one, or many.)

In conclusion, the net gain for Apple is expected by ChangeWave to be critical for the winter. 59% of all study members say they plan on spending less in the next 90 days regardless of the onslaught of the holiday season. Lets hope the remaining 41% plan on stopping at the Apple store for stocking stuffers, or the soon-to-be-released new MacBook Air for the dearest loved one.

Update: I’m talking about the built-to-order Macbook Air that’s been delayed until after Thanksgiving.

iPhone 3G Overtakes RAZR as Top U.S. Consumer Handset

Dave — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:49:57 +0000

According to market research firm NPD Group, the iPhone 3G has managed to successfully oust the Motorola RAZR as the number one U.S. handset purchased by adult consumers.

The firm has recently announced that the long held top spot has now been overtaken by the iPhone 3G during the third quarter of 2008, reports Arstechnica. NPD notes that the RAZR has been at the top of the list for an astonishing 12 straight quarters, proving the iPhone 3G’s ascension to be all the more impressive. While the device has only been out for a mere four months, its stay at the top could prove to be a temporary position. It is possible that more units of the device were sold in Q3 due to the fact that it was new to the market. The NPD Group lists the five top mobile handsets in the U.S. as:

1. iPhone 3G
2. RAZR V3 (all models)
3. BlackBerry Curve (all models)
4. LG Rumor
5. LG enV2

Director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, Ross Rubin, has stated that “The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality.” Indeed a good point as anyone who has owned or seen a RAZR up close will know that the device defines practicality with its form over function. As a previous RAZR owner myself I can tell you that it wasn’t always a good thing, as would was so thin it would always seem to find a way to sneak out of my pocket. The iPhone 3G on the other hand was not only made to be powerful but also perfectly fits Rubin’s description of fashionable functionality.

Apple Tops 9% Market Share, Outperforms PC Market (Again)

Aviv — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:21:50 +0000

Proving analysts were right about Apple’s cushy market position, the Cupertino tech firm continues to increase its market share, closing in at 9%, ranking third in the US market.

According to recent data from Gartner, Apple has posted an around 30 percent increase in market share over third quarter sales numbers from the previous year holding 9.5 percent of the US PC market. Apple has now surpass Acer, moving up to the third place among PC makers. IDC (a firm specializing in the research of information technology companies and markets) claims its numbers have Apple holding 9.1 percent, still third above Acer. Both Dell and HP continue to control the market share, with Dell holding 30 percent and HP holding 25 percent.

“However, and perhaps more importantly, is the story of Apple’s steady and significant growth. Gartner’s numbers show Apple’s year-over-year growth at 29.4 percent, and IDC at 32 percent. Either way, the trend is clear. The overall growth in unit shipments for PCs in the US market is 4.6 percent. As Apple COO Tim Cook said at Tuesday’s media event, “If you look at the history, the Mac has outgrown the market for the last 14 of 15 quarters,” Ars Technica explains.

Neither research firm, IDC or Gartner have released information and numbers about Apple’s global market share. However, last year Garner reported that Apple has moved to the sixth position overall, and latest numbers lead many to believe that Apple has maintained that position.

Apple continues to lead the world with brand reputation, loyalty and overall connection with its customer base. What separates Apple from the rest of the big-tech herd is that during a substantial economic downturn, the Apple faithful will rush to retail stores while plunking down over $1,000 each on new notebooks. Apple’s new products are of tremendous value, bringing high technology directly to the consumer, and making it easy to use.

[Ars Technica]

iPhone 3G Snags 17% US Smartphone Market, Apple Already Sold 10M iPhones

Aviv — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:33:25 +0000

According the marketing research and industry tracking NPD Group, Apple’s iPhone 3G has now climbed the ranks and snagged 17% of the US Smartphone market, and independent research points to Apple having reached its goal of selling 10 Million iPhones three months early.

Reports clarify that Apple’s iPhone 3G has outsold the Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Pearl and Palm Centero from June through August. The added interest in the device during this time allowed Apple to use the buzz and spike generated during launch, to give all iPhones nearly 17% of the US smartphone market. In other words, more than one in six smartphones sold in the US are iPhones.

