Photo: courosa / Flickr

Christmas has just past, and a look at many wish lists, recommended gifts lists, and Twitter revealed which were the hottest Christmas gifts in 2011. Our list is paired down to consumer gadgets and electronics.

Amazon Kindle Fire

Unsurprisingly, the Amazon Kindle Fire was one of the hottest Christmas gifts this year, proving a massive hit in North America. While Amazon has yet to – and may never actually – reveal sales numbers, it’s thought that the company may have sold 3-5 million Kindle Fire tablet PCs in the fourth quarter, with sales spike around Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s suspected that the Kindle e-readers are also selling very well, too.

iPhone and iPad

Apple’s mobile devices have sold incredibly well, and, at various points throughout Christmas, the iPhone was a trending topic. The iPhone 4S is on course to be the highest selling smartphone (if not mobile phone) of all time, and the iPad is still leading the pace for tablet devices, even though the Kindle has made it slightly less comfortable. Not to be outdone, though, sales of Android smartphones were also incredibly strong throughout the holiday season, with Android chief Andy Rubin reporting that activations of Android devices had crossed 700,000 units daily.

Video games

Video game consoles are traditionally strong sellers over this period, but it’s been a mixed bag in Christmas 2011. In Japan, the Playstation Vita got off to a so-so start, selling 321,000 units, with the device being marred by usage problems, too.

The Nintendo 3DS, on the other hand, also did well in Japan and other parts of the world, with the console crossing the 4 million units sold mark, off the back of a record high of 510,629 units in a week. While the sales are still not at a level Nintendo would want they are indicative that handheld consoles have life in them still. It appears reports of smartphones killing handhelds are exaggerated, but it is undeniable that they have eaten into their market share.

In addition to strong sales of handheld consoles over Christmas 2011, it would be unsurprising to see consoles post strong sales figures, too, for this period when the NPD Group reports sales figures for the period.

Photo: Brian Sawyer / Flickr

On the heels of plenty of press, the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet PC is poised to become the second-biggest tablet PC before the year’s end. This is according to a survey conducted by ChangeWave, who also found that year-on-year tablet PC demand more than tripled, and that demand for Apple’s iPad remained very strong.

Triple the tablet demand from last year

ChangeWave surveyed 3,043 North American shoppers to find out how many of them planned on purchasing tablet PCs within the next 90 days. Fourteen per cent of them responded ‘yes’. This is more than double the 6 per cent of respondents who had said yes when they were asked this question back in August, and its more than triple the 4 per cent of respondents who intended on buying tablet devices in November of 2010.

iPad dominates, Kindle Fire second

Unsurprisingly, most of those planning on purchasing tablet devices had intentions of buying an Apple iPad 2. A whopping 65 per cent of respondents said they would buy Apple’s tablet. This was followed by 22 per cent of respondents who indicated their intent of purchasing an Amazon Kindle Fire. Rounding up the top three – and way off the pace set by Apple and Amazon – was the Samsung Galaxy Tab, with 4 per cent of respondents saying that was their choice device.

None of the remaining tablet manufacturers managed to get more than 1 per cent of consumer interest from those polled – a very telling stat about how one company (and now, potentially, two) has a vice grip on the space.

Early promise

For the Amazon Kindle Fire, the early demand is promising. The Apple iPad 2 is established and its dominance has been this way since day one. If this ChangeWave survey is anything to go by, other tablet PC manufacturers have plenty of work ahead of them.

Photo: paz.ca / Flickr

The embargo on Amazon Kindle Fire reviews has been lifted, and the early response to the new, low-price tablet PC has been very positive. Below we have a round-up of what some of the biggest tech publications think of the tablet PC, and, perhaps most importantly, how they think it will stack up to the iPad. Spoiler: the Kindle Fire is poised to be a huge hit.

High value, but not the best

In an incredibly-detailed review, Engadget touch on various aspects of the device, from the hardware, to its display and even how well software services are integrated. They conclude their review, saying: ‘So, the Kindle Fire is great value and perhaps the best, tightest integration of digital content acquisition into a mobile device that we’ve yet seen…It isn’t a perfect experience, but if nothing else it’s a promising look into the future of retail commerce.’

iPad has a genuine competitor

Gizmodo are also very positive about the Amazon Kindle Fire saying that ‘The iPad Finally Has Serious Competition.’ They’re so confident of it, that phrase is actually the subheading for the post. They, too, talk up how the tight integration between the media services and the tablet device are a game changer, saying:  ‘Amazon isn’t just a bookstore. Nor is it a music store, shoe store, video streaming service, or newsstand. Amazon has wrapped all of these things together into a rich, easy way to suck down almost every conceivable form of media with one key: Prime.’ They say Prime is only now being allowed to shine because the Amazon Kindle Fire is the hardware conduit that links the service to a device. They call it ‘the missing piece’.

