WWWorld.ru · Темы дня · Разделы дня · Интересы дня · 2012 · Свежие новости

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Look out, Windows PCs. A new report on connected devices predicts that, in what it describes as the "PC Plus era," the venerable computer platform will be eclipsed by Android devices by 2016. The report by industry research firm IDC projects a "dramatic shift" over the next four years, with Windows x86 PCs dropping from its current 35.9 percent share to slightly over 25 percent. The biggest driver of the shift is the rise of mobile devices, the new center of computing where Windows devices are not keeping up with the growth of Android and iOS units. Android Hitting 31 Percent The report projects that ARM-based Android devices will increase from the current 29.4 market share to the top share of 31.1 percent in 2016. IDC also estimates that Apple's devices will grow to 17.3 percent, from their current 14.6 percent. The IDC research director for mobile connected devices, Tom Mainelli, told news media that Android's growth is "tied directly to the propagation of lower-priced devices." But that doesn't mean that manufacturers and app developers will find Android a winner, he said. Mainelli predicted that, with dozens of hardware vendors owning some share of the Android market, it will probably be hard for many of them to make a profit. He also said that a large portion of app developers will continue to target iOS, which has a smaller overall market share but has users who are "more willing to pay for high-quality apps." While the IDC report sees laptop and desktop computers maintaining a steady absolute amount of the total number of connected device shipments, there will be a steady increase in tablets, and a large increase in smartphones. Consumers, Businesses, Education Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT, noted that the report highlighted what is being shown by other data -- that Windows PCs... newsfactor.com »

Reports of the demise of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser may be somewhat exaggerated. The Windows default browser, first introduced in 1995 and once virtually the only game in town for PCs, has seen something of a bounce in the last few months, winning back some market share from Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox, according to analytics from Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based Net Applications. Chrome Shines Google's Chrome browser, however, isn't ceding much ground. It saw the steepest increase in usage since May 2011, from 13.19 percent to 18.57 percent. Chrome peaked in December with 19.11 percent of users, and fell only slightly in the months since, to 18.57 last month. Safari overall has gained in popularity, rising from 4.37 percent in May to 5.07 in March while the Opera browser lost users, going from 2.10 to 1.62 in the same period. Firefox went from 22.87 to 20.55. For its part, IE started sinking in August 2011, from 55.31 all the way to 51.87, but has mostly risen since, now capturing 53.83 percent of the market, the highest share since last summer. That's a 1.2 percent global share increase in the past five months, says Net Applications' Net Marketshare report on usage share statistics for Internet technologies. At its peak, Internet Explorer had a 95 percent share of the global market in the early 2000s, and Microsoft made improving it a priority. The reversal suggests the software giant has learned from mistakes that allowed competitors to gain some ground. "In the latest version of Explorer, Microsoft has made some significant improvements and addressed issues, particularly around security that have been problematic in past versions," said Charles King, principal analyst of Pund-IT. Security features for IE now include domain highlighting, which lets users easily see the real URL on Web sites in the address bar to avoid phishing; SmartScreen... newsfactor.com »

Nokia Corp. saw its share price plummet 15 percent on Wednesday after it warned that heavy competition will hit first-quarter earnings, especially in developing markets, and that it expected no improvement in the second quarter. The world's largest cellphone maker said multiple factors had hurt sales, particularly in the fast-growing markets of India, the Middle East and Africa and China. The Finnish company has increasingly been losing out to competitors in the lucrative top-end smartphone sector, against Apple Inc.'s iPhone and brands using Google Inc.'s popular Android software, including Samsung. But it's also been squeezed in the low-end by Asian manufacturers making cheaper phones, such as China's ZTE. Nokia said operating margins in the first quarter were "approximately negative 3 percent." Previously, it had expected them "around break-even, ranging either above or below by approximately 2 percentage points." It gave no other earnings estimates. The news spooked investors, who sent Nokia's share price down by more than 15 percent to (EURO)3.23 ($4.24) in Helsinki. CEO Stephen Elop described the performance as "disappointing" for the company that had pinned hopes on posing a new challenge against chief rivals with new Windows-based Lumia smartphones launched in Europe, the U.S. and China. "Our devices and services business continues to be in the midst of transition," Elop said. "Within our smart devices business unit, we have established early momentum with Lumia, and we are increasing our investments in Lumia to achieve market success." On Wednesday, Nokia unveiled a new version of the Lumia 610 which will give customers near field communication technology, or NFC, allowing users with similar technology to exchange data on their handsets and make payments. Nokia has been the leading handset maker since 1998 but after reaching its global goal of 40 percent market share in 2008, it has gradually lost overall share, plummeting to below 30 percent last... newsfactor.com »

