On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Will Apple change the iPhone design in order to follow the bigger-sized smartphone trend? Reuters reports the next iPhone will carry a 4.6-inch display once it reportedly launches sometime around Q2 2012.

All current iPhone models have the same screen size-- 3.5-inch.

The rumoured bigger size would be on part with popular iPhone alternatives, such as the Samsung Galaxy S II (4.5-inch) and the HTC Titan II (4.7-inch).

Big screens make sense with customers wanting a more comfortable smartphone experience-- that is, using a mobile device for non-phone functions, such as watching video, playing games or photo editing. For instance the huge Galaxy Note (5.3-inch) proved to be fairly successful with customers for that exact reason.

However an increase in screen size might prove to be a hassle to one segment vital for Apple's mobile success-- iOS developers, who would have to re-code apps in order to fit yet another display size and resolution.

Go Apple's New iPhone Will Use Bigger Display (Reuters)

Under their sub-brand MobileCinema, Aiptek’s i20 is the smallest plug-n-play pico projector to iPhone. With its cookie size, the MobileCinema i20 is a two-in-one gadget that projects the phone contents-- and charges the phone.

Plug it in an iPhone with the 30pin connector, and it will provide nearly two hours projection up to 50” display by 1.6 meters in a relatively dim environment. The projection resolution can reach1080p Full HD (960x540). Regardless of many restrictions upon iPhone’s 30pin connection during projection, the MobileCinema i20 allows iPhone users to do the typical Apple pinch and slide control functions on their iPhones as they normally do.

It even turns an iPhone into a visualizer that shows what the iPhone camera sees onto a wall real time.

Besides i20, there is the MobileCinema i50S: an iPhone 4/4S sleeve pico projector. Just slide your iPhone 4/4S into i50S and your iPhone 4/4S seamlessly becomes projector-enabled. 50 lumens DLP optic light engine.

Go Aiptek Provides Pico for iPhone

DisplaySearch reports 2011 WW TV shipments are down after 6 consecutive years of growth-- slipping by -0.3% Y-o-Y to 247.7M units, as weak LCD TV growth fails to offset declines in plasma and CRT shipments.

LCD TV shipments for 2011 reach 205M units with just 7% growth, a far cry from the double-digit growth of previous years. Meanwhile 2011 plasma shipments are down by -7% (the biggest decline yet according to DisplaySearch) totalling 17.2M units, and CRT shipments fall by -34% Y-o-Y.

“The causes of slow demand in 2011 were complex, and although LCD TV showed growth, results were well below industry expectations,” the analyst says. For instance excessive inventory levels in early 2011 caused low shipments for both European and US markets.

Global shipments in Q4 2011 see a -4% Y-o-Y decline, reaching 74.2M units-- with the most pronounced decline in units being in W. Europe and Japan. LCD TVs make 86.5% of Q4 2011 WW shipments (up from 83% in Q3), with larger screen sizes (40" and over) seeing the most aggressive growth.

On the other hand plasma TVs fall by -8% Y-o-Y in Q4, with the decline demand coinciding with a shift to larger screen sizes and greater profitability.

3DTV is seeing some success in Europe, accounting for 21% of W. European 2011 TV shipments.

When it comes to vendors, Samsung is on top (with 26.3% Q4 2011 market share) in both LCD and plasma, as well as 3DTV and LED shipments-- the first vendor to beat Panasonic in revenue market share. Following are LGE (13.4% share) and Sony (10%).

Go DisplaySearch Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report 2011

UK retailer GAME files the intention to appoint an administrator, even if it will continue operating "as normal" while discussing possible solutions with lenders and 3rd parties.

The news follows the suspension of trading in GAME Group shares.

Reportedly Comet-buyers OpCapita made an offer to buy GAME (and take on £100M of debt), a bid rejected by GAME lenders.

Earlier this week the UK Press Associated reported GAME owes creditors, suppliers and banks something around £180M-- a sum it has to raise in a week-- as well as £21M in rent payments and £12M in wages.

GAME's woes started after leading companies (including EA, Nintendo, Microsoft, Tecmo Koei, Capcom and Activision) started refusing to supply Game with awaited new titles such as Mass Effect 3, following concerns over creditworthiness.

Go GAME Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrator

Go How Much GAME Needs to Stop Collapse