28 August 2008]
There were 608.38 million subscribers of mobile communication services in China as of the end of July 2008, growing by 1.27% on month and by 19.63% on year, according to statistics published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT, renamed from Ministry of Information Industry) on its Chinese-language web site on August 26.
The number of subscribers at the end of July accounted for 45.6% of the country's population (user density).
Also at the end of July 2008 were there 355.06 million subscribers of fixed telecommunication networks in China, translating into a user density of 27.0%.
In July 2008, mobile phone subscribers in China sent 57.76 billion short messages, averaging 3.08 short messages per phone number a day.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
China handset vendors make strong inroads into emerging markets
28 August 2008
Two China-based handset vendors - TCL and Konka - have made more inroads into the global handset market, especially in emerging markets, according to data released by the companies.
TCL has said that it shipped 6.7 million handsets in the first half of this year, up 60% from the same period of 2007.
In particular, TCL's shipments of Alcatel-branded handsets to the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and Latin American markets expanded by at an annual rate of 44% and 71%, respectively, in the first half. To sustain its goal to ship 16 million handsets in 2008, the company plans to launch 15 TCL-branded as well as 19 Alcatel-branded handsets in the second half, said the company.
Konka claimed that its shipments of handsets to markets outside China, including India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, moved up 38% on year in the fist half. Konka has also signed an agreement with Spice Telecom to supply the India-based telecom operator with 10 million handsets in three years.
Two China-based handset vendors - TCL and Konka - have made more inroads into the global handset market, especially in emerging markets, according to data released by the companies.
TCL has said that it shipped 6.7 million handsets in the first half of this year, up 60% from the same period of 2007.
In particular, TCL's shipments of Alcatel-branded handsets to the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and Latin American markets expanded by at an annual rate of 44% and 71%, respectively, in the first half. To sustain its goal to ship 16 million handsets in 2008, the company plans to launch 15 TCL-branded as well as 19 Alcatel-branded handsets in the second half, said the company.
Konka claimed that its shipments of handsets to markets outside China, including India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, moved up 38% on year in the fist half. Konka has also signed an agreement with Spice Telecom to supply the India-based telecom operator with 10 million handsets in three years.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Arima handset shipments to LGE to jump to 10 million units in 2009
27 August 2008
LG Electronics (LGE), ambitiously eyeing the emerging markets, has placed orders with Arima Communications for at least 12 new 2.5G handsets, with shipments to reach as many as 10 million units in 2009, according to industry sources.
LGE's partnership with Arima has been extending from entry-level and mid-range multimedia handsets to ultra low-cost models. LGE is increasing its outsourcing in line with its thrust into the emerging markets, with an aim to become the world-wide number-three handset vendor in 18 months' time, the sources said.
Arima's handset chip suppliers, MediaTek and Infineon Technologies, are also expected to benefit from the LGE orders, the sources disclosed. MediaTek chips will be used for entry-level and mid-range LGE models, and Infineon solutions will be adopted for the first time for ultra low-cost ones, the sources added.
LGE is outsourcing a minor portion of its orders to Compal Communications for handsets adopting Texas Instrument (TI) chips, while most other orders have gone to Arima, the sources said.
Arima has already secured orders for at least 12 LGE models, with shipments starting towards the end of 2008, the sources said, adding the orders have already extended to the second half of 2009.
Arima currently handles four LGE handsets, with total 2008 shipments expected to reach 3.5-4 million units. Shipments to LGE will reach 10 million units in 2009, an amount comparable to Arima's shipments to its current biggest client Sony Ericsson, the sources commented.
Arima is expected to ship 1.8 million handsets in August, driven by shipments of Sony Ericsson's T303, and September shipments may reach two million units as Arima begins to ship Sony Ericsson's K330, the sources said.
Third-quarter shipments are expected to total five million units, with shipments staying at high levels in October and November, the sources estimated, adding Arima is likely to achieve its 2008 shipments goal of 15 million units.
LG Electronics (LGE), ambitiously eyeing the emerging markets, has placed orders with Arima Communications for at least 12 new 2.5G handsets, with shipments to reach as many as 10 million units in 2009, according to industry sources.
LGE's partnership with Arima has been extending from entry-level and mid-range multimedia handsets to ultra low-cost models. LGE is increasing its outsourcing in line with its thrust into the emerging markets, with an aim to become the world-wide number-three handset vendor in 18 months' time, the sources said.
Arima's handset chip suppliers, MediaTek and Infineon Technologies, are also expected to benefit from the LGE orders, the sources disclosed. MediaTek chips will be used for entry-level and mid-range LGE models, and Infineon solutions will be adopted for the first time for ultra low-cost ones, the sources added.
LGE is outsourcing a minor portion of its orders to Compal Communications for handsets adopting Texas Instrument (TI) chips, while most other orders have gone to Arima, the sources said.
Arima has already secured orders for at least 12 LGE models, with shipments starting towards the end of 2008, the sources said, adding the orders have already extended to the second half of 2009.
Arima currently handles four LGE handsets, with total 2008 shipments expected to reach 3.5-4 million units. Shipments to LGE will reach 10 million units in 2009, an amount comparable to Arima's shipments to its current biggest client Sony Ericsson, the sources commented.
Arima is expected to ship 1.8 million handsets in August, driven by shipments of Sony Ericsson's T303, and September shipments may reach two million units as Arima begins to ship Sony Ericsson's K330, the sources said.
Third-quarter shipments are expected to total five million units, with shipments staying at high levels in October and November, the sources estimated, adding Arima is likely to achieve its 2008 shipments goal of 15 million units.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Ericsson, STMicro merge wireless chip businesses
Vendors create 50/50 joint venture that will enable it to provide full solution to customers, boost competitiveness in market.
Ericsson and STMicroelectronics on Wednesday announced the creation of a mobile chipsets joint venture designed to build scale in the mobile applications space.
The new Geneva-based company, which has yet to be named, will be a 50:50 venture between Ericsson and STMicroelectronics. It should enable the companies to compete better with the likes of Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Under the terms of the deal, the Swedish vendor will contribute its Ericsson Mobile Platforms business and make a cash payment of $1.1 billion, of which $700 million will be paid to STMicro, leaving the JV with a cash position of $400 million. STMicro will transfer its ST-NXP semiconductor business, which was created in April this year and launched earlier this month; STMicro will first buy the remaining 20% of ST-NXP it does not already own. "The customer is requiring a full solution," said Ericsson president and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg, at the companies' press conference in London. "The JV will have the scale to successfully compete in the marketplace," he added. Svanberg explained that the move from 2G voice communications to mobile data and Internet services means customers need much more than just "the telephony part" that Ericsson was able to supply. And his counterpart at STMicro, Carlo Bozotti, agreed, noting that the deal will create "a company that will drive the convergence between the communications aspect... and the multimedia features." Both Svanberg and Bozotti were keen to point out that they have the backing of their customers, which include four of the top five global mobile phone manufacturers: Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG. "Why don't you combine with ST," customers advised, when Ericsson discussed its options with them, Svanberg said. The companies have put in place an integration management team to oversee the combination of the businesses. In addition, each will provide four members, plus STMicro will appoint a CEO and Ericsson an executive vice president. The chairman and the vice chairman will come from Ericsson and STMicro respectively. "That obviously is going to be me and Carlo," said Svanberg. The business as a whole will employ 8,000 people, but will be divided into two companies. It will be led by a development and marketing company, which will have 7,000 employees and will be consolidated into STMicro's sales. The smaller access technology design company will employ the other 1,000 people and its revenue will be consolidated by Ericsson. Ericsson's intellectual property will not be included in the deal. "The IPRs stay with Ericsson," Svanberg insisted. "The IPR fees are not involved in the JV." Responding to questions from the floor about the state of the Ericsson Mobile Platforms business, Svanberg also said the unit is breaking even, excluding revenue from intellectual property. The vendors insisted that the deal is not about making cost-savings, rather bringing together two complementary businesses, but admitted that there are some savings to be made. "There are opportunities for synergies and we will aggressively work to exploit the synergies," said Svanberg. "The prospects are good in terms of earnings accretion... and we believe a great potential for the long term," added Bozotti.
