iMacs expected to boost desktop market growth in 2010
Mobile computing has taken over as the main driver of growth in PC sales for the past year, with notebooks overtaking desktops in late 2008 and sales of desktops declining for the last two years. However, Caris & Company analyst Robert Cihra is expecting desktops to show a small positive growth this year, due in large part to brisk sales of Apple's iMac. Cihra still expects notebooks and netbooks to account for 90 percent of overall growth in the market for the current year. But the increased demand driven by emerging markets, a slight increase in corporate IT spending, and "power gamers" should result in a 3 percent uptick in desktop sales over last year. "[B]elieve it or not," Cihra wrote in a note to investors, "we estimate Apple's iMac accounting for a full one quarter of ALL desktop market growth in calendar year 2010." The number isn't so surprising when you consider that the iMac pushed an impressive 70 percent year-over-year growth in desktop Mac sales for 2009. Contrast that with a 12 percent drop in overall sales of desktops for the same time frame. Apple's second fiscal quarter sales are already looking healthy, with sales up 36 and 43 percent year over year for January and February respectively. Those figures led Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster to peg Mac sales at about 2.9 million for the quarter. That's less than the recent record quarters of late, but would still mark a 31 percent year-over-year growth compared to the second quarter last year. Sales of iMacs resumed in earnest recently after manufacturing problems with the large 27" LCD panels caused some delays. Cihra also praised Apple in his note for its ability to drive growth without sacrificing average selling prices or margins. ASPs for desktop and portable Macs have decreased slightly over the last year, while ASPs for HP and Dell have dropped more dramatically. Meanwhile, Apple's tight control on costs have driven increased operating margins that exceed even the gross margins of HP, Dell, and Acer. It's worth noting that while Acer has seen explosive sales growth over the last year—in particular due to low-cost netbooks—the company's operating margins hover around 3 percent while Apple's are just over 25 percent. Read the comments on this post
published today, 2 hours 31 minutes ago, ars-technica
iWork.com improves public URLs, adds iPad compatibility
Apple's iWork.com document sharing and collaboration service still carries the beta tag that it has worn since it was introduced with iWork '09 last January. (Perhaps it's just another hobby, like Apple TV?) Still, with the iPad ready to launch in a few weeks, Apple has added a few improvements to iWork.com. One improvement is an update to the way documents can be shared publicly. A simple toggle turns public sharing on or off as needed, and a "Show URL" button rolls down a drop-down sheet with the URL selected for easy cutting and pasting. The new public URLs don't show comments or notes, according to Apple. The company also noted that it makes sharing documents via social networks easy, though adding buttons to "Tweet this!" or "Post to Facebook" would more likely get users to post documents to such sites. The other improvement is that Apple has created interfaces that are optimized for iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches. Functionality on Apple's mobile devices is quite limited, but you can access documents that you have shared via iWork.com and view them within Safai. On the iPad, documents can be edited using the new iPad versions of Pages, Numbers, or Keynote if they are installed. Both new views have interfaces optimized for touch input, but the iPad's screen makes viewing documents much more pleasurable. Read the comments on this post
published today, 5 hours 17 minutes ago, ars-technica
Blockbuster preps movies for Android, working on iPhone
Blockbuster's OnDemand debuting for the T-Mobile HTC HD2 smartphone will expand to other platforms, the company said. The service, which lets customers download and watch new release movies in addition to checking store stock, will also be made for certain Android-powered handsets from Motorola, though a timeline has not been revealed. Unlike competitors such as Netflix, Blockbuster's approach will see users permanently download tracks as they're more efficient than live streams....
published today, 6 hours 50 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network
Analyst: Next iPhone to further Palm's troubles
The next iPhone will continue to exacerbate Palm's troubles, according to UBS analyst Maynard Um. Despite the buzz surrounding the Pre announcement early last year, Palm recently cut its guidance for the current quarter. The company cites "slower than expected" sales of the Pri, Pixi, and newer Plus variants....
published today, 7 hours 5 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network
Win Phone 7 to have same remote app disabling as iPhone
Microsoft on the last day of MIX10 has confirmed that it can remotely disable Windows Phone 7 apps sold through the Windows Phone Marketplace. As all apps have to be given a license to run in the OS, the company can prevent them from running by revoking the license. The method would likely only be used in an emergency in case of a virus or other rogue behavior, the company's Istvan Cseri said in a presentation....
published today, 8 hours 45 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network
Mac OS X 10.6.3 dev build fixes several bugs
Apple has reportedly seeded Mac OS X 10.6.3 build 10D571 to developers, right on the heels of another version released less than two weeks ago. The company has asked users to focus on testing graphics drivers, iChat, QuickTime, and fonts, according to MacRumors....
published today, 10 hours 40 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network
Apple to ban film-based screen protectors from company stores
Consumers seeking a protective film for the screen on their iPhone, iPod, iPad or Mac will soon have to look outside of Apple's retail stores, which will soon halt sales of the accessories indefinitely.
published today, 11 hours 50 minutes ago, appleinsider
Apple banning film screen protectors from its stores?
Apple is allegedly in the process of removing screen protectors from its retail stores and online outlet, according to iLounge. An unnamed company claims Apple has been disclosing the policy change to various vendors. Film-only products will reportedly be banned, along with any cases or other accessories that include film in the same packaging....
published today, 12 hours 40 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network
iMac to drive 25% of global desktop growth in 2010?
Apple's iMac series is expected to represent 25 percent of the growth in desktop computers through the end of the year, according to Caris & Company analyst Robert Cihra. Desktops in general are said to be finally returning to positive growth this year, following several years of lackluster performance....
published today, 13 hours 30 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network
Navigon launches regional navigation apps at reduced prices
NAVIGON has announced regional mobile navigator apps for lower prices than its primary MobileNavigator North America app. The navigation specialist has released three regional apps, US Central, US East and US West options, at substantially lower prices compared to the company's flagship MobileNavigator version. Users can expand out of their region at a discount as well, when needed. The app supports upgrading to another region from within the app, while on the go. The app actually downloads the entire US map on first purchase, then makes regions available as they are...
published yesterday, 1 day 3 hours 50 minutes ago, macintosh-news-network