移動市場幾家歡樂幾家愁
????如今人們似乎都在談論移動市場,??晒┫M者選擇的智能手機和平板電腦日益增多。然而,,對制造商們而言,,這并不是件輕松的事。 ????有蘋果(Apple)這樣的贏家,,但也有諾基亞(Nokia)這樣的輸家,。有谷歌(Google)Android這樣蓬勃發(fā)展的操作系統(tǒng),但也有塞班(Symbian)這樣窮途末路的系統(tǒng),。換言之,,幾家歡喜幾家愁,。這一點在智能手機市場表現(xiàn)得格外明顯。 ????讓我們回到5月,,調(diào)研公司Asymco發(fā)布了一份報告,總結了智能手機市場從2007年第二季度到目前為止的盈利情況,。Asymco的發(fā)現(xiàn)令人震驚,,去年第四季度,整個智能手機市場的運營利潤為144億美元,,蘋果一家就占據(jù)了其中的73%,,其主要競爭對手三星(Samsung)則占據(jù)了26%。剩下1%——僅僅只有1.44億美元被宏達電(HTC)拿走,。 ????2007年的情況則大不一樣:諾基亞占據(jù)了一半多的運營利潤,。黑莓手機生產(chǎn)商RIM、LG和索尼愛立信(Sony Ericsson)的表現(xiàn)也相當不錯,。不過,,這些公司如今都已經(jīng)深陷泥潭。 ????諾基亞的衰落尤為讓人擔憂,。2008年,,這家手機巨頭取得了507億美元營收,利潤40億美元,。去年,,諾基亞營收降至387億美元,虧損12億美元,。今年第二季度,,諾基亞又虧損了10億美元。與此同時,,蘋果仍在快速增長,。在截至7月30日的公司第三財季,蘋果共售出了2,600萬部iPhone,。iPhone及其相關業(yè)務取得了162億美元營收,,占據(jù)了蘋果季度總營收350億美元的將近一半。 ????不過,,蘋果的表現(xiàn)不僅僅在智能手機,。 ????調(diào)研機構IDC的數(shù)據(jù)指出,去年,,蘋果iPad的出貨量超過4,000萬部,,占據(jù)了平板電腦市場58%的份額。所有幾十種Android設備加起來也只占據(jù)了38.7%的市場份額,,出貨量約為2,700萬部,。讓我們用數(shù)字說話:蘋果宣布在截至7月30日的第三財季共計售出1,700萬iPad,。 ????去年末,當亞馬遜(Amazon)Kindle Fire大賣特賣時,,人們相信它能真正威脅到iPad,。不過,投資公司Cowen的分析師凱文?柯普曼指出,,亞馬遜Kindle Fire在今年的出貨量或將僅有1,200萬部,。同時,我們不要忘了其它數(shù)不勝數(shù)的平板電腦,,其中就包括三星自家的蓋世(Galaxy)平板系列,,它們對iPad的進攻最終都以失敗而告終。 ????移動領域由盛及衰的分水嶺之說甚至可以延伸到移動廣告領域,。谷歌AdMob雖然進展緩慢,,但其一統(tǒng)移動廣告市場的趨勢愈加明顯。去年12月,,IDC報告指出,,谷歌在移動廣告市場份額從2010年19%上升到了2011年的24%。蘋果的iAd被看作是AdMob最有可能的競爭對手,,但是依然眼睜睜地看著自己的市場份額從2010年的19%下降到了2011年的15%,。 ????蘋果的廣告平臺現(xiàn)在并沒有完全失敗。不過,,在移動領域,,至少從過去幾年看,任何重大滑坡都會給該公司帶來麻煩,。 ????移動領域的新常態(tài)似乎也在滲入移動游戲市場,。Rovio制作了世界最流行的手機游戲《憤怒的小鳥》。該公司在5月份時公布了上個財年財報,,營收1.063億美元,,利潤6,760萬美元。雖然游戲已成為移動市場非常流行的元素,,而且許多開發(fā)者也已在這個領域賺到不少真金白銀,,但Rovio顯然仍牢牢占據(jù)移動游戲頭把交椅。每當它發(fā)布一款游戲更新或一款新的小鳥游戲后,,用戶們都會蜂擁而至,。此情此景唯Rovio一家,其它手機游戲開發(fā)者只能在夢里憧憬一番,。 ????曾經(jīng),,僅有幾家公司在移動市場競爭,而且其中很多公司都獲得了回報。然而現(xiàn)在,,這個市場中的公司數(shù)量多了不少,,但卻只有少數(shù)幾家公司成功。因此,,一些公司可能會產(chǎn)生疑問:為什么要往比以往任何時候都更有可能失敗的產(chǎn)品上砸錢,。這確實是個好問題。 ????譯者:項航 |
????The mobile market seems to be all anybody ever talks about these days. Consumers have more smartphones and tablets to choose from every day. For the vendors, however, it's not all fun and games. ????For every Apple (AAPL), there is a Nokia (NOK). And for every Google (GOOG) Android, there's a Symbian. There are, in other words, haves and have-nots. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the smartphone market. ????Back in May, research firm Asymco released astudy it conducted on smartphone market operating profits spanning the second quarter of 2007 to now. And what the company found was shocking: Out of the $14.4 billion in operating profits generated in the fourth quarter, Apple made 73% of them. Samsung, its chief competitor, nabbed 26%. The remaining 1% -- a mere $144 million -- went to HTC. ????It was a much different story back in 2007, when Nokia owned well over half of the smartphone market's operating profits. RIM (RIMM), LG, and Sony Ericsson (SNE) were also doing well. Now, they've lost it all. ????Nokia's decline is especially troubling. In 2008, the