Intel’s next-generation Ivy Bridge processors will be the first to feature a “3D Tri-Gate transistor,” The BBC reported on Sunday. The company plans to initially release 13 quad-core processors for desktop computers that it promises will offer more computational power while using less energy. Intel hopes its new transistors, which have been in development for 11 years, will help it challenge ARM’s reputation for energy efficiency. “This is the world’s first 22 nanometre product and we’ll be delivering about 20% more processor performance using 20% less average power,” the company said, adding that dual-core processors aimed at ultrabooks will be announced “later this spring.” Intel promises that “there will be 50% more supply than we had early in the product cycle of our last generation, Sandy Bridge, a year ago. And we’re still constrained based on the amount of demand we’re seeing in the marketplace.” Digitimes on Monday reported that shipments of the company’s latest processors will still be lower than expected, however, and it will not be able to satisfy the strong demand anticipated from PC vendors.

Read [BBC] Read [DigiTimes]

Samsung’s iCloud competitor, dubbed S-Cloud, may be unveiled at next month’s Galaxy S III announcement in London on May 3rd, a South Korean newspaper reported on Friday. The service is similar to Apple’s offering but without any limitations on the type of content users can upload. The service is also expected to have access to popular TV shows, movies and music with free and paid content that will be available across a range of Samsung devices. The amount of storage allotted to users is rumored to be “more than 5GB,” although it isn’t clear if that will be free or is there is an associated charge. Earlier rumors suggested Samsung would delay the service after having trouble developing a suitable infrastructure for the global market. According to Maeil Business, however, the company has partnered with Microsoft to support its S-Cloud service.

[Via The Verge]

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The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s latest poll indicates that one in five adults in the United States still doesn’t use the Internet. “Senior citizens, those who prefer to take our interviews in Spanish rather than English, adults with less than a high school education, and those living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the least likely adults to have Internet access,” Pew Internet said. Almost half of those adults who don’t use the Internet found the technology irrelevant to them, with most having never used it before. About one in five adults claimed they didn’t know enough about technology to start using the Internet on their own, and only 10% were interested in using the Internet or email in the future. Overall Internet adoption rates have leveled off, however adults already online are using the Web more often than ever before. Pew’s study also showed that 88% of American adults have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an eReader, 19% have a tablet and 63% access the Internet wirelessly with one of these devices.

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Mobile World Congress has been a roller coaster ride so far this year. The week kicked off with a bang on Sunday with both Sony and HTC unveiling their latest and greatest smartphones, and the HTC One X was definitely the star of the show. Things were up and down on Monday and Tuesday however, and the show actually got pretty slow for a while there. Our time in Barcelona isn’t up just yet, however, and Microsoft chose today to unveil the latest version of its next-generation operating system, Windows 8. The technology giant released a preview version of Windows 8 last September, but we’re sure plenty has changed over the past five months. And beyond checking out all the new features Microsoft has undoubtedly baked into its new OS, we might finally get a better idea of when devices carrying the platform will finally launch. Microsoft’s Windows 8 press conference is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern / 6:00 a.m. Pacific (3:00 p.m. local time in Barcelona), so hit the break for our live coverage of the event!

UPDATE: Don’t forget to check out our full review of Microsoft’s Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which is now live!

8:49AM:Hey folks. We're in line #2 here at Microsoft's Windows 8 Consumer Preview event. Let's see what they've got for us!

8:52AM:Upbeat music, lots of folks waiting around, and free breadsticks. Great.

8:54AM:This 4-on-the-floor drumbeat is driving us a little crazy...let's go, Microsoft!

9:01AM:Annnnd we're in. Microsof has a bevy of devices on display, all running....Windows 8!

9:03AM:As anticipated, we've got TVs, tablets, desktops, laptops, and more, all in a line

9:07AM:Ok...fake afro-beat music is a bit better but still suspect. We're 7 minutes behind schedule. * mins behind schedule and we're calling it fashionably late:)...

9:12AM:As a side note, this Catalonian sun is not helping keep any of our fellow blogger's and press folk's BO at bay...this room does not smell great.

9:14AM:We're beginning to think that the devices themselves might begin presenting...we haven't seen a single representative from Microsoft go anywhere near the stage yet. Wonder what's keeping em!

9:16AM:Of note, while we wait, there are a total of 13 different devices on stage, all of varying size and shape. Mostly tablets, with one of the largest TVs we've ever seen sitting behind it.

9:18AM:"The show will begin shortly" says the announcer...

9:20AM:lights down...er, lights yellowed...seems like it's finally go time

9:21AM:Lot's of thank you's now going on stage, thank you's to press, devs, etc...you're welcome!

9:22AM:Steven Synofsky hitting the stage now

9:23AM:Looks like we'll have immediate downloads of the beta software available following the release, fyo

9:23AM:"Windows 7 most successful Windows of all time"

9:24AM:Talking now about the compromises necessary with today's stratified mobile vs tablet vs desktop world, speaking to how complicated and unnatural the trade-offs are

9:25AM:Now speaking about how the form factor should drive consumer choice, not the set of compromises that one is willing to make. Microsoft is aiming for

9:27AM:Choice is the key word here, folks. The unified operating system experience is intended to allow consumers to decide what type of device best fits their life, and not have to worry about power management, crippled OS, etc

9:27AM:Every subsystem of Windows 8 has been re-engineered for touch and more

9:28AM:100,000 code changes since dev preview went live

9:28AM:Consumer preview is vastly different from initial dev version. They're calling it "complete" hmmmm

9:29AM:"Beautiful, modern, fast, fluid." It's a generational change in Windows. Stressing revolution vs. evolution of product here, but that it won't be a massive paradigm shift for current Windows users

9:30AM:They're calling Windows 8 a "super fun experience", which seems cute. That said, we're happy to see that they're stressing an enjoyable consumer experience over raw power, specs, and things that might appeal to power users

9:31AM:The notion of scaling is key, with a single OS that is scalable across multiple screen sizes, device type, etc. And having a functioning app-eco system that works together. Apps talking to apps, as opposed to apps functioning as an island in and of themselves. Apps enriching apps...

9:31AM:Pretty sure he's said

9:32AM:Pretty sure he's said "apps" over 59 times. Now stressing that everything is cloud connected, with integrated backups and online support. Also speaking about the current version of the Metro design language, which is design from the ground up with scaling in mind

9:33AM:Now we've got Julie Larson-Green and Antoine Leblond hitting the stage, windows program manager and windows web services manager, to walk us through the app and OS experience

9:34AM:No

9:35AM:Everything will be demonstrated using a prototype device. The device itself was designed from the ground up for usability. She's sitting in a chair, looking pretty damn comfortable, using the dev device. Nice touch.

