Tag Archives: sne

Apple raked in 65% of all smartphone profits in Q1

Smartphone manufacturing is a money-losing proposition unless you’re Apple (AAPL) or Samsung. Those top two vendors in the handset market soaked up all of the available profits in the business yet again in the first quarter, according to Canaccord Genuity. In fact, Apple (AAPL) and Samsung accounted for 106% of smartphone profits in Q1 because they made more money than the total market since other major vendors lost money, Canaccord analyst Michael Walkley said in a report Thursday. Apple and Samsung combined for $15.71 billion in operating income from smartphones in Q1, while the total market among the leading vendors produced $14.86 billion in operating income. Nokia (NOK), BlackBerry (BBRY), Motorola, Sony (SNE), LG and HTC all lost money in their smartphone businesses last quarter. Microsoft (MSFT) completed its purchase of Nokia’s handset business on April 25. And Lenovo is in the process of buying Motorola from Google (GOOG).

Sony latest to open stall in Best Buy ‘food court’

Best Buy (BBY) has come to look like a food court for consumer electronics-makers. Instead of just presenting shoppers with rows of products divided by category, Best Buy is increasingly letting manufacturers run their own spaces in its stores to hawk their wares. Sony (SNE) on Thursday became the latest consumer electronics-maker to open vendor showcases within Best Buy stores. It joins Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Samsung n using the “store within a store” approach at Best Buy. Sony will open home-theater retail spaces in about 350 Best Buy locations nationwide starting in mid-May, the company said. The “Sony Experience at Best Buy” shop-in-shops will offer interactive demonstration areas and have dedicated Sony experts to assist customers. Sony will show off such products as its 4K ultra high-definition televisions, home media players, sound bars, 4K camcorders and PlayStation 4 video-game consoles. Sony wants to demonstrate how its…

‘Titanfall’ a windfall for U.S. video game sales

U.S. video game sales at retail rose for the second straight month in March, thanks to next-generation consoles from Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony (SNE) and the debut of software title “Titanfall.” Sales of new video game products rose 3% vs. March 2013 to nearly $1.03 billion last month, the NPD Group reported. In February, sales rose 9%, rebounding from a 1% decline in January, as IBD reported. In March, hardware sales rose 78% year over year to $395 million, while accessories sales rose 4% to $224 million. Software sales dipped 27% to $406 million, despite a big launch for “Titanfall,” published by Electronic Arts (EA). The science-fiction combat game “Titanfall” is exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. “Titanfall” was the top-selling game in March. In a research note Monday, Cowen analyst Doug Creutz said “Titanfall” sales were slightly above his estimate of 850,000 unit sales in the U.S….