1.1 Billion Smart Phones, Tablets, PCs to Ship in 2012

About 1.1 billion smart phones, communications-capable tablets and PCs will be shipped globally in 2012, according to IDC. 

By 2016, IDC predicts shipments will reach 1.84 billion units, more than double the 2011 figure, a compound annual growth rate of 15.4 percent for the five-year forecast period.

The universe of smart connected devices, including PCs, media tablets, and smartphones, saw shipments of more than 916 million units and revenues surpassing $489 billion dollars in 2011, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). 

Apple Has Presence in Half of U.S. Homes

Half of all U.S. households own at least one Apple product, according to a CNBC survey. 


That’s more than 55 million homes with at least one iPhone, iPad, iPod or Mac computer. And 10 percent of non-owning homes will buy an Apple product in 2012. 


Homes that own least one Apple, own an average of three Apple devices.


You would be hard pressed to think of any other brand name electronics product with that level of adoption.  

If Reviews are Accurate, Starbucks, PayPal Lead Mobile Payments

The Apple App Store does not provide detailed breakouts of which specific apps are getting the most activity. On the other hand, Apple does report user review data. By that indicator, at least within the iOS ecosystem, Starbucks and PayPal are getting most of the attention, in the mobile payment area, at least on iTunes.

More Xbox Live Users Watch TV than Play Games

Xbox Live Gold members in the US are now spending an average of 84 hours per month on Xbox Live, with entertainment app usage up more than 100 percent year over year. Globally, this has led to a 30 percent increase in the total hours spent on Xbox Live around the world.


The result of this increased Xbox Live activity means that for the first time on Xbox, entertainment usage has surpassed multiplayer game usage. According to Microsoft, Xbox Live members in the US are now spending more time watching TV, listening to music, and watching movies than they are playing multi-player games. 


That's one angle about the "post-PC era." We still use PCs to work. But much of what we want to do with "computing" devices is consume content. The growing availability of devices that bring such latent demand to the surface illustrates the trend. 


That might be why Apple finally was able to break through resistance and create a new tablet market, despite well over a decade of attempts to create demand for "tablet PCs." The big change is that tablets now are viewed as content consumption platforms, not "PCs." 

At Least Among Top Sites, iPad Apps are "Better" than Android Versions

It is no secret that most developers prefer the iPad ecosystem to the Android ecosystem, for the simple reason that the sales volume is higher in the iPad realm. An anecdotal survey of top apps by PC Magazine tends to confirm that the top sites are developing "first" for iPad. 


Google Play might help, eventually, but right now the problem is just that iPad gets the first attention, and in some cases Android apps are developed for smart phones, not tablets.


Almost all of the brands are at least represented on Google Play, and some display more apps per brand on Android than on the iPad. But the Android tablet apps often simply are not as aesthetically pleasing, because, so far, developers haven't put in the work to make them more palatable. 

Amazon Launching 9-inch Kindle Fire with full HD Resolution?

With rumors growing about three new Amazon Kindles, promised for later in 2012, perhaps the key development would be a larger-screen Kindle Fire, since the Apple iPad dominates the 10-inch screen market, at the moment, while the Amazon Kindle Fire has been the most successful seven-inch model. 


The rumored nine-inch Kindle Fire is rumored to sport a high-definition screen with resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels. If the rumors prove correct, we can lay to rest the older argument that tablets "must" have a specific screen size. 


Another rumor has Apple preparing its own seven-inch model, as it appears users are figuring out what to do, and why, on devices with varying screen sizes. 


One size, apparently, does not fit all. 

Facebook, Amazon, Apple Share One Important Trait

Apple, Amazon and Facebook share one trait. None of those firms has been accused of focusing excessively on quarterly results, staying focused on the longer-term process of creating value, something that is exceedingly difficult in an earnings-obsessed market.


Obsessing about short-term results, in fact, has likely destroyed much more shareholder value than it has created, says Henry Blodgett.


And, in many cases, it is the CEOs who have largely ignored Wall Street and focused on executing a long-term vision--like Amazon's Jeff Bezos--who have created the most value over the long haul.


Like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg focuses his time on Facebook's product, not its business or finances. He has a clear vision for the company, which he has articulated time and again for anyone willing to listen. Facebook's focus is refreshing.