9:36AM:The device is completely customized for each user, with a familiar lock screen, start screen, app environment, etc on each device that contains your profile info. The home screen adapts to provide the most frequently used tiles in the most convenient locations, etc

9:37AM:She's scanning in and out of home screens now. "fast and fluid" are the key terms, and everything is moving really really well. It's pretty impressive!

9:40AM:Xbox live is integrated from the ground up. We also have casual gaming for things like cut the rope and angry birds, etc etc...

9:40AM:Windows Explorer is killing it right now. The experience is moving so fast, and it actually looks like it's making internet browsing dare we say...fun? This is awesome to watch. Seriously, folks

9:40AM:Video and music stores are built into the preview as well

9:41AM:Now we're looking at a cookbook app. Nothing revolutions, but it does illustrate the beauty of the Metro style across app dev as well

9:42AM:We now have a demo of app switching using gestures. Left thumb flicked left slides back and forth through apps. This is, again, really fast. Really well implemented. We can also bring up a full task switcher by flijing up

9:43AM:Now we're on to social networking implementation. The "people" app function as a centralized hub for all of your social networking accounts. You can also pin this to the start screen with, of course, a live updating tile

9:44AM:Demonstrating multitasking now. We can place IM into a side window dock, while keeping video or any other app running in the foreground. Everything can be dragged around in real time. Awesome!

9:45AM:Nothing overlaps on top of anything else. It just switches back and forth laterally. That way you don't have 400 windows on top of one another. It's clean and efficient, a nice change from existing OS multitasking

9:45AM:The "charms" bar keeps frequently accessed info, like contacts, text, etc...and this is accessible from any app, regardless of where it originated. Apps talking to apps talking to apps...

9:46AM:Ok tablet demo done, on to laptop demo

9:46AM:He's talking about scalability, etc etc

9:47AM:We're looking at non-touchscreen devices now, with mouse and keyboard interface demos

9:47AM:CTRL-ALT-DELETE is a thing of the past!! All you need to unlock is the "enter" key. Ha!

9:47AM:Be sure to check out our Windows 8 Consumer Preview review, which just went live! http://www.bgr.com/2012/02/29/welcome-to-the-post-post-pc-era-a-review-of-microsofts-windows-8-consumer-preview/

9:48AM:Everything looks super fluid (notice a theme here...) and navigation seems pretty intuitive

9:49AM:Gestures haven't been replicated for mouse use, but 4 hot corners are used for specific "gesture" stuff. The corners are the navigation hot spots. Mouse to bottom left goes to start screen, bottom left to task switcher, etc. Seems smart to us, but we wonder how sensitive this thing is

9:50AM:Zoom in, zoom out, it all works as you might expect. And all home screens and tiles can be easily manipulated and re-arranged.

9:51AM:Task switching via hot corner is pretty...hot. We're impressed, though again...sad to see ctrl-tab go the way of the DoDo

9:52AM:

9:52AM:Kindle app, Weather app, Stocks app, etc...all Metro, all awesome.

9:53AM:The home screen is the new windows key. Hitting Windows button brings you directly to the home screen.

9:53AM:This is cool Start typing "USA" and it immediately brings you to an app list, listing USA Today as the top option. Immediate app search and launching.

9:54AM:Sharing between apps is so easy. The charms bar allows you to drop images from web to wordpress, wordpress to twitter, email to facebook, etc. The base app stays in the main screen, and the destination app comes up in the side bar. Drag, drop, post, boom. This is amazing

9:54AM:All existing Windows 7-compatible apps will work on Windows 8

9:55AM:Ok, now we've got Word coming up!

9:56AM:Office seems to work super well here, but it does just look like another Windows 7 app. We'll have to wait for a Metro version of Office to get super sexy, but at least everything will work out of the box

9:57AM:You can also manage tasks in real time, allowing you to pause tasks that need lower priority, etc

9:58AM:Metro and basic desktop functions to allow old apps work side by side. That's pretty cool, and it definitely illuminates how much cooler Metro is, but we're glad to see the desktop survive the transition

9:59AM:Ok. Now we have touch plus mouse plus keyboard. All three inputs can be used together. This is the marriage of input methods that we've been waiting for. And it looks like touch will probably become the predominant method...

10:00AM:All bookmarks, pins, apps, etc...all of these things travel with you from machine to machine, so your tablet looks like your phone looks like your laptop.

10:01AM:Now we've got a demo of the Skydrive app that allows access to documents from the cloud across all your devices. Skydrive is also working behind the scenes to sync your personlized data, profile pic, contacts, app data, etc

10:03AM:Universal search is pretty cool. Search for Harry Potter and it brings up results from the video store, web, flixter app, etc

10:04AM:Antoine is back to talk about the Windows App Store

10:04AM:The store ahs been designed for ease of access...well, that's good to know....we've got rankings, lists, etc. And then categories. Nothing revolutionary here folks, but we suppose that's not a bad thing

10:05AM:Find app, click on app, read about app, install app. Done

10:05AM:All apps in the store will be free during the preview period. Smart move!

10:06AM:Now he's talking about dev relationships, and how excited devs are to be working with the new software. "The best economics of any major app store..."

10:07AM:Large devs are on board, but they're trying to attract individual devs too. They're announcing the winner of the first apps contest...

10:08AM:Sorry 8 winners, not 1.

10:09AM:Cool. More pounding music...

10:11AM:Now we're talking wrapup stuff. "fast fluid beautiful. Okay, okay, we get it!!!

10:12AM:Now we're talking about how apps need to be brought up to spec. The OS is there, stable, ready to go. But apps need to catch up. This all makes sense. We're being cautioned not to list, review, or categorize apps, with an eye to the fact that this preview is intended to spurn further development

10:14AM:Get ready for some hardware previews, guys!

10:16AM:Okay okay, here we go. We've got Michael Angiulo to demo some new hardware!

10:17AM:We've got a demo of Windows-on-ARM, which was first announced at CES last year. Speaking to a power profile that allows support from smaller processors, like phone chips, tablet chips, etc. Low power state gives access to background tasks while sleeping, and doesn't give huge power spikes when waking to access information lost while in dormant mode

10:19AM:We've got Tegra 3, Snapdragon 5, and other stuff. This is great stuff

10:21AM:All apps are chip independent, so all apps will work on ARM, x86, etc. This makes a seamless consumer-facing experience. It's all about consistency here, ad this applies to drivers too. Printer drivers, etc will work across the board. Input devices are the same, storage devices, etc. This is revolutionary in the PC world

10:23AM:Windows 8 had to smaller overall to work on these lower power mobile processors, which should make it FLY on desktop-grade systems.

