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News & Opinion
Rumor Roundup
Apple Updates
Products & Services
Software
News & Opinion
New MacBooks to Turn Up the Pressure on
Ultrabooks
DigiTimes' Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai reports that sources in Apple's
upstream supply chain are telling them Apple is expected to launch new
MacBook Pro notebooks with an even thinner and lighter design than
existing models in April "at the soonest."
The industry moles suggest that when paired with Apple's upcoming
OS X 10.8 Mountain
Lion operating system and hot-selling MacBook Air models, the
MacBook models are expected to create a significant threat to PC
notebook players' ultrabooks. Apple is expected to launch upgraded 13"
and 15" MacBook Pros in April with initial shipments estimated to reach
900,000 units.
However, Mountain Lion isn't expected to be released to consumers
before late spring or summer 2012 at the earliest, and with Intel
delaying the mass supply of its Ivy Bridge CPUs from a previously
projected April rollout until June, the question is begged as to
whether Apple would really want to release a major new MacBook Pro
redesign still running OS X 10.7 Lion and powered by the
current-generation Intel Sandy Bridge Core i CPUs.
Or will Intel supply Apple with early production of Ivy Bridge
silicon (note that the DigiTimes report says "mass supply" of Ivy
Bridge will be pushed back to June) for its new MacBook Pro
rollout?
Link: New MacBook Pro
and Air Models Expected to Create Strong Pressure for Ultrabooks
(subscription required)
NPD: Apple Holds Top Mobile PC Share for Q4/11 and
Full Year
PR: Apple shipped nearly 23.4 million mobile PCs in Q4/11, up
128% Y/Y, and over 62.8 million mobile PCs in 2011, up 132% Y/Y,
according to preliminary results from the latest NPD DisplaySearch
Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report.
Nearly 80% of Apple's mobile PC shipments were iPads, more than 18.7
million shipped in the quarter, up 156% Y/Y, and 48.4 million units for
the year, up 183% Y/Y.
Overall mobile PC shipments grew 12% Q/Q and 44% Y/Y, reaching 88
million units in Q4/11. This was driven by continuing strong demand for
tablets. Tablet PC shipment growth was 42% Q/Q and 210% Y/Y, reaching
31.7 million units in Q4/11. Notebook PC shipments were flat Q/Q but up
nearly 11% Y/Y, reaching 56.3 million units. As expected, consumer
mobile PC adoption was focused on tablets, holding up demand in
notebooks.
"Mobile PC brands read the writing on the wall in the fourth
quarter," says Richard Shim, NPD DisplaySearch Senior Analyst.
"Consumer demand for notebooks was expected to be weak following modest
back-to-school results, especially with the expected launch of Windows
8 on the horizon, and increasing interest in tablet PCs. As a result,
brands focused their typical holiday price cuts on tablets to boost
demand.
Apple's 26.6% share in Q4/11 is largely due to its dominant position
in tablet PCs, which propelled it to nearly three times the shipments
of HP. The other brands in the top five market share rankings relied
almost exclusively on notebook PC shipments to establish their
positions."
HP maintained the top notebook PC ranking with a 15.5% share,
although it lost some of its lead as shipments into North America,
China, Latin America, and Asia Pacific faltered. Dell and Acer
essentially tied for second place with 11.8% each. Dell had strong
results in EMEA, while Acer continued to struggle in the notebook PC
market. Lenovo continues to build on momentum started early this year
with strong growth in China and Asia Pacific with a dip in North
America, and maintained its #4 position in notebook PCs, gaining some
share in Q4/11. Apple leapfrogged over ASUS and Toshiba to capture #5
with 8.3% market share.
In the tablet PC market, Apple continued its strong growth across
all its regions, capturing 59.1% share in Q4/11. Newcomers Amazon and
Barnes and Noble firmly planted their flags in the market, at #2 and
#5, respectivelyAmazon with 16.7% share and Barnes and Noble with 3.5%.
Both brands focused on North America in their market entries. Samsung
improved in all its key markets, particularly EMEA, helping it to reach
0.67% market share. ASUS continued its strong results in North America,
EMEA, and Asia Pacific as it took 4.6% share in Q4/11.
The NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report
covers the entire range of mobile PC products shipped worldwide and
regionally. With analysis of global and regional brands, the Quarterly
Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report provides an objective, expert
view of the market with insight into historical shipments, revenues,
forecasts and more.
For more information about the report, contact Charles Camaroto at
1.888.436.7673 or 1.516.625.2452, e-mail contact@displaysearch.com or
contact your regional NPD DisplaySearch office in China, Japan, Korea
or Taiwan or more information.
Link:
Apple Maintains Top Mobile PC Share Position for Q4'11 and Full
Year
Apple Files Patent for Thinner Keyboard
The Register's Rik Myslewski reports that Apple has filed a patent
application for a key-travel design that it claims will allow for a
"thin profile, aesthetically pleasing keyboard," that it allows not
only thinner keyboards, but also allows for the keys themselves to more
easily be made of a multitude of materials, the filing states,
"including, but not limited to, wood, stone, polished meteorite,
ceramic, metal, and glass."