Apple has its own media solution through iTunes and the App Store platform – hence the direct comparison with Apple’s tablet – and many have argued that this integration is one of the biggest advantages the iPad has over competitors. Amazon is the first to get it right outside Cupertino, it seems.

‘Primetime’ outside the US?

The big concern with the Amazon Kindle Fire being ‘primed’ for ‘Prime’ is how much this will hobble the experience international users have. At present, Prime has limited availability outside of America, and even some the standalone services being punted here – the music store, and video streaming service, for example – are not available globally. It’s unfortunate that the primary feature being punted won’t be available for everyone.

Even then, its price alone could still be a game changer, though, with CNet saying: In the world of tablets, there are great products and there are cheap products, but very few great, cheap products. Fortunately, for those of you unwilling to shell out $500 for an Apple iPad 2, and wary of buying a piece of junk, Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire tablet should be at the top of your wish list.’

Photo: andrewchx / Flickr

The hotly anticipated Amazon Kindle Fire tablet PC is expected to sell by the truckload in the closing months of the year, with some estimating it will sell up to five million units. Now a new report by electronic shopping guide Retrevo suggests that Amazon’s tablet could outsell even the mighty iPad 2.

Tiny poll

Having polled 1,000 customers last month, Retrevo reported that 12 per cent of the consumers polled stated they would purchase the Amazon Kindle Fire during the holiday shopping season. By comparison, only 10 per cent said that they would purchase the iPad 2. In addition, of those shoppers who already own a tablet PC, 27 per cent said that their next purchase would be Amazon’s Kindle Fire, while 20 per cent indicated they would opt for the iPad. One has to wonder though, with the second statistic, if it is not just a case of the would-be upgraders already owning an iPad.

Fire commence

Writing on the service’s blog, Andrew Eisner of Retrevo says that ‘the iPad 2 is starting to show its age and the new Kindle Fire is about to make the scene with a very attractive $199 price point.’ He is cautious to not declare the Amazon Kindle Fire as a sure-bet, though, saying: ‘As popular as the Kindle Fire appears in this study, whether it lives up to expectations on things like battery life, performance, image quality, etc, the picture could get brighter or less bright for the Kindle Fire.’

He does commend Amazon for the clever release schedule of the device, saying: ‘With the iPad 2 nearly a year old and the iPad 3 rumored to not be available until next year (missing the holiday season), Amazon may have timed the launch of their tablet just right.’

We’ll see

It takes a bold person to bet against the freight train that is Apple’s iPad tablet device but, having said that, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the Amazon Kindle Fire. Could it do what seemed unlikely just a few months ago, and actually outsell the iPad over a quarter in 2011 still? The number of people surveyed by Retrevo is perhaps too small to infer too much from, but it’s interesting nevertheless.

Photo: lemagit / Flickr

During Apple’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook took some time to speak about iPad competitors and how much they concern the company. Interestingly, speaking on the Kindle Fire, Cook all but said they’re not concerned about Amazon’s tablet, even though he predicts that it will gain some traction.

Talk to me Tim

Apple CEO Tim Cook said [via BGR]: ‘We’ve seen several competitors come to market to try to compete with the iPad.’ He continued, saying: ‘Some had different form factors, different price points. And I think it’s reasonable to say that none of these have gained any traction thus far. And in fact, as all of those competitors were coming to market, our share actually went up, such that in the June quarter, according to IDC, we were responsible for three out of every four tablets sold.’

Amazon a different beast?

There’s a reasonable argument that Amazon is unlike any tablet PC competitor Apple has faced. One of Apple’s key competitive advantages is the vast content ecosystem built around its devices, including iTunes for music and movies, iBooks, and the App Store. Amazon, unlike previous entrants in the tablet market, has a comparable ecosystem. Through Amazon Kindle, Prime, AmazonMP3, and the Amazon Appstore, the online retail giant has a comparable ecosystem to that of Apple’s.

What’s more, where Apple has a huge retail presence due to its stores and dedicated customer base, millions of people shop on Amazon.com and love that company, too, putting them in each other’s respective firing lines.

