The Canadian market for personal computers in the second quarter of 2009 was down 14.6 per cent from the same period in 2008, according to IDC Canada Ltd. And without factoring in sales of new mini notebooks, the picture would look even grimmer, according to a report from senior analyst Tim Brunt.
Desktop PC demand was down 36.8 per cent year over year. Meanwhile, the market for the mini notebooks grew by 219.6 per cent in the same period. Consumer portable computers posted their 24th straight quarter of double-digit growth.
Overall, HP held the largest share of the client computer market with 22.1 per cent. Dell trails closely with 20.7 per cent of the market. For the first time, Apple broke into double digits in terms of market share with 10 per cent.
Acer tops the market for portable PCs, with 21.4 per cent of the market and a 57.5 per cent share of the mini notebook market.
OKI reveals new MFP line
OKI Data Americas Inc. has unveiled a new line of multi-function monochrome printers the company says is 30 per cent faster than previous models.
The MB200 series includes the MB260, MB280 and MB290 combine monochrome printing at up to 22 pages per minute, mono and colour scanning and analogue fax functionality.
The MB280 and MB290 have a full QWERTY keyboard to enter file names and contact information. The MB290 supports LDAP (lightweight directory access protocol) and provides scan-to-e-mail and scan-to-network functionality.
The series also offers a wireless LAN option for workgroup use.
One billion Wi-Fi chipsets to ship in 2001: ABI
Wi-Fi chipset vendors will ship one billion units in 2011, ABI Research predicts, and by the end of 2012, five billion will have been shipped since the company began tracking unit sales in 2000.
Chipset shipments for 2009 will reach well over 100 million for smart phones alone, according to research practice director Philip Solis.
Wi-Fi capabilities for consumer devices like media players, TVs and cameras are also driving shipments, and becoming “increasingly important market segment.”
eBay launches apps store
Apple did it. So did RIM and Google. Now, eBay has opened an application store for its online selling community.
eBay has opened up the API to its Selling Manager tool and allowed third-party developers to create applications. A dozen applications were released on Tuesday.
The first group of applications includes Terapeak, a pricing research tool; Hosted Support, an automated customer support tool; and ahTEXT, which sends a text message alert whenever buyers ask questions, make offers, buy items, etc.