Myslewski says the core design element described in the filing is a
title-eponymous "Single Support Lever Keyboard Mechanism," which,
instead of more-traditional key actuators such as scissor-switches,
springs, or metal or polyester domes, has keys positioned on the ends
of a relatively long lever that pivots when the key is pressed.
Link: Apple
Files Patent for 'Polished Meteorite' Keyboard
Ivy Bridge CPUs Delayed 8-10 Weeks
AppleInsider's Katie Marsal reports that Intel China's executive
vice president and chairman Sean Maloney revealed in a Financial Times
interview that Intel's next-generation 22nm Ivy Bridge processors,
which had been widely expected to appear in updated Mac laptops April
or May-ish, now won't be shipping until 8-10 weeks later than had been
originally anticipated and will not be available until June - possibly
late June.
Ivy Bridge CPUs are expected to support substantially
higher-resolution "Retina" type displays in Apple's MacBooks, as well
as enhanced Intel HD Graphics 4000 architecture integrated graphics
processor units.
Link: Intel's Mac-bound
Ivy Bridge CPUs Expected to Go on Sale 8-10 Weeks Late
Rumor Roundup
Apple Contemplating a 14" MacBook Air for Asian
Markets?
DigiTimes' Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai say Apple is reportedly
considering the launch of a 14" MacBook Air and may start mass
production in the near future to fully enter the Asia PC market,
according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Lee and Tsai note that 14" panels are currently the most popular
mainstream display screen size in the Asia notebook market, while
consumers in Western countries prefer 15" models. They observe that
globally, 14" notebooks have roughly a 20-25% market share, but in
Asia, that spikes up to about 35-40%, strong indication of Asian
consumers' fondness for 14" laptops.
The DigiTimes reporters' sources maintain that Apple is currently
realigning its focus from North America and Europe to Asia and
anticipating the China market becoming its major market going forward,
so launching a 14" MacBook Air would be be consistent with that, and an
indication the company will become even more aggressive selling in the
China market.
Pubisher's note: Also see A 14" MacBook Air Just for
Asia? Why Not! dk
Link: Apple Reportedly
Considering 14-inch MacBook Air (subscription required)
Apple Updates
EFI Firmware Update for 15" Late 2008 MacBook
Pro
Short and sweet, the MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.8 is
recommended for MacBook Pro (15-inch, late
2008) models. The update resolves a graphics issue that may cause
the internal display to flicker.
Link: MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update
2.8
Products & Services
Securifi Announces Almond, the World's First
Wireless Router for the Rest of Us
PR: The Macintosh, released in
1984, became the first computer intuitive enough for the rest of us.
Securifi's Almond is pitched as the first wireless router for the rest
of us. It features a color touchscreen that does away with PC- or
Mac-based setup or maintenance.
Slated to become available in North America in
Spring 2012, Securifi's Almond's 320 x 240 pixel 2.8" full-color
touchscreen display is capable of handling all router setup and
maintenance. Almond not only removes the need for the intimidating
web-driven interfaces consumers have struggled with for over a decade,
it removes the need for operating through a PC or Macintosh entirely.
Securifi calls it the first router for the "post-PC era."
"Few people would buy a microwave that can only be set up using a
computer, but everyone quietly submits to this chore when setting up
their wireless routers," says Securifi CEO Rammohan Malasani. "We set
out to design a full-featured WiFi access point the average person can
set up and enjoy in a minute or two. The falling cost of touch screen
technology has finally made it possible."
Mr. Malasani insists that users of
Securifi's Almond router would never have to memorize or even write
down its IP address. He also notes they're welcome to secure the device
with a password they can display as ordinary text. The result of this
is that those who forget how they arrived at an exotic password like
tlpWENT2m (short for this little piggy went to market) can simply log
in via the touch screen to check it. Moreover, they can easily modify
the password or other settings using the touchscreen's full QWERTY
keyboard.
For all its simplicity, under the hood the Almond router boasts a
robust feature set. Its two internal antennas, 300 Mbps MIMO
throughput, full 802.11b/g/n compatibility, industry-standard WPA/WPA2
security, and basement-to-bedroom range are claimed to match specs from
major brands like Linksys or Netgear. Even IT departments and power
users may be smitten with Almond's blend of power, flexibility, and
PC-free configuration.
Final pricing has yet to be set, but Securifi says Almond will
launch at under $70. The company believes consumers will quickly
embrace Almond as the most cost-effective, user-friendly way to create
and run a reliable, trouble-free N-class WiFi home network.
Publisher's note: Also two ethernet ports, but no indication whether
they are Gigabit or 100 Base-TX. dk
Link: Securifi
Almond
Software
Battery Usage Utility Monitors Battery Drain
PR: Have you ever wondered how quickly your laptop is
draining its battery?
Petur Ingi Egilsson's Battery Usage is small app that resides in
your OS X menu bar and displays battery consumption in milliampere
hours (mAh) - the reading Apple uses in order to determine how long
till your battery is depleted.
The battery usage metric is fetched from the battery every 30
seconds and shows the average consumption during the last 30
seconds.
System requirements:
- Mac OS X 10.7 or later
- 64-bit processor
$1.99
Link:
Battery Usage
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