sales

In filings with U.S. regulators, Nokia on Thursday estimated that the growth rate for sales of its handsets in Europe had shrunk to 3 percent in 2007 from 16 percent in 2006.

What's more, the company said its growth rates had cooled in the Middle East and Africa (to 19 percent from 68 percent in 2006), North America (to 6 percent from 13 percent), and Latin America (to 10 percent from 15 percent), Reuters notes.

The global picture wasn't quite as wearying for Nokia: 2007 sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 34 percent, and in China, … Read more

Cell phone maker Sony Ericsson said on Wednesday that demand is slowing in Europe for midpriced and high-end handsets, and that slowing demand will hit the company's first-quarter results, notes a story by Barron's Tech Trader Daily.

Sony Ericsson also said component shortages for midpriced phones had hurt sales, which the company expects will reach 22 million phones for the quarter, with an average price of $187. At least one analyst, who previously had predicted 9 percent over the year-ago quarter, told Tech Trader that that number is well below expectations. He had forecast sales of 26.5 … Read more

Facebook announced on Tuesday that it has hired a new chief operating officer to replace the outgoing Owen Van Natta. Starting on March 24, veteran Google employee Sheryl Sandberg will take on the executive role at the social network.

For six years, Sandberg was vice president of global sales and operations at Google, where she helped to grow the company's AdWords and AdSense products, as well as its Google.org nonprofit division.

As part of her new job, according to a statement from the social-networking company, she will "be responsible for helping Facebook scale its operations and expand … Read more

The past few weeks my youngest daughter has been in full potty training mode. While some experts (read: Dr. Phil) suggest having the trainee call their favorite superhero, having done this a few times we have Lily call someone much more reliable:

Greta, my third child.

Greta seems to be a natural caregiver (and busybody) who has taken a keen interest in helping her younger sister to be potty trained. We've accentuated this desire by offering chocolate chips to Lily and Greta. When Lily has no desire to visit the restroom (which is often), Greta has an insatiable appetite for chocolate. She convinces Lily to "go potty" and everyone is happy.

More and more frequently Lily goes on her own, but Greta still demands payment. At first I resisted (something in me doesn't like the idea of someone getting something for nothing), but then I let it slide as it reminded me of a lesson I had learned in the past two years about compensating salespeople.

How so?… Read more

IBM says that it isn't dropping SUSE Linux as a key part of its retail point-of-sale strategy. It's just adding Windows (WEPOS, or Windows Embedded Point-of-Sale). But for a company that has everything to gain from Linux and everything to lose from Windows (except some near-term cash), this reeks of capitulation.

IBM saw Linux POS systems spike in popularity, but that has subsided. Now it's voting with its feet:

As a rival to Microsoft in many other parts of the IT market, IBM had held out for Linux over WEPOS as long as it could. But the deal to support the Microsoft operating system should cement Linux's fate as a niche offering that is attractive mostly to grocery store chains and similarly sized hard goods retailers, such as Pep Boys or Circuit City, [market research firm IHL president Greg] Buzek said.… Read more

Hey techies, don't bother putting money down on whether the Celtics are the future NBA champions. Not when you can place a bet on Steve Jobs.

A gaming company called Bodog is taking wagers on when Apple's iTunes Store will surpass Wal-Mart as the top U.S. music retailer.

CNET News.com reported on Tuesday that research firm NPD Group is predicting that Apple will emerge as the largest U.S. music retailer sometime in 2008. NPD also reported that Apple has recently leapfrogged over Best Buy and Target in music sales.

It should be noted that neither … Read more

Free cell phones--but you have to pay hefty monthly fees to use them. Video game consoles at well below cost--but you have to buy expensive video games to use them. Free coffee makers for businesses--but you have to buy coffee packets to make them work. King Gillette started the trend in the 1900s by giving away razors so people would buy disposable blades. It still works--with the cost of many tech products falling fast, businesses realize that more money can be made tricking consumers into thinking they're getting something for nothing.

Read the full Wired story: "Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business"… Read more

When you're the world's largest chipmaker, it's hard to turn on a dime. It can be even harder to admit when you've overreached.

A shift has taken place at Intel over the last year or so. Once known for dictating the direction of the PC market, Intel is increasingly letting its customers carve their own path. With that subtle yet important change, the PC industry is moving past its Model T era and entering a new world of style and design, where a simple black or gray box won't do.

The most recent and telling … Read more

Sony is suddenly in unfamiliar territory. And that's not a bad thing.

The consumer electronics company, which has long put a premium on quality over TV volumes, was the leader in LCD televisions shipped in North America during the fourth quarter. At an almost 13 percent unit share, it's a fairly dramatic leap for the company, which jumped from fourth place to first in the space of one quarter.

Sony entered the last year with caution, saying that flat-panel TV prices were dropping too fast, but ended on a decidedly different note.

Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow seemed … Read more