Macs sales growing, but U.S. PC market stagnates

post from Apple on 11 January 2012 11:03:18 PM. © Apple

Updated. IDC released its quarterly market share report for the last three months of 2011 on Wednesday. And with the exception of Apple, PC sales in the U.S. tanked during a really rough holiday quarter.

Apple sold a little over 2 million Macs between October and the end of December, according to IDC. That’s 18 percent more than the roughly ~~1,700~~ 1.7 million Macs the company sold during the same quarter a year ago. It’s really good news for Apple, as that growth has put its market share at 10.92 percent of the U.S. PC market, its highest share in a very long time.

The rest of the field did not fare much better in the U.S. None of the rest of the top five of the largest PC makers saw any growth at all. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba and Acer all saw declines in the number of PCs shipped last quarter. (As I wrote on Monday, this is exactly the reason companies like Vizio think they can squirm their way as newcomers into the PC market.)

Things were so bad, IDC has dubbed 2011 the “the second-worst year in history” for the U.S. PC market. The overall 5 percent contraction of the market since 2010 is second only to the 12 percent decline after the Y2K buildup and the dot-com bust of 2001. The reasons this time around are related to lower demand for new computers, but also the HDD shortage.

The global view

Though it’s worked its way to No. 3 in the U.S. market, when taking a broader view, Apple still doesn’t register in the top 5 of the largest PC makers in the world. And the overall market did a bit better. HP, which is the perennial leader, declined 15 percent in global PC shipments to barely keep ahead of Lenovo, the only real bright spot. HP of course was dealing with the after effects of announcing and then reconsidering a decision to stop selling PCs in mid-2011.

Lenovo surged 37 percent during the quarter to ship a little over 13 million PCs, good for the No. 2 spot, but a record in global marketshare for the company. Dell saw a little bit of growth (7 percent) in shipments, though not as much as Asus’s 26 percent. Acer lost ground, but stayed as the No. 4 largest vendor. All of this added up to an overall .17 percent decline in the PC market for the quarter, says IDC. But this wasn’t a huge surprise, and the signs that this would be a tough quarter were there:

As expected, shortages of hard disk drives (HDDs) added to challenges from slow economic conditions and competition from other consumer electronics, including media tablets, eReaders and mobile phones. The 4Q11 results reflected a year-on-year decline of 0.2% for the quarter and growth of 1.6% for the full year.

Update: Gartner also released its global marketshare stats Wednesday, reaching roughly the same conclusions as IDC. Gartner saw a 1.4 percent decline for the quarter in worldwide PC shipments, but .5 percent growth for the full year. Gartner also cited “continuously low” demand for PCs as a reason for the disappointing final quarter of 2011, as well as economic uncertainty in Western Europe and North America. Gartner’s Mikako Kitagawa warned that though the HDD shortage had a “limited impact” on the fourth quarter’s PC shipments, we can expect the effects to linger throughout 2012.

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Apple suppliers data hints great holiday quarter

post from Apple on 11 January 2012 11:03:18 PM. © Apple

Apple is expected to have a great holiday quarter, which some believe would be company’s best ever. New data from one of Apple’s suppliers – Multi-Fineline Electronix which makes printed circuit boards for iPhone and iPads – is only bolstering that argument, according to UBS analyst Maynard Um.

In a research note to his clients, Um who follows Apple wrote:

Multi-Fineline Electronix (MFLX) reported better than expected preliminary 1Q revenues of $239mn v. Street of $215 and it expects less of a seasonal decline than normal for next qtr. MFLX is one of the flexible printed circuit board suppliers for some of Apple?s products including iPhone & iPad. The company expects to exceed the high end of its guidance this qtr as supply chain shortages from Thailand improved throughout the quarter, and as it saw an increase in shipments from its largest key customer (which we believe to be Apple).MFLX saw weakness last qtr partly from a later iPhone 4S launch, so strong results & a better than seasonal outlook for next qtr may indicate underlying demand strength for iPhone/iPad (MFLX likely w/ more iPhone exposure). These results follow better than expected iPhone shipments from Verizon last week, iPhone strength from AT&T last month, Cirrus Logic (analog chips for iPad & iPod) w/ better results this wk, & strong Dec results from Dialog Semi, Catcher (Mac metal casing), TPK (iPad 2 touch panel orders), & Hon Hai- stronger iPhone/iPad orders. [UBS Research]

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The Dead Kindle and What Warren Ellis Learned
About Amazon Customer Service

post from Daring Fireball on 11 January 2012 11:03:16 PM. © Daring Fireball

This story exemplifies why I think Amazon is Apple’s best and strongest rival. They work hard so that their customers are happy and loyal.

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http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=13611

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Real-Life Examples of How Googles Search Plus
Pushes Google Plus Over Relevancy

post from Daring Fireball on 11 January 2012 08:03:35 PM. © Daring Fireball

Great explanation by Danny Sullivan:

The new Google ?Search Plus Your World? feature — which I?m nowsimply calling ?Search Plus? — has just gone live for me. Hugedebate erupted yesterday over whether it somehow favors Google+. Ican see now that it clearly does, even more than I thought. Here?sa closer look at the changes, including how they turn Google+ intoan essential social network for any search marketer.

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http://searchengineland.com/examples-google-search-plus-drive-facebook-twitter-cr
azy-107554

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CES Trailer

post from Daring Fireball on 11 January 2012 08:03:35 PM. © Daring Fireball

Without question, my favorite ongoing CES coverage. Hilarious.