10:25AM:Ok, now on to Ultrabook stuff. We've got an Intel Next-Gen Ultrabook here, and it looks pretty...Ultrabooky. We've got 5 more on hand, ost with Ivy-bridge processors, touchscreens, etc. We've got an Acer book starting up in 8 seconds. Whoa!!

10:26AM:It's also super super thin. Approaching, if not exceeding, Macbook Air levels. This thing also has a motorized port cover. Cool touch, we suppose.

10:27AM:Alright, now we've got an HP Envy with Beats Audio, etc. Gorilla glass cover is amazing, and we're seeing some really really fast performance here.

10:28AM:And now on to Samsung, again with insanely fast performance. He's demonstrating processor adaption, with cores starting and stopping based on performance almost instantly.

10:28AM:Apps don't need to be opened or closed, because they don't use any processor power or memory when dormant

10:30AM:We're on to networking improvements, which speaks to the need to simplify connectivity due to the increased portability of Windows 8 devices

10:31AM:"Cost-based network switching" gives intelligent switching from 3G to Wi-Fi based on pre-defined preferences and profiles

10:32AM:Annnnd now the Lenovo Yoga, a convertible touchscreen-enabled laptop, is up to bat. Cool device, with a convertible screen

10:34AM:Side note, but the Microsoft Mouse is 30 years old today...

10:35AM:They're talking now about how Microsoft 8 will force a re-imagination of input methods, etc.

10:36AM:Ok, now we see why the ungodly large TV was there. It's actually a fully-functional Window 8 PC. It's really a giant Microsoft Surface, build out of Gorilla Glass. It's 82". The largest in the world. And it's running so quickly, so beautifully.

10:40AM:Ok, cool. No we're looking at how NFC inclusion allows seamless transfer of audio from internal speakers to wireless speakers. Walk in room, have music transfer from your headphones to your home stereo.

10:43AM:Alright, we've seen demos of image transfer technology, audio transfer, video editing, and...wait for it....a USB drive being connected to a Windows 8 desktop in Real Time!! Microsoft, this is great, but you had us an hour ago with the app demos. This is getting a little long in the tooth...

10:46AM:Allllllright!! Looks like we've actually hit the end point now. This has really ushered in the era of touch PCs for the consumer environment. The coolest part is that the transition is a metered one, allowing you to choose input method, from touch to keyboard to mouse, based on the usage case.

10:50AM:Now we've got a roadmap. Today, consumer preview available in English, German, Japanese, French, and Simplified Chinese. Visual Studio 11 Beta is available for devs, and preview apps are included with the store today. Beginning "really soon" we'll see updates and drivers. Stressing dynamic consumer preview, with many changes along the way. ceBIT will see enterprise features unveiled. The next milestone will be the Release Candidate, RTM, and General Availability. Preview is live already, with downloads from 70 different countries.

10:51AM:That's it guys! Thanks for tuning in and be sure to check out our full review of Microsoft's Windows 8 Consumer Preview!

Smartphone shipments overtook client PC shipments for the first time in 2011, according to new data from market research firm Canalys. Vendors shipped a total of 158.5 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, representing a 57% increase compared to the 101.2 million units shipped in the same quarter a year earlier. Shipments for the full year of 2011 rose 63% to 487.7 million units, up from 299.7 million shipped in 2010. The PC market only grew 15% to 414.6 million units in 2011, which included an astonishing 274% increase in tablet shipments — tablets accounted for 15% of all PC shipments last year according to Canalys. The firm expects growth in the smartphone market to slow in 2012, with vendors putting more focus on profitability. Canalys’s press release follows below.

Smart phones overtake client PCs in 2011

•       Vendors shipped 488 million smart phones in 2011, compared to 415 million client PCs
•       Apple was the leading smart phone vendor in 2011, following record Q4 shipments

Palo Alto, Shanghai, Singapore and Reading – 3 February 2012

Canalys today released its full, detailed Q4 2011 country-level smart phone shipment estimates to clients, so completing the picture for the year. One notable result was that total annual global shipments of smart phones exceeded those of client PCs (including pads) for the first time.

Vendors shipped 158.5 million smart phones in Q4 2011, up 57% on the 101.2 million units shipped in Q4 2010. This bumper quarter took total global shipments for the whole of 2011 to 488.0 million units, up 63% on the 299.7 million smart phones shipped throughout 2010. By comparison, the global client PC market grew 15% in 2011 to 414.6 million units, with 274% growth in pad shipments. Pads accounted for 15% of all client PC shipments in 2011.

“In 2011 we saw a fall in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads,” said Chris Jones, Canalys VP and Principal Analyst. “But pads have had negligible impact on smart phone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011. Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone. In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition. The greater availability of smart phones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices.”

However, Canalys expects to see smart phone market growth slow in 2012 as vendors exercise greater cost control and discipline, and put more focus on profitability. Notably, even vendors who have focused on conquering the low-end of the market with aggressive pricing, such as Huawei, ZTE and LG, are now placing greater attention on the higher tiers. Flagship models aimed at raising selling prices and improving margins will feature more heavily this year.

Apple’s impressive end to the year resulted in it becoming the leading smart phone and client PC vendor in Q4 2011, with shipments of 37.0 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs. It also smashed the record for the most smart phones shipped globally by any single vendor in one quarter, beating Nokia’s previous record of 28.3 million shipped in Q4 2010. Moreover, Apple’s performance meant that it displaced Nokia, for the first time, as the leading smart phone vendor by annual shipments. Apple shipped 93.1 million iPhones in 2011, representing growth of 96% over 2010. The iPhone 4S benefitted from pent-up demand resulting from the launch coming in October rather than June, but Apple’s overall volume was also buoyed by continued shipments of the now more aggressively priced iPhone 4 and 3GS models.

Samsung also finished 2011 with a flourish. It shipped 35.3 million smart phones in Q4 2011 under its own brand, bringing its total to 91.9 million for the year, compared to just 24.9 million in 2010. This excludes shipments of rebranded products, such as the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, which Canalys counts under the Google brand. Samsung continued to spend big on marketing activities, and its strong product portfolio – particularly the Android-based Galaxy S II – performed well.

