Marie Heitmeyer blog

Mobile sales up 32 percent last year: Gartner

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Worldwide mobile sales increased 32 percent last year and smartphone shipments surpassed those of personal computers for the first time in the fourth quarter, according to tracking firms.

Technology research firm Gartner said Wednesday that mobile device sales rose 31.8 percent last year to 1.6 billion units over the previous year.

Smartphone sales soared 72.1 percent in 2010 over the previous year and accounted for 19 percent of total mobile sales last year, Gartner said.

Another tracking firm, International Data Corp. (IDC), reported meanwhile that vendors shipped a record 100.9 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, up 87.2 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

Global persoal computer shipments in the fourth quarter of 92.1 million units were a record high, according to IDC, but were less for the first time than the number of smartphones shipped during a quarter.

Gartner said Apple, maker of the iPhone, and Canada's Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the Blackberry, displaced Sony Ericsson and Motorola in the fourth quarter in the rankings of the world's largest mobile manufacturers.

Finland's Nokia remained number one overall with sales of 461.3 mobile devices last year but its market share fell from 36.4 percent at the end of 2009 to 28.9 percent at the end of 2010.

South Korea's Samsung was next with sales of 281.1 million units in 2010. Its market share fell from 19.5 percent to 17.6 percent.

South Korea's LG Electronics was in third place with sales of 114.1 million units and a market share of 7.1 percent, down from 10.1 percent.

RIM was next with sales of 47.4 million units and a market share which rose from 2.8 percent to 3.0 percent.

Apple sold 46.6 million units in 2010 and saw its market share increase from 2.1 percent to 2.9 percent.

Sony Ericsson had sales of 41.8 million units. Its market share fell to 2.6 percent from 4.5 percent. Motorola sold 38.5 million units and its market share fell to 2.4 percent from 4.8 percent.

Nokia and LG's drop in market share was due in part to their failure to make more of an impact in the rapidly growing smartphone market.

"Nokia and LG saw their market share erode in 2010 as they came under increasing pressure to refine their smartphone strategies," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.

Nokia's chief executive Stephen Elop warned Wednesday that the world's top mobile phone maker is "standing on a burning platform" surrounded by a "blazing fire" of competition.

The brutally honest appraisal of the company's woes appeared to be setting the scene for a spectacular shake-up which Elop is expected to unveil on Friday at a strategy and financial briefing in London.

The Wall Street Journal said Nokia may announce a partnership with Microsoft, Elop's former employer, or Google or both to adopt a new handset operating system.

Google's Android smartphone operating system grew 888.8 percent last year to take the number two position behind Symbian, according to Gartner.

Penguins need scoring relief without stars

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby's return date from a concussion is still unknown. Evgeni Malkin is headed toward surgery and won't play again until next season. Chris Kunitz is day to day, and Mike Comrie, Mark Letestu and Arron Asham are all sidelined with various injuries.

May as well add one more Pittsburgh Penguin to the out-of-action bunch.

At least the Penguins know for sure when forward Matt Cooke will return to the lineup. He'll be back once he's done serving a four-game suspension, brought down by the NHL on Wednesday.

Indeed, it is a tough time for the short-handed Penguins. How much do they miss their injured stars? Well, consider they have just one goal combined in consecutive losses. And they're not catching any breaks with the schedule, either.

The Penguins are home Thursday to play Los Angeles. Then they head into a rugged stretch, playing nine of 11 games on the road.

They'll face the Kings — as well as play road games at the Islanders, Rangers and Colorado — without Cooke. The league moved swiftly on him, a day after he hit Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin from behind in a 4-1 loss. Tyutin was pummeled face first into the boards. He quickly returned to his skates.

Cooke was whistled for a five-minute major penalty for charging, and issued another five minutes for fighting Blue Jackets forward Derick Brassard after the hit.

"Cooke delivered a forceful hit from behind on an unsuspecting opponent," league disciplinarian Colin Campbell said. "Also, he is considered a repeat offender under the league's supplemental discipline rules."

Cooke, who will forfeit $87,804.88 in salary, was also suspended for two games on Nov. 28, 2009. He is eligible to return Feb. 20 at Chicago.

"The player looks him right in the eye, knows he's coming and makes sure he keeps his number turned toward him," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said after the loss. "But Matt does hit him there and send him into the boards."

Tyutin saw Cooke rushing him and remained in the game after the punishing play.

"It was the worst hit I've ever had from behind," Tyutin told The Columbus Dispatch. "I wasn't surprised, not when you see (Cooke) in the highlights all the time for dirty hits."

Cooke gave Boston forward Marc Savard a concussion on a blindside hit on March 7, 2010. Savard did not return until the second round of the playoffs and missed the first 23 games of this season. Just this week, he was shut down for the season after suffering his second concussion, against Colorado, in January.