Ericsson and STMicroelectronics on Wednesday announced the creation of a mobile chipsets joint venture designed to build scale in the mobile applications space.
The new Geneva-based company, which has yet to be named, will be a 50:50 venture between Ericsson and STMicroelectronics. It should enable the companies to compete better with the likes of Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Under the terms of the deal, the Swedish vendor will contribute its Ericsson Mobile Platforms business and make a cash payment of $1.1 billion, of which $700 million will be paid to STMicro, leaving the JV with a cash position of $400 million. STMicro will transfer its ST-NXP semiconductor business, which was created in April this year and launched earlier this month; STMicro will first buy the remaining 20% of ST-NXP it does not already own. "The customer is requiring a full solution," said Ericsson president and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg, at the companies' press conference in London. "The JV will have the scale to successfully compete in the marketplace," he added. Svanberg explained that the move from 2G voice communications to mobile data and Internet services means customers need much more than just "the telephony part" that Ericsson was able to supply. And his counterpart at STMicro, Carlo Bozotti, agreed, noting that the deal will create "a company that will drive the convergence between the communications aspect... and the multimedia features." Both Svanberg and Bozotti were keen to point out that they have the backing of their customers, which include four of the top five global mobile phone manufacturers: Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG. "Why don't you combine with ST," customers advised, when Ericsson discussed its options with them, Svanberg said. The companies have put in place an integration management team to oversee the combination of the businesses. In addition, each will provide four members, plus STMicro will appoint a CEO and Ericsson an executive vice president. The chairman and the vice chairman will come from Ericsson and STMicro respectively. "That obviously is going to be me and Carlo," said Svanberg. The business as a whole will employ 8,000 people, but will be divided into two companies. It will be led by a development and marketing company, which will have 7,000 employees and will be consolidated into STMicro's sales. The smaller access technology design company will employ the other 1,000 people and its revenue will be consolidated by Ericsson. Ericsson's intellectual property will not be included in the deal. "The IPRs stay with Ericsson," Svanberg insisted. "The IPR fees are not involved in the JV." Responding to questions from the floor about the state of the Ericsson Mobile Platforms business, Svanberg also said the unit is breaking even, excluding revenue from intellectual property. The vendors insisted that the deal is not about making cost-savings, rather bringing together two complementary businesses, but admitted that there are some savings to be made. "There are opportunities for synergies and we will aggressively work to exploit the synergies," said Svanberg. "The prospects are good in terms of earnings accretion... and we believe a great potential for the long term," added Bozotti.
Motorola Slumps in China
How can the U.S. company be No. 1 again in the world's biggest cell-phone market? It'll need a sharp Razr follow-up to beat Nokia and Samsung for starters
Sanjay Jha, the new co-chief executive officer of Motorola (MOT), is looking for ways to revive the company's handset division, and China is bound to be one of his most important challenges (BusinessWeek.com, 8/4/08). The country should be easy territory for Motorola: China is the world's largest cell-phone market, with more than 500 million people owning mobile handsets, and it wasn't that long ago that Motorola was the market leader. The company, which spent many years building its operations in the country, was No. 1 in China (BusinessWeek.com, 9/23/03) until 2004.
Even after Motorola fell behind Nokia (NOK) in China, it clung to a respectable No. 2 position in the fast-growing market, and in April 2007, that second spot meant Motorola still had more than a 20% share. But as the company's fortunes suffered worldwide, its China business was no longer a sure thing. Over the past 16 months, Motorola's China sales have "plummeted," says Flora Wu, an analyst in Beijing with BDA China, a market research firm. Today, Nokia is tops in China with 38% of the market. No. 2 is now Samsung Electronics, with 16%. Motorola is a distant third, with just 7.5% market share.
What went wrong? To some extent, Motorola in China faces the same problem that plagues the company everywhere: failing to produce an encore to the tremendously successful Razr, which it introduced back in 2004. And coming out with new and interesting models is especially important in China, where big-city consumers replace their phones frequently and put a priority on models that are cool-looking but reasonably priced. Motorola "just had problems launching new and popular models," says Wu. "The Chinese market is one of the most competitive," she says. If you're an executive at a company that doesn't keep pace with what your rivals are launching, "your market share will decline sharply."
An Olympic Gag Order
It hasn't helped that Motorola's biggest rivals have been so good at tackling the China market. Samsung is a global sponsor of the Beijing Olympics, which means it is the only cell-phone maker allowed to advertise in Beijing during the Games. So, while the Korean company plasters billboards and bus stops with ads for its phones, Motorola can't respond. The U.S. company even had to take down a big sign atop its China headquarters in downtown Beijing. Samsung is also sponsoring the Chinese gold-medal-winning men's and women's gymnastics teams. "When they receive a gold medal, they're wearing the Samsung shirt," boasts spokesman Gyehyun Kwon, a Samsung corporate vice-president. "That way, Chinese people [see] Samsung is really helping the Chinese people."
For its part, Nokia remains comfortably ahead of the pack in the country, with models ranging from high-end handsets for affluent residents of big cities like Beijing and Shanghai to inexpensive entry-level phones suitable for new users in the countryside. "Nokia has really covered every segment of the market," says Dave Carini, an analyst in Beijing with market-research firm Maverick China Research. To develop its China business further, the Finnish company announced last month plans for an additional $150 million in its in-house venture capital fund targeting potential investments in China and India.
Restructuring May Boost Motorola
The news from China hasn't been all bleak for Motorola, however. The Schaumburg (Ill.) company has managed to win some important infrastructure contracts recently. For instance, early this month Motorola announced in the first half of the year it had landed $431 million in contracts to provide China Mobile (CHL), the country's top cellular operator, with second-generation GSM equipment. That's up from $394 million for the same period in 2007.
A government-backed restructuring of the country's state-owned operators might also boost Motorola's business, says Simon Leung, president of Motorola Asia-Pacific. Following the restructuring, there will be three Chinese cellular operators: China Mobile, current No. 2 China Unicom (CHU), and China Telecom (CHA), which until now had been a fixed-line operator without a cellular business. Motorola, says Leung, has good relationships with each operator. "We are the only ones with the technology to address the needs of all three of them," he says. "We are in a very good position."
Stay Tuned for New Models
When it comes to handsets, "we do have a gap" with the market leaders, Leung concedes. "We took our eyes off the ball a little bit. We didn't have the phones in the market at the right time." Still, he points to several new models that the company plans to introduce soon. "Stay tuned," he says.
BDA's Wu agrees that Motorola isn't out of the running completely in the Chinese handset market, since the company has significant R&D resources it can utilize to help it rebuild. But Motorola's rivals aren't standing still, and the company's missteps have hurt its reputation among Chinese consumers. "The brand has suffered," she says. "The problem cannot be sorted out in a short period of time."