Despite a disappointing set of financial results, Nokia’s smart phone performance in the fourth quarter gave cause for optimism. It shipped 19.6 million smart phones, down 31% from the record high of a year earlier, but up 17% on Q3 2011. The total was helped by 1.2 million and 0.6 million shipments of its Windows Phone and MeeGo-based products respectively, as well as improved Symbian Belle volumes from competitively priced devices such as the Nokia 500, 700 and 701. Its total smart phone shipments for the year came in at 77.3 million globally.

“Its first Windows Phone products, the Lumia 800 and 710, along with the recently announced Lumia 900 through AT&T in the US, have improved the outlook for Nokia,” said Canalys Senior Analyst, Tim Shepherd. “They are well-designed, competitive devices that demonstrate innovation is still alive within Nokia. But the battle is not over and it has huge challenges ahead. Nokia must continue to build out its Lumia portfolio with devices tailored to address all price points and all the markets in which it aims to compete. It must hasten its transition from Symbian to Windows Phone around the world and, with Microsoft, promote and generate excitement for the platform and new products. And it must succeed in attracting more developers to build high quality, locally relevant apps.”

RIM’s demise in 2011 has been over played by some, with the company ending the year as the fourth largest smart phone vendor and delivering annual unit growth of 5%. “There is no denying that RIM has had a tough year,” said Canalys Principal Analyst, Pete Cunningham. “But when you consider that it is transitioning to a new platform it has done well to increase volume while remaining profitable; the latter point being something that many other vendors struggle with. The appointment of Thorsten Heins as CEO will bring new energy to the company while ensuring that it does not radically deviate from its overall strategy in this transitional year. However, 2012 will become even more competitive and RIM needs BlackBerry 10 devices out there to ensure it retains its status as a major player.”

At a platform level, Android accounted for 52% of global smart phones shipments in Q4 2011, with iOS representing 23% and Symbian 12%. Android was also the leading smart phone platform by volume for the whole year, accounting for 49% of all devices shipped in 2011 and ahead of iOS with 19% share and Symbian with 16%. Collectively, Android smart phone shipments grew 149% year on year in Q4 2011 to 81.9 million units, resulting in a total of 237.8 million for the full year, up 244% on 2010. Samsung’s success and focus on Android have contributed substantially to the growth of the platform, but other vendors, such as Sony Ericsson, Huawei, Motorola, LG and particularly HTC, have also seen significant growth in their Android volumes over the course of 2011.

Acer chairman JT Wang on Thursday reaffirmed the company’s dedication to the new “ultrabook” market, further distancing his company from the low-margin netbooks that have dominated its PC lineup in the past. Following the success of Acer’s first-generation ultrabook — the Aspire S3 reportedly shipped between 250,000 and 300,000 units during its first quarter of availability — Acer plans to launch new ultrabook models in both the second and third quarters this year. According to DigiTimes, Wang estimates that Windows and Intel-powered ultrabooks will account for between 25% and 35% of the company’s PC sales in 2012. Wang expects notebook shipment volume to slide between 10% and 15% sequentially in the first quarter, however he expects full-year shipments to grow 10% compared to 2011. While sales in the U.S. and Europe are likely to remain relatively slow according to Acer, the company projects strong sales in Brazil, the Philippines, Thailand and other Southeast Asia markets.

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We saw a few new Samsung phones revealed during AT&T’s press conference Monday morning. Coming soon to AT&T’s smartphone lineup are the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD, but the South Korea-based vendor has much more in store for us at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Smartphones, tablets, computers, HDTVs and more will debut from Samsung this week at CES, and Monday’s press conference is where we’ll get our first live taste of what’s in store. The event is scheduled to kick off at 5:00 p.m. Eastern / 2:00 p.m. Pacific, so hit the break for all the action as it unfolds.

4:55PM:Ok guys, we're inside and seated and the show should start in the next few minutes. The room is absolutely packed — and when we say packed, we mean there are probably 1,000 people in a room that holds 600.

4:57PM:According to an announcement that just came over the PA, we'll be starting on time in about 4 minutes. We're not buying it.

5:01PM:Wow, looks like we're starting on time! Light are down, music is loud... Here we go.

5:02PM:"Pushing Boundaries" is the name of the event, and samsung's Boo-Keun Yoon is on stage.

5:03PM:Samsung is the world's No.1 TV brand for the sixth consecutive year. It sold 2 TVs per second last year. Samsung also sold more than 300 million mobile phones last year.

5:04PM:For the third straight year, Samsung was also the world's top refrigerator brand. "That was our past, but were here to see the future of electronics products."

5:04PM:"We must break down the walls that exist between devices." Just like we all could have guessed, Samsung is all about connected devices this year.

5:05PM:Samsung wants users to enjoy and share content across multiple devices any time, anywhere. TVs, tablets, phones and so on.

5:06PM:Samsung is updating its TV lineup and Smart TVs are the focus. Samsung's smart TVs can "listen, see, and do what it wants" and you never have to touch a control.

5:07PM:Sharing from TVs to other personal devices is also a huge focus for Samsung's new lineup. And, of course, 3D is still a big focus. There will be a lot of new 3D content as well.

5:08PM:Samsung also wants to make sure that its new TVs are smart enough to keep evolving and "getting smarter every year."

5:10PM:"We're now watching a demo video. Samsung's new TVs can be controlled by voice or using tons of different gestures. Not quite Minority Report, but very cool none the less. Users can drag menu items around and make selections just by waving and poking.

5:11PM:Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics in the U.S. is on stage now. Samsung's new lineup is all about content, services and technology. Connectivity to other devices and to the cloud are obviously a big deal as well.

5:12PM:Samsung's ES8000 LED TV is the company's flagship model for 2012.

5:13PM:It is absolutely gorgeous. "You won't find a more powerful TV." It packs a dual-core processor and it supports multitasking.

5:13PM:Users can jump from app to app just like they can on a tablet, and the app's state will be saved.

5:14PM:The bezel around the screen is very, very thin, and it's available in sizes up to 75 inches. Yes, 75 inches.

5:14PM:The ES8000 also features an integrated camera for web conferencing and more.

5:16PM:25,000 companies are now building apps for Samsung's smart TVs.

5:17PM:Samsung will be putting Media Hub on its TVs this year as well. Buy content on one device, watch on all devices.

5:18PM:Since 2010, Samsung has sold more than 12 million 3D TVs. In 2012, half of Samsung's TV lineup will be 3D.

5:18PM:

5:19PM:This year, Samsung is focusing on bringing much more 3D content to its TVs. One example is NBCUniversal's Battlestar Galactica, which will be coming to Samsung's TVs in 3D this year.

