Regained the spot that it took from Nokia in June and gave up to Samsung in September
Click to enlarge. Source: IDC
It will come as no surprise to Apple (AAPL) watchers that the company sold 37 million iPhones last quarter. Tim Cook reported that number two weeks ago.
Getting comparable figures from Apple's competitors is a different matter, and that's where companies like IDC come in. Samsung, for example, used to report only the number of mobile phones it shipped -- which is not the same as selling them -- and in 2011 it stopped sharing even that.
So the report IDC publishes every quarter ranking the top smartphone manufacturers by its estimates of their worldwide shipments is a closely watched benchmark. Among the highlights of the press release it issued Monday: (I quote)
Apple climbed back into the market leadership position with the launch of its iPhone 4S worldwide, and in the process it reached a new shipment volume record for itself and for the entire industry for a single quarter.
Samsung marked a series of milestones for the quarter: breaking the 30 million units mark for the first time, posting the largest year-over-year increase among the top vendors, and finishing 2011 as the overall smartphone market leader.
Nokia posted the largest year-over-year decrease among the top vendors, but its smartphone strategy took another step forward with the release of its first Windows Phone smartphones.
Research In Motion finished the quarter with a mixed bag of results. Its new BB OS 7-powered BlackBerry smartphones reached additional markets, and total volumes for the quarter staved off a fourth consecutive quarter of sequential decline.
HTC: Despite the many high-profile launches during the quarter... the Taiwanese vendor still shipped lower volumes compared to the previous quarter.
Below the fold: IDC's Q4 2011 spreadsheet.
A blogger cites unnamed sources in claiming that Amazon is close to opening a pilot store in Seattle within months.
FORTUNE -- Is it possible that Amazon's stock sank today partly -- or even mostly -- because of an unconfirmed report on a blog devoted to e-readers that the company plans to open a pilot retail store in Seattle?
It is, in fact, possible, though of course we can't know for sure. MORE
Dan Mitchell, contributor - Feb 6, 2012 4:56 PM ET
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Two ways of seeing how well (or badly) the pros and amateurs predict Apple's earnings
Green = Amateurs, Yellow = Pros Source: Dediu, PED
We've been trying for several years to find the best way to show how much better the so-called amateur analysts (some of whom have since gone pro) are at estimating Apple's (AAPL) quarterly revenue and earnings than the Wall Street professionals who do it for the big MORE
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Squeezed by Apple and Samsung, it had a bad quarter and expects the next to be worse
There was a time when HTC and Android were practically synonymous.
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Fortune's curated selection of tech stories from the long weekend. Sign up to get the round-up delivered to you each and every day.
For the first time ever, football fans could catch the Super Bowl online, too. Photo: NFL.com
* NBC streamed the Super Bowl online for the first time ever, and for the most part, it was a great success. The game was also notable for being the subject of 10,000 Tweets or so MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Feb 6, 2012 3:30 AM ET
In terms of revenue per sq. ft., think Tiffany's (its nearest rival) multiplied nearly threefold
iPhone 4S launch in Beijing. Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images
Apple Stores are always busy places, but they tend to go crazy when a major new product is launched. With the arrival of the iPhone 4S, writes Needham's Charlie Wolf in his tenth annual report on the state of Apple's (AAPL) retail empire, they went absolutely MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 5, 2012 7:35 AM ET
A blogger uncovers the $2 billion dispute behind Friday's bizarre back and forth
Source: FOSS Patents
Apple (AAPL) watchers were shocked Friday when the company, in response to a court-ordered injunction, removed the iPhone 4 and 3GS from its online Apple Store in Germany.
The injunction was suspended before the end of the day -- and the products restored -- but the bizarre incident left analysts and investors wondering what the hell MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 4, 2012 11:25 AM ET
Advertisers are paying record amounts to put their brands in front of you during Super Bowl Sunday. Here are three ways to grade them.
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Like Google and Groupon, Facebook's letter expressed a defiant idealism that -- eventually -- must confront the realities of business.
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.97 | 0.13 | 1.66% |
| Sprint Nextel Corp | 2.46 | 0.14 | 6.03% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.96 | 0.17 | 1.33% |
| General Electric Co | 19.05 | 0.03 | 0.16% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 20.19 | 0.10 | 0.50% |
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,845.13 | -17.10 | -0.13% |
| Nasdaq | 2,901.99 | 0.00 | 0.00% |
| S&P 500 | 1,344.33 | -0.57 | -0.04% |
| Treasuries | 1.90 | -0.05 | -2.46% |
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