Einhorn is BusinessWeek's Asia Regional Editor in Hong. With Chi-Chu Tschang in Beijing
Sanjay Jha, the new co-chief executive officer of Motorola (MOT), is looking for ways to revive the company's handset division, and China is bound to be one of his most important challenges (BusinessWeek.com, 8/4/08). The country should be easy territory for Motorola: China is the world's largest cell-phone market, with more than 500 million people owning mobile handsets, and it wasn't that long ago that Motorola was the market leader. The company, which spent many years building its operations in the country, was No. 1 in China (BusinessWeek.com, 9/23/03) until 2004.
Even after Motorola fell behind Nokia (NOK) in China, it clung to a respectable No. 2 position in the fast-growing market, and in April 2007, that second spot meant Motorola still had more than a 20% share. But as the company's fortunes suffered worldwide, its China business was no longer a sure thing. Over the past 16 months, Motorola's China sales have "plummeted," says Flora Wu, an analyst in Beijing with BDA China, a market research firm. Today, Nokia is tops in China with 38% of the market. No. 2 is now Samsung Electronics, with 16%. Motorola is a distant third, with just 7.5% market share.
What went wrong? To some extent, Motorola in China faces the same problem that plagues the company everywhere: failing to produce an encore to the tremendously successful Razr, which it introduced back in 2004. And coming out with new and interesting models is especially important in China, where big-city consumers replace their phones frequently and put a priority on models that are cool-looking but reasonably priced. Motorola "just had problems launching new and popular models," says Wu. "The Chinese market is one of the most competitive," she says. If you're an executive at a company that doesn't keep pace with what your rivals are launching, "your market share will decline sharply."
An Olympic Gag Order
It hasn't helped that Motorola's biggest rivals have been so good at tackling the China market. Samsung is a global sponsor of the Beijing Olympics, which means it is the only cell-phone maker allowed to advertise in Beijing during the Games. So, while the Korean company plasters billboards and bus stops with ads for its phones, Motorola can't respond. The U.S. company even had to take down a big sign atop its China headquarters in downtown Beijing. Samsung is also sponsoring the Chinese gold-medal-winning men's and women's gymnastics teams. "When they receive a gold medal, they're wearing the Samsung shirt," boasts spokesman Gyehyun Kwon, a Samsung corporate vice-president. "That way, Chinese people [see] Samsung is really helping the Chinese people."
For its part, Nokia remains comfortably ahead of the pack in the country, with models ranging from high-end handsets for affluent residents of big cities like Beijing and Shanghai to inexpensive entry-level phones suitable for new users in the countryside. "Nokia has really covered every segment of the market," says Dave Carini, an analyst in Beijing with market-research firm Maverick China Research. To develop its China business further, the Finnish company announced last month plans for an additional $150 million in its in-house venture capital fund targeting potential investments in China and India.
Restructuring May Boost Motorola
The news from China hasn't been all bleak for Motorola, however. The Schaumburg (Ill.) company has managed to win some important infrastructure contracts recently. For instance, early this month Motorola announced in the first half of the year it had landed $431 million in contracts to provide China Mobile (CHL), the country's top cellular operator, with second-generation GSM equipment. That's up from $394 million for the same period in 2007.
A government-backed restructuring of the country's state-owned operators might also boost Motorola's business, says Simon Leung, president of Motorola Asia-Pacific. Following the restructuring, there will be three Chinese cellular operators: China Mobile, current No. 2 China Unicom (CHU), and China Telecom (CHA), which until now had been a fixed-line operator without a cellular business. Motorola, says Leung, has good relationships with each operator. "We are the only ones with the technology to address the needs of all three of them," he says. "We are in a very good position."
Stay Tuned for New Models
When it comes to handsets, "we do have a gap" with the market leaders, Leung concedes. "We took our eyes off the ball a little bit. We didn't have the phones in the market at the right time." Still, he points to several new models that the company plans to introduce soon. "Stay tuned," he says.
BDA's Wu agrees that Motorola isn't out of the running completely in the Chinese handset market, since the company has significant R&D resources it can utilize to help it rebuild. But Motorola's rivals aren't standing still, and the company's missteps have hurt its reputation among Chinese consumers. "The brand has suffered," she says. "The problem cannot be sorted out in a short period of time."
Einhorn is BusinessWeek's Asia Regional Editor in Hong. With Chi-Chu Tschang in Beijing
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Nokia Shows off Carbon Fibre Mobile Phone for High-End Market
Nokia has shown off a new "premium" mobile phone - the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, which the company says has been engineered from carbon fibre, titanium, polished glass and stainless steel.
The Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte also offers the unique tap-for-time feature - consumers can tap the steel surface below the display twice and a clock appears on the screen. Background images organically change during the day, giving a unique appearance to the display. The turn-to-mute silencing mechanism allows individuals to silence incoming calls in a discrete manner by turning the phone over, screen-side down.
In addition to the 3G capabilities and 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera and high quality audio, the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte boasts an OLED display and built-in memory that has been expanded from previous offerings in the range to 4 GB. Meanwhile, Nokia's anti-fingerprint coating reduces smudges on metal and glass and unsightly outer seams are hidden by a unique all-in-one microUSB connector.
The Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte will be available in the 3rd quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of EUR 1,100 (US$1,620) exclusive of subsidies and taxes.
Posted to the site on 19th August 2008
The Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte also offers the unique tap-for-time feature - consumers can tap the steel surface below the display twice and a clock appears on the screen. Background images organically change during the day, giving a unique appearance to the display. The turn-to-mute silencing mechanism allows individuals to silence incoming calls in a discrete manner by turning the phone over, screen-side down.
In addition to the 3G capabilities and 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera and high quality audio, the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte boasts an OLED display and built-in memory that has been expanded from previous offerings in the range to 4 GB. Meanwhile, Nokia's anti-fingerprint coating reduces smudges on metal and glass and unsightly outer seams are hidden by a unique all-in-one microUSB connector.
The Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte will be available in the 3rd quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of EUR 1,100 (US$1,620) exclusive of subsidies and taxes.
Posted to the site on 19th August 2008
Sony Ericsson Turnaround Might Be Delayed to 2010
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson admits it sees "challenging" market conditions through 2008, but analysts say any turnaround might not happen until 2010.
Sony Ericsson reports second quarter results18 July 2008
Q2 Highlights:
Break even results amid challenging market conditions and increased competition
Announcement of Open Mobile Software platform and Symbian Foundation
R&D investment continues
Alignment of operations to help restore profitable growth
London, UK - The consolidated financial summary for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Ericsson) for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008 is as follows:
Q2 2007 Q1 2008 Q2 2008
Number of units shipped (million) 24.9 22.3 24.4
Sales (Euro m.) 3,112 2,702 2,820
Gross margin (%) 29.6% 29.2% 23.1%
Operating income (Euro m.) 315 184 -2
Operating margin (%) 10.1% 6.8% -0.1%
Income before taxes (Euro m.) 327 193 8
Net income (Euro m.) 220 133 6
Average selling price (Euro) 125 121 116
Sony Ericsson reports second quarter results18 July 2008
Q2 Highlights:
Break even results amid challenging market conditions and increased competition
Announcement of Open Mobile Software platform and Symbian Foundation
R&D investment continues
Alignment of operations to help restore profitable growth
London, UK - The consolidated financial summary for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Ericsson) for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008 is as follows:
Q2 2007 Q1 2008 Q2 2008
Number of units shipped (million) 24.9 22.3 24.4
Sales (Euro m.) 3,112 2,702 2,820
Gross margin (%) 29.6% 29.2% 23.1%
Operating income (Euro m.) 315 184 -2
Operating margin (%) 10.1% 6.8% -0.1%
Income before taxes (Euro m.) 327 193 8
Net income (Euro m.) 220 133 6
Average selling price (Euro) 125 121 116
Monday, August 18, 2008
Foxconn Shares Plunge 20% on Profit Warning; Outlook Bleak
HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- Shares in Foxconn International Holdings plunged 20% in early Hong Kong trade after the company warned late Friday its profit for the six-months ended June 30 fell significantly from a year earlier due to changes in product mix and rising operational costs.
