When it comes to their iPhone, most American buyers are willing to shell out the money for the latest and greatest model available.
According to a new survey from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), 73 percent of those who purchased an iPhone in recent months chose the high-end iPhone 4S. Twenty-two percent bought the iPhone 4, while a mere 5 percent opted for the iPhone 3GS.
The new data comes from a survey of customers who purchased an iPhone, iPad, or a Mac computer between February and April 2012. CIRP received an initial response of 7,348 individuals, 521 of which qualified to respond.
The data also revealed that consumers have increasingly traded their Android and BlackBerry phones for the iPhone. Thirty-eight percent of iPhone buyers switched from Android and BlackBerry, up from 29 percent during the previous polling period, from December 2011 to February 2012.
When it comes to Apple tablets, CIRP found that many consumers over the past few months have opted for the older iPad 2, despite the release of Apple's third-generation model this March. Sales of the iPad 2 accounted for 41 percent of total iPad sales since the launch of the new iPad, while the latest model garnered 59 percent of total sales. Overall, the 3G and 4G versions of both iPad models sold better than the Wi-Fi-only versions.
"Some early anecdotes speculated that the iPad 2 would continue to sell well, and we now see that using data on actual consumer behavior," Josh Lowitz, CIRP partner and co-founder, said in a statement.
As for computer sales, the MacBook line dominated, accounting for 78 percent of total Mac computer sales. The high-end MacBook Pro garnered half of all laptop sales, and 40 percent of total Mac sales.
Meanwhile, consumers are more often heading to Apple's own stores to buy the company's products, according to the survey. Apple Stores now account for 25 percent of total iPhone sales, up from 15 percent earlier this year.
Back in March, CIRP revealed that Best Buy was selling almost as many iPhones as Apple itself. The latest survey, however, reveals that Apple has taken share from retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart, whose share of iPhone and iPad sales decreased in recent months.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the iPhone 4S and the slideshow below, as well as PCMag's full review of the new iPad.
For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.
The iPhone Gives 'Sonic the Hedgehog' a Second Chance - Wall Street Journal
By IAN SHERR
![[0606oldgamejpg]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sHAbDR9_s3JNGd66ImA7xZANMAHQMlCcmkvk5xndHxHdrzhiG63xmkw4Nz9AEiQUDha-LGxtw5KNOE7ux_-Nb65yMaAaLd96jCsFXB4M1MCFaNKsiTeSctzPvv8G3lCpu1gRcW_t-0eyKL5PaWf7jJlA=s0-d)
Bloomberg Playing a videogame on an iPhone
LOS ANGELES—Old is the new cool in videogames.
Videogame titles that once gathered dust on collectors' shelves have found a new life on mobile devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone, giving companies a cheap way to make money while also helping to promote new software.
It is what Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. did when it was preparing to release the third installment in a popular film-noire series called "Max Payne." About a month before the new title went on sale, the company released "Max Payne Mobile"—the first game in the series released 11 years ago, reworked to run on smartphones and tablet computers rather than videogame consoles and personal computers.
"It used to be people were skeptical there was any library value at all [to these old games]," said Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two's chief executive, in an interview at this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, trade show here.
The company also has released the decade-old "Grand Theft Auto III" for mobile devices, and "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars." Reselling older games both on mobile devices and traditional videogame consoles and personal computers has become a big business for Take-Two, representing as much as almost a third of the company's revenue in some quarters.
"If they're beloved and highly regarded and at the right price, they might be appealing," Mr. Zelnick said.
At the E3 Conference
Take-Two's efforts came as customers are flocking to mobile applications or apps. Prime examples include Zynga Inc.'s "Words With Friends" and Rovio Entertainment Ltd.'s "Angry Birds," which are played on a variety of devices as well as on the Internet.
The recycled products fetch a fraction of the price of the original videogames, which often cost about $60. Many mobile versions, such as "Max Payne Mobile," are priced at $2.99.
Yet bringing old games to mobile platforms still brings in revenue at little extra expense for software companies.
"They're dumb if they don't take existing games and remonetize them," said Lewis Ward, an analyst at industry research firm IDC.
Offering older titles that were big sellers when they were released also helps to strengthen a company's brand, Mr. Ward said, and serves as a form of advertising for coming titles, such as what Take-Two did with the "Max Payne" franchise. "You can remonetize those older-generation games and you advertise the heck out of the new one," he said.
Take-Two isn't alone in adopting the strategy. Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. has started dusting off old games such as "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Streets of Rage" and "Virtua Fighter," bringing them to mobile devices with much fanfare from fans of these series.
