Category: Industry

Mobile Computing Industry

Last quarter Apple obtained 4% unit share, 22% sales value share and 50% of profit share

Pie charts showing 13 quarters of mobile phone market evolution between the largest vendors. Pure play smartphone only vendors are shown with exploded wedges. Continue reading “Last quarter Apple obtained 4% unit share, 22% sales value share and 50% of profit share”

Trading Places: How Apple climbed into the Top Tier

Apple reached fourth place in ranking of top phone vendors by units sold. I guess that makes it a “top tier” vendor.

So how did it get there?

Here is a chart showing how market share evolved since the quarter when iPhone launched:

Continue reading “Trading Places: How Apple climbed into the Top Tier”

iPhone share of all phones sold is now above 4% and continuing to rise

I am dead serious. I am now convinced that we have enough data to determine for a fact that Apple will not only see a dramatic decline in quarter-on-quarter sales in units of the iPhone this January-March quarter (which is the predictable pattern and no surprise) but that we will also see a decline in iPhone market share against at least HTC and Blackberry;  that would be demoralizing news in itself. I know now that the numbers are clearly stacking up so, that the annual sales level of iPhone units, will result in a decline in iPhone annual market share in 2010.

via Communities Dominate Brands: iPhone in Memoriam: A History from its Peak Moment of Success. But who copied whom?.

Contrary to the loud and emphatic proclamations above, the data shows that the iPhone’s market share gains have been steady.

The following chart shows iPhone market share by quarter with a 4-quarter moving average. Total market size is reported by IDC. Continue reading “iPhone share of all phones sold is now above 4% and continuing to rise”

LG continues to lose money in mobile phones

LG saw its profit fall apart today as its summer results were hurt by its weakness in phones. Its profit plunged 99 percent, down from $805.6 million a year ago to $6.7 million. The Korean company was dragged down by its mobile group, which had a record loss of $270 million. The company’s total phone shipments also dropped, going down 10 percent from year to year at 28.4 million.

via LG profit collapses based on shrinking phone sales | Electronista.

Q3 numbers show that LG had a drop in ASP as well. The unit numbers are down sequentially from 30.6 million in Q2.

Re-framing the dichotomies: Open/Closed vs. Integrated/Fragmented

Google likes to market itself as “Open” in contrast to “Closed” alternatives.

Apple likes to market itself as “Integrated” in contrast to “Fragmented” alternatives.

These dichotomies are judgmental and meant to portray “us=good” vs. “them=evil”. Neither gets to the point of how the two companies are structuring their businesses relative to the mobile computing value chains and clouds the judgement of observers.

I propose using a more informative and less judgmental distinction. It’s a division defined clearly by Clayton Christensen in his classic “The Innovator’s Solution” from 2003.

He introduced the concept of interdependent vs modular systems. Continue reading “Re-framing the dichotomies: Open/Closed vs. Integrated/Fragmented”

Motorola ships 3.8 million smartphones

Sales from its handset business climbed 20 percent to $2 billion last quarter, helping to narrow its loss to $43 million from $216 million a year earlier. The division had an operating profit, excluding some charges, of $3 million. Motorola said it shipped 3.8 million smartphones last quarter.

via Motorola Profit Tops Estimates on Rising Sales of Droid Phones – Bloomberg.

Motorola shipped a total of 9.1 million phones. This is down 33% from the year-ago quarter’s 13.6 million units but up 10% sequentially from 8.3 million last quarter.

I’ll summarize the top tier vendors’ unit volumes, sales value, price and profitability in a few days.

Which size really matters? Market Share vs Profit Share

One of the most hotly debated subjects in the mobile phone business is the importance of market share. It’s also a topic of lore in the PC industry. Briefly the two arguments are:

  • Market share matters more because it drives network effects which ultimately drive competition out of the market, creating the opportunity for monopoly rents.
  • Profit share matters more because profit is the only fuel that can drive innovation. Any macro downturn or shift in strategy can cause a company to cease investing in unprofitable projects.

The old disruptor’s adage: “Be hungry for profits and patient for growth” is challenged by the equally disruptive: “Grow share with lower prices in exchange for new revenue sources.”

There are many rich anecdotes to support each strategy, but how about some data? Continue reading “Which size really matters? Market Share vs Profit Share”

iPad: IT gets it

In the last article on the share of PCs highlighting the unwillingness of market analysts to categorize the disruptive iPad as a PC I imply that Gartner does not “get it”.

This is partly willful and partly instinctive. The willful ignorance is due to a belief that their customers (IT managers mostly) do not want to hear about the iPad as a viable technology. Certainly there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that the iPad is unworthy of consideration as a business tool.

However, there is also increasing evidence that IT does in fact get it. I have met several senior IT managers who are whispering that the iPad will change everything. For us to decide which way the wind blows, we need to think harder about the process by which technology gets adopted in large IT organizations. Understanding how the technology is hired by IT managers to improve their career prospects unveils who wins and who loses in IT. Continue reading “iPad: IT gets it”

Taiwan phone makers balking at Windows Phone 7

Digitimes reports:

only a handful of companies may get into WP7 when it arrives, they added. HTC may end up controlling 70 to 80 percent of the market simply by being one of the initial partners

via Taiwan phone makers balking at Windows Phone 7? | Electronista.

Confirming my assumption that “Android is clearly the darling of “Others” who are being shunned by Microsoft”.