Friday, November 13, 2009
Apple: From Zero to 17.1 Percent Smartphone Share in 2.5 Years
Lest there be any doubt that Apple’s iPhone is redefining the smartphone market, consider this: In under two and a half years, the device has managed to claim nearly a fifth of the worldwide market for smartphones.
According to new data released this week by Gartner, Apple shipped some 7.04 million iPhones in the third quarter–up from just 4.72 million phones in the same period a year ago–for a 17.1 percent share of the market.
An ugly Monday for Sprint Nextel employees. The company plans to eliminate 2,000 to 2,500 positions in the fourth quarter as part of its effort to reduce labor costs by at least $350 million. 
Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein likes to say smart-phone makers “don’t have to beat each other to prosper,” but it’s beginning to look like they–or, rather, Palm–might have to. Because while the Pre may have put Palm back in the game, it’s not clear how long it can keep it there.
Looks like Motorola is poised to make good on co-CEO Sanjay Jha’s promise to bring some Android devices to market by the holidays. The company just distributed invitations to an Android-related event in San Francisco.
Palm’s next webOS handset, the so-called Eos (codename: Pixie), is still in the pipeline, but it may not arrive at market for some time. Though some observers have speculated that the device would debut in the late fall in time for the holidays, others are now suggesting that a 2010 launch is more likely. 
Microsoft has finally given Windows 7 a release date. According to Bill Veghte, senior vice president for Windows, the next iteration of the company’s operating system will arrive at market in time for the holiday shopping season. 