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https://twitter.com/cestrailer

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Another Amazing Samsung Design Coincidence

post from Daring Fireball on 11 January 2012 08:03:35 PM. © Daring Fireball

The weather widget on Samsung’s new “Display Window” looks familiar. Can’t quite put my finger on it.

(Via Radar Design.)

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Misdirection, Doublespeak, Non-Answers, and
Straight-Up Bad Decisions

post from Daring Fireball on 11 January 2012 07:03:14 PM. © Daring Fireball

MG Siegler on Eric Schmidt’s bizarre interview with Danny Sullivan regarding the new Google Plus integration:

I give Google a lot of shit. Some think it?s justified, othersdon?t. But I honestly just don?t understand what they?re doinghere. It?s like they?re suffering from brain diarrhea. They?re nothandling this situation well.

It’s one thing for Google to tightly integrate their own social network with their web search results, using their monopoly (or, if you prefer, monopsony) to give Google Plus a significant competitive advantage over Facebook and Twitter. Some see this as anticompetitive behavior; others see this as good clean competitive hardball. Are they unfairly abusing a monopoly, or fairly using their best strength to their own advantage? That’s up for debate.

But to deny that they’re doing it at all? It defies belief.

I honestly don’t know what’s worse: if Google is so institutionally delusional that they actually believe this isn’t giving Google Plus a tremendous advantage (fair or unfair) over every other social network in the world, or if Google thinks so poorly of everyone outside the company that they think anyone is actually going to buy this line of bullshit. The best case scenario for Google is that Eric Schmidt, in his new role as chairman, has turned into a loose cannon who should just shut the fuck up.

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traight-up

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Eric Schmidt: Google Plus Not Favored Over
Twitter or Facebook in Search Results

post from Daring Fireball on 11 January 2012 07:03:14 PM. © Daring Fireball

Danny Sullivan:

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt says Google+ content is notbeing favored over Twitter and Facebook by Google?s search engine.Rather, those companies can be treated the same if they grantGoogle the right permissions to access their content.

Does Google actually believe this? Do they expect anyone else to believe this? Serious questions. I don’t understand why they would say this.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://marketingland.com/schmidt-google-not-favored-happy-to-talk-twitter-faceboo
k-integration-3151

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Macs still growing while rest of U.S. PC market
stagnates

Updated. IDC released its quarterly market share report for the last three months of 2011 on Wednesday. And with the exception of Apple, PC sales in the U.S. tanked during a really rough holiday quarter.

Apple sold a little over 2 million Macs between October and the end of December, according to IDC. That’s 18 percent more than the roughly 1,700 Macs the company sold during the same quarter a year ago. It’s really good news for Apple, as that growth has put its market share at 10.92 percent of the U.S. PC market, its highest share in a very long time.

The rest of the field did not fare much better in the U.S. None of the rest of the top five of the largest PC makers saw any growth at all. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba and Acer all saw declines in the number of PCs shipped last quarter. (As I wrote on Monday, this is exactly the reason companies like Vizio think they can squirm their way as newcomers into the PC market.)

Things were so bad, IDC has dubbed 2011 the “the second-worst year in history” for the U.S. PC market. The overall 5 percent contraction of the market since 2010 is second only to the 12 percent decline after the Y2K buildup and the dot-com bust of 2001. The reasons this time around are related to lower demand for new computers, but also the HDD shortage.

The global view

Though it’s worked its way to No. 3 in the U.S. market, when taking a broader view, Apple still doesn’t register in the top 5 of the largest PC makers in the world. And the overall market did a bit better. HP, which is the perennial leader, declined 15 percent in global PC shipments to barely keep ahead of Lenovo, the only real bright spot. HP of course was dealing with the after effects of announcing and then reconsidering a decision to stop selling PCs in mid-2011.

Lenovo surged 37 percent during the quarter to ship a little over 13 million PCs, good for the No. 2 spot, but a record in global marketshare for the company. Dell saw a little bit of growth (7 percent) in shipments, though not as much as Asus’s 26 percent. Acer lost ground, but stayed as the No. 4 largest vendor. All of this added up to an overall .17 percent decline in the PC market for the quarter, says IDC. But this wasn’t a huge surprise, and the signs that this would be a tough quarter were there:

As expected, shortages of hard disk drives (HDDs) added to challenges from slow economic conditions and competition from other consumer electronics, including media tablets, eReaders and mobile phones. The 4Q11 results reflected a year-on-year decline of 0.2% for the quarter and growth of 1.6% for the full year.

Update: Gartner also released its global marketshare stats Wednesday, reaching roughly the same conclusions as IDC. Gartner saw a 1.4 percent decline for the quarter in worldwide PC shipments, but .5 percent growth for the full year. Gartner also cited “continuously low” demand for PCs as a reason for the disappointing final quarter of 2011, as well as economic uncertainty in Western Europe and North America. Gartner’s Mikako Kitagawa warned that though the HDD shortage had a “limited impact” on the fourth quarter’s PC shipments, to expect the effects to linger throughout 2012.

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Read The Full Article:
http://gigaom.com/apple/macs-still-growing-while-rest-of-u-s-pc-market-stagnates/

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Eric Schmidt: Google+ Not Favored Over Twitter or
Facebook in Search Results

Danny Sullivan:

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt says Google+ content is notbeing favored over Twitter and Facebook by Google?s search engine.Rather, those companies can be treated the same if they grantGoogle the right permissions to access their content.

Does Google actually believe this? Do they expect anyone else to believe this? Serious questions. I don’t understand why they would say this.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://marketingland.com/schmidt-google-not-favored-happy-to-talk-twitter-faceboo
k-integration-3151

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