Analysts said Foxconn, which makes mobile phones and other consumer electronics for clients such as Nokia and Motorola, isn't likely to see a major turnaround in earnings during the second half of this year as the company grapples with a slowdown in handset demand from the weak global economy.
Typically demand for handsets and other electronic goods rises in the second half of the year spanning the back-to-school and holiday shopping season.
"Although there will be a mild improvement in demand in the second-half due to strong seasonality, 2008 will still be a poor year for Foxconn and other contract handset manufacturers," said Charles Guo, an analyst at JP Morgan.
At the midday break, Foxconn shares were down 20% at HK$6.18, underperforming the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which fell 1.2%. Foxconn didn't give any earnings estimates for the first half in its statement Friday. It posted a net profit of US$324.0 million in the first half of 2007.
Guo expects Foxconn's net profit to fall 8% this year to US$660 million from US$721 million in 2007.
He has a "neutral" rating on Foxconn, with a 12-month price target of HK$8.00.
JP Morgan said global handset original equipment manufacturers are facing declining profitability due to a higher mix of low-price models as well as increasing competition in the high-end segment especially in Western Europe.
HSBC analyst Christine Wang wrote in an Aug. 13 report that she expects a weaker second half for handset manufacturers in Asia, with only a 2% quarter-on-quarter rise in shipments in the third quarter compared with a high single-digit historical increase.
"We still don't know how bad (Foxconn's first half result) is. It could be worse than expected. We expect there will be more earnings downgrades across the board after its results come out Aug 27," said Wang, who cut Foxconn's target price to HK$10.00 from HK$16.00 recently and has an "overweight" rating.
The Taiwan-based blue chip company said in June it expects its gross profit margin to fall this year because of a price war as well as higher costs and corporate taxes in China.
Foxconn said at the time it will continue to migrate its production facilities to low-cost sites internationally and invest aggressively in automation to minimize the decline in its gross profit margin.
Foxconn's weak performance also dragged down shares in some of its peers in Asia as it raised concerns about a weaker-than-usual second half.
In Taiwan, shares of Foxconn's parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry, fell 3.6% to NT$162.5.
Hon Hai is the world's largest contract maker of electronics by revenue.
Shares in Taiwan's Compal Electronics fell 3% to NT$30.35, while Quanta Computer was down 0.8% at NT$45.65. Both companies make notebook computers on a contract basis. Chang Chihming, an investor relations officer at Compal, said the company hasn't seen a slowdown in demand so far in the third quarter.
"We are not as affected as the handphone business. I can already see back-to-school demand and Christmas demand," said Chang, adding that the company expects third-quarter shipments to improve 20% from the second quarter.
HSBC analyst Wanli Wang said the market for handsets is weak, but he doesn't expect this to impact Hon Hai significantly as the company is seeing strong orders for desktop computers as well as game consoles.
18th August 2008
Analysts said Foxconn, which makes mobile phones and other consumer electronics for clients such as Nokia and Motorola, isn't likely to see a major turnaround in earnings during the second half of this year as the company grapples with a slowdown in handset demand from the weak global economy.
Typically demand for handsets and other electronic goods rises in the second half of the year spanning the back-to-school and holiday shopping season.
"Although there will be a mild improvement in demand in the second-half due to strong seasonality, 2008 will still be a poor year for Foxconn and other contract handset manufacturers," said Charles Guo, an analyst at JP Morgan.
At the midday break, Foxconn shares were down 20% at HK$6.18, underperforming the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which fell 1.2%. Foxconn didn't give any earnings estimates for the first half in its statement Friday. It posted a net profit of US$324.0 million in the first half of 2007.
Guo expects Foxconn's net profit to fall 8% this year to US$660 million from US$721 million in 2007.
He has a "neutral" rating on Foxconn, with a 12-month price target of HK$8.00.
JP Morgan said global handset original equipment manufacturers are facing declining profitability due to a higher mix of low-price models as well as increasing competition in the high-end segment especially in Western Europe.
HSBC analyst Christine Wang wrote in an Aug. 13 report that she expects a weaker second half for handset manufacturers in Asia, with only a 2% quarter-on-quarter rise in shipments in the third quarter compared with a high single-digit historical increase.
"We still don't know how bad (Foxconn's first half result) is. It could be worse than expected. We expect there will be more earnings downgrades across the board after its results come out Aug 27," said Wang, who cut Foxconn's target price to HK$10.00 from HK$16.00 recently and has an "overweight" rating.
The Taiwan-based blue chip company said in June it expects its gross profit margin to fall this year because of a price war as well as higher costs and corporate taxes in China.
Foxconn said at the time it will continue to migrate its production facilities to low-cost sites internationally and invest aggressively in automation to minimize the decline in its gross profit margin.
Foxconn's weak performance also dragged down shares in some of its peers in Asia as it raised concerns about a weaker-than-usual second half.
In Taiwan, shares of Foxconn's parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry, fell 3.6% to NT$162.5.
Hon Hai is the world's largest contract maker of electronics by revenue.
Shares in Taiwan's Compal Electronics fell 3% to NT$30.35, while Quanta Computer was down 0.8% at NT$45.65. Both companies make notebook computers on a contract basis. Chang Chihming, an investor relations officer at Compal, said the company hasn't seen a slowdown in demand so far in the third quarter.
"We are not as affected as the handphone business. I can already see back-to-school demand and Christmas demand," said Chang, adding that the company expects third-quarter shipments to improve 20% from the second quarter.
HSBC analyst Wanli Wang said the market for handsets is weak, but he doesn't expect this to impact Hon Hai significantly as the company is seeing strong orders for desktop computers as well as game consoles.
18th August 2008
Almost 40% of Smart Phones Shipping in EMEA Have GPS Integrated
A new report Canalys finds that growth slowed in the smart phone market in EMEA in Q2, but total shipments of 12.6 million still made it the second biggest quarter ever in volume terms. Canalys estimates that smart phones represented 13% of all mobile phone shipments.
Nokia remained the market leader by some margin, but the other vendors in the top five posted much higher than average year-on-year growth, with second-placed RIM closing the market share gap by several points, and HTC, Motorola and Samsung more than doubling their shipments.
Both HTC and RIM have been making steady progress toward the one million shipments per quarter mark in EMEA and are now very close to each other in market share terms, but it is possible that they will be overtaken by Apple in Q3 following the launch of the iPhone 3G in many countries in the region.
The smart phone market continues to be boosted by user demand for high-end features. This is unlikely to be dramatically affected by the economic situation in the short term, though operators will likely become even more unwilling to heavily subsidise high-end devices without adequate proof of return, and contract lengths and the time between upgrades are expected to increase. Canalys estimates that 58% of the smart phones that shipped in EMEA in Q2 had integrated Wi-Fi, 13% had stylus or finger-driven touch screens and 38% had integrated GPS.
