Mobile Devices Spur Strong Growth For Extended-Coverage Providers

By Alan Wolf On Feb 13 2012 - 6:01am

NEW YORK – Third-party administrators and their insurance underwriters appear to have bucked the no- to slowgrowth trend in CE.

Aided by solid account management and unbridled demand for mobile devices including tablets, smartphones and e-readers, the extended-warranty and service-plan industry’s leading players largely reported robust sales in 2011 and are forecasting another strong year in 2012.

 

NEW Moves Beyond Product Protection With New Features & Options

By Alan Wolf On Feb 13 2012 - 6:01am

STERLING, VA. – NEW, a leading third-party administrator of extended-service plans (ESPs) and warranties, has introduced a new spate of service offerings that it said will raise the bar for consumer electronics protection programs.

Chartis Acquires 3rd-Party Admin Service Net

By Alan Wolf On Feb 13 2012 - 6:01am

NEW YORK – Consolidation within the warranty industry continued this month with the acquisition of third-party administrator Service Net by leading underwriter Chartis.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The move makes Chartis an end-to-end player in the extended-warranty business while providing Service Net with the financial backing of the global insurance giant.

Service Net is being integrated into Chartis’ U.S. warranty division, which currently services more than 75 million active contracts.

Extended-Warranty Rundown

By Alan Wolf On Feb 13 2012 - 6:01am

NEW YORK – The following is an overview of some of the newest CE programs and services offered by third-party administrators and their insurance underwriters:

TWICE Roundtable: Retailers Hang Hopes On Connectivity

By Doug Olenick On Jan 30 2012 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — Retail executives participating in the annual TWICE Retail Roundtable at International CES pointed out the unbalanced course sales took during the holiday selling season along with giving insight into a wide variety of topics.

The discussion, moderated by TWICE senior editor Alan Wolf, was wide-ranging, but several salient points were brought into focus.

Connected Consumers Changing CE And Retail: Marketers

By David Elrich On Jan 30 2012 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — If you think your head is spinning dealing with the brave new world of connected electronics, consider the marketers who now have to sell products to newly empowered consumers carrying devices that keep them linked to the Internet at all times.

Newegg Awards Top Vendors — And Customers — At CES

By Alan Wolf On Jan 30 2012 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — Newegg announced the winners of its Eggie Awards at the e-tailer’s annual International CES event here last month.

This year’s awards recognize the outstanding contributions made by 23 Newegg vendors and customers across 14 categories in 2011, and honor them for their roles in supporting Newegg’s continued success and growth in 2011, the company said. Notable vendor awards included the EggXellence Award, Best New Vendor, Best Launch, Top Distribution Partner and Partner of the Year.

eBay's Donahoe: Mobile Apps Revolutionizing Retail

By Alan Wolf On Jan 30 2012 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — Smartphone shopping apps will continue to radically alter the way consumers shop and pay, but are also providing brick-and-mortar retailers with new tools to drive traffic to their stores.

That was the message presented by eBay president/ CEO John Donahoe in his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) annual 2012 Leaders In Technology (LIT) dinner, held last month at the Wynn hotel during 2012 International CES.

Canalys: U.S. iPhone Shipments Soar

By Joseph Palenchar On Feb 13 2012 - 6:01am

PALO ALTO, CALIF. – U.S. smartphone shipments soared 38.1 percent in the fourth quarter to 30.8 million and 42.9 percent to 100.5 million in calendar 2011, led during both periods by rising sales of Apple’s iOS-based smartphones, a Canalys study found.

Though Apple smartphone growth outpaced Android growth, the Android OS nonetheless maintained its leading share of smartphone shipments during both periods, the study found.

NPD: First-Time Smartphone Buyers Skew Heavily To Android

By Joseph Palenchar On Feb 13 2012 - 6:01am

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. – U.S. consumers purchased more Androidbased smartphones than Apple smartphones in the fourth quarter, and among first-time smartphone buyers, the preference for Android was even stronger, an NPD Group survey of consumers found.

Nonetheless, Apple remained the best-selling handset brand (among smartphones and feature phones combined) for the fourth consecutive quarter in 2011’s fourth quarter and sold the nation’s three best-selling handsets during the period, NPD found.