Not cause for concern yet

Yet in defense of Apple CEO Tim Cook, there’s little reason to be fearful of any tablet that is not on the market yet – not even the Kindle Fire. Still, if the Kindle tablet device is going to put up a brave fight, it’s going to require a lot of hard work from Amazon’s team, given Apple’s incredible momentum.

Photo: Apple

After going several quarters in a row topping their own guidance, as well as blowing industry consensus out of the water, Apple’s Q4 2011 earnings report has fallen short of industry expectations on softer than expected iPhone sales.

Even then, the company posted record iPad and Mac sales, as well as the highest September quarter revenue and profit figures in its history.

The numbers

As has become customary with Apple’s earnings report, the important figures to look out for are revenue, profit, iPhone sales, iPad sales and Mac sales. Apple PR announced that: ‘The company posted quarterly revenue of $28.27 billion and quarterly net profit of $6.62 billion.’ By comparison, Apple Q4 2010 revenue totaled $20.34 billion, with net profit of $4.31 billion. Analysts were disappointed, however, with industry consensus pointing to revenue of $29.45 billion.

Product sales

The company sold 17.07 million iPhones in the quarter, up 21 per cent year-on-year but down on the 20.34 million iPhones the company sold last quarter. Sales of the iPad totaled 11.12 million units in the quarter, up an incredible 166 per cent from the same time last year, and in excess of the 9.25 million iPads the company sold last quarter. Mac sales totaled 4.89 million units in the quarter, up a meteoric 26 per cent year-on-year. Given overall growth in the PC industry slowed to just 3 per cent, according to Gartner, that’s certainly an impressive achievement.

The fast-declining iPod continued its downward spiral, with Apple selling 6.62 million iPods in the quarter – a 27 per cent year-on-year sales drop.

The takeaway

Outside of slowing iPhone sales – perhaps attributable to the imminent arrival of the iPhone 4S – Apple Q4 2011 sales suggest that all is well in Apple land. The company is already confident it will post record iPhone and iPad sales next quarter, and with the 4S selling three million units in its first three days of availability, there’s no reason for alarm bells to go off.

Photo: Cesar Dominguez / Flickr

The Apple iPad continues to reign supreme. Research firm Strategy Analytics reports that four out of every five tablets sold in the US in the second quarter of 2011 were Apple iPads.

The gap

The firm says that of the 7.5 million tablet PCs sold in the quarter, the Apple iPad tablet sold approximately 6 million units, giving Apple 80 per cent of the market. For all intents, at this stage, Apple’s device is absolutely dominating the competition. Alex Spektor, a Strategy Analytics analyst agrees, saying: ‘Apple remains a long way ahead of its main rivals such as Motorola, Samsung, RIM, Asus and HTC. A combination of cool branding, user-friendly hardware, entertaining services and savvy retail distribution has made Apple a formidable market leader.’

Your turn, Amazon

Research firm Strategy Analytics, however, joins a growing chorus of onlookers and analyst who believe Amazon are now best poised to take on Apple’s tablet PC, depending on what they unveil with their Kindle tablet.

Director at Strategy Analytics Neil Mawston says: ‘Provided the pricing, screen size and hardware design are right, Amazon can be one of the main challengers to Apple’s dominance.’ He added that Amazon’s strength is derived from sharing some of the competitive advantages Apple has used to its advantage. He says ‘Like Apple, Amazon has a strong brand, compelling content, sophisticated billing systems and widespread distribution.’

The here and now

Whether the Amazon Kindle tablet will compete is a matter for the near future, but 80 per cent of any market, irrespective of how you paint it, is total domination. The iPad has sold at levels nobody could have reasonably predicted, and those who have tried up to now to compete have been unsuccessful – very unsuccessful, as per the research firm’s analysis.

Photo: bigdigo / Flickr

Now that the dust has settled on Microsoft’s exciting Windows 8 unveil from a product side, attention has been shifted to where all the action really takes place – the business side. More specifically, it’s widely believed that if Microsoft has any plans for widespread adoption on tablet PCs, the company will need to revise the business model with which it sells Windows 8 licenses, or they may price themselves out of the market.

The iPad price point

Being first to market and still by far the biggest-selling device of the lot, Apple’s iPad has set something of a price ceiling for tablet PCs. As things stand, many companies are struggling to compete with that pricing when employing Google’s free Android mobile OS platform. This is where Microsoft, with its expensive Windows licensing, comes unstuck.