“Today, many owners are not making full use of their smart phone’s features,” said Canalys senior analyst Pete Cunningham. “Concern over usage costs is still a big barrier, though wider availability of flat rate data plans will help, and usability still needs to improve for certain applications on many devices. People are also wary of draining their battery and not being able to make calls. Battery life isn’t helped by having GPS and Wi-Fi turned on, nor by having a large, bright screen for navigation or web browsing. But there is clear demand for those features and applications, and advances in battery technology would enable quite substantial changes in usage patterns, with all the service revenue benefits that would bring.”
Recent consumer research conducted by Canalys in several European countries reinforces the importance of balancing features against power consumption. In a survey of over 4,000 mobile phone users in March, battery life came out as the aspect of their phone they were least satisfied with. Another survey of 3,000 consumers in June showed that having better battery life than current mobile phones and notebooks would make two-thirds of respondents “more”, or “much more”, likely to purchase a Mobile Internet Device (MID) – a device designed for web browsing on the move. This registered as a stronger influence than the inclusion of features such as GPS, mobile TV or the ability to make phone calls.
As the number of GPS-equipped phones rises, adoption of location-based services (LBS) becomes a more realistic prospect. Canalys’ European consumer surveys also reveal interest in a variety of such services. The most popular are those that relate to driving, such as getting information on local road traffic, speed cameras, open petrol stations and current fuel prices. The services that fewest respondents thought would be useful were those that delivered information on local cinemas and programme times, and local retail price comparison and stock searches.
“Something that stood out in the latest survey was that those who already owned a Portable Navigation Device (PND) showed only a slight preference toward paying to have these services on their PND rather than on their mobile phone,” commented Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd. “There is already quite high acceptance in principle that even key driving-related location services would be delivered to the phone.”
With 4.8 million PNDs shipping in EMEA in Q2, and 4.7 million integrated GPS smart phones, it is clear that PND vendors will have to adapt quickly to the rising threat posed by phone-based navigation solutions and location-based services, even if most of those GPS phones today are not being used for vehicle navigation.
Nokia remained the market leader by some margin, but the other vendors in the top five posted much higher than average year-on-year growth, with second-placed RIM closing the market share gap by several points, and HTC, Motorola and Samsung more than doubling their shipments.
Both HTC and RIM have been making steady progress toward the one million shipments per quarter mark in EMEA and are now very close to each other in market share terms, but it is possible that they will be overtaken by Apple in Q3 following the launch of the iPhone 3G in many countries in the region.
The smart phone market continues to be boosted by user demand for high-end features. This is unlikely to be dramatically affected by the economic situation in the short term, though operators will likely become even more unwilling to heavily subsidise high-end devices without adequate proof of return, and contract lengths and the time between upgrades are expected to increase. Canalys estimates that 58% of the smart phones that shipped in EMEA in Q2 had integrated Wi-Fi, 13% had stylus or finger-driven touch screens and 38% had integrated GPS.
“Today, many owners are not making full use of their smart phone’s features,” said Canalys senior analyst Pete Cunningham. “Concern over usage costs is still a big barrier, though wider availability of flat rate data plans will help, and usability still needs to improve for certain applications on many devices. People are also wary of draining their battery and not being able to make calls. Battery life isn’t helped by having GPS and Wi-Fi turned on, nor by having a large, bright screen for navigation or web browsing. But there is clear demand for those features and applications, and advances in battery technology would enable quite substantial changes in usage patterns, with all the service revenue benefits that would bring.”
Recent consumer research conducted by Canalys in several European countries reinforces the importance of balancing features against power consumption. In a survey of over 4,000 mobile phone users in March, battery life came out as the aspect of their phone they were least satisfied with. Another survey of 3,000 consumers in June showed that having better battery life than current mobile phones and notebooks would make two-thirds of respondents “more”, or “much more”, likely to purchase a Mobile Internet Device (MID) – a device designed for web browsing on the move. This registered as a stronger influence than the inclusion of features such as GPS, mobile TV or the ability to make phone calls.
As the number of GPS-equipped phones rises, adoption of location-based services (LBS) becomes a more realistic prospect. Canalys’ European consumer surveys also reveal interest in a variety of such services. The most popular are those that relate to driving, such as getting information on local road traffic, speed cameras, open petrol stations and current fuel prices. The services that fewest respondents thought would be useful were those that delivered information on local cinemas and programme times, and local retail price comparison and stock searches.
“Something that stood out in the latest survey was that those who already owned a Portable Navigation Device (PND) showed only a slight preference toward paying to have these services on their PND rather than on their mobile phone,” commented Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd. “There is already quite high acceptance in principle that even key driving-related location services would be delivered to the phone.”
With 4.8 million PNDs shipping in EMEA in Q2, and 4.7 million integrated GPS smart phones, it is clear that PND vendors will have to adapt quickly to the rising threat posed by phone-based navigation solutions and location-based services, even if most of those GPS phones today are not being used for vehicle navigation.
Mobile Email Supplier Synchronica Buys AxisMobile
Mobile e-mail vendor, Synchronica is acquiring consumer mobile email specialist AxisMobile for US$4.9 million in an all shares transaction. Synchronica also stated that it has raised additional funds of US$10million, from new and existing institutional investors, which brings the total funding secured in 2008 to US$18 million. The additional funds will be used to accelerate product integration and fuel the growth of the combined business in emerging markets such as China, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
AxisMobile’s consumer mobile email platform complements Synchronica’s Mobile Gateway software by adding 'email to SMS’ and 'email to MMS’ gateways as well as a client-less solution for WAP/xHTML browser access. AxisMobile’s patented Optimizer email transcoding gateway further adds the ability to display a large variety of attachments such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint presentations on standard feature phone handsets that would otherwise be unable to support such functionality.
The AxisMobile acquisition will also enlarge Synchronica’s footprint in emerging markets, by adding a strong sales force and key customer contracts in the relatively untapped areas of Eastern Europe, CIS and Russia, to Synchronica’s existing sales presence in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Commenting on the acquisition, Synchronica CEO Carsten Brinkschulte said: “The fundraising and the acquisition of AxisMobile is a dramatic acceleration for Synchronica and I believe that it will build value for our shareholders. We aim to build a world leader in the market of consumer mobile email and synchronization solutions, and this acquisition is a key milestone that will improve our competitive positioning and accelerate our commercial growth. It will increase our ability to sell to customers, particularly to those in emerging economies, where we see the largest potential growth for mobile email and synchronization. With the fundraising and the acquisition of AxisMobile, Synchronica now has sufficient mass and funding to take advantage of the outstanding opportunity to exploit the commercial potential of mass-market mobile email. The next few years will be an exciting time for us all here at Synchronica and for our customers around the globe. We look forward with increased confidence from this inflection point.”
Posted to the site on 18th August 2008
AxisMobile’s consumer mobile email platform complements Synchronica’s Mobile Gateway software by adding 'email to SMS’ and 'email to MMS’ gateways as well as a client-less solution for WAP/xHTML browser access. AxisMobile’s patented Optimizer email transcoding gateway further adds the ability to display a large variety of attachments such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint presentations on standard feature phone handsets that would otherwise be unable to support such functionality.
The AxisMobile acquisition will also enlarge Synchronica’s footprint in emerging markets, by adding a strong sales force and key customer contracts in the relatively untapped areas of Eastern Europe, CIS and Russia, to Synchronica’s existing sales presence in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Commenting on the acquisition, Synchronica CEO Carsten Brinkschulte said: “The fundraising and the acquisition of AxisMobile is a dramatic acceleration for Synchronica and I believe that it will build value for our shareholders. We aim to build a world leader in the market of consumer mobile email and synchronization solutions, and this acquisition is a key milestone that will improve our competitive positioning and accelerate our commercial growth. It will increase our ability to sell to customers, particularly to those in emerging economies, where we see the largest potential growth for mobile email and synchronization. With the fundraising and the acquisition of AxisMobile, Synchronica now has sufficient mass and funding to take advantage of the outstanding opportunity to exploit the commercial potential of mass-market mobile email. The next few years will be an exciting time for us all here at Synchronica and for our customers around the globe. We look forward with increased confidence from this inflection point.”