Hewlett-Packard Co. is showing signs of recovery as it strengthened its position as the world's largest maker of personal computers and gained back some of the business it had lost while weighing whether to dump its PC division. HP's stock jumped more than 7 percent Thursday, after research groups Gartner and IDC released their PC shipment estimates for the first three months of the year. HP was the best performer in the Dow Jones industrial average. HP is in the midst of a turnaround effort under a new chief, former eBay Inc. CEO Meg Whitman. Her predecessor, Leo Apotheker, wanted to sell or spin off the PC business, a plan that contributed to his ouster in September after 11 months on the job. Whitman decided a month later to keep the unit, despite the growing competitive challenge the PC industry faces from smartphones and tablet computers. The company lost market share during that period of uncertainty. With PCs increasingly commoditized, customers were free to choose a rival and avoid wondering whether HP would be around to offer product support in a few months. According to IDC, HP's worldwide market share dropped to 16 percent in the fourth quarter, after HP signaled in mid-August that it might shed the PC business. HP's share had been nearly 18 percent earlier in the year. IDC estimated late Wednesday that HP's worldwide share in the first quarter of 2012 was back to 18 percent. In the U.S., IDC said, HP's first-quarter share was 28 percent, nearly back to what it had been last summer. In the holiday quarter, it had dropped to about 23 percent. Analyst Brian G. Alexander at Raymond James said Thursday that the numbers suggest the fallout from HP's indecision had eased. He also said they "add support to our view that HP is not a broken company." The... newsfactor.com »

Возможно, это нововведение покажется малозаметным на фоне запуска сервиса Google Drive: в социальной сети Google+ отныне есть кнопка Share — вариант клавиши «+1» более очевидного назначения. osp.ru »

First-quarter results show that Samsung has become the king of both the smartphone and handset market globally, taking the top handset slot away from Nokia after a 14-year reign. In the smartphone market, Samsung surpassed Apple with a 31 percent market share compared with the iPhone's 24 percent market share. Overall, the handset market grew by a modest 3 percent while the smartphone market grew by a more substantial 41 percent compared with the first quarter of 2011. With winning devices such as the Galaxy Note, Google Nexus, Droid Charge and Galaxy S II, Samsung smartphone shipments rose by a whopping 253 percent to 44.5 million, while handset unit shipments totaled 93 million, a 36 percent spike from the first quarter of last year. Nokia's handset market share fell annually from 30.4 percent to 22.5 percent while its smartphone market share plummeted from 23.5 percent to 8.25 percent. The results leave Apple and Samsung together controlling more than half the smartphone market. We spoke to Strategy Analytics Associate Director Alex Spektor about these findings, which are based on polls of vendors. Q: Were you surprised by the growth of Samsung's market share? A: Just five years ago Samsung took the No. 2 spot from Motorola, and at the time it seemed like it was impossible for anyone to overtake Nokia. But times have really changed. The smartphone market took off and Nokia was not able to react to the market quickly enough. Q: How did this happen to Nokia? A: The historic leaders in the smartphone market were Nokia and BlackBerry. They already had a strategy and market position and a product portfolio. When you already have something in the market you are playing defensive games as opposed to Samsung, who really went on the offensive for the past few years, which enabled them to move... newsfactor.com »

Oracle and Google have something in common -- they are both eagerly awaiting a jury verdict in a patent suit. Oracle argues that Google infringed on its copyright and its Java patents. Oracle wants Google to shell out $1 billion in damages. Oracle also wants the court to block Google from distributing the open-source Android operating system, which incorporated Java code, without paying Oracle licensing fees. Perhaps the most damaging evidence: e-mail. What's at Stake? Oracle attorney Michael Jacobs showed the jury e-mails that he argued showed clearly how Googlers were working to disclose the fact that they were using Java code to develop Android. An October 2005 e-mail from Google Senior Vice President Andy Rubin said, "My proposal is that we take the license." Another e-mail from February 2006 featured Google engineer Tim Lindholm explaining that the company was negotiating with Sun for a Java license. But there was a hitch. Google apparently didn't agree to the terms. The e-mail said, "You have to give back to the open-source community." But Google nevertheless steadfastly maintained its innocence. There's plenty at stake for Google in the mobile wars. For the three-month average period ending in March, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices, according to comScore. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform, with 51 percent market share. Apple's share of the smartphone market increased 1.1 percentage points, to 30.7 percent. RIM ranked third with 12.3 percent share, followed by Microsoft (3.9 percent) and Symbian (1.4 percent). Google Bias? We asked Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, his take on the Oracle-Google trial and how he sees the outcome. Both sides offered a reasonably strong performance in the courtroom, Enderle said, save perhaps Google CEO Larry Page. But it may all come down to brand recognition in the end despite the damaging... newsfactor.com »