5:20PM:Angry Birds just invaded the press conference. They're hoping around the screen and, obviously, the app will be coming to Samsung's TVs this year.

5:21PM:Samsung is even adding a channel dedicated to animated Angry Birds content. Seriously.

5:23PM:Joe Stinziano, Samsung's SVP, is on stage now. Samsung held a competition recently for developers to bring apps that provide interaction between TVs and smartphones. The winner, a dev who build an app called Party Shots (drink with friends, snap pics, share on a social network) just won $100,000!

5:24PM:Samsung is introducing new signature services for 2012. The first one, Family Story, allows users to upload images and more from a Samsung device and add it to a stream on a TV. Another service provides enhanced parental controls.

5:25PM:Smart Interaction allows users to interact with Samsung's smart TVs using their voices, gestures and even their face.

5:26PM:Users can say things like "channel 2" or "play Black Eyed Peas" and the TV obeys. The TVs will also recognize users by their faces, and display each user's home page and apps automatically.

5:27PM:A new "Smart Evolution" feature in Samsung's 2012 TVB lineup will include open slots in the back of the unit that will allow users to install "kits" in the future to add new features.

5:28PM:And now, another new TV. The Samsung 55-inch "Super OLED" TV. It. Is. Gorgeous.

5:29PM:The TV is out on stage right now and even from the back of the room, we can see how gorgeous the display is. The colors are absolutely remarkable. And since it's OLED, there's no need for color filters. It also eliminates blur, is nearly borderless and is remarkably slim.

5:30PM:And despite being ridiculously thin, it doesn't skimp on features at all. A dual-core process and 3D are packed within this gorgeous set, and it also includes an integrated webcam.

5:33PM:Samsung is introducing a new feature called AllShare Play this year as well. It allows users to wirelessly share content between devices on the same network or over the internet.

5:33PM:Wireless sharing is also built into Samsung's smart cameras and camcorders this year.

5:34PM:In 2012, Samsung will deliver a full line of connected cameras and camcorders, from entry-level on up, that feature integrated Wi-Fi and sharing features.

5:35PM:Samsung will also use Wi-Fi for more than just sharing. An app on a Samsung phone can be used to control a camera remotely, for example.

5:36PM:Samsung's cameras will also be able to email photos right from the device — no need for a PC or even a phone.

5:36PM:Next up... A connected washing machine. Really.

5:37PM:The machine will use AllShare Play to do things like sending alerts when a load is done.

5:38PM:Now we're on to telecommunications. The Galaxy Note is the first device being shown. As announced this morning, the Note will feature LTE and will launch soon from AT&T.

5:39PM:The phone features a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED HD display, and of course, Samsung's new stylus technology "S Pen."

5:40PM:One cool feature of the S Pen: it reads pressure, so the harder you press on the screen, the thicker the line it will draw.

5:41PM:Next up, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE for Verizon Wireless, which includes 4G LTE support, of course.

5:42PM:In short, it's a Tab 7.7 with LTE.

5:43PM:Samsung's Series 9 notebook PC is up next. It's very sleek, and very familiar.

5:45PM:The series 9 weighs just 2.5 lbs and it's 0.5 inches thick. It's the result of over 30,000 hours of development and design, Samsung says. It features a single-shell aluminum body and fingerprint resistance. It also sports a backlit keyboard.

5:45PM:It boots in 9.8 seconds and the battery lasts up to 10 hours on a single charge. Wow.

5:47PM:Samsung also has two new ultrabooks to unveil that fall into its Series 5 category, and a new line of monitors that fall under the Series 9 class.

5:48PM:Tim Baxter is coming back on stage now to wrap things up. Content, services and connectivity are the keys to SAmsung's strategy this year.

5:49PM:That's it guys, thanks for tuning in!

Samsung is considering an exit from the low-margin netbook business as soon as next year according to a recent report. French CNET blog Blogeee claims to have obtained an email sent by the South Korea-based electronics giant to several of its partners. “Following the introduction of our new strategy in 2012, we stop the product range in 10.1” (Netbook) in Q1 2012 for the benefit of Ultraportables products (11.6 and 12 inches) and ultrabooks to be launched in 2012,” the email reportedly stated (machine-translated). The matter could be one of semantics, however — Samsung’s “ultraportable” class may include low-cost notebooks driven by inexpensive ATOM processors. Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Sales of notebook computers during the back-to-school rush this year beat expectations, new data from market research firm NPD Group found. While sales of Windows laptops continued to slide compared to last year, the decline was significantly less severe than in the first half of the year according to NPD. Windows notebook sales between July and August dipped 4% compared to the same period in 2010, while sales in the first half of 2011 were down 12% year-over-year. ”The sequential results from NPD’s back-to-school point-of-sale (POS) data indicates that after a shortfall early in the year that was mostly related to the difficult comparisons to the binge of buying after the release of Windows 7, the Windows notebook market remains solid,” said NPD vice president of industry analysis Stephen Baker in a statement. “The last two weeks of August are the most important period for back to school buying, and those weeks saw more than an 8 percent increase over last year in retail sales.” NPD’s full press release follows below.

Back-to-School Notebook Sales Exceed Expectations: Windows Notebook Sales Increase in August

Strong sales over the last two weeks of August 2011 ensure that back-to-school sales show positive trends when compared to the first half of the year.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., September 14, 2011 – According to The NPD Group, a leading market research company, back-to-school sales turned out much better than the first half of 2011, when retail notebook sales in the U.S. declined more than 12 percent over the prior year. During the two-month back-to-school period (July through August), Windows notebook computer sales declined 4 percent over the prior year, while August 2011 sales, propelled by a late surge in volume, posted an increase of nearly 4 percent.

“The sequential results from NPD’s back-to-school point-of-sale (POS) data indicates that after a shortfall early in the year that was mostly related to the difficult comparisons to the binge of buying after the release of Windows 7, the Windows notebook market remains solid,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD. “The last two weeks of August are the most important period for back to school buying, and those weeks saw more than an 8 percent increase over last year in retail sales.”

A prime driver of the sales volume increase was a drop in average selling prices. During July and August 2011, ASPs for Windows notebooks were $477, which is a 7 percent decline from the same period last year. The drop in ASPs resulted in a record 65 percent of all notebook sales occurring in products sold for less than $500. Sales in this crucial segment grew 12 percent versus last year, while sales results for windows notebooks above $500 fell 23 percent.