Can you teach an old business (model) new tricks?

Dan Frommer of Business Insider notes that, at present, Microsoft makes between $50 and $100 for each PC sold, with the exact Windows licensing fee dependent on various factors.

He then says: ‘But for tablets that need to be $500 or cheaper to compete with the iPad, the idea of manufacturers spending $50 to $100 per device for a Windows license is a non-starter. Especially if tablet makers are choosing between “free” Android as the alternative. (Who knows how competitive Android will be in a year, when Windows 8 tablets are supposed to be ready.)’

Bang on the bucks

While Frommer presents viable solution to Microsoft’s problem – the entire post is a worthwhile read – for our purposes he brings to light just how much mobile devices have begun encroaching on Microsoft’s once unassailable dominance in the operating system business. Watching how it all unfolds will no doubt prove interesting, but it’s a problem I imagine Steve Ballmer and his Windows 8 team would rather not have.

Can Microsoft make a comeback in a mobile space dominated by Apple and Google?

Photo: Amazon/ Flickr

Amazon has a media event schedule for 28 September in New York where it is widely expected that the company’s long-rumoured Kindle tablet PC will be unveiled. Even though the online retail giant has yet to show its hand, analysts are already predicting that it will pose a genuine threat to the iPad.

Priced to (up)sell

It is widely expected that the Amazon Kindle tablet PC will aggressively undercut the price of the Apple iPad. James McQuivey of Forrester marketing told Reuters that the device is ‘a marketing tool to build a relationship with customers and sell them cloud (computing) services.’ By this he means music streaming, video streaming, and online storage services, among other things.

The way Amazon will succeed with getting this marketing tool into the hands of many customers is by pricing it to go, with BGC partners analyst Colin Gillis telling Reuters that ‘Knowing Amazon, it is likely to be a very aggressive price.’ He did note that: ‘The real issue here is that, you know, it is likely going to be good for consumers; is this going to be good for shareholders?’ considering the low margins earned on a device that is priced as cheaply as expected.

Winning ways?

Forrester research recently estimated that the Amazon Kindle tablet PC could sell as many as 5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011. At the time, we wrote: ‘In a report they issued on Monday, Forrester Research said that Amazon could “easily” sell anything from 3 to 5 million tablets during the final quarter of the year. This, however, was contingent on the price of the device being “significantly” below that of Apple’s device. Given there have been murmurs that Amazon could sell their tablet at a loss to achieve this very effect, it’s not an altogether unreasonable proclamation to make.’

Put your money where your mouth is – how successful do you think Amazon’s device can – or will – be in the face of the relentless momentum the Apple iPad has?

Photo: Cesar Dominguez / Flickr

Research firm Gartner says that tablet PC manufacturers are being crushed by the iPad, and this will remain so until 2014 the earliest. The latest research by the firm shows that tablet sales will be at an all-time high, with Apple’s iPad tablet PC accounting for nearly three in every four sold.

Can’t keep up

Research firm Gartner estimates that 63.6 million tablet PCs will be sold in 2011, with Apple’s command of those sales being 73.4 per cent. The firm estimated that Apple’s device would make up the majority of sales through 2014 the earliest.

In a still-distant second are Google Android tablets, which research firm Gartner estimates will account for 17.3 per cent of all tablet sales by the end of 2011, a slight increase over the 14.3 per cent it accounted for last year. If ever you needed evidence that research companies frequently guess what sales are going to be, Android tablet market share is a full 28 per cent shy of what Gartner itself estimated just last quarter.

They make better tablets

Gartner attributes the sales gulf between Apple and its competitors to Apple simply making superior devices at this stage. Gartner VP Carolina Milanesi, says the gulf ‘is because Apple delivers a superior and unified user experience across its hardware, software and services. Unless competitors can respond with a similar approach, challenges to Apple’s position will be minimal.’

Not only does Apple make superior devices, they’ve also got a vice grip on the component market to create these devices. Milanesi says: ‘Apple had the foresight to create this market and in doing that planned for it as far as component supplies such as memory and screen. This allowed Apple to bring the iPad out at a very competitive price and no compromise in experience among the different models that offer storage and connectivity options.’

It’s proving painful to compete, let alone keep up with the Apple iPad at this stage, but with Google Android tablets constantly improving and sentiment around Microsoft’s Windows 8 offering being mostly positive, it’ll be interesting to see if the market shifts in any way in 2012.