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Technology Stocks : Mobile Computing - OSs & Manufacturers UNMODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: iggyl who wrote (2065)	2/7/2011 1:08:07 PM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 3170

Why??? You didn't like the Canalys numbers because they proved you are an idiot??? LMFAO... too funny...

To: iggyl who wrote (2065)	2/7/2011 1:14:46 PM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 3170

BREAKING..Android drives big smartphone growth in 2010, IDC says Continued growth expected in 2011 with wider range of smartphone prices By Matt Hamblen February 7, 2011 11:27 AM ET computerworld.com Worldwide smartphone shipments were up 75%, to 302 million in 2010, a trend driven by impressive Android growth in the fourth quarter, market research firm IDC said. For the fourth quarter, nearly 101 million smartphones shipped globally, up 87% over the prior year, IDC said in a report released Monday. "Android continues to gain by leaps and bounds, helping to drive the smartphone market," said Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst. He called the Android operating system the "cornerstone" of the smartphone strategy for many vendors and the biggest challenger to Nokia's Symbian OS, the market leader. IDC predicts that the highest-priced smartphones will drop in price in 2011 to increase competition among vendors. At the same time, manufacturers are building low-price and mid-price smartphones as well. Samsung had the most impressive year of all the smartphone makers, with 318% year-over-year growth in shipments. In 2010, Samsung shipped 23 million smartphones, including 9.7 million in the fourth quarter alone, selling Galaxy S series smartphones on the Android platform as well as devices on Windows Phone 7. Samsung has focused heavily on growth in the U.S. market, and while it finished the entire year with 7.6% global smartphone market share, it wants to increase that percentage by 40% in 2011, IDC said. For the quarter and year, the rankings for smartphone vendors were nearly the same. For the year, Nokia finished with the biggest share (33%), Research in Motion was second (16.1%); Apple was third (15.7%); Samsung was fourth (7.6%); and HTC was fifth (7.1%). For the quarter, the only difference in that 2010 order was that Apple jumped into second place at 16% share, ahead of RIM at 14.5%. Apple gained primarily in the fourth quarter from shipments to Asia/Pacific countries including Japan, but also sold more iPhones to enterprise users, IDC said. In all, Apple shipped 14.6 million iPhones in the fourth quarter and 47.5 million iPhones for all of 2010, IDC said. A shipment means that phones are in the hands of retailers for sale or have been sold to end users. While some analysts said Windows Phone 7, which appeared mid-way through the fourth quarter, has shipped and sold slowly, IDC said the 1.5 million units of WP7 shipped in the fourth quarter showed it had "ramped up quickly." Nokia shipped 5 million Symbian 3 devices by the end of the fourth quarter, comprised of its N8, C7 and C601 smartphones. IDC also noted that Nokia continues to struggle with sales in North America and recently canceled the X7 smartphone at AT&T and no replacement has been announced. IDC didn't publish results for all the major smartphone operating systems, but Canalys recently reported that 32.9 million Android smartphones sold by various vendors were shipped in the fourth quarter, taking the top spot from Nokia's Symbian with 31 million in the quarter. Nokia alone makes Symbian devices, but Android devices are made by HTC, LG Electronics, Motorola and Samsung and a number of smaller vendors, IDC noted.

To: iggyl who wrote (2065)	2/7/2011 1:26:13 PM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 3170

AT&T’s Chief Marketing Officer on How the Company Has Found (Android) Religion by Ina Fried Posted on February 7, 2011 at 10:02 AM PT mobilized.allthingsd.com Although AT&T has dabbled with Android in the past, the carrier is now dead serious about making sure that it has a range of products running Google’s operating system. While many will observe that the company’s interest in Android appears to be timed closely with the loss of its iPhone exclusivity, the company said the strategy shift has been in the works for many months and has more to do with the fact that the company is moving to faster networks and needs devices that will really tap their power. “They create highly functional, highly capable smartphones that run really well with our network,” Christopher said. “That hits the sweet spot of our network.” Whatever the case, AT&T has committed to having a dozen new Android products this year, including both phones and tablets. The company introduced the first three phones at January’s Consumer Electronics Show, where it showed off Android smartphones from Samsung and HTC as well as the intriguing Motorola Atrix, which is a powerful Android phone on its own, but can also plug into a laptop dock and power a full desktop Web browsing experience. It is also trying to break new pricing ground in selling the HTC Inspire for just $99 with a new contract. However, there’s more to the strategy than just interesting devices at low prices. Christopher said AT&T is committed to working more closely with phone makers and Google. “The Atrix is the best example of that,” he said. “We got involved very early in development of that product with Motorola and Google.” However, the company isn’t looking to do all kinds of work to customize Android. “We don’t think we have to control every element of the smartphone at all,” he said. “Our strategy has been more to partner smartly and add value where we think we have the strongest assets to bring to bear.” Christopher pointed to location services, such as a feature that helps keep tabs on family members, as an example of where the company sees investment paying off. Carrier billing for apps and services is another area where the company has tried to lead, he said. While many of the 12 Android devices planned for 2011 are phones, some will also be tablets, Christopher said, including the Motorola Xoom that was announced at CES. However, Christopher won’t say when that device–which is headed soon to Verizon–will make it to AT&T. Christopher said the tablet arena is still wide open and said the company is looking far and wide in terms of which devices to offer. In addition to the iPad, which AT&T already carries, and the Android devices, other device makers such as Research In Motion and Hewlett-Packard are taking aim at the space. “There’s going to be tablet innovation happening across the industry,” Christopher said. “Over time, I think the market will choose.” In the meantime, Christopher said the company will follow the same strategy it has taken with phones–offer lots of options. “There are others as well,” he said, suggesting there are some other brands that could also find their way onto the company’s shelves. “We are casting a very wide net.” AT&T also wants to find ways to get customers to have multiple devices running on its network. The company has taken a step toward that with the introduction of a new mobile hotspot plan that offers more data to customers who are sharing their phone’s data connection with other devices, either directly or over Wi-Fi. But more can be done, Christopher said. Among the options would be to have some sort of pool plan, where a customer could share data across multiple devices. Christoper said that is among many pricing possibillites that AT&T is considering: “That is one that potentially is interesting.”