Sony Corp. is one of the largest companies to embrace this trend. The company, which makes the PlayStation 3 videogame console, has been releasing older console games through its PlayStation Network, as well as targeting some mobile devices powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system.
Andrew House, head of Sony's videogame business, said the company was surprised when customers began signing up for its PlayStation Network's premium Internet service, called PlayStation Plus, because it offered free access to the company's decades-old games.
"There is that nostalgia factor," Mr. House said. "We're learning about the length of life this content has and how it can be repurposed for new audiences."
Remarketing old software isn't the only way companies are exploiting earlier titles. Another approach, pioneered by Nintendo Co., is to take characters from old titles and use them in a new one. Sony has taken that approach in a videogame, "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale," that pits popular characters from the action-fighting series "God of War" and the car-fighting game "Twisted Metal" against one another. Reaction from industry insiders has been positive so far, and Sony said its fans are excited.
Write to Ian Sherr at ian.sherr@dowjones.com
A version of this article appeared June 7, 2012, on page B4 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: 'Sonic' Gets a Second Chance.
Samsung fights Apple move to block Galaxy sales - Yahoo Finance
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it will fight Apple's move to stop U.S. sales of its new Galaxy phone in the latest flare-up of an intellectual property battle between the world's top smartphone makers.
Samsung said it will vigorously oppose Apple's request for a court to ban sales of the Galaxy S III smartphone and still plans to go ahead with the device's scheduled release in the U.S. on June 21.
The South Korean company said in a statement that it will "demonstrate to the court that the Galaxy S III is innovative and distinctive."
On Tuesday, Apple Inc. asked a U.S. district court to temporarily ban sales of the S III smartphone before its launch in the United States. The maker of the iPhone accused Samsung of infringing two Apple patents.
The request, if accepted by the U.S. District Court for Northern California, would deal a blow to Samsung's attempt to get a headstart on sales of Apple's next iPhone.
The S III smartphone went on sale in Europe on May 29 and will be offered by around 300 mobile carriers in Asia and North America later this month.
The early launch puts Samsung in a favorable position to take a bigger chunk of the lucrative smartphone market. While Apple is keeping mum on its annual iPhone upgrade, many analysts expect the new iPhone to go on sale as early as July.
Samsung has become the biggest threat to Apple's clout in the mobile market as its Galaxy series of smartphones won popularity among consumers seeking an Android-powered device.
Most market research firms say Samsung overtook Apple in smartphone shipments for the first time during the first three months of this year.
Samsung and Apple have been embroiled in bitter patent lawsuits in North America, Europe and Asia since Apple accused Samsung of copying its iPhone in April 2011.
Chief executives of the two companies met in San Francisco last month after a court instructed them to negotiate, but the talks didn't produce a settlement.
Amid the legal battles, the two companies continue to do business with each other.
Samsung counts Apple as among its largest buyers of chips and display screens while Apple relies on Samsung for mobile components.
Samsung Elec shifts CEO to global strategy role - Reuters India
SEOUL |
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co(005930.KS), Asia's $163 billion technology powerhouse, is shifting CEO Choi Gee-sung to a new role as head of Samsung Group's corporate strategy as it battles Apple Inc(AAPL.O) for supremacy in smartphones and leads the charge to new chip technology.
Choi, 61, has been with Samsung for more than three decades and has worked in all the group's main business divisions, from semiconductors and display to home appliances and telecoms, before taking over as chief executive in 2010.
Crucially, he is seen as chief mentor to Jay Y. Lee, son of Samsung Electronics' chairman Lee Kun-hee and the group's heir apparent. Jay Y. Lee stays as chief operating officer.
"Choi is the best candidate who can chart Samsung through the global economic crisis and ever-intensifying competition," Samsung said in a statement, citing an unnamed executive. "Under Choi, Samsung plans to pursue innovative changes."
The South Korean group named Kwon Oh-hyun as its new CEO. Currently head of Samsung's components business, which oversees chips and display, Kwon cemented Samsung's position in memory chips, where it has almost 50 percent global market share, and expanded into non-memory, or logic chips, which now account for 40 percent of Samsung's overall semiconductor revenue.
GRAPHIC: Samsung ownership r.reuters.com/xyt47s
GRAPHIC: Samsung earnings: r.reuters.com/sem87s
Under Kwon, Samsung became the sole supplier of the mobile processors that power Apple's iPhone and iPad - rival products to Samsung's own Galaxy and Note. The 59-year-old former engineer, who studied electrical engineering at Seoul National University and Stanford, has also led a restructuring of Samsung's LCD flat-screen business.
Samsung said there would be no operational impact from the reshuffle, with Kwon still overseeing the components business.
