idc

Although PC shipments will be up over last year, growth will slow by the end of the year, research firm IDC reported today.

According to the research firm, total PC shipments, including desktops and portables, will hit 356.9 million this year, up 2.8 percent compared to 2010.

That gain is due to the strength of emerging markets around the world. This year, IDC expects desktop PC shipments to grow 5.2 percent, and portable PC shipments to jump 18.7 percent in emerging markets, such as Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. All told, shipments will rise … Read more

PC shipments in China recently topped those in the United States, new research from the International Data Corporation has found.

As part of the final tally of its second-quarter 2011 Worldwide PC Tracker study, the research firm said today that China had shipments of 18.5 million units compared with 17.7 million units in the U.S. That equates to a $200 million difference between the two markets, the firm said.

"China's lead in the PC market is a huge shift that reflects the rising fortunes of emerging markets as well as the relative stagnation of more … Read more

Available since just more than a month ago and still only in a testing mode, the Google+ social network has already convinced some developers that it will eventually catch up with rival Facebook.

The new quarterly survey of mobile application developers by Web development tool maker by Appcelerator and market research firm IDC found that two-thirds of the 1,621 respondents to the question "Can Google+ catch up to Facebook?" replied yes. The reason: more than 68 percent of the respondents believe Google's other assets--search, YouTube, and maps, among others--trump Facebook's social graph lead.

Of course, … Read more

In early June, market researcher IDC cut its forecast growth for PCs in 2011 from 7.1 percent to 4.2 percent. Gartner Group, another IT analyst firm, had earlier trimmed its numbers. Meanwhile, Apple iPad sales continue to skyrocket, with 183 percent growth compared to the year-ago quarter. Android tablets remain more of a mixed bag when it comes to gaining buyers, but they'll gain traction over time as well.

Those numbers would seem to lay out the case for a post-PC world rather starkly. Especially when you consider that they don't even consider phones which, in … Read more

Apple, followed closely by Samsung Electronics, overtook Nokia in global smartphone market share during the second quarter.

Apple controlled nearly a fifth of the smartphone market, or a share of 18.5 percent, as it shipped more than 20 million iPhones, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics. Samsung Electronics wasn't far behind, with 17.5 percent of the market share and 19.2 million smartphones shipped. Nokia fell to third, with its market share plunging by more than half to 15.2 percent from 38.1 percent a year ago.

The ever-shifting top of the smartphone food chain … Read more

Though still fourth among the top five mobile-phone players, Apple outshone its global rivals in the second quarter with skyrocketing shipment growth and a surge in market share, according to a new IDC report.

Released yesterday, IDC's report found that Apple shipped 20.3 million iPhones in the quarter, a leap of 142 percent from the 8.4 million shipped in the prior year's quarter. Among the top five vendors, Apple also saw the biggest jump in market share, capturing 5.6 percent of global mobile-phone shipments, compared with 2.6 percent a year ago.

Apple's growth rate rose despite the age of its iPhone 4, now more than a year old. The company is expected to release an update to its flagship phone sometime this fall, with many sources pointing to a September launch date. Despite its global success, some of Apple's future smartphone growth will depend on its ability to generate more business in developing markets, IDC noted.

Industry leader Nokia held onto its No. 1 slot, but its market share continued to plummet, sinking to 24.2 percent in the second quarter from 33.8 percent a year ago. Excess inventory in regions like China and Europe apparently triggered a drop in shipments. Stung by the iPhone and Android phones, Nokia recently reported a huge loss for the second quarter.

Over the long haul, Nokia's ability to bounce back will depend on its recent partnership with Microsoft and its ability to successfully move from Symbian to Windows Phone as its core mobile OS. The company's first smartphones running Windows Phone 7 are expected to reach consumers later this year.… Read more

Worldwide PC shipments were up during the last quarter, but the market is still having some trouble getting going, a new report from research firm IDC indicates.

During the second quarter of 2011, worldwide PC shipments were up 2.6 percent to 84.4 million units, just shy of the firm's expected 2.9 percent growth.

A key component in the slow growth was sales performance in the U.S. According to IDC, U.S. PC shipments were down 4.2 percent year over year to 17.8 million units. However, losses in the U.S. were made up by blistering 12 percent growth in the Asia/Pacific region, excluding Japan.

Once again, HP led the way in worldwide PC shipments last quarter, sending out 15.2 million devices to store shelves and capturing 18 percent market share, according to IDC. The company's shipments were up 3 percent year over year.

Dell scored the second spot in PC shipments last quarter with 2.8 percent growth and 12.9 percent market share, thanks to its 10.9 million shipments. Lenovo beat Acer to score the third spot with 12.2 percent market share on 10.2 million units shipped, representing a 22.9 percent gain year over year.

Acer's 9.1 million shipments were down 10.1 percent in the second quarter, helping the company secure 10.9 percent share.

Although things could have been better for PC makers, their second-quarter performance was markedly better than the first quarter.… Read more

Energized by the recent deal between Microsoft and Nokia, Windows Phone will grab the No. 2 spot ahead of Apple's iOS in the global smartphone market by 2015, according to IDC's latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Releasing some slight revisions from a report issued in March, IDC expects Windows Phone to capture 20.3 percent of all smartphone users in just four years, up from a 3.8 percent share this year.

The research firm believes that by switching to Windows Phone as the core OS on its devices, Nokia will provide the kick that Microsoft needs, … Read more

Due to competition from tablets and other products, saturation in developed markets, and a sluggish first quarter, global shipments of PCs are now expected to rise by just 4.2 percent this year, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

The new forecast, released today, is down from IDC's prior estimate of 7.1 percent growth in shipments for 2011.

PC shipments among consumers and businesses enjoyed a robust period from 2005 to 2007. Even during 2008 and into 2009, consumer PC growth stayed strong at more than 21 percent while commercial PC growth actually declined by 10.… Read more