Posted to the site on 18th August 2008
BYD using VIA Telecom chipsets in CDMA handsets for Nokia, says paper
Newswatch | Aug 18, 12:05
China-based handset maker BYD Electronics began to ship CDMA handsets, made using chipsets from VIA Telecom, to Nokia in the middle of this year, making VIA Telecom a member company of the supply chain of the world's largest branded handset vendor, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Read more
China-based handset maker BYD Electronics began to ship CDMA handsets, made using chipsets from VIA Telecom, to Nokia in the middle of this year, making VIA Telecom a member company of the supply chain of the world's largest branded handset vendor, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Read more
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Analog TV shutdown kills free cell-phone TV
Aug 17, 2008 13:35 EST
Picture whipping out your cell phone and catching up with "Lost" or "Jeopardy," or watching the local 11 o'clock news, all for free.
You can do this with an imported Chinese phone, but you can't with any phone sold in the U.S. — at least not without monthly charges.
This is one of the reasons the United States is behind several other countries when it comes to making television an attractive option for cell phones. Carrier business models are partly at fault, but choices about TV technology made long ago are largely to blame.
Most phones sold in Japan can tune in to free TV broadcasts, and there are tens of millions of viewers. Cell phones that can tune in to free broadcasts are also available in South Korea, Germany and China.
But only 3 percent of Americans regularly watched video on their cell phones late last year, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. That figure includes people who watched short, downloaded clips rather than broadcast TV.
For starters, you can blame the impending shutdown of all full-power analog TV broadcasts on Feb. 17, a deadline set by the government. That Chinese handset, made by ZTE Corp., can only tune in to analog transmissions. Because most of them are going away, there's no real point in selling phones like that in the United States.
China is keeping its analog broadcasts until 2015, six years longer than the U.S., so the phones are viable there. Ironically, the TV reception chip inside comes from a U.S. company, Telegent Systems Inc., based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The analog U.S. broadcasts are being replaced by digital broadcasts, but there are no phones anywhere that can tune in to those.
When the U.S. digital TV standard was laid down in the early '90s by the Advanced Television Systems Committee, it was optimized for high-definition signals to stationary antennas, according to Mark Richter, president of the industry group.
At the time, cell phones had screens that could display eight digits and nothing else, so little thought was given making the broadcasts work with mobile gadgets.
The Europeans created their digital television standard later and made it a bit more amenable to mobile reception, Richter said. Thus, there are now phones sold in Germany that can receive local digital broadcasts intended for stationary TVs.
Weijie Yun, Telegent's chief executive, said it's theoretically possible to receive U.S. digital terrestrial broadcasts on a phone, but engineers have yet to overcome key technical challenges. For now, Telegent's chips can receive analog broadcasts in most countries of the world, and digital broadcasts in Europe and a few countries outside it.
Because U.S. phones can't receive regular broadcast TV, carriers have had to look to other solutions. Cell-phone technology company Qualcomm Inc. has created a network that broadcasts signals designed for cell phones. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless sell some handsets that can tune in to these broadcasts.
Sprint Nextel Corp. has contracted with another company, MobiTV Inc., which streams lo-fi streaming video over the phones' broadband connections. The fourth national carrier, T-Mobile USA, doesn't have a TV service.
The common denominator for the existing services is that they cost money, limiting their adoption. AT&T and Verizon Wireless charge $15 per month for 10 channels. Sprint bundles MobiTV with some high-end plans and charges $9.99 per month as standalone service.
In-Stat analyst Michelle Abraham estimates that Qualcomm's MediaFLO has 100,000 subscribers. MobiTV has done better, with about 4 million subscribers.
Research director John Barrett at analysis firm Parks Associates points to the fees as a problem, and recommends that operators provide free content.
"A free taste would go a long way in making the consumer case for mobile TV," he wrote in a recent report. "Mobile TV services have taken off in Japan and South Korea, where service is offered free of charge. In Italy, where additional fees have been the norm, usage has been limited."
This month, Toshiba Corp. announced it would end a pay-TV system for handsets because of the popularity of free TV broadcasts.
"That's one of the key barriers," Telegent's Yun said. "Once you start charging consumers, they start getting turned off."
U.S. TV broadcasters are quite eager to provide free broadcasts to cell phones, just as they do to TVs with "rabbit-ear" antennas. They've formed the Open Mobile Video Coalition, which estimates that advertising-financed TV for cell phones could be a $2 billion market.
They want to reach cell phones through another wireless standard the ATSC is creating. It will use regular TV frequencies to reach mobile gadgets, meaning TV stations will be able to broadcast from existing towers.
The goal is to complete the new standard, called ATSC-M/H, by the first quarter of next year, Richter said. That could mean broadcasts will be operational before the end of next year.
It's not completely clear that the technology would be used for free TV — the possibility to charge viewers monthly fees will be built in — but it would be natural for broadcasters to simulcast their regular advertising-financed programming on the mobile channel.
The big question then, Abraham said, is whether broadcasters will be able to persuade carriers to sell TV-capable phones.
AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said it was too early speculate.
"If the answer ends up being 'yes,'" Abraham said, "then that opens up a very large market."
Picture whipping out your cell phone and catching up with "Lost" or "Jeopardy," or watching the local 11 o'clock news, all for free.
You can do this with an imported Chinese phone, but you can't with any phone sold in the U.S. — at least not without monthly charges.
This is one of the reasons the United States is behind several other countries when it comes to making television an attractive option for cell phones. Carrier business models are partly at fault, but choices about TV technology made long ago are largely to blame.
Most phones sold in Japan can tune in to free TV broadcasts, and there are tens of millions of viewers. Cell phones that can tune in to free broadcasts are also available in South Korea, Germany and China.
But only 3 percent of Americans regularly watched video on their cell phones late last year, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. That figure includes people who watched short, downloaded clips rather than broadcast TV.
For starters, you can blame the impending shutdown of all full-power analog TV broadcasts on Feb. 17, a deadline set by the government. That Chinese handset, made by ZTE Corp., can only tune in to analog transmissions. Because most of them are going away, there's no real point in selling phones like that in the United States.
China is keeping its analog broadcasts until 2015, six years longer than the U.S., so the phones are viable there. Ironically, the TV reception chip inside comes from a U.S. company, Telegent Systems Inc., based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The analog U.S. broadcasts are being replaced by digital broadcasts, but there are no phones anywhere that can tune in to those.
When the U.S. digital TV standard was laid down in the early '90s by the Advanced Television Systems Committee, it was optimized for high-definition signals to stationary antennas, according to Mark Richter, president of the industry group.
At the time, cell phones had screens that could display eight digits and nothing else, so little thought was given making the broadcasts work with mobile gadgets.
The Europeans created their digital television standard later and made it a bit more amenable to mobile reception, Richter said. Thus, there are now phones sold in Germany that can receive local digital broadcasts intended for stationary TVs.
Weijie Yun, Telegent's chief executive, said it's theoretically possible to receive U.S. digital terrestrial broadcasts on a phone, but engineers have yet to overcome key technical challenges. For now, Telegent's chips can receive analog broadcasts in most countries of the world, and digital broadcasts in Europe and a few countries outside it.