Cooke was also hit with a tripping penalty for making knee-on-knee contact with Washington's Alex Ovechkin in a 3-0 loss on Sunday.

So, while Cooke sits out — and others continue their road back to action — the Penguins, in second place in the Atlantic Division behind Philadelphia, must journey on. Barring a major collapse, the Penguins aren't in serious danger of missing the playoffs, of course.

But without Crosby and Malkin, they likely won't contend with Philadelphia or Tampa Bay for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Nor will they be serious threats to win their second Stanley Cup in three seasons.

After all, Crosby, Malkin and Kunitz have combined for 65 goals. No Penguin in the lineup Tuesday night had more than 10. In fact, Crosby, Comrie, Malkin, Asham and Letestu had combined for 39 percent of Pittsburgh's goals entering Tuesday.

The Penguins, with the deadline approaching, can look for center help via a trade, of course. The most marketable out there appears to be New Jersey's Jason Arnott, who has 13 goals and 11 assists. But there figures to be quite a line for his services.

Bylsma, as usual, won't use the injuries as an excuse as the Penguins search for answers.

"I'm pretty confident I've tried a couple of different line combinations," he said. "We'll continue to look for lines and people who are able and willing to get to the offensive zone and play there and get to the front of the net."

It won't be Malkin.

The 2009 NHL scoring champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs will have surgery Thursday to repair a torn ACL and torn MCL in his right knee. He was injured in a 3-2 win over Buffalo on Friday. He finished with 15 goals and 37 points this season.

General manager Ray Shero said Malkin's rehabilitation period will take six months, and he will be ready for the start of training camp in September.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who played in the All-Star game last month in Raleigh, N.C., said the blueliners can pick up their production with the sharpshooters out.

"I think coming in every game we try to bring offense. We don't just try to sit back and wait for a rush," he said. "We try to bring offense, but sometimes it doesn't come because we don't have the puck."

They probably will now.

'Z'-names people react faster than 'A'-names: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) – People whose last name starts with a letter near the end of the alphabet react more quickly to opportunities to buy something than those whose surname starts with an early-alphabet letter, according to a recent study of consumer behavior.

But the trait is apparent only in relation to childhood last names, not for adult surnames, leading the authors of the study to hypothesize that it could be a reaction to the ordered world of childhood, in which Zs tend to go last and sit in the back row at school while As get first choice and front-row seats.

Researchers from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and Massey Graduate School of Business in Nashville put limited-time or -quantity offers to several groups of graduate students, and found that the later in the alphabet the person's last name, the quicker they were to buy.

"People with childhood last names late in the alphabet queue up faster to get something they value," Kurt Carlson of the McDonough School of Business, one of the authors of the study, told AFP.

Carlson and co-author Jacqueline Conard believe that's because late-alphabet children "develop response tendencies to manage the inequities that arise from the use of last names to order their environment," they say in the study published in the January edition of the Journal of Consumer Research.

"Late alphabet consumers want to make sure they?re the first in line. Children late in the alphabet will move quickly when last name isn?t a factor," such as when they are grown-up, says the study.

That rapid response means that late alphabet consumers "many times end up getting things that other people don't get when there are limited supplies," Carlson said.

On the other side of the coin, people with last names early in the alphabet "will be so accustomed to being first that individual opportunities to make a purchase won?t matter very much; they will ?buy late,?" the two researchers say.

In the queues that form outside large department stores before big sales or outside cinemas before the latest Harry Potter film, "you can expect that there would be fewer people early in the alphabet and more people later in the alphabet," said Carlson.

The last name effect could be useful for marketers and other people who are selling something, says the study.

Marketers can easily obtain lists of names for mailshots, or target everyone on Facebook whose name starts with a letter at the tail-end of the alphabet to better sell a limited-time offer or product.

The end of the alphabet was considered any letter from R to Z.

People with late-alphabet names responded to offers put to them in the study -- involving everything from wine to money to free tickets to a basketball game or a cheap backpack -- about one hour faster than those with names near the front of the alphabet.

San Francisco Bay Area United V.I. Plumbing Offering 15% Discount Through End of June 2011

UnitedV.I. Plumbing, a locally-owned San Francisco Bay Area plumbing company, is offering homeowners two ways to save 15% of installation of a tankless hot water heater or any other plumbing service.

Nocato, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) February 05, 2011

United V.I. Plumbing of Novato, a well-respected , is offering homeowners savings on services. Through the end of June, 2011 they are offering 15% off any job, including the installation of tankless water heaters. United V.I. Plumbing is a locally-owned independent plumbing contractor and emergency plumber that serves the entire San Francisco Bay Area.

