Chipmakers Aim at Cheap Smartphones; 2Q12 Tablet Sales

choi

(1) Shara Tibken, Chip Makers Eye Cheaper Phones; Traditionally, low-wnd devices sacrifice certain features and performance for price. Wall Street Journal, Aug 6, 2012.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 67381381975676.html
("Chip makers like Qualcomm Inc., QCOM -0.05%Intel Corp. INTC +0.95% and Taiwan-based MediaTek Inc. 2454.TW -1.43% are focusing on low-priced phones that typically cost less than $200, because the fast-growing market offers high volumes of sales")

Note:
(a) The report mentions Qualcomm and Lenovo "last week introduced a couple smartphones that use dual-core Qualcomm chips typically reserved for pricier phones." That is also Sapdragon, which now has four tiers.
(b) The report next says, "An Intel spokesman said the company views the emerging markets as key to long-term success in smartphones and that it's pleased with the response to its first devices from Lenovo and India-based Lava International Ltd."  In both cases (Lenovo and Lava), the Intel chip is Atom.


(2)
(a) 2012 Will Bring New World Record in PC Shipments; Apple retakes lead from HP; Asus, Samsung and Lenovo gain ground, but Windows share falls to new low. Canalys, July 31, 2012.
http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/ ... record-pc-shipments

Quote:

"The new iPad had the biggest single impact on growth rates in the quarter, but Asus and Samsung made progress with their Transformer and Galaxy Tab product lines. Total pad shipments increased 75% to 24 million units, representing 22% of all PCs.

"Samsung was the leading Android pad vendor in Q2, more than doubling its Galaxy Tab shipments compared to a year ago. It remains Apple’s chief challenger in pads, but Asus made the biggest gains this quarter, particularly in the US, following the launch of the TF300 at a sub-$400 price point. It is now the third largest pad vendor globally."

"Canalys estimates that shipments of the Kindle Fire were below 500,000 in Q2, down significantly compared to previous quarters.

My comment:
(i) This is mainly a report on PC shipment for 2Q12. Recall IDC and Gartner had reported the data, unfailing, around the 14th of the month AFTER a quarter ends (eg, ~ July 14 for 2Q12). The twist of Canalys quarterly report is combine PC with tablet (which this market researcher considers a form of PC).
(ii) Quotation 1 should be viewed in the context that sale of true PCs ("true" is my chooice for traditional pC, such as desk top and laptop) was stagnant in that quarter (again according to IDC, Gartner).  
(iii) The report did not consider Google Nexus 7 tablet (made in conjunction with Asus), whose launch was in early July (after 2Q12, that is).

(b) Contrast quotation 3 with the following.

Strong Apple Shipments Drive Robust Tablet Market Growth in Second Quarter, According to IDC. IDC, Aug 2, 2012
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23632512
(Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide Media Tablet Shipments, Second Quarter 2012 (Preliminary) (Unit Shipments are in thousands): Apple (shipment 17,042; market share 68.2%) > Samsung (2,391; 9.6%) > Amazon.com (1,252; 5.0%) > ASUS (855; 3.4%) > Acer (385; 1.5%), followed by "Others")