Because U.S. phones can't receive regular broadcast TV, carriers have had to look to other solutions. Cell-phone technology company Qualcomm Inc. has created a network that broadcasts signals designed for cell phones. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless sell some handsets that can tune in to these broadcasts.
Sprint Nextel Corp. has contracted with another company, MobiTV Inc., which streams lo-fi streaming video over the phones' broadband connections. The fourth national carrier, T-Mobile USA, doesn't have a TV service.
The common denominator for the existing services is that they cost money, limiting their adoption. AT&T and Verizon Wireless charge $15 per month for 10 channels. Sprint bundles MobiTV with some high-end plans and charges $9.99 per month as standalone service.
In-Stat analyst Michelle Abraham estimates that Qualcomm's MediaFLO has 100,000 subscribers. MobiTV has done better, with about 4 million subscribers.
Research director John Barrett at analysis firm Parks Associates points to the fees as a problem, and recommends that operators provide free content.
"A free taste would go a long way in making the consumer case for mobile TV," he wrote in a recent report. "Mobile TV services have taken off in Japan and South Korea, where service is offered free of charge. In Italy, where additional fees have been the norm, usage has been limited."
This month, Toshiba Corp. announced it would end a pay-TV system for handsets because of the popularity of free TV broadcasts.
"That's one of the key barriers," Telegent's Yun said. "Once you start charging consumers, they start getting turned off."
U.S. TV broadcasters are quite eager to provide free broadcasts to cell phones, just as they do to TVs with "rabbit-ear" antennas. They've formed the Open Mobile Video Coalition, which estimates that advertising-financed TV for cell phones could be a $2 billion market.
They want to reach cell phones through another wireless standard the ATSC is creating. It will use regular TV frequencies to reach mobile gadgets, meaning TV stations will be able to broadcast from existing towers.
The goal is to complete the new standard, called ATSC-M/H, by the first quarter of next year, Richter said. That could mean broadcasts will be operational before the end of next year.
It's not completely clear that the technology would be used for free TV — the possibility to charge viewers monthly fees will be built in — but it would be natural for broadcasters to simulcast their regular advertising-financed programming on the mobile channel.
The big question then, Abraham said, is whether broadcasters will be able to persuade carriers to sell TV-capable phones.
AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said it was too early speculate.
"If the answer ends up being 'yes,'" Abraham said, "then that opens up a very large market."
Friday, August 15, 2008
T-Mobile to Offer 1st Android
August 15, 2008
If all goes according to plan, T-Mobile USA will be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone based on Google's Android software. The phone could hit the operator’s store shelves as early as October but definitely before Christmas, according to the New York Times.
The high-end phone, which will be made by smartphone maker HTC, is expected to challenge Apple's iPhone as well as other high-end smartphones.
In a YouTube video, the device, identified as the HTC Dream, appears to offer the same large touchscreen as the iPhone. However, the video also shows the screen slides out to reveal a 5-row keyboard.
Last November, Google introduced its Android software system for designing mobile phone devices.
If all goes according to plan, T-Mobile USA will be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone based on Google's Android software. The phone could hit the operator’s store shelves as early as October but definitely before Christmas, according to the New York Times.
The high-end phone, which will be made by smartphone maker HTC, is expected to challenge Apple's iPhone as well as other high-end smartphones.
In a YouTube video, the device, identified as the HTC Dream, appears to offer the same large touchscreen as the iPhone. However, the video also shows the screen slides out to reveal a 5-row keyboard.
Last November, Google introduced its Android software system for designing mobile phone devices.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
China TD-SCDMA subscriber volumes falling short of expectations
Aug 14, 11:52
The number of TD-SCDMA subscribers in China is expected to reach 2.31 million by the end of 2008, falling substantially short of the optimistic projection of 20-50 million subscribers by market sources in China, according to the latest estimation by China-based market research firm CCID Consulting.
The number of TD-SCDMA subscribers in China is expected to reach 2.31 million by the end of 2008, falling substantially short of the optimistic projection of 20-50 million subscribers by market sources in China, according to the latest estimation by China-based market research firm CCID Consulting.
China handset production to top 605 million units in 2008, says CCID
Aug 14, 11:29
The production volumes of handsets in China are expected to top 605 million units in 2008 compared to the 550 million units produced in 2007, according to data released from China-based CCID Consulting
The production volumes of handsets in China are expected to top 605 million units in 2008 compared to the 550 million units produced in 2007, according to data released from China-based CCID Consulting
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Smartphone sales in China up 32% on year in 1H 2008, says CCID
Aug 13, 11:32
Unit sales of smartphones in the China market grew 32% on year to 15 million units in the first half of 2008, according to data released from China-based CCID Consulting
Unit sales of smartphones in the China market grew 32% on year to 15 million units in the first half of 2008, according to data released from China-based CCID Consulting
Friday, August 8, 2008
China handset makers eye CDMA market potential
8 August 2008
China-based Shanghai Huaqin Telecom Technology recently signed a CDMA 2000 subscriber unit license agreement with Qualcomm, making the 2G handset maker the latest company to jump on the CDMA 2000 handset bandwagon.
The license deal came after a number of China-based handset makers, including BYD Electronics, TechFaith Wireless and Teleepoch, also signed a similar license agreement with Qualcomm within less than a year.
The recent reorganization of telecom companies in China and the potential for 3G business helped push China handset makers to venture into the development of 3G CDMA 2000 products, according to sources from Taiwan's handset market.
China Telecom, which is currently consolidating the CDMA networks and equipment previously owned by China Unicom, has projected the number of CDMA subscribers in China is to double to 100 million units within three years, the sources pointed out.
The market potential for CDMA handsets in China has encouraged more handset makers to join the club, indicated the sources.
In addition to the domestic market, China handset makers also aim to push sales of CDMA handsets in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Africa and India, the sources added.
China-based Shanghai Huaqin Telecom Technology recently signed a CDMA 2000 subscriber unit license agreement with Qualcomm, making the 2G handset maker the latest company to jump on the CDMA 2000 handset bandwagon.
The license deal came after a number of China-based handset makers, including BYD Electronics, TechFaith Wireless and Teleepoch, also signed a similar license agreement with Qualcomm within less than a year.
The recent reorganization of telecom companies in China and the potential for 3G business helped push China handset makers to venture into the development of 3G CDMA 2000 products, according to sources from Taiwan's handset market.
China Telecom, which is currently consolidating the CDMA networks and equipment previously owned by China Unicom, has projected the number of CDMA subscribers in China is to double to 100 million units within three years, the sources pointed out.
The market potential for CDMA handsets in China has encouraged more handset makers to join the club, indicated the sources.
In addition to the domestic market, China handset makers also aim to push sales of CDMA handsets in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Africa and India, the sources added.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
MediaTek sales up 26% in July
7 August 2008
MediaTek has announced that its consolidated net sales for July 2008 totaled NT$8.59 billion, up 26% from the previous month and up 24% from July 2007.
The company's consolidated sales are up 25% through July of this year, compared with the same period in 2007.
MediaTek has announced that its consolidated net sales for July 2008 totaled NT$8.59 billion, up 26% from the previous month and up 24% from July 2007.
The company's consolidated sales are up 25% through July of this year, compared with the same period in 2007.
HTC revenues up over 26% on year in July
7 August 2008]
High Tech Computer (HTC) posted revenues of NT$11.44 billion (US$372.64 million) in July, down 3.4% on month but up 26.4% on year, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).
