Next week, one of the biggest events for Mobile gadgets–Mobile World Congress–is going to take place in Spain. Almost all technology companies, those are manufacturing mobile handsets, are preparing themselves for the event. However, there’s no any big launch from the world’s largest technology company in terms of market capitalization–Apple Inc.— at the event. Just a day before, Apple Inc. released iOS 6.1.2 update to patch a bug related to the Microsoft exchange calendar that drains battery life. The previous update (iOS 6.1) was little vulnerable in security aspects; the update makes easier to bypass the iPhone’s unlocking screen pass code. Ironically, the new update (iOS 6.2) is still unable to fix the unlock screen security hole. Of course, bypassing the iPhone’s unlocking screen pass code is potentially more serious issue than battery-drainage.
Apple Inc. Was Third Largest Consumer Technology Retailer In The U.S.
Anyway, it was the discussion related to the Apple Inc.’s mobile OS update vulnerability. But more importantly, in 2012, the company was the third-largest consumer technology retailer in the U.S. in terms of sales revenue.  On the other side, Apple Inc. was the dominating player among all consumers tech companies in the U.S. in terms of revenue from sales of the products. According to a latest data released by NPD, the company accounted for 19.9% of all domestic consumer technology sales (based on revenue) in 2012, up from 17.3% in 2011.
Apple Inc. was quite ahead of its nearest rival Samsung, which accounted for just 9.3% of share in 2012, up from 7% in 2011. On the contrary, other top five consumer technology companies’ market share (in terms of revenues based on sales) fell in 2012. HP’s market share dipped to 8.2% last year, from 8.9% in 2011, while Sony and Dell’s share dropped to 4.4% and 3% respectively in 2012.
In addition to these, the firm has also reported that Apple and Samsung together accounted for $6.5 billion in increased sales in 2012. The noticeable point here is that the sales of rest of the consumer technology companies declined by almost $9.5 billion in the U.S. during the last year. Besides, sales of consumer technology products fell consecutively second times in 2012.
Overall, Apple Inc. succeeded to grab third position among consumer technology retailers in 2012, following only Best Buy and Walmart. On the other hands, Amazon and Staples stood fourth and fifth respectively among consumer technology retailers in the U.S. last year.
Apparently, smartphone and tablet’s sales grew up 25% and 42% respectively in 2012, compared to 2011. But Notebook and desktop computers sales dropped by 9% and 11% respectively in the U.S.
In simple words, for Apple Inc., 2012 was really an incredible year in terms of smart devices sales. Furthermore, as per Morgan Stanley’s analyst Katy Huberty’s  latest estimation, the company would also add $2.4 billion in iPhone revenue this year in China alone with its cheaper iPhone. In addition, the company is also expected to triple the iPhone users base in the country with low-priced ($330) iPhone.