Nokia is struggling on many fronts, but the company is performing well in emerging markets -- and it's looking to boost its chances with two new mobile phones that play on its strategy to connect the next billion consumers. The Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 aim to attract young, urban consumers who want to experience a fast, affordable online experience. Both devices incorporate social-media aspects, like Facebook and Twitter integration. And a Nokia browser promises to consume up to 90 percent less data by compressing Web sites in the cloud. "Today's mobile phone users want a quick Internet experience that allows them to discover great content and share it with their friends -- but without being held back by high data costs," said Mary T. McDowell, executive vice president of Mobile Phones at Nokia. She's betting consumers will look to the Nokia 110 and 112, which combine browsing, social media, apps, entertainment and long battery life. Casual Gaming Savvy The devices have a 1.8-inch display that Nokia characterizes as "optimized for gaming." In the months ahead, the Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 will bring free EA Games, including favorites like Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed The Run, Monopoly Here & Now, and SimCity Deluxe. The Nokia 112 features a preloaded eBuddy instant messaging service so users can tap into popular chat services from the mobile device. And both phones offer an upgraded camera that lets users customize contacts with photos, or share images via social networks and Bluetooth. The VGA camera promises sharper, clearer pictures with support for up to 32GB of external memory, enough for more than 6,000 songs or 90,000 pictures. Consumers can tune into radio stations and share songs with friends over Bluetooth. And all this with a promised 10 hours of talk time and nearly a month of standby. The Lumia... newsfactor.com »

Brace yourself, parents: You may have to share your monthly wireless data allotment with your Netflix-loving kid. In a bid to sell and connect more devices to their wireless networks -- and generate more money per subscriber -- major carriers are preparing to introduce "data share" plans. In such plans, customers get a fixed bucket of monthly data and share it among family members or among multiple wireless-enabled devices such as tablets, smartphones and security monitors. For example, a plan could have 5 gigabytes for two devices, instead of 3 GB for one. A typical current wireless family plan allows you to share voice minutes, but any data allotment has to be assigned to individual devices. The changes come as wireless companies are trying to improve profit margins even as they invest heavily in the next new generation of fast wireless networks, called 4G LTE. The carriers are tinkering with their data plans to maximize revenue and also to try to bring in new waves of users still using call- and text-only phones. Fran Shammo, CFO of Verizon Communications, which controls Verizon Wireless, told analysts Wednesday that it will introduce a data-share plan and phase out unlimited data plans. "Customers have told us that they want to share data, similar to how they share minutes today," Verizon Wireless said in a statement Thursday, confirming Shammo's comments. "We are working on plans to provide customers with that option later this year." Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility, has said in recent days it will have a similar plan. Sprint declined to comment. Verizon and AT&T didn't give pricing or details of their data-share plans. But analysts say they'll be structured to make it easier for users to add new devices and to expose more people to the Web or streaming a movie while on the move. "Now, if you... newsfactor.com »

The latest Web metrics data from StatCounter shows Internet Explorer and Chrome in a virtual dead heat for the top position in the global browser market, with 32.42 percent and 32.29 percent market shares, respectively, during the first three weeks of May. Firefox held a 25.28 percent share followed by Safari with 7.14 percent and Opera with 1.5 percent. On the other hand, U.S.-based rival Web metrics firm Net Applications reported that IE continues to hold a significant lead over rival browser makers on traditional PC platforms around the world. The Web metrics firm's latest data shows IE with a 54.1 percent share, followed by Firefox (20.2 percent), Chrome (18.9 percent) and Safari (4.8 percent). Starting in February, Net Applications began adjusting its usage share numbers based on the pre-rendering functionality in Chrome, which displays thumbnails of Web site pages in Google's search lists. This had been inflating Net Applications' Chrome browsing statistics posted by approximately 4.14 percent with respect to usage share. "Because pre-rendering can substantially misrepresent usage share numbers, it's important for analytics companies like us to adjust for pre-rendering to provide accurate data on usage share to our customers," said Net Applications Executive Vice President Vince Vizzaccaro earlier this year. Chrome's Inflated Data Google's browser has incorporated a pre-rendering functionality since the debut of Chrome 13 last year, with the principal advantage being that pre-rendered pages load faster when the user elects to click on the associated search result link. And with the release of Chrome 17, Google expanded the behavior to include search queries typed into the Omnibox. "so we anticipate more pre-rendering traffic in the future," Vizzaccaro said. Indeed, when Google rolled out Chrome 19 last week the new browser release added the ability to sync all the user's open tabs across all of the individual's devices when... newsfactor.com »