PUBLIC FEUD
The announcement comes on the anniversary, 19 years ago, of Lee Kun-hee's 'new management declaration', when he told Samsung executives at a Frankfurt hotel they should change everything except their wives and children to improve the firm's then sub-standard product quality.
Today, Lee Kun-hee is embroiled in a public feud with members of his family that could speed up the transfer of control to his son.
"Jay Y. Lee is in the final stage of being groomed ... and Choi will help in this process, helping him (Jay Y. Lee) look into the group as a whole, not just the electronics unit," said Chung Sun-sup, head of chaebul.com, an online information provider on South Korea's industrial conglomerates, which wield enormous political and economic clout.
The strategic office that Choi will be heading up is the "control tower" of the Samsung Group SAGR.UL, which presides over some 81 companies involved in everything from ships and smartphones to insurance and chemicals.
"There'll be no major changes in overall strategy as Kwon will continue to oversee the components business, while telecoms and consumer electronics are separately run by other executives," said James Song, analyst at KDB Daewoo Securities.
Samsung, which said earlier this month that sales of its range of Galaxy S smartphones had topped 50 million, has moved quickly to overtake Apple in the fast-growth mobile market and has blown away Nokia (NOK1V.HE) and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM.TO).
LOGIC CHIP INVESTMENT
Samsung earlier on Thursday said it will spend $1.9 billion on a new logic chip line to make processors for mobile devices amid explosive demand for smartphones and tablets. It said the new line will use 300 mm wafers and 20 nanometer and 14 nanometer processing technology.
Demand for system chips used in smartphones and tablets is set to more than double to $59 billion in 2016 from $23 billion last year, according to research firm Gartner.
Ahead of the announcements, shares in Asia's biggest technology firm closed up 5.2 percent in a broad market rally that sent the benchmark KOSPI index up 2.6 percent.
(Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Writing by Ian Geoghegan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Video of 'iPhone 5' back cover emerges, indicates numerous changes - Los Angeles Times
A second video has emerged with what is believed to be a part of the next iPhone; this time it's the back cover.
The video, which was posted on YouTube Wednesday by ETrade Supply, appears to confirm various rumored changes expected to be coming to next iPhone, which many have dubbed the iPhone 5.
The part shown in the video is apparently the back cover of the phone as well as the device's metallic antenna. It looks like a variation of the cover used for the iPhone 4 and 4S: It is no longer plain black or white but features what looks like brushed metal over the bulk of it.
ETrade Supply notes what it says are various changes to the phone in the video, including the fact that it is longer than previous iPhones and looks to fit a 4-inch screen diagonally. However, though the phone is not wider, it is thinner, which is a change that was not previously expected.
What may be the next iPhone also appears to have a new and much smaller dock connector along its bottom side. It also has redesigned speaker grills, and its headphone jack is located along the bottom.
The video also shows what looks like a microphone located between the phone's camera and flash, which had also previously been rumored. The phone's SIM card is a smaller size, which could mean the next iPhone will use a small SIM card.
Currently, most people believe that the next iPhone won't arrive until October, but some reports have said the phone is ahead of schedule. And with so many parts and rumors beginning to leak, you have to wonder if the next iPhone might not launch earlier than previously expected.
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Samsung Unveils Cloud-Based Gaming Service Powered by Gaikai - PC Advisor
Samsung is jumping in the gaming fray with a cloud-based service built into its high-end 7000 series HDTVs. The back-end infrastructure for the service will be performed by Gaikai, which provides cloud-based gaming services for a number of companies, including Electronic Arts and LG.
The service is currently entering beta testing. At launch, Samsung's cloud gaming service will support wired and wireless gamepad controllers from several manufacturers. Keyboard and mouse support is being considered, but won't be available at launch.
Samsung's public relations director, Ethan Rasiel, said only 2012 models of the company's series 7000 TVs would offer the service because those units have dual-core processors offering the performance needed to deliver a good gaming experience. While the games are rendered on cloud-based servers and streamed to the HDTV as a video stream, the system also needs to react to game controller inputs in near real time for optimal gaming.
Gaikai's cofounder and chief executive, Dave Perry, delivered an impassioned message about making games more accessible, noting that the barriers to entry to play even demos of games is often so high that potential customers lose interest. Gaikai's goal is to offer full game access for short periods of time, to give potential buyers a taste. Perry offered survey statistics noting that game buyers preferred actual hands-on through demos over any other form of advertising when making buying decisions.
Perry demonstrated several games running on a Series 7000 TV, including Bulletstorm and World of Warcraft.
Gaikai only streams PC game titles, including those console games that have been ported to the PC. The service will enter beta testing later this summer. Full rollout plans and pricing haven't been set.
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