IDC raises its 2011 WW tablet shipment forecast from 53.5M units to 62.5M, due to strong Q2 2011 performance and improving outlooks for H2 2011.

The increase in projections follows Q2 2011 totals-- 13.6M units, with 373.8% Y-o-Y growth (and 88.9% sequential growth), according to IDC.

Apple remains tablet market king, with iPad 2 shipments reaching 9.3M units and iOS tablets in general taking over 68.3% market share (up from 65.7% in Q1 2011).

Tablet market newcomer RIM has 4.9% of the Q2 2011 Continue reading...

Global 2011 PC unit growth will total 364M units and 3.8% Y-o-Y growth according to the latest Gartner forecast-- a reduction from the previous Gartner 2011 projection of 400M units and 9.3% Y-o-Y growth.

Next year should improve a bit-- the 2012 WW PC market should reach 404M units, with 10.9% Y-o-Y growth (still down from the previous projection of 12.8% growth).

The "notably lower" 2011 PC growth outlook is due to sharply downgraded H2 2011 forecasts for W. Europe, resulting in a weaker 201 Continue reading...

The Financial Times reports tablet numbers will reach 300M by 2015 (nearly reaching 2008 PC sales) according to Credit Suisse.

However the future tablet market will mirror the current netbook market, being "subject to brutal price competition" and split between high-end and budget models.

According to Credit Suisse Apple will lock-up the high end of the market, as customers will refuse to pay iPad prices for non-iOS tablets.

Meanwhile the rest of the competition (Lenovo, Motorola, HP, RIM, Sony, Continue reading...

The W. European e-book market grows by over 400% in 2010 according to Futuresource, reaching over 10M paid-for downloads-- and should reach unit sales of 32M in 2011.

The e-book market is still young-- representing less than 1% of total consumer book spending-- with "enormous opportunities within the market." Futuresource predicts W.European e-book revenues will reach  €1.6 billion by 2015, accounting for 15% of the region's physical book spending.

The UK dominates Europe's e-book market, generating Continue reading...

Global consumer digital information and entertainment product and service spending reaches $2 trillion in 2010 according to Gartner-- and should grow to $2.1Tr by 2011, before reaching $2.8Tr in 2015.

The analyst describes this spending as a "consumer wallet" made of 3 spending types-- content, devices and services. Vendors offering a diversified product/service portfolio being a better chance to seize a larger share of the consumer wallet.

The largest part-- 62%, or $1.2 trillion-- of 2010's Continue reading...

TrendForce's DRAMeXchange division reports the NAND flash market remains weak, with MLC NAND flash ASPs decreasing by -1-2% and TLC NAND flash by -4-7%.

The reasons for such market weakness include an uncertain global economy, underperforming NAND flash product shipments and inventory buildup leading to delays in inventory stocking in Q3 2011.

An improving economy should lead to increases in both market confidence and holiday purchasing in Q4 2011-- leading to inventory level decrease and growing Continue reading...

WW Q2 2011 shipments fail to behave according to past years' sales patterns, according to Jon Peddie Research-- resulting in higher Y-o-Y shipments for both graphics and PCs.

Graphics shipments for Q2 2011 show 6.3% Y-o-Y growth (where the 10-year average for Q2 totals 3.5%), while PC shipments are up by 2.4% Y-o-Y, reaching totals of 84M.

JPR describes 2011 as a whole as "anomalous," with the increase the Q2 growth welcome, if "not a bit worrying"-- is it inventory building for the back to school Continue reading...

Tablets are big business this year, with shipments for 1H 2011 growing by 420% Y-o-Y according to Digitimes-- and the analyst expects 150% Y-o-Y growth for 2H 2011.

Digitimes also expects tablet shipments to surpass 65m in 2011 with 200% Y-o-Y growth.

Apple will remain the tabet market's dominant force but its competition won't do badly either-- Digitimes says over 20m non-iPad tablets will ship in 2H 2011.

Android also shows rapid growth, with a penetration rate of over 30%.

When it comes to Continue reading...