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NEW GARTNER FORECAST: Shipments of PCs, tablets, "ultramobiles," and mobile phones are expected to accelerate this year, achieving an estimated 7% growth and surpassing 2.5 billion units, according to Gartner. In 2013, device shipments growth came in at just under 5% compared to the previous year. Mobile phones will account for nearly three-quarters of device shipments, with about 1.9 billion units shipped this year. But mobile phone shipments growth is slowing, and it is actually the tablet market that will spur this year's overall growth.
Gartner estimates that tablet shipments will grow 39% this year to reach about 270 million units. Markets outside of North America will take to low-cost and smaller phablet-like devices. PC shipments, meanwhile, are expected to decline about 7% as more notebook and desktop users continue to shift to mobile. Android is the platform winner. It will surpass 1.1 billion units shipped this year and grab nearly 50% of total device shipments. (Gartner)
BLACKBERRY FINANCIALS: BlackBerry issued its full-year and fiscal fourth quarter financial results over the weekend. Full-year revenue is down 38% to about $6.8 billion, but BlackBerry's fourth quarter revenue sank below $1 billion and is down 64% compared to the same period last year. The company shipped a record low 1.3 billion smartphones in the fourth quarter, which is down from 1.9 billion in its third quarter and down from 6.2 billion in the same period last year. For the full year, BlackBerry's revenue mix consisted of 55% revenue from hardware. That's a bit misleading, though. Shipments plunged over the course of the fiscal year, falling to just 37% of revenue this past quarter, after making up 71% of total revenue just three quarters prior. (BlackBerry, BGR)
With hardware sales falling, BlackBerry is refocusing efforts toward its services. Service revenue made up over half of BlackBerry's fourth quarter revenue, including services like enterprise mobility management and even BlackBerry's cross-platform messaging service, BBM. Messenger now has about 113 million registered users and 85 million monthly actives. CEO John Chen reiterated the company's plans to lean more heavily on BBM, saying during the earnings call, "We have a very solid BBM monetization plan." (TechCrunch)
FAVORABLE EARLY RETURNS: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took to Twitter on Friday to post a screenshot of the iOS App Store to show that the Microsoft suite of Office apps for iPad occupied the top four spots on the Top Grossing chart for free iPad apps in the Productivity category. Meaning, Office for iPad users are not only downloading the apps with interest, but paid conversions for Office365 subscriptions are also coming in. Microsoft's Office for iPad apps are free to download but require a paid subscription for full use. (9 To 5 Mac)
MICROSOFT'S BOLD TABLET PLAN: Microsoft doesn't just want to make a name for itself in tablet software, they also have big plans for tablet hardware. The company has set an internal goal of 25 million global unit shipments of its tablets this year, according to several Taiwanese supply chain firms as reported by Digitimes. That internal goal is five-times larger than the five million tablets Microsoft shipped last year. Most of those will be generic Windows tablets likely produced by third-party vendors, as Microsoft claims it expects its Surface tablet shipments to hit six million units maximum this year. (Digitimes)
APPLE VS. SAMSUNG: Once again, the two smartphone competitors are squaring off in court over patents. This time, though, software will be at the center of the case, meaning it's really a battle between Apple and Google.
"Apple is accusing Samsung of violating five of its software patents. Samsung contends that it licensed four of those features as part of Google's Android operating system, and that Google had been working on the technology before Apple filed its patents," according to the Wall Street Journal. Apple is seeking $2 billion from Samsung, and if the smartphone giant wins, Google may be forced to make changes to Android. (Wall Street Journal)
POWERED BY ANDROID: Google has issued a small, but important mandate to all device makers powering their Android handsets with Google services like Gmail and Maps. When the device is powering up, the screen must now be emblazoned with a prominent "Powered By Android" stamp. This logo must be present on all devices that wish to have access to the Google Play Store. It's another way for Google to corral device makers to work off its vision of Android and to emphasize its brand on all devices powered by Google's Android. (Geek)
QUOTE OF THE DAY — "Based on these constraints, drones operating at 65,000 feet are ideal. At this altitude, a drone can broadcast a powerful signal that covers a city-sized area of territory with a medium population density." — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on how drones will be crucial in helping connect the rest of the world to the Internet. (Internet.org)
iBEACONS IN THE CLASSROOM: BeHere is a new app that leverages Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology to track student in-class attendance. In-classroom iBeacon-compatible hardware will receive a BLE signal as soon as a student enters the room and will automatically tally the student's class attendance upon arrival. While some barriers include making sure all students have smartphones or tablets with Bluetooth activated, BeHere is an interesting look at how iBeacons can be used in education. (9to5Mac)
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