“As a locally owned and operated company, we strive to exceed our customer’s expectations by providing fast, friendly and efficient service for all their plumbing needs,” says owner Victor Ixmay. “We firmly respect your home and your time.”

United V.I. Plumbing knows that homeowners these days are looking for excellent service and competitive prices. That’s why they’re offering a 15% discount on all services, which include drain and sewer cleaning/clearing; water heater repair and replacement; low water pressure resolution; emergency earthquake gas shut-off valve installation; replacing or repairing faucets and garbage disposals; water, drain, and gas re-piping;water pressure regulator valve and sewer ejector pump installation; energy-saving tankless hot water heater installation; trenchless sewer line replacement; video pipe inspection; underground pipe replacement; drain/sewer clean-out; sump pump installation and repair; bath and kitchen remodel plumbing installation; new construction plumbing installation, and 24-hour emergency plumber services.

United V.I. Plumbing specializes in the installation of tankless water heaters, which is why they are offering 15% off installation costs. Tankless water heaters save energy and money by only heating water when it is needed.

For more information about the 15% discount on tankless water heater installation or any other services offered, contact United V.I. Plumbing at (415) 320-8888 or visit their website at .

About United V.I. PlumbingUnited V.I. Plumbing is acompany that provides complete plumbing services, repair and installation, and are specializes in tankless water heater systems.

United V.I. Plumbing offersand the Bay Area communities of Alameda, Antioch, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Concord, Daly City, Dublin, Emeryville, Fairfield, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Marin, Martinez, Mill Valley, Mountain View, Napa, Novato, Oakland, Palo Alto, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Richmond, San Bruno, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, San Rafael, San Ramon, Santa Clara, Sonoma County, Solano County, Vacaville, Vallejo, and Walnut Creek.

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Victor IxmayUnited V.I. Plumbing415-320-8888Email Information

Bristol Palin: Id probably run for office further down the road

In an exclusive, in-depth interview with E! Online’s Giuliana Rancic, “Dancing With the Stars” finalist Bristol Palinfor public office “further down the road,” son Tripp, ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston, her new boyfriend, and being a Maricopa, Ariz. homeowner.

When Rancic asked if she would ever run for office, Palin said, “Probably. But that would be further down the road.”

“If I saw something that needed to be changed, then I would step up to the plate and do something about it,” Palin said, addressing what would motivate her to enter elective politics.

Palin said she would run for office regardless of the invasion of privacy and scrutiny that goes hand in hand with being a political figure.

“I think it would be a good enough payoff if I knew that I was going to go into something and change it and make it better,” Palin said.

Bristol also said during the interview that her mother, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,would make a “wonderful” president.

“I think she would be a wonderful president, and I still think that she should run,” Palin said. “She’s just so common-sense conservative.just, ‘Here’s what we’ve gotta do and this is how we’re gonna do it,’ and she brings a whole ‘nother aspect to politics because she’s a mom, because she runs a household, and I just think she’s really smart.”

When asked to give her take on comedian Tracy Morgan’sabout Sarah Palin being a “MILF,” (which translates to “Mother I’d Like to F—”), Bristol answered, “It’s, like, embarrassing…like, my cheeks are probably red!”

Rancic said, “Rumors are, you have a boyfriend,” to which Palin responded, “That’s true, yeah” through stifled giggles.

“He’s great, he’s awesome with Tripp, and we’ve been really good friends for a long time and he’s just a really good guy,” Palin said of her new squeeze, an Alaska native.

Apparently, her new man passed the mom and dad test, too. Both Todd and Sarah Palin approve.

“They like him a lot,” Palin said of her parents. “We spent New Year’s at our cabin just recently with my family.”

Rancic asked Palin what makes her new boyfriend different from her former boyfriend and father of her child Levi Johnston?

“He’s a good guy, he’s a family guy, he’s a Christian, we have all the same religious beliefs, and our families both come first in our lives,” Palin said.

Palin took some shots at Johnston, who lives in Alaska while Tripp and Bristol live in the Grand Canyon State.

“I would love for Levi to be a part of Tripp’s every day life, but I know that for Levi’s lifestyle right now, that’s just not a possibility,” Palin said.

Palin added that Tripp could use more “stability” than father Johnston can provide.

When asked if she has any friends in Arizona, Palin laughed and said, “No.” But the 20-year-old mother has no regrets about the way her life has turned out.

“Tripp’s awesomeI know that God’s plan for me was to have Tripp and it definitely made me grow, but I don’t desire that lifestyle at a frat house or at college parties or anything like that,” Palin said.

Palin said a deal is “in the works” with a Phoenix-based radio station that has offered her a job. She also talked about “hopefully” writing a book, although The Daily CallerMonday that HarperCollins confirmed they are going to publish her memoir.

Read more stories from The Daily Caller