“A strong promotional environment led consumers into the stores over the last part of the back to school season,” Baker said. “The positive consumer response to aggressive notebook pricing, despite the continued demand for tablet computers, likely points towards a highly promotional holiday season ahead.”

During Microsoft’s BUILD conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft execs took the stage and showed off a number of new tablets, notebooks and desktop computers running its latest Windows 8 operating system with the new Metro-style user interface. Steve Sinofsky demoed the operating system running on ARM-powered devices, Qualcomm powered devices and even one tablet running NVIDIA’s upcoming quad-core Tegra 3 chipset. One desktop computer, the HP Phoenix, is expected to be unveiled later this week, although full specs on the system have still not been announced. We’re impressed at the versatility of the new operating system and love that it can run anything from a small netbook with 1GB of RAM to a gaming rig running multiple graphics cards in SLI. Microsoft will also be giving out a “Samsung Windows Developer Preview PC” to 5,000 developers at the BUILD conference. It’s equipped with 4GB of RAM, a 64GB SD card, a microSD card slot, HDMI-out, NFC support, Ethernet and more. AT&T will also provide owners of the tablet with one year of free data service with 2GB of data per month. Be sure to check out the gallery below for shots of all the great hardware Microsoft showed off at BUILD.

Acer founder Stan Shih on Friday said that tablets like Apple’s iPad and ultrabooks like those in the works from numerous Intel partners — including Acer — are a “short-term phenomena.” Speaking with DigiTimes, Shih urged companies to continue focusing on notebook computers and innovative value-added products. Shih commended Apple for thinking outside the box when bringing the iPad to market, but said personal computers will continue to be requisites for businesses and consumers. When asked if Shih believed Acer’s upcoming low-cost 7-inch tablet would be a success, he noted that consumers indeed want low-cost options. Shih founded Acer, then called Multitech, in 1976 along with his wife. He ran the company until his retirement in 2004.

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Market research firms Gartner and IDC have both released preliminary data for global PC sales in the second quarter of 2011, and the reports paint a much improved picture compared to the first quarter of the year. Lenovo was the biggest winner globally in terms of growth according to Gartner, having shipped 10.23 million PCs for a 12% share of the market. The China-based vendor’s PC market share grew a whopping 22.5% compared to the same quarter a year prior, and Lenovo now finds itself in the No. 3 spot globally. HP was still the top vendor with shipments totaling 14.89 million units, and Dell remained in the No. 2 spot with 10.62 million units shipped. Acer and ASUS rounded out the top-5 with 9.30 million units and 4.47 million units, respectively. Though Apple’s operating system share continued to climb last month, the firm still doesn’t sell enough units to bump it from the “Others” category on Gartner’s global table. In the U.S., however, Apple showed the biggest market share gains last quarter with 8.5% growth over the same quarter last year. While IDC’s numbers vary compared to Gartner’s, the end results are the same. IDC has Lenovo’s global growth pegged at 22.9% over the second quarter last year, and it shows that Apple grew even faster than Gartner estimates with 14.7% growth in the U.S. compared to the same quarter a year prior. The two firms agree that Acer was the biggest loser globally. Acer’s share of the worldwide PC market was down 20.4% from the second quarter of 2010 according to Gartner, and down a less alarming 10.1% according to IDC. Taiwan-based Acer was the biggest loser in the U.S. as well, as its share was down 22.6% year-over-year according to Gartner and 25.4% according to IDC. Full press releases from both firms follow below.

Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Increased 2.3 Percent in Second Quarter of 2011

STAMFORD, Conn., July 13, 2011—

Worldwide PC shipments surpassed 85.2 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a 2.3 percent increase from the same period last year, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. These results are below Gartner’s earlier projection for 6.7 percent growth.

“After strong growth in shipments of consumer PCs for four years, driven by strong demand for mini-notebooks and low-priced consumer notebooks, the market is shifting to modest, but steady growth, said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “The slow overall growth indicates that the PC market is still in a period of adjustment, which began in the second half of 2010.”

“Vendor’s performances have become variable as they have had to deal with significant inventory buildup, changes to their product mix, and the fact that growth has been coming mostly from emerging markets. Vendors are having to shift resources away from mature consumer markets. They are also invested in developing media tablets, many of which launched in the first half of 2011.”

HP continued to be the worldwide leader, as it accounted for 17.5 percent of worldwide PC shipments in the second quarter of 2011 (see Table 1). The company performed better than average in most regions, but it was pulled down by its performance in Asia/Pacific. Globally, HP achieved solid growth in the professional PC market, but it continued to face challenges in the consumer segment.

Table1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q11 (Units)

Company	2Q11 Shipments	2Q11 Market Share (%)	2Q10 Shipments	2Q10 Market Share (%)	2Q10-2Q11 Growth (%)
HP	14,888,086	17.5	14,454,971	17.4	3.0
Dell	10,621,436	12.5	10,283,074	12.3	3.3
Lenovo	10,225,358	12.0	8,349,272	10.0	22.5
Acer	9,298,989	10.9	11,689,255	14.0	-20.4
Asus	4,467,611	5.2	4,306,241	5.2	3.7
Toshiba	4,411,400	5.2	4,497,576	5.4	-1.9
Others	31,306,987	36.7	29,732,493	35.7	5.3
Total	85,219,865	100.0	83,312,882	100.0	2.3

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs, including mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad. Final estimates will be subject to change.
Source: Gartner (July 2011)

Dell moved into second place in the worldwide PC market for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2008. Dell did well in Asia/Pacific, where it has invested heavily lately. Professional PC refreshments definitely boosted Dell’s growth. Lenovo experienced the strongest growth among the top-tier vendors, as shipments increased 22.5 percent. Lenovo achieved strong growth in Asia/Pacific, the U.S. and Latin America with both desktop and mobile PCs.

Acer dropped from No. 2 to the No. 4 position in the worldwide PC market in the second quarter of 2011. It had a great deal of inventory in the distribution channel in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Acer’s problems stemmed from its low-price, high-volume business model, which is no longer effective.

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 16.9 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a 5.6 percent decline from the second quarter of 2010. The major inhibitor was clearly a weak consumer PC market.

“Given the hype around media tablets such as the iPad, retailers were very conservative in placing orders for PCs. Instead, they wanted to secure space for media tablets. Some PC vendors had to lower their inventory through promotions, while others slimmed their product lines at retailers,” Ms. Kitagawa said.

