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)

Arima Communications handset shipments to peak at 5-6 million units in 3Q08

28 January 2008
Arima Communications is expected to ship two million handsets in the first quarter of this year, with the shipments growing to 2.5-3 million units in the second quarter before peaking at 5-6 million units during the July-September period, according to sources at Taiwan-based handset component makers.
Handset shipments for all of 2008 are expected to total 14-16 million units, up from 9.5 million units shipped in 2007, the sources estimated.
Arima will begin shipping the T270 and T280 to Sony Ericsson in the first quarter, followed by the R300 Radio in the second quarter, while phasing out production of Sony Ericsson's T250, K200 and K220 during the first half, the sources noted.
Arima will also manufacture four new handsets for LG Electronics this year with total shipments expected to reach two million units, indicated the sources, noting that all of the four models, including the KP320 slated for shipment in the first quarter, will be built using handset solutions from MediaTek.
Arima's other handset clients also include Sharp of Japan and imobile of Thailand, said the sources.

Handheld device shipments down over 43% on year as vendors exit or transition product lines, says IDC

12 Nov, 2007

The worldwide handheld device market posted its fifteenth consecutive quarter of decline in shipments, signaling either vendor intent to scale back production or exit from market entirely, or both, according to research firm IDC. Vendors shipped 728,894 handheld devices in the third quarter of 2007, approximately 1.5% more than the previous quarter but 39.3% less from the same quarter a year ago, noted IDC.
"The handheld device market has been under constant pressure, with mobile phones and converged mobile devices appropriating many of the handheld's salient attributes," says Ramon T Llamas, research analyst with IDC's Mobile Device Technology and Trends team. "Handheld product portfolios have suffered as vendors have reallocated their production resources."
"However, the handheld device market may be down, but is not necessarily out. The handheld still has a loyal, if shrinking, following in developed economies, especially among enterprise users. In emerging markets, the appeal of the handheld devices seems anchored in the fact that, in the absence of a monthly service plan, it has a lower total cost of ownership compared to mobile phones and/or the converged mobile device."
Top-five handheld device vendors
Palm remained the clear leader in the handheld market even though it has not launched a new model for over two years. However, over the same period, the company has released nearly a dozen new Treo converged mobile devices. After having retired the Life Drive, Palm is relying on its Z22, TX, and Tungsten E2 handheld devices to represent the company.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) retained the number two position during the quarter, still trailing Palm but far outpacing any of the remaining vendors. In September, HP announced plans for several new devices including two handheld devices – the 111 Classic Handheld and the 211 Enterprise Handheld – as well as the iPAQ 610 Business Navigator, a converged mobile device.
Mio has standardized GPS capability on all of its handheld devices, and by leading with that value proposition, the company has experienced continued growth. Recently Mio announced two new additions to its portfolio, the P360 and the P560. The P560 boasts Wi-Fi as one of its key features.
Fujitsu-Siemens climbed back into the top-five rankings after a one quarter hiatus, and stayed far ahead of the remaining vendors to claim the number four spot as its own. Helping to drive volumes were its C Series and N Series devices shipped into EMEA, and recently the company has begun to offer a competing converged mobile device with its Pocket LOOX T Series device.
Sharp narrowly stayed ahead of a crowded group of other vendors to take the number five spot during the quarter, and suffered the largest on-year decline in the group. All of its shipments were recorded in Japan, and they accounted for nearly two-thirds of all handheld devices shipped to that country. While Sharp's business has floundered, its success in the mobile phone and converged mobile device segments has propelled it to the number one position in Japan.