Ed Sutherland

IDC: Apple’s smartphone OS share falls while consumers wait for new iPhones

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

The long wait before Apple introduces new iPhone models is causing its iOS smartphone platform to lose marketshare to Android. The iPhone's iOS slipped to 13.2 percent of the smartphone market, a drop from 16.6 percent during the same period in 2012.

Meanwhile, Android's lock on the smartphone market grew tighter, nearing 80 percent as Samsung and a bevy of Chinese brands boosted the Google-made software. Despite the small drop, No. 2 iOS is expected to regain its lost turf when Apple unveils new products in September, according to market research firm IDC...

iTunes tops Netflix, HBO Go and other streaming services in customer satisfaction

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 29, 2017

When it comes to iTunes and video streaming, the Apple service is often overlooked by iDevice owners because it is always there - no app is downloaded, no service subscribed. It is that ubiquity that appears to have garnered iTunes high customer service satisfaction when it comes to streaming video.

However, right on its heels are traditional streaming video operators, such as HBO Go and Netflix. But are we comparing apples to oranges, since iTunes doesn't stream content in real-time on computers, giving consumers the false impression of superiority...

Apple loses ground in low-cost markets of India and China

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 6, 2013

We've often written about calls for Apple to produce a low-cost iPhone suitable for emerging markets, such as China and India. Now comes even more evidence for such a move as China and India are among the world's top three smartphone markets and are estimated to become the leading markets for smartphones by 2018.

Even more worrisome is Apple's declining share of those markets. In China, Apple's most important market, the iPhone fell from fifth place to seventh as local smartphone makers Huawei and Xiaomi grab more share. Meanwhile, in India, rival Samsung has more than a third of the smartphone market, which Apple has heavily invested in terms of marketing resources and newly-designed payment options...

CBS-Time Warner Cable dispute blacks out network’s iOS apps

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 5, 2013

If you thought the argument between CBS and Time Warner Cable was just a spat between two media giants, the collateral damage is quickly spreading. After Time Warner pulled the plug on the network over the weekend, CBS began blocking access to its Internet streaming.

Instead of Under the Dome, Big Brother, or even preseason NFL games, users of the CBPS iPad app are shown a video taking aim at the cable company: "Say no to Time Warner Cable"...

IDC: iPad now down to one-third of tablet sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

Tablet sales slowed during the second quarter, falling 9.7 percent to 45.1 million units, according to IDC researchers Monday. Because interest in tablets rises and falls with Apple's iPad, the slowdown in sales during the second quarter was attributed to the lack of a new iPad device being introduced by Apple.

In the horserace between Apple and Samsung (which will unveil a next-gen Note phablet on September 4), the iPad remains the top-selling tablet, although growth fell 14.1 percent on shipments of 14.6 million iPads, down from 19.5 million during the first quarter of 2013, IDC announced Monday. No. 2 Samsung also saw tablet shipments slow to 8.1 million units, down from 8.6 million devices during the previous quarter, though the South Korean vendor saw a 277 percent annual growth in tablet shipments...

Ban veto: Obama’s pro-Apple ruling cripples ITC as future patent weapon

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 5, 2013

What's the likely impact of the weekend decision to veto a proposed ban on sales and imports of Apple's older iPhones and iPads? Aside from the expected self-congratulations and condemnations, the action by the Obama administration puts in question the value of patents and the ability of rivals to knee-cap their competitors via ITC rulings.

The most immediate impact may be further delays in Apple's quest to ban imports of Samsung devices. The final ITC ruling is expected Friday on whether Samsung products the iPhone maker says infringes patents should be blocked from the US, according to a Monday report...

Get ready to rumble: Apple, Samsung face off in death match before ITC

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

It's not exactly the thrilla' in manilla, but a heavyweight fight is set in the otherwise staid patent courts. Apple and Samsung, which both comprise most smartphone sales, are looking for a knockout, hoping to grab more market share and force rivals to pay up.

Over the next several days, both companies are set to argue why sales of each other's smartphones should be blocked as both companies continue to point fingers. What's in it for Apple? Potentially the loss of its most-popular handsets and throwing a roadblock in front of the Android express...

Government pressures Apple to let Amazon and others link to e-books within their iOS apps

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 2, 2013

The U.S. government Friday offered Apple a proposal to settle an e-book price-fixing case which the technology giant recently lost. Among the requirements: end current agency agreements with the publishers involved, allow Amazon and others to provide external links to e-books within their iOS apps and institute a five-year probation from signing any new e-book distribution deals.

The proposed "remedy" offered by the US Department of Justice, while imposing some restrictions on Apple, could bypass potential fines reportedly near $500 million...

OpenTable testing meal payments via iPhone

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 2, 2013

While increasingly common to use your iPhone to reserve a seat at your favorite table, there has been that annoying task of paying the tab at the end of the meal. A leading player in online reservations, OpenTable, is testing a way to eat out and never touch your wallet.

According to reports, OpenTable - which also lets you reserve a table via Apple's Siri as well as a separate free app - has begun testing a feature allowing diners to pay for their meals with the iPhone. Perhaps most appetizing is the CEO's pledge that "no geeky stuff" is required...

AT&T tops Verizon in customer satisfaction, Santa and Tooth Fairy rejoice

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Although AT&T was the first U.S. carrier that sold the iPhone when Apple introduced the smartphone in 2007, Verizon Wireless quickly overshadowed the telecom giant. For the first time, AT&T has stolen the spotlight back, outranking rival Verizon in customer service satisfaction.

No, hell did not freeze over. And, yes, this is the AT&T that late last year was voted having the worst voice and data service, had all the tethering issues and is constantly sniping with about everyone...

Apple patents OLED embedded sensors to improve iPhone display

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 1, 2013

OLED is all the rage in display technology (just ask Samsung). By emitting their own light, they serve the purpose of a LCD screen while permitting thinner, lighter devices. Naturally, Apple would be interested in such technology.

However, a new patent filed by Apple suggests the iPhone maker wants to tackle a couple issues with OLEDs, namely light-sensitivity and the persistence of images, which might fade over time.

In a patent application published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple's technology is entitled 'Organic light diode having photodiodes'. Using sensors arrayed alongside the OLEDs, Apple's invention hopes to save battery life while offering a number of other benefits...

Forrester: the iPhone is still most-used smartphone

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 1, 2013

Yet another study throws a spotlight on the differences in how Apple and Android smartphone owners use their devices, with a heavy emphasis on 'use'. Both in apps and overall smartphone usage, iPhone owners rank higher than owners of Android handsets.

After surveying both U.S. and European smartphone owners, researchers not only found owners of the Apple device more frequently use apps, but conduct more tasks suitable to smartphones, such as browsing the Internet. This despite Android's advantage both in number of handsets out there and in sales.

The dichotomy just reinforces our Android in a Drawer theory, which says many owners of the Google-powered devices see their handsets as just a spiffier version of dumb feature phones, ignoring most of what makes smartphones smart...