“The professional PC sector was the bright spot in the U.S. market,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “Large enterprises were in the middle of their refreshment purchase period, which started last year. Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) were also at the peak of their refreshment periods. Due to budgetary constraints, the public sector had a slow start in the second quarter of 2011, even though the second quarter is typically a period of high PC sales.”

Based on preliminary results, Apple showed the strongest growth among the top-tier vendors in the U.S., as it climbed from fifth place to third, overtaking Acer and Toshiba (see Table 2). The preliminary findings show Apple’s performance far exceed the industry average, partly driven by an iMac refreshment that attracted both consumers and buyers in the education sector.

Table 2
Preliminary United States PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q11 (Units)

Company	2Q11 Shipments	2Q11 Market Share (%)	2Q10 Shipments	2Q10 Market Share (%)	2Q11-2Q10 Growth (%)
HP	4,552,777	26.9	4,608,280	25.7	-1.2
Dell	3,821,759	22.6	4,236,303	23.6	-9.8
Apple	1,814,000	10.7	1,671,500	9.3	8.5
Toshiba	1,616,400	9.6	1,565,000	8.7	3.3
Acer	1,570,257	9.3	2,028,284	11.3	-22.6
Others	3,539,666	20.9	3,803,974	21.2	-6.9
Total	16,914,859	100.0	17,913,341	100.0	-5.6

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs, including mini-notebooks but not media tablet such as the iPad. Final estimates will be subject to change.
Source: Gartner (July 2011)

PC shipments in EMEA totaled 23.1 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a 4.8 percent decline from the second quarter of 2010 (see Table 3).

Table 3

Preliminary EMEA PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q11 (Units)

Company	2Q11 Shipments	2Q11 Market Share (%)	2Q10 Shipments	2Q10 Market Share (%)	2Q11-2Q10 Growth (%)
	4,930,934	21.4	4,757,512	19.6	3.6
Acer	3,255,000	14.1	5,001,106	20.6	-34.9
Dell	2,416,497	10.5	2,217,815	9.2	9.0
Asus	2,005,809	8.7	2,054,264	8.5	-2.4
Lenovo	1,333,857	5.8	1,299,758	5.4	2.6
Others	9,128,114	39.6	8,901,074	36.7	2.6
Total	23,070,211	100.0	24,231,529	100.0	-4.8

Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs, including mini-notebooks but not media tablet such as the iPad. Final estimates will be subject to change.

Source: Gartner (July 2011)

“For the second consecutive quarter the PC market in EMEA showed decline,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. “The PC market in the region remained weak due to slow consumer demand and lower sell-in with PC shipments. In addition, high inventory adjustments by Acer worsened the downside view of the market.

The impact of the Acer inventory clearance saw Acer shipments decline 34.9 percent year-on-year, as some 3 million mobile PCs were cleared out of distribution. Acer’s weak performance contributed nearly 55 percent to the decline of the EMEA PC market in the second half of 2011. “If we remove Acer, the EMEA PC market would have showed a 3 percent growth year-on-year,” said Mr. Atwal. “While this may be an impractical view of the market, it is important to separate supply issues of one vendor against the general trends in the market.”

Demand in the professional PC market has picked up as organizations released budgets to migrate aging PCs to Windows 7. Dell in particular seemed to benefit from this upturn in the professional market.

Acer and Asus were the only vendors of the top five vendors ranking to show decline in shipments and market share in the second quarter of 2011. HP retained the No. 1 spot with encouraging growth in the professional PC market. Lenovo’s takeover of Medion did not have any impact on the overall results this quarter but the professional market bolstered the vendor’s growth. Overall shipments of media tablets took place late this quarter and volumes remained low, minimizing any impact of the media tablets for PC substitutions in the second quarter of 2011.

“There is no doubt that the continued weak consumer demand within Western Europe and economic issues in Southern Europe had some impact on consumer confidence across Western Europe,” said Mr. Atwal. “The feedback from retail channels remained pessimistic, especially in most of Southern Europe, with only France and Germany reporting stronger end-of-quarter shipments as channels cleaned out inventory.” Overall growth in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa markets could not compensate for the weak shipments in Western Europe.

In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments reached 30.5 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a 9.6 percent increase from the same period last year. The PC market continued to grow moderately, cushioned from the volatility in other regions. However, individual market performances were mixed, with indications of channel inventory issues and delivery postponements in some Southeast Asian countries. India showed weaker-than-expected consumer demand, while China’s PC market grew 10.9 percent year over year. China’s growth was attributed to the release of pent-up demand for consumer PCs.

The PC market in Latin America grew 15 percent in the second quarter of 2011, as shipments totaled 9.2 million units. Concerns over Brazil’s overheating economy are abating with news that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2011 grew by 1.3 percent. Inflation in May was down from the previous seven months. Able Brazilian PC vendors are trying to expand in response to increased foreign competition. Local vendors are looking to make up for lost growth in their home country by entering foreign markets where multinational PC vendors are unlikely to venture.

PC shipments in Japan grew 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2011, with shipments reaching 3.9 million units. The biggest contributor to growth in the professional market in the second quarter of 2011 was a supply-side factor. Many of the shipments in the second quarter had been postponed from March due to the earthquake and tsunami. In the consumer segment, demand for PCs to replace desktop PCs was the main driver of growth. All-in-one desktops and notebooks with large screens sold well at retail stores.

These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe. Additional research can be found on the Computing Hardware section on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/it/products/research/asset_129157_2395.jsp.

PC Market Returns to Positive Growth in Line with Expectations, Though Gains Remain Small, According to IDC

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., July 13, 2011 – Worldwide PC shipments increased 2.6% in the second quarter of 2011 (2Q11), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. The results are just short of IDC’s May projections for 2.9% growth and represent a combination of a hangover from the more than 20% growth in the first half of 2010 as well as competition from smartphones, other consumer products and pressure from lackluster economic conditions. As in 1Q11, the United States and Western Europe were among the weaker regions, reflecting constrained demand in more mature markets, while emerging regions – particularly Latin America and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) – fared better.

“These preliminary results continue to reflect pressure from competing consumer and business products as well as cautious spending,” said Jay Chou, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. “Nevertheless, product refreshes and promotions in the second half of the year as well as easier year-ago data should boost growth in the second half of the year.”

“The U.S. PC market continued to contract in 2Q11, largely as a result of three factors. The first is an ongoing contraction in the Mini Notebook (Netbook) market and related inventories. The second is the impact of 2Q10′s difficult-to-sustain 12% growth. And third, demand has softened as corporate buyers continue to focus on increasing share of their IT budget in new IT solutions such as cloud and virtualization, and consumer interest shifts to media tablets,” says Rajani Singh, research analyst, United States Quarterly PC Tracker. “Given the weakness of 2H10, we expect a better market environment in 2H11 with mid-single digit growth rates in the third quarter’s back to school and fourth quarter’s holiday season.”

