Digital Lifescapes

Worldwide personal computer (PC) shipments increased by 3.6 percent in the third quarter of 2011 (3Q11) compared to the same quarter in 2010, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation ( IDC ). The results are up slightly from the 2.7 percenet growth experienced in 2Q11, and just below IDC's August projections for 4.5 percent growth in the quarter. The Americas and EMEA were slightly below expectations while the Asia-Pacific markets were slightly ahead. The market continues to struggle as consumer discretionary income is diverted to other areas and business spending remains depressed in light of other priorities and a potential double-dip recession. "For the moment, PCs have taken a backseat to a range of other devices competing for shrinking consumer and business budgets," said Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC. While growth is expected to stay in mid-single digits in the fourth quarter, IDC expects to see faster growth in 2...

Led by a growing demand for media tablets -- and more specifically the Apple iPad 2 -- an estimated 37 million ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) will ship into the United States during 2011. UMDs represent mobile computing devices on a continuum bordered by laptop or notebook  PCs and smartphones. The UMD category consists of four segments: ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), mobile Internet devices (MIDs), netbooks, and media tablets. The revenue value from vendor shipments of UMDs into U.S. sales and distribution channels during 2015 is forecast to reach $24 billion. About 75 percent of total UMD shipments in the U.S. market during 2011 are expected to be media tablets. “While the near-term opportunity is all about media tablets, no UMD segment type has ever sustained a lead for longer than 36 months in any part of the world,” says ABI Research group director Jeff Orr. Is the next mobile device trend, beyond the introduction of new low-cost media tablets, on the horizon? Will it...

A variety of Ultra-Mobile Device (UMD) types are experiencing new demand in the marketplace. The shipment, price and revenue data for media tablets, eBook readers and netbook PCs were all part of a recent market study conducted in the third quarter of 2010. Published in a report by ABI Research , the market data shows that media tablets were indeed the most promising new device type -- with some 4.5 million of the tablets shipped during the quarter. Of those, about 93 percent were Apple iPads. ABI senior practice director, Jeff Orr, said "Over time, Apple's first-to-market iPad advantage will inevitably erode to some extent." ABI Research has been tracking media tablets since December 2009 -- future quarterly editions of their report will include market share tracking of all the major media tablet vendors. The eBook reader vendors continued to do well in their market, bringing new products to consumers in time for the 2010 holiday shopping season. "The U.S....