Apple pulled ahead of HP in the fourth quarter to become the largest player in the client PC market, a new report suggested Monday. The Cupertino-based company shipped more than 15 million iPads and 5 million Mac computers last quarter, and those figures represented 17% of all PCs shipped around the world during the fourth quarter. The report, which comes from market research firm Canalys, said PC shipments grew 16% annually to reach 120 million during the quarter, and the firm’s categorization of ̶...

BlackBerry owners tend to be older and wealthier than other smartphone users according to a new report released this week. Data from comScore Data Mine suggests BlackBerry users are “more likely to have a household greater than $75,000 when compared to average smartphone owners.” BlackBerry owners were also more likely to have at least part of all of their monthly mobile bill paid for by their employers. We’re not surprised, taking into consideration the vast number of enterprise users that ...

Most new iPhone buyers are choosing the iPhone 4S, according to a new report. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) released data on Thursday that suggests Apple’s latest iPhone model accounts for 89% of all Apple smartphones sold since the iPhone 4S was released in October. We’re a bit surprised by the figures; the new iPhone offers beefier specs and a better camera than previous generation models, but the iPhone 3GS is free on a contract with AT&T and the iPhone 4 is still available...

Tablet owners spend big bucks online according to a new report. In fact, the new study published by Adobe Digital Marketing Insights suggests that tablet owners spend 50% more per purchase than smartphone owners on retail purchases, and over 20% more than PC users. The study found that smartphone owners spent about $80 per purchase on average but tablet owners spent an average of $123. Laptop/PC users spent $102 per retail purchase on average in 2011. Tablet owners are three times more likely to make a purcha...

A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology by three Florida State University psychologists suggests that playing video games won’t make people smarter. The study also argues that violent games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 don’t damage gamers’ brains or compel them to commit violent acts, the Associated Press said Friday. The research is on a par with studies performed by Texas A&M International University clinical psychologist Christopher Ferguson, who has found R...

The monthly price we pay for 4G LTE data could drop drastically over the next five years. Currently, 4G LTE networks are blazing fast but there’s no doubt that the technology comes at a price. 4G LTE handsets sold directly by wireless carriers typically cost more than their 3G counterparts, and tiered 4G data prices are still a bit too costly for heavy data users looking to ditch their cable companies. Verizon Wireless, for example, currently charges $80 for 20GB of data per month while Time Warner Cabl...

A new research report from Chitika Insights suggests Chrome, Firefox and Safari are eating away at Microsoft’s dominant share of the web browser market. Internet Explorer’s overall share dropped from 56% in July to 54% in August while Firefox’s market share increased from 19% to 20% and Safari’s share grew one point to 9%. Between July 2010 and July 2011, however, Microsoft’s browser share remained steady at 56%. Google’s Chrome web browser saw its share increase from 9% to...

According to research recently released by mobile ad network InMobi, 41% of mobile users in North America plan to purchase the iPhone 5. 50% of those planning to purchase the phone will buy it within the first six months after it is launched, which could propel its current 27% smartphone market share to 41%. InMobi added one caveat: if Apple decides to release a minor upgrade to the current iPhone, just 15% of consumers will purchase the new device. InMobi’s research revealed that consumers hope Apple u...

The advent of online shopping changed the retail industry forever, but many consumers are still not willing to shop for consumer electronics online despite potential cost savings. New data from market research firm The NPD Group shows that while nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers use the Internet to research consumer electronics purchases, only about half go on to purchase electronics online. ”It’s not surprising to see that so many consumers won’t buy TVs, smartphones, and other popular CE produc...

Netflix could shed as many as 2.5 million paying customers as a result of its recent move to significantly increase the monthly cost of its DVDs-by-mail rental service. Netflix announced earlier this month that it would be adjusting its monthly rate plans. Whereas subscribers had been able to stream unlimited digital content and receive DVD rentals by mail for as little as $9.99 per month, Netflix’s new combination plans start at $15.98 per month, a 60% increase. Research firm TDG polled 500 Netflix cu...

As part of its new Teardown Research Service, market research firm ABI Research has torn Samsung’s Galaxy S II apart in order to analyze and test the components Samsung used to build its latest flagship device. “If you are looking to keep up with the latest technology in 2011, the Galaxy S II is a good place to start,” ABI Research’s report states, listing the device’s major changes compared to the original Galaxy S as including the Exynos dual-core processor, a new single-packag...

According to a new report from research firm IDC, annual mobile app downloads are expected to jump from just 10.7 billion in 2010 to 182.7 billion in 2015. The company noted that that developers should keep a close eye on in-app purchases as the primary focus for monetizing applications – a far different approach than the standard method of relying on the initial app purchase. “This shift is most evident in the free app category, where in-app purchases allow users to buy a more functional version of t...

On Wednesday, researchers from O’Reilly claimed to discover a tracking feature in iPhones and 3G iPads that reportedly sent location data back to Apple. Another researcher, this time from Katana Forensics, says otherwise. “Apple is not harvesting this data from your device,” said Kata Forensics lead engineer Alex Levinson. “This is data on the device that you as the customer purchased and unless [O'Reilly] can show concrete evidence supporting this claim – network traffic analysis of...

In a report titled Emerging Wireless Consumer Devices published this month by Berg Insight, the firm claims that sales of connected consumer devices will grow 77% in 2011. Berg estimates that 22 million consumer devices with embedded cellular connectivity were sold in 2010, and that number will nearly double in 2011 to 39 million. In 2015, Berg thinks over 270 million connected consumer devices will be sold globally, representing a compound annual growth rate of 65%. The category, as defined by Berg, includes...