Thursday, July 12, 2012

Apple : PC shipments fall flat in second half of 2012

Apple : PC shipments fall flat in second half of 2012

PC shipments fall flat in second half of 2012

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PC shipments fall flat in second half of 2012

Computers permeate every aspect of our lives, but that doesn't mean they can't have a slow couple of years.

The latest report from technology research firm Gartner indicates that global sales of PCs are stuck in a rut of non-growth, though they aren't exactly plummeting.

In the second quarter of 2012, Gartner reports, total worldwide PC sales hit 87.5 million units.

That number is down only 0.1 percent year-over-year, which in and of itself is hardly worrying.

But Q2 2012 also represented the seventh consecutive quarter in which global PC sales failed to grow or achieved only single-digit growth.

And in the U.S., PC sales were down, dropping 5.7 percent to 15.9 million units.

Consumers aren't interested in PC sales

Gartner's Principal Analyst, Mikako Kitagawa, said in the report that PC sales are slowing because consumers simply aren't interested in PCs.

"Uncertainties in the economy in various regions, as well as consumers' low interest in PC purchases, were some of the key influencers of slow PC shipment growth," she noted.

"Despite the high expectations for the thin and light notebook segment, Ultrabooks, shipment volume was small and little impact on overall shipment growth."

Kitagawa said the Ultrabook segment, which is reportedly on the rise, "is still in an early adopter's stage."

Meanwhile, the bevy of other devices available and the ubiquity of PCs are helping to stall PC sales.

"Consumers are less interested in spending on PCs as there are other technology product and services, such as the latest smartphones and media tablets that they are purchasing," Kitagawa said.

"This is more of a trend in the mature market as PCs are highly saturated in these markets."

HP continues to lead in the PC market, accounting for 14.9 percent of global sales, but its shipments decline 12.1 percent in Q2.

Previous research from the NPD Group claimed that back-to-school shopping and the introduction of Windows 8 will provide a boost later this year, so PC makers still have that to look forward to at least.

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display rumored for fall release

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13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display rumored for fall release

Love the look of Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display but bummed the company doesn't offer it in a smaller size yet?

Apple may soon answer your prayers after a 13-inch Retina-powered model popped up in Geekbench results this week, which could be making its way through Cupertino's supply chain soon.

While there's no denying the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is spectacular, not everyone wants a notebook that large.

Judging from several reports that popped up this week, they may not have to wait long for a taste of that Retina goodness.

I'll take the 13-inch

DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim claims that a 13.3-inch display capable of a pixel density of 2560 x 1600 is gearing up for production in the third quarter.

However, the analyst stops short of confirming that Apple might use the panel in its smaller MacBook Pro - at least right away.

The good news for Retina MacBook Pro fans is the pixel density on the 13.3-inch panel will be even slightly higher than that of the current 15-inch model: 227 pixels per inch, versus the existing model's mere 200 ppi.

Older 64-bit Macs won't get new version of Mountain Lion

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Older 64-bit Macs won't get new version of Mountain Lion

While OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will usher in a new day for many Mac owners, for others it will mean the end of the line as they discover that the OS isn't compatible with their existing system.

Apple confirmed on its official Mountain Lion upgrade page what was rumored back in February - older Macs will not support the upgrade despite being 64-bit systems.

The list of supported systems includes:

More Macs left out in the cold

Unfortunately, this means that many older Macs are still left out, including older Mac Pro, Mac Mini, and even the original MacBook Air systems.

The culprit is suspected to be the GPUs in older Macs, which Ars Technica points out are still based on 32-bit graphics drivers created before 64-bit became standard.

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard saw a similar culling of older Macs, phasing out support for PowerPC systems.

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will come packed with a number of new features bringing the experience closer to that of iOS with integration of iCloud and iMessage, as well as AirPlay mirroring, Share Sheets, an improved Safari, and Gatekeeper security.
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