fourth quarter

Analysts turn negative on Windows 8 prospects

Windows 8 got pummeled today by analysts, who cited it as a major factor in tepid PC growth.

The launch of a new Microsoft operating system rarely, if ever, goes smoothly. But Windows 8 is having an especially bumpy takeoff.

The first reason Deutsche Bank listed today for cutting its PC estimates this quarter was a "lackluster initial uptake of Windows 8," in a research note from analyst Chris Whitmore.

After citing the impact of amorphous factors like "macro weakness" and the "fiscal cliff," Whitmore continues.

As in past cycles we expect the introduction … Read more

iPad and Kindle Fire both strong in recent quarter, says IDC

Lest we forget, Apple still has some competition. Though IDC confirmed big shipment numbers for Apple, the market researcher said Amazon made a good showing too.

Global tablet shipments into "sales channels" rose by 56 percent on a sequential basis in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011 to 28.2 million units, according to IDC.

That represents a whopping 155 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2010.

IDC tablet shipment highlights:

In 2011, tablet shipments reached 68.7 million. In 2012, shipments will be 106.1 million, up from 87.7 million in previous forecast. Apple shipped … Read more

Pandora's longtime VP to step down

One of the top female executives in Silicon Valley is stepping down.

Jessica Steel, Pandora's executive vice president of Business and Corporate Development, is wrapping up her nearly eight-year tenure at the company, according to tech news site The Next Web.

Steel's role at the Internet radio giant was to lead the company's business development and work on strategic partnerships with device manufacturers, car companies, and more.

"The car is one of the most popular venues for radio listening and incorporating Pandora into the native environment of automobile dashboards makes listening to personalized Internet radio as … Read more

Nvidia targeting dual-core phones that undercut iPhone 4S

Nvidia is eying a market for inexpensive dual-core smartphones that underprice the iPhone 4S by a wide margin.

That phone segment, which the graphics chipmaker calls the "1,000 RMB phone" in China, will use Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 processor paired with a 3G modem, according to Chief Executive Officer Jen-Hsun Huang, who spoke during the earnings conference call this afternoon. RMB refers to the Chinese currency.

RMB 1,000 is about 75 percent less than the price of an iPhone 4S, which currently retails for RMB 4,988 in China.

"That's a pretty exciting … Read more

Netflix pays $9 million to settle privacy violation lawsuit

Netflix experienced a bumpy year in 2011. Its shares spiked and plummeted, it lost thousands of subscribers then gained them back, it faced growing competition, and a class action lawsuit was filed against it alleging that the video subscription service violated consumer's privacy.

But things seem to be looking up for Netflix--not only did it do better than expected in the fourth quarter and now has more subscribers than ever, it also settled the lawsuit.

On Friday, Netflix filed an agreement to pay $9 million to settle the class action suit, which was originally submitted in January 2011.

The … Read more

Apple reigns as world's top smartphone vendor in Q4

As smartphone shipments continued to surge throughout 2011, Apple reclaimed its chief position as the No. 1 smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

Throughout various countries, using dozens of operators, the iPhone family overtook Samsung with 24 percent of the market share in the fourth quarter. During this time, Apple's global smartphone shipments grew by 128 percent and it shipped 37. million phones.

Over the year, all global smartphone shipments increased by 54 percent and in the fourth quarter reached a record number of 155 million phones shipped.

"While Apple took the … Read more

Intel CEO: Windows 8 tablets 'being queued up' for production

Intel CEO Paul Otellini hinted that Windows 8 tablet production may not be that far off, while asserting that Android tablets won't be able to compete against the iPad until Ice Cream Sandwich becomes more widespread.

In an earnings conference call after the chip giant posted better than expected earnings today, Otellini said Android-based tablets don't have what it takes to compete against the iPad--yet.

"Tablets are a little bit about hardware and an awful lot about software," he said. "Until you get to Ice Cream Sandwich, the offering isn't as powerful as with … Read more

Intel surprise: $13.9 billion in revenue beats expectations

Intel surprised Wall Street today by posting fourth-quarter revenue of $13.9 billion, and earnings per share of 64 cents, despite issuing a warning last month about a revenue shortfall.

Analysts had been expecting revenue of $13.7 billion and 61 cents per share.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini said that server and storage growth in the Data Center Group was strong, in an earnings conference call this afternoon.

The company said net income was up modestly to $3.4 billion from $3.2 billion in the same period last year.

For the current quarter, the company sees revenue of around $… Read more

PC shipments slump in 2011 fourth quarter

PC shipments came in 1.4 percent lower in the fourth quarter of 2011 than in 2010 with a total of 92.2 million PC shipments worldwide, Gartner announced today.

The research company said that even though PC market growth is healthy, the fourth quarter had unusually weak holiday demand.

"While economic uncertainty in Western Europe had an effect on consumer PC shipments, expectations of a healthier economic outlook in North America could not stimulate consumer PC demand in that region," said Gartner principal analyst Gartner Mikako Kitagawa in a statement. "The healthy professional PC market as … Read more