Additionally, Apple’s iPhone 3G has been labeled as potentially damaging to carriers rivaling AT&T. Roughly 30% of all iPhone owners during this last summer switched from another major US carrier. Nearly 47% of this group switched from Verizon (who denied Apple and the iPhone due to interfering levels of control), 24% switched from T-Mobile and 19% switched from Sprint. The NPD report goes onto explain that these specific figures are targeted at typical sales, as apposed to corporate sales which usually favor BlackBerries and Windows Mobile devices in the US (via Macnn).

Members of the Apple Finance Board at Mac Observer have been gathering IMEI numbers (spreadsheet) for a while now. The group has been maintaining a spreadsheet of iPhone IMEI data points as well as the purchase date, model, and production week.

The latest IMEI data point collected by AFB was 9,190,680 — an 8GB Black iPhone recorded as manufactured on September 29 and sold on October 5. This suggests that even if a whopping 1.5 million iPhones of the total IMEI registered devices are unsold as of today, an unlikely assumption, it would still put 3G iPhone sales at 7.6 million units and 2008 iPhone sales at over 10 million units. Coming into the quarter, Apple had already sold 2.42 million iPhones. Thus, 7.6 million 3G iPhones sold puts Apple above 10 million units for the year. (via Apple Insider)

Contrary to the NDP Group’s findings, the research done by the Mac Observer is not concrete information, however it has enough solidarity behind it to be considered seriously. For the next few weeks, leading up to the end of the year, expect to hear analysts clamoring about whether Apple will reach its goal of selling 10 Million iPhones by the end of this calendar year. Not until Apple officially comes out and releases the numbers, most likely at MacWorld 2009, will we know exactly how many iPhones have been sold.

Apple Grabs 20% of US Notebook Market Share in July and August

Craig — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:30:00 +0000

A report from the marketing research and industry tracking NPD Group, states that Apple notebooks made up (accounted for) 20% of retail notebook sales in the United States during the months of July and August, 2008.

The report covers the number of boxes Apple actually shipped. Or how many actual physical computers were tracked to have shipped/sold. However, if you take Apple’s garnered revenue during those months into account, Apple’s market share climbs to 35% instead of 20%.

In a time of critical economic crisis, the Cupertino tech giant has been able to keep interest in its products, and generally in its brand pretty successfully. “Windows laptop sales were down 1.5 per cent by value and ten per cent by volume year on year, while Mac notebook sales grew 30 per cent by revenue and 35 per cent by units, according to NPD.”

On October 21st, Apple will be releasing 4th quarter earnings results, and we’ll actually be able to hear and digest how the company has been affected by the economic downturn. A report such as this by NPD should reassure share holders and investors that Apple is more than capable to weather these turbulent times. With a new overhauled mac notebook line expected in the next few weeks, interest in the companies new products is again on the rise. By introducing extremely competitive products at highly aggressive price-points, Apple will be better positioned than all of its competitors for the holiday shopping season.

[Reghardware via MDN]

Apple’s North American Notebook Share on the Rise

Dave — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:19:06 +0000

Despite today’s current economic situation, Apple is managing to keep its head above water. DisplaySearch has noted in a recent report that the Mac notebook market share has now risen to 10.6%.

A report released Monday is showing that Apple’s North American market share has jumped nearly 60%, rising from 6.6% of the market to 10.6% through the second quarter of the year. This marks the first time ever that Apple’s notebook share has broken the double digit mark.

Some of Apple’s success may stem from rivals Toshiba and Acer who have both recently seen significant declines in their share over the same time period. Acer has witnessed their share fall from 18.6% down to 14.4% which may be somewhat attributed to their recent acquisitions of Gateway/eMachines and Packard Bell.

“The data calls into question Acer’s acquisition of both Gateway/eMachines and Packard Bell,” said John Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research for DisplaySearch. “While the move immediately prevented competitors from getting more of a foothold in the rapidly growing US and European retail notebook PC sectors, the last few quarters’ results clearly show that Acer is struggling to integrate the Gateway and Packard Bell brands into their portfolio.”

The standard portable displays ranging in size from 13.3″ to 16″ comprise 88.5% of the entire notebook market, while 17″ and up hold a mere 7.5%. Subnotebooks with displays ranging from 10.4″ to 12.1″ have also dropped, now claiming 4% of the market. This may be due to the influx of cheap mini-notebooks such as the Asus Eee.

[via Ars Technica]