For the first seven months of this year, revenues topped NT$78.76 billion, up 32.4% from the same period of last year, the data showed.
Based on HTC's own projection of a 10% sequential growth of its quarterly revenues, the company's revenues are expected to reach NT$38 billion in the third quarter of this year, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
High Tech Computer (HTC) posted revenues of NT$11.44 billion (US$372.64 million) in July, down 3.4% on month but up 26.4% on year, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).
For the first seven months of this year, revenues topped NT$78.76 billion, up 32.4% from the same period of last year, the data showed.
Based on HTC's own projection of a 10% sequential growth of its quarterly revenues, the company's revenues are expected to reach NT$38 billion in the third quarter of this year, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
Foxconn unveils ambitious domestic investment package for Taiwan
7 August 2008
The Foxconn Group (Hon Hai Precision Industry), on August 6, unveiled a package of investment plans to be made in Taiwan.
The investment package was presented by Foxconn chairman Terry Guo to Premier Chao-shiuan Liu at the company's headquarters and include: the establishment of an Asia Pacific logistics and transshipment center in Kaohsiung Harbor, southern Taiwan; investment in a few target industries creating 30,000 jobs; and development of a new residential community characterized by digitization and environmental protection to house a population of 240,000, most of which will be Foxconn employees.
The Foxconn Group (Hon Hai Precision Industry), on August 6, unveiled a package of investment plans to be made in Taiwan.
The investment package was presented by Foxconn chairman Terry Guo to Premier Chao-shiuan Liu at the company's headquarters and include: the establishment of an Asia Pacific logistics and transshipment center in Kaohsiung Harbor, southern Taiwan; investment in a few target industries creating 30,000 jobs; and development of a new residential community characterized by digitization and environmental protection to house a population of 240,000, most of which will be Foxconn employees.
China Unicom to Stop CDMA/GSM Dual-mode Mobile Phone R&D
SHENZHEN, Aug 07, 2008 (SinoCast via COMTEX) -- CHU | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- China Unicom lately said in a statement that it had clinched a deal with China Telecom to stop developing CDMA/GSM dual-mode cell phones.
Industry experts say that such move means China Unicom will stop operation of CDMA/GSM dual-mode telecom service and the dual-mode cell phone makers from now on will have to turn their heads to China Telecom.
Looking back to 2005, China Unicom was lack of CMDA terminals even four years after it kicked off its CDMA network.
By the end of that year, China Unicom came up with CDMA/GSM dual-mode high-end cell phones by making cooperation with a host of cell phone makers.
The CDMA/GSM dual-mode cell phone market saw a fever pitch in 2007 as an increasing number of cell phone makers flocked into the sector with their products, they included ZTE, Hisense, Konka, Amoi, Motorola, LG, Samsung, and so on.
Industry experts say that such move means China Unicom will stop operation of CDMA/GSM dual-mode telecom service and the dual-mode cell phone makers from now on will have to turn their heads to China Telecom.
Looking back to 2005, China Unicom was lack of CMDA terminals even four years after it kicked off its CDMA network.
By the end of that year, China Unicom came up with CDMA/GSM dual-mode high-end cell phones by making cooperation with a host of cell phone makers.
The CDMA/GSM dual-mode cell phone market saw a fever pitch in 2007 as an increasing number of cell phone makers flocked into the sector with their products, they included ZTE, Hisense, Konka, Amoi, Motorola, LG, Samsung, and so on.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Sharp eyes China for mobile phone expansion
TOKYO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Sharp Corp (6753.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) aims to sell as many cellphone handsets in China, a market the Japanese company entered in June, in two years as it does in Japan, President Mikio Katayama told reporters on Wednesday.
Sharp sold 13 million mobile phones in Japan in the year ended March 2008.
The consumer electronics maker plans to expand its mobile phone lineup in China by launching lower-priced phones on top of existing high-end models, Katayama said.
Mobile phone demand in Japan slowed in the latest quarter as wireless operators such as NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) cut sales incentives paid to retailers to keep handset prices low, forcing cellphone makers to look overseas for growth.
Katayama also said Sharp aims to boost annual sales of its Blu-ray high-definition DVD-related products, such as Blu-ray recorders, players and components, to 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) by 2012, up from an estimated 100 billion yen this year.
Shares in Sharp, the world's third-largest liquid crystal display TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), closed up 5.1 percent at 1,458 yen ahead of Katayama's comments, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index , which gained 4.1 percent. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Rodney Joyce and David Holmes)
Sharp sold 13 million mobile phones in Japan in the year ended March 2008.
The consumer electronics maker plans to expand its mobile phone lineup in China by launching lower-priced phones on top of existing high-end models, Katayama said.
Mobile phone demand in Japan slowed in the latest quarter as wireless operators such as NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) cut sales incentives paid to retailers to keep handset prices low, forcing cellphone makers to look overseas for growth.
Katayama also said Sharp aims to boost annual sales of its Blu-ray high-definition DVD-related products, such as Blu-ray recorders, players and components, to 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) by 2012, up from an estimated 100 billion yen this year.
Shares in Sharp, the world's third-largest liquid crystal display TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), closed up 5.1 percent at 1,458 yen ahead of Katayama's comments, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index , which gained 4.1 percent. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Rodney Joyce and David Holmes)
Monday, August 4, 2008
MediaTek set to due battle in global 3G handset chipset market in 2009
Aug 4, 17:21
With MediaTek announcing that it is sampling its 3G WCDMA solution with customers at the end of 2008, the company joins the competition in the global 3G handset chipset market with players including Qualcomm, Infineon Technologies, Texas Instruments (TI), Freescale Semiconductor, Marvell, ST-NXP Wireless and Broadcom.
With MediaTek announcing that it is sampling its 3G WCDMA solution with customers at the end of 2008, the company joins the competition in the global 3G handset chipset market with players including Qualcomm, Infineon Technologies, Texas Instruments (TI), Freescale Semiconductor, Marvell, ST-NXP Wireless and Broadcom.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Contract manufacturing industry undergoing period of deceleration and consolidation, says iSuppli
Aug 1, 10:04
The global electronics Contract Manufacturing (CM) industry is undergoing a period of deceleration and consolidation, phenomena that will transform the market by 2013 as competitors are forced to rethink how they deliver value to their customers, according to iSuppli. Revenue for the global CM industry, consisting of Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) providers, is set to expand to US$432.3 billion by 2012, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% from US$305.5 billion in 2007
The global electronics Contract Manufacturing (CM) industry is undergoing a period of deceleration and consolidation, phenomena that will transform the market by 2013 as competitors are forced to rethink how they deliver value to their customers, according to iSuppli. Revenue for the global CM industry, consisting of Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) providers, is set to expand to US$432.3 billion by 2012, rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% from US$305.5 billion in 2007
Mobile handset shipments still on course for 1.3 billion shipments in 2008, says ABI Research
Aug 1, 10:14
In the second quarter of 2008, tier one handset vendors enjoyed year-over-year unit shipment growth of between 15-22%. ABI Research estimates that 301 million units were shipped during the quarter and therefore reaffirms its forecast that the mobile device market will deliver 13% growth to take 2008 annual shipments to 1.3 billion units. Read more
In the second quarter of 2008, tier one handset vendors enjoyed year-over-year unit shipment growth of between 15-22%. ABI Research estimates that 301 million units were shipped during the quarter and therefore reaffirms its forecast that the mobile device market will deliver 13% growth to take 2008 annual shipments to 1.3 billion units. Read more
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