sale

Windows 8 PC sales aren't trending well, according to a new report. And consumers' addiction to low cost may be a factor.

A blurb on Friday from the NPD Group said Windows 8 holiday sales continue to not impress.

"The launch of Windows 8...did little to boost holiday sales or improve the yearlong Windows notebook sales decline," NPD said.

More specifically, Windows laptop "holiday unit sales" were down 11 percent year-to-year, the market researcher said.

Want more deets? The average selling price of a Windows laptop rose a hair -- $2 to $420, according … Read more

Nielsen Soundscan says that 2012 overall music purchases were up 3.1 percent and that's the news that most media outlets have focused on.

What they missed, however, is that overall sales of albums and track equivalents (albums typically have 10 songs) were down 1.8 percent. That's the figure that's much more reflective of whether the sector generated more money.

The truth is that neither number tells the complete story about the health of the industry. What Nielsen Soundscan's figures don't reflect is the money generated by Webcasters, satellite radio, and subscription services, such … Read more

Growing fears of an impending economic crisis in the new year apparently led to weaker-than-expected U.S. online holiday sales results.

Consumers spent $42.3 billion online during the November-December holiday shopping season, a 14 percent increase over 2011, according to data released today by ComScore. While online shopping set some spending records, overall growth was largely flat, the market analyst concluded.

"This year's growth rate is essentially on a par with last year's," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement. "But despite many positives for the online sector, this year's season did … Read more

There weren't as many Nooks under the Christmas tree this year as Barnes & Noble had been hoping for.

The company this morning didn't mince words about holiday sales for its line of tablets and e-readers.

"Nook device sales got off to a good start over the Black Friday period, but then fell short of expectations for the balance of holiday," William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble, said in the grim statement. "We are examining the root cause of the December shortfall in sales, and will adjust our strategies accordingly going forward."

For … Read more

Fujitsu's president cited "weak" Windows 8 demand for slumping sales, according to a Tokyo-based Bloomberg report, echoing recent comments from Acer's president.

Japan's biggest IT services company said it will miss its annual shipment target for personal computers amid sluggish demand for Windows 8, according to Bloomberg. Fujitsu President Masami Yamamoto was speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.

PC shipments for the fiscal year ending in March are expected to fall short of an October estimate of 7 million units, he said.

Acer president Jim Wong, while not citing sales estimates, expressed similar sentiment … Read more

LG Display has fired back at Samsung in the ongoing patent skirmish between the two Korean companies.

An injunction filed today by LG seeks to ban Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 in Korea based on allegations that the tablet 's display panel violates certain LG patents. LG said it filed the suit over Samsung's use of OLED displays, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The patents in question are related to the viewing technology used in OLED displays, which helps people better see the screen from any angle. In addition to halting sales of the Galaxy Note, LG is … Read more

Online spending hit $35 billion over the first 46 days of the holiday season , according to data out yesterday from ComScore.

From November 1 through December 16, sales jumped 13 percent jump over the same period last year. Last week set a record with spending surpassing $7 billion for the first time ever.

Green Monday (a term coined by eBay to refer to the second Monday in December) saw sales of $1.275 billion, while three other days for the season accounted for more than $1 billion in online spending.

However, the 13 percent rise is lower than expected, according … Read more

It's been just three days since Apple's iPhone 5 launch in China and already 2 million devices have already been sold. The tech giant announced today that this latest model of its popular smartphone is selling faster than ever in the Far East country.

"Customer response to iPhone 5 in China has been incredible, setting a new record with the best first weekend sales ever in China," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "China is a very important market for us and customers there cannot wait to get their hands on Apple products.&… Read more

The past week was the heaviest five-day online shopping period in U.S. history, according to a new report that shows consumers are spending more online than they did last year.

During the week of December 8 through 14, U.S. consumers spent $6.9 billion online, an 11 percent increase over 2011, according to data released today by market analyst ComScore.

"This past workweek saw four days surpass the billion dollar spending threshold during the heaviest five-day online shopping period on record," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement. "With this most recent week in … Read more