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

Sony Ericsson blames the recent Japan earthquake for its Q2 2011 losses, revealing results surprising analysts expecting a strong quarter-- Q2 2011 ends with net losses of €50m.

One has to recall income for Q1 2011 totals €11m, while Q2 2010's income totals €12m.

This quarter also sees decreases in shipments-- unit shipments for Q2 2011 amount to 7.6m, a -31% Y-o-Y decrease (and -6% sequential decrease). Sony explains such a decrease in volume as due to supply chain constraints caused by the earthquake, as well as an anticipated decline in feature phone shipments.

The company says the supply chain disruptions caused by the earthquake cost it the loss of around 1.5m devices.

Smartphones account for most of Sony Ericsson's output-- totally more than 70% of total sales (compared to 2010's 40%).

It will also continue pushing the Xperia brand, with 8 models introduced this year, while estimating its Q2 20111 Android-based smartphone market share totals around 11% in volume and 11% in value.

Go Sony Ericsson Reports Q2 2011 Results

Acer announces two additions to its pico projectors series-- the C110 and C112, both in a diminutive form factor designed for customers to show off content from their smartphones and tablets.

The C110 is the smallest of the 2 models, and lacks a power adapter (or power source) or a display port-- it takes both images and power via USB connection. Measuring 110 x 85 x 25mm, it only weighs 175g.

It combines DLP technology with an LED lamp Acer says lasts up to 20000 hours, with 1000:1 contrast and WVGA (854 x 480) resolution images. Display size starts from 12" to 100", in native 16:9 format.

The C112, meanwhile, is slightly larger and heavier and carries specifications identical to the C110's-- while coming with an optional external battery Acer says has around 2 hours' worth of power.

Both models come in matte black, with the C112 having control buttons embedded on its top surface.

Go Acer Projectors

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and TraQline say 2011 is "the year of the consumer" at the CEA Research Summit-- as customers now have the power (and the technology) to find the retailers offering best products at the best prices.

The organisations' consumer survey shows the 3 main factors leading to one's choice of retailer-- competitive pricing, previous store experience and good product selection.

Amazon-- now celebrating its 12th year in the business-- comes on top in the 3 areas, with Walmart, Target and Best Buy following.

The online retailer now also ranks as the 4th-largest CE retailer-- just behind Best Buy, Walmart and Apple, thanks to its increased "consumer empowerment", according to the CEA.

Adding to this, in a way brick and mortar retailers are serving as Amazons' "showrooms", where consumers increasingly check out products at chain stores before doing their purchases online.

What should retailers do in the face of such competition? The CEA suggests the embracing the social media trend (the "connected bandwagon"), building relationships with customers online by allowing the pre-purchase checking of pricing and products online.

Go CEA

Go TraQline

Gartner forecasts WW spending on the gaming ecosystem (incorporating all current consoles, as well as PC, mobile and online casual games) will reach $74Bn in 2011, growing by 10.4% Y-o-Y-- before reaching $112Bn by 2015.

Most of gamers' budgets will go towards software, with spending reaching $44.7Bn in 2011. The analyst estimates software spending will reach $56.5Bn by 2015, covering over 60% of total spending.

Following, spending-wise, are gaming hardware (reaching $17.85Bn in 2011) and online gaming ($11.9Bn).

Gartner says customers will continue going for games-- as long as publisher continue delivering titles worth spending money on.

However, while the gaming hardware market will remain stable over the next 5 years, the software segment will lose spending share to online gaming. As the fastest growing segment, Gartner estimates online gaming will show a CAGR of 27% through 2015-- with consumer spending going towards subscription fees and virtual goods.

Subscription fees are also heading towards the "freemium" model, where games are free to play but monetised through advertising and in-game microtransactions.

Gartner's conclusions? Users are becoming increasingly multichannel-oriented, expecting vendors to deliver quality content and experiences across multiple platforms-- from regular home consoles to mobile technology.

Go Gartner Gaming Ecosystem 2011