Apple Retail's Effort to Boost Share of U.S. iPhone Sales Starts Paying Dividends

Over the course of the last several months, Apple has improved its in-store iPhone sales, according to a new survey from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Approximately 25 percent of iPhones are purchased within an Apple Store, up from an estimate of 20 percent earlier this year. 

The majority of iPhones in the United States are still sold through carriers, however, with AT&T responsible for 21 percent of sales and Verizon responsible for 18 percent. Best Buy's iPhone sales accounted for 13 percent of total sales, and Sprint, Amazon, and other mass retailers like Target, Walmart, and Costco accounted for 5 percent each...

Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours

Apple sales ban veto: A sign enough's enough with patents

For the first time in more than 20 years, the White House squashed a verdict handed down by a top U.S. trade court, a result of an ongoing patent dispute between Samsung and Apple. 

The move came as a surprise to industry watchers, despite coming only a couple of months after the government set up a task force to "protect innovators from frivilous litigation." The Obama administration has long had professional and political links with Apple, the iPhone and iPad maker at the center of the dispute with Samsung over patents crucial to industry standards...

Read the full story here... Source: CNET

U.S. Mac Sales Down in June Despite Introduction of New MacBook Airs

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has released a new report covering the full June quarter Mac and iPod sales data from market research firm NPD. 

According to the data, Apple's Mac sales came in down 5% year over year, despite the introduction of the newest Haswell-based MacBook Airs at this year's WWDC. During the same time period last year, Apple unveiled both upgraded MacBook Airs and the new Retina MacBook Pro, so it seems the lack of a refreshed MacBook Pro lineup may have impacted sales for the quarter. 

As with his previous reports, Munster notes that it remains difficult to extrapolate NPD data to Apple's global sales performance, but he views the June data as "neutral to slightly negative," down from slightly positive in a May report.

 We note that we had expected an uptick in Mac sales in the month of June given updated Macbook Airs at WWDC; however, Mac units were [down] 12% y/y for the month of June according to NPD. Based on the differences between NPD data and Apple reported Mac sales over the past few quarters, we note it is becoming more difficult to draw conclusions from NPD data.

Munster stands by his belief that iPads will continue to cannibalize Mac sales and sticks with his prediction of 5% year over year decline in Mac sales for the June quarter. Macs are currently responsible for less than 15% of Apple's total revenue. 

As for iPods, Munster's analysis of NPD data suggests that units are down 32% year over year, while the Piper Jaffray estimate suggests that sales are down 23% year over year on a global basis. However, as iPods only represent 2% of Apple's revenue, the overall impact of the sales decline is minor.

Source: Mac Rumours

Apple plotting iPhone sales overhaul, report says

Apple is said to be plotting new incentives and schemes to persuade shoppers to buy the iPhone in-store.

Head honcho Tim Cook imparted some of the new measures -- which could include more price-matching and trade-in options -- at a chinwag with Apple's retail chiefs, 9to5Mac reports, citing "multiple people familiar with the internal event".

The move apparently comes in a bid to fight competition from Android smart phones. While Cook is supposedly happy with sales figures for Mac and iPad devices, he wants more customers to buy iPhones from inside Apple shops, so that they get a gander at the other glossy gadgets Apple offers.

The move could have some positive consequences for shoppers. The possibility of a previously rumoured trade-in scheme is mentioned once more, for example. This retail ploy would likely see you getting a discount on your next iPhone when you trade in an older model.

The program could also let you upgrade a damaged, older iPhone to a refurbished iPhone 5, the report says, with price-matching programs for international stores also tipped.

Source: CNET

Wii U Sales Jump 125% in UK

Here’s some good news for Nintendo’s offices in the European region: the Wii U enjoyed a 125 percent sales jump in UK during its most recent week at retail.

The cause for the upshot in sales? Blame it on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and a price cut by retailers in the region. The new software and the adjusted cost pushed consumers to head out to shops and pick up the Wii U.

While 125 percent sounds like an awesome figure for Nintendo’s brand new console, it’s important to consider that the Wii U has been performing horribly in the UK. A more than double jump in sales still doesn’t make the machine as popular as the big N needs it to be.

Still, a positive is a positive, and hopefully this sales boost is a sign of things to come for Nintendo’s hardware. I’ll stick by my original perception of the Wii U: give it great games and it will sell.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Google Play Birthday Celebration Includes Game, Movie Sales

Today is Google Play’s first birthday. That might sound a bit confusing, because prior to calling it that the store was simply named the “Android Market.”

Google’s celebrating by highlighting a number of free games (some of which were always free, such as Zenonia 5), and offering discounts on movies, music and books. The pilot of Breaking Bad is free for example, and Kung Fu Panda is available for just $2.99.

There’s nothing too juicy to be had, but we wish Google Play a happy first birthday anyway.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

LEAKED BLACKBERRY 10 SALES MANUAL REVEALS NEW IMAGES AND DETAILS

The buzz continues to mount leading up to the January 30th unveiling of Research In Motions’s (RIMM) next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform, but we’re not sure how much is left to learn. Many BlackBerry 10 features have already been announced, we’ve seen RIM’s first two next-generation handsets — the BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry X10 — a number times, and now Rogers’ internal sales manual for BlackBerry 10 devices has leaked thanks to CrackBerry. The manual is packed full of images and it also confirms some specs reported a few months ago, and the full document is embedded at the source link below. RIM’s next-generation operating system and handsets will be unveiled during a press conference on January 30th, and BGR will be on hand reporting live.

[Source: BGR]