handset vendor generated $4 billion in profits on $50.7 billion in revenue. Last year, it took a $1.2 billion loss on $38.7 billion in revenue. During the second quarter alone, the company lost another $1 billion. Apple, meanwhile, continues to climb. During its fiscal third quarter ended June 30, Apple sold 26 million iPhones. The iPhone and its related services generated $16.2 billion during the period, accounting for nearly half of Apple's $35 billion of revenue. ????But it's not just smartphones. ????Last year, Apple shipped over 40 million iPads, earning the company 58% market share in the tablet space, according to data from research firm IDC. All of the Android-based devices -- dozens, in total -- were only able to secure 38.7% of the market on about 27 million shipped units. To put that figure into perspective, Apple announced recently that it sold 17 million iPads during the three-month period ended June 30. ????Late last year, when the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle Fire was selling well, it was believed that it could be a credible iPad threat. But according to Cowen analyst Kevin Kopelman, Amazon will sell only 12 million Kindle Fire units this year. And let's not forget about the countless other tablets, including Samsung's own Galaxy Tab line, that have tried to take down Apple's iPad to no avail. ????The great divide between the haves and have-nots in the mobile space can even extend to mobile advertising, where Google's AdMob is slowly but surely starting to pull away. In December, research firm IDC reported that Google's mobile ad market share rose from 19% in 2010 to 24% in 2011. Apple's iAd, which was largely viewed as a possible contender to AdMob, watched its share fall from 19% in 2010 to 15% last year. ????Apple's platform isn't down and out just yet. But any notable decline in the mobile space, at least in the last few years, has spelled trouble for the company on the wrong side of things. ????The new normal in the mobile space also appears to be infiltrating the mobile-gaming market. Rovio, maker of the world's most popular mobile game, Angry Birds, reported in May that it generated $106.3 million in revenue and a profit of $67.6 million on its franchise last year. Although games have proven extremely popular in the mobile market and other developers have made some cash with their creations, Rovio has emerged as the dominant force in mobile gaming. Whenever it launches an update to its games or a new title, consumers take notice. That's unique and only a dream for most mobile developers. ????There was a time when a few companies were competing in the mobile market, and many of them were reaping the rewards. Now, many more firms are in that space, and just a handful are succeeding. It might be enough to make some companies question why they should spend cash on products that have a higher likelihood than ever of failing. A good question indeed. |