Regional Outlook

• United States – With a decline of 4.2% year over year, the market was still downcast from a combination of exuberant consumption a year ago and a tenuous economic recovery, but the quarter also marked substantial growth from 1Q11, and total shipments topped over 17.8 million.

• Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) – The EMEA PC market continued to contract in 2Q11, in line with IDC’s forecast, as sustained high levels of inventory prevented stronger sell-in, particularly in Western Europe, where budget cannibalization from media tablets and smartphones continued to contribute to weak consumer demand and slow stock depletion. However, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) continued to expand and enjoyed positive growth overall.

• Japan – The impact of the earthquake on PC buying proved to be limited, thus the market produced stronger results than expected, with 3% growth. Many commercial projects commenced as earlier fears of inventory shortage did not materialize. Coupled with continued average selling price (ASP) declines since the beginning of 2011, consumer shipments also fared better than expected.

• Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) – returned to double-digit growth of just over 12% as the market came in slightly above forecasts. A weak consumer market weighed down India, but other key markets like China continued their momentum to help offset this, despite the ongoing inflation challenges there.

Vendor Outlook -

• HP grew 3% compared to the second quarter of 2010. The vendor saw good growth in key emerging markets and also EMEA, but also had a slight drop in volume compared to the previous quarter.

• Dell saw growth of 2.8% worldwide. It managed to slow the pace of declines in key markets compared to the first quarter, with good gains in key emerging markets.

• Lenovo outpaced Acer Group to become the number 3 vendor worldwide. It continued to reap the results of its channel expansion in markets outside of Asia/Pacific, garnering notable gains in the U.S. and Japan. All regions saw positive growth and total volume increased by nearly 23% on the year.

• Acer shipments continued to decline from a year ago, but at a slower pace than in the first quarter as the company was affected by a review of inventory handling, as well uncertainties from its recent management shake-up.

• ASUS grew 6% to overtake Toshiba for the number 5 spot. While the vendor has had some difficulties adjusting for the decline in Mini Notebook PCs, it mainstream notebooks did well, especially in emerging markets.

Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide PC Shipments, Second Quarter 2011 (Preliminary)

(Units Shipments are in thousands)

Rank	Vendor	2Q11 Shipments	Market Share	2Q10 Shipments	Market Share	2Q11/2Q10 Growth
1	HP	15,263	18.1%	14,823	18.0%	3.0%
2	Dell	10,927	12.9%	10,626	12.9%	2.8%
3	Lenovo	10,276	12.2%	8,363	10.2%	22.9%
4	Acer Group	9,160	10.9%	10,190	12.4%	-10.1%
5	ASUS	4,468	5.3%	4,216	5.1%	6.0%
	Others	34,320	40.7%	34,070	41.4%	0.7%
	All Vendors	84,413	100.0%	82,289	100.0%	2.6%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, July 13, 2011

Table notes follow the last table

Top 5 Vendors, United States PC Shipments, Second Quarter 2011 (Preliminary)

(Units Shipments are in thousands)

Rank	Vendor	2Q11 Shipments	Market Share	2Q10 Shipments	Market Share	2Q11/2Q10 Growth
1	HP	4,692	26.3%	4,721	25.3%	-0.6%
2	Dell	3,959	22.2%	4,408	23.7%	-10.2%
3	Apple	1,917	10.7%	1,671	9.0%	14.7%
4	Toshiba	1,617	9.1%	1,560	8.4%	3.7%
5	Acer Group	1,513	8.5%	2,028	10.9%	-25.4%
	Others	4,159	23.3%	4,243	22.8%	-2.0%
	All Vendors	17,857	100.0%	18,632	100.0%	-4.2%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, July 13, 2011

Table Notes:

• Some IDC estimates prior to financial earnings reports.
• Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end users. OEM sales are counted under the vendor/brand under which they are sold.

PCs include Desktops, Portables, Mini Notebooks and do not include handhelds, x86 Servers and Media Tablets (i.e. iPad and Android-based Tablets). Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.

During his Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference keynote on Monday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the company has now sold 400 million Windows 7 licenses to date. Microsoft’s current operating system was first launched in October 2009, and it was welcomed with open arms as customers were eager to dump Vista following its troubled introduction. Despite an impressive 20 months for Windows 7, it is still far from being the world’s most used operating system. Windows XP’s share was near double Windows 7′s in June, though Microsoft did confirm on Monday that it would stop supporting the operating system 1,000 days from now. According to Net Applications, Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system was used on 27.13% of the world’s personal computing devices as of June 2011. Windows XP still ranked No. 1 with 51.13% and Vista occupied the No. 3 spot with 9.52%.

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Taiwan-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute expects roughly 360 million combined personal computers and media tablets to ship in 2011, Taiwan Economic News reports. MIC sees PC shipments growing 6.6% over 2010 to land at more than 320 million units this year, and it thinks shipments of media tablets like Apple’s iPad 2ill w exceed 48 million units in 2011, up 198% from 2010. MIC senior industry analyst Chris Wei notes that the improving global economy and replacement PC purchases in the enterprise market would be largely responsible for this year’s growth. Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf recently estimated that Apple would ship 30 million iPad tablets in 2011, but the company will likely far exceed that figure if tablet shipments are indeed to surpass 48 million units as MIC predicts.

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Apple plans to ship more than 8 million MacBook Air computers in the third quarter of 2011, DigiTimes claims in a new report on Friday. The number represents more than twice the total number of Mac computers Apple shipped during its fiscal second quarter. DigiTimes‘ report cites sources within Apple’s supply chain in stating that combined MacBook production was ramped up to 2.2-2.4 million units in June, and Apple is expected to yield 2.7-2.8 million units in July. The Cupertino-based company is expected to release refreshed MacBook Air models ahead of the release of its new Mac operating system, OS X 10.7 Lion, and the notebooks should feature Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt I/O ports. The anticipated spec boost is expected to cause a surge in MacBook Air sales, but a target of 8 million units in a single quarter doesn’t seem terribly realistic; Apple shipped a total of 3.76 million Mac units in its March quarter, including its MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac and Mac Pro lines. Unless Apple also plans to announce a drastic price reduction when it unveils its new MacBook Air PCs in the coming weeks, we don’t see the company coming anywhere close to shipping 8 million units next quarter.

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