Start-up Sidecar has taken the wraps off a new smartphone app that enables users to share live video and other multimedia content with friends, family members and fellow workers even as they are talking on their phones. Sidecar makes it possible for users to share photos instantly or deliver the entire contents of an album stored on their phones while chatting with the recipient. Interconnected Sidecar users also will be able to simultaneously view other content, such as an interactive street map. With Sidecar the goal is to help handset users break out of today's voice-calling silo, said Sidecar CEO Rob Williams. Until now, people who wanted to do more than talk "had to toggle back and forth between voice calls and whatever else they wanted to share with the person they were calling," Williams said Tuesday. There has been tremendous innovation in smartphones in every area except the basic phone call, Williams observed. Sidecar tears down these barriers and lets people easily share live video, location, photos, and contacts while they talk," he said. "The result is a more fun, engaging, and expressive conversation." Connecting Users Worldwide Among other things, the new Sidecar app enables live videos to be shared with others even as they are being captured by the user's handset camcorder. The service is free whenever both the user and the recipients have Sidecar installed on their phones. By instantly sharing maps, Sidecar makes it easy for commuters looking for rides to visually inform drivers just where to pick them up and drop them off. Sidecar is already geared up to serve the commuting needs of the communities of passengers and drivers around the world, said the company, which is based in San Francisco and Seattle. The new Sidecar app also gives users the ability to swiftly pass along and integrate... newsfactor.com »

Apple led the global media tablet market during the first quarter with a 62.8 percent share by shipping 13.6 million iPads and posting 162 percent year-over-year growth, according to NPD DisplaySearch. Samsung was a distant second (7.5 percent), followed by Amazon (4 percent), Research In Motion (2.3 percent) and Asus (2.3 percent). Unlike research firms IDC and Gartner, which consider PCs and media tablets to be separate product categories, DisplaySearch regards media tablets as a product subcategory within the mobile PC market overall. Under the firm's distinct methodology, Apple also led the global mobile PC market with a 22.5 percent share. During the first quarter, Apple shipped 17.2 million mobile PC units overall -- equivalent to 118 percent year-over-year growth. Nearly 80 percent of Apple's mobile PC shipments during the quarter were iPads. Apple's mobile PC shipments were nearly double those of its nearest competitor. During the first quarter, No. 2 mobile PC vendor Hewlett-Packard shipped 8.9 million units and achieved an 11.6 percent market share, DisplaySearch noted Tuesday. Excluding Tablets, HP Retains Lead When subtracting media tablet unit shipments from the mix, however, HP stayed atop the global mobile PC market with a 16.2 percent share. Acer was second at 11.9 percent, followed by Lenovo (10.6 percent), Dell (10.2 percent) and Asus (8.1 percent). Though Acer enjoyed robust sales in China during the first quarter, DisplaySearch noted that Lenovo was the chief beneficiary of the China region's strong shipment growth. What's more, Lenovo's notebook and mini-note sales succeeded in gaining more traction in North America at the expense of Dell, which has been shifting its focus to the commercial market segment in the region. Asus succeeded in gaining market share across all regions after a weak fourth quarter in 2011. According to DisplaySearch, the Taiwan-based PC maker was the most aggressive of the top... newsfactor.com »

If you were thinking of picking up a few shares of Facebook last week, when it went public at a price of $38, you might be seriously tempted now that the stock has fallen $7 in two days. But forget the dramatic drop. Investors should focus on the only question that matters: How much money will Facebook earn over the next several years, and is that enough to justify its market value right now? The conclusion is hard to escape: Facebook might be a bargain someday, but not now. Though it's a rough guide, one way to value a stock like Facebook is to divide its price by its annual per-share earnings. The result is the price-to-earnings ratio. A higher ratio suggests a stock is expensive, and lower suggests it is cheap. When Facebook set its offering price at $38, the ratio was high -- more than 100 times its per-share earnings last year. It's still high, at 85 times earnings per share, even after a two-day drubbing left it at $31 a share. The Nasdaq composite index of technology stocks trades at 15.7 times last year's earnings, according to FactSet, a provider of financial data. Apple trades at 13.6 times and Google 18.2 times. Of course, investing isn't as simple as price-to-earnings ratios. Some companies grow their earnings faster than others, turning a high ratio -- and a seemingly expensive stock -- into a low ratio and a cheaper stock. If you just looked at Facebook's earnings growth last year, an impressive 65 percent, you'd think it's just such a company. If Facebook can keep up that pace, its $1 billion in earnings last year will be $7.4 billion in 2015. That would be enough to bring Facebook's ratio more in line with Apple's. But that's with the stock not rising from $31. If you assume the stock... newsfactor.com »