2008/10/8
MediaTek is exhibiting its WiMAX and WCDMA (W&W) chips at the 2008 Taipei International Electronics Show (Taitronics), with the WiMAX chips perhaps being mass produced at the end of 2008. WCDMA chip samples have already been sent to customers and related shipments are expected to begin in the first half of 2009. The so-called W&W chips will play an important roles for MediaTek's operation in 2009, company chairman Ming-Kai Tsai indicated.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
ZTE Planning $880 Million R&D Center
China's ZTE is planning a RMB6 billion (US$880 million) R&D centre in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province. The company said that its Xian Hi-tech Park would bring its research and development, production, outsourcing services and customer service training under one roof.
ZTE Planning $880 Million R&D Center
China's ZTE is planning a RMB6 billion (US$880 million) R&D centre in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province. The company said that its Xian Hi-tech Park would bring its research and development, production, outsourcing services and customer service training under one roof.
ZTE Planning $880 Million R&D Center
China's ZTE is planning a RMB6 billion (US$880 million) R&D centre in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province. The company said that its Xian Hi-tech Park would bring its research and development, production, outsourcing services and customer service training under one roof.
Friday, September 26, 2008
MStar looks to challenge MediaTek in white-box handset baseband chip market
2008/9/26
According to market watchers, Taiwan IC design house MStar has shipped handset baseband chips to China white-box handset customers priced almost 30% lower than MediaTek's chips. In addition, MStar is also planning to introduce multimedia chips recently, which may affect MediaTek's margins in the future.
According to market watchers, Taiwan IC design house MStar has shipped handset baseband chips to China white-box handset customers priced almost 30% lower than MediaTek's chips. In addition, MStar is also planning to introduce multimedia chips recently, which may affect MediaTek's margins in the future.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
China Mobile Seeking Cut-Down Version of Apple's iPhone
China Mobile is expected to officially launch the Apple iPhone on its network shortly - but with some of the functionality removed to comply with Chinese regulations. The South China Morning Post, citing a report from the Daiwa Institute of Research said that the 3G and Wi-Fi services would be disabled on the Chinese model.Daiwa analyst Calvin Huang said that Taiwan Hon Hai Precision Industry, which is responsible for assembling iPhone products for Apple, is waiting for verification from the mainland to ship the phone without W-CDMA and Wi-Fi functions.
As China Mobile is widely expected to have to build outs its eventual 3G network using the Chinese developed TD-SCDMA format, disabling the 3G functionality would make it less appealing to users who might buy the handset and unlock it to be used on the expected W-CDMA network from China Telecom.
"Apple shouldn't customise a model of iPhone for the mainland market, given that it only provides a standardised product to operators around the world," Frederick Wong, a BNP Paribas analyst told the newspaper - although making the unit compatible with the Chinese language would be quite a customisation anyway.
China Mobile has been in on/off talks with Apple ever since the iPhone was launched. The talks broke down in January but resumed again in July.
"The talks with Apple to launch the iPhone device in China have resumed because Apple is not insisting on revenue-sharing anymore," China Mobile Ltd. spokeswoman Rainie Lei said at the time.
According to figures supplied by China Mobile to research firm In-Stat earlier this year, there were over 400,000 unlocked Apple iPhones being detected on its network.
In-Stat says that it has never doubted that the iPhone will achieve greater success than iPod in China if Apple teams with China Mobile to launch its Chinese version. There are two reasons. Firstly, different from the US where the smartphone market is fairly limited, appealing primarily to business users, The smartphone market in China, though, is an entertainment-oriented individual consumer market. The main reasons that Chinese mobile users purchase smartphones include entertainment (such as music players, cameras and video) and to access mobile Internet applications (such as IM, e-book, and games).
The company also estimates that 20% of handsets sold in China in 2007 cost more than 4,000 RMB (US$533). In another words, there are an estimated 28 million potential users for the iPhone in China.
On the web: South China Morning Post
As China Mobile is widely expected to have to build outs its eventual 3G network using the Chinese developed TD-SCDMA format, disabling the 3G functionality would make it less appealing to users who might buy the handset and unlock it to be used on the expected W-CDMA network from China Telecom.
"Apple shouldn't customise a model of iPhone for the mainland market, given that it only provides a standardised product to operators around the world," Frederick Wong, a BNP Paribas analyst told the newspaper - although making the unit compatible with the Chinese language would be quite a customisation anyway.
China Mobile has been in on/off talks with Apple ever since the iPhone was launched. The talks broke down in January but resumed again in July.
"The talks with Apple to launch the iPhone device in China have resumed because Apple is not insisting on revenue-sharing anymore," China Mobile Ltd. spokeswoman Rainie Lei said at the time.
According to figures supplied by China Mobile to research firm In-Stat earlier this year, there were over 400,000 unlocked Apple iPhones being detected on its network.
In-Stat says that it has never doubted that the iPhone will achieve greater success than iPod in China if Apple teams with China Mobile to launch its Chinese version. There are two reasons. Firstly, different from the US where the smartphone market is fairly limited, appealing primarily to business users, The smartphone market in China, though, is an entertainment-oriented individual consumer market. The main reasons that Chinese mobile users purchase smartphones include entertainment (such as music players, cameras and video) and to access mobile Internet applications (such as IM, e-book, and games).
The company also estimates that 20% of handsets sold in China in 2007 cost more than 4,000 RMB (US$533). In another words, there are an estimated 28 million potential users for the iPhone in China.
On the web: South China Morning Post
Research In Motion's Profit, Forecast Miss Estimates (Update3)
Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd. forecast third-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates after boosting marketing to ward off Apple Inc.'s new iPhone and introduce handsets. The shares fell 21 percent in late trading.
Profit will be 89 cents to 97 cents a share on sales of as much as $3.1 billion, Research In Motion said today in a statement. Analysts predicted 99 cents in profit on average and revenue of $2.96 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Research In Motion's earnings forecast missed projections for the second straight quarter as it readied four new phones. The cost of promoting new models contributed to $379.6 million in sales and marketing costs last quarter, almost double the year- earlier amount. The company also had to delay the U.S. release of its Bold product, which will challenge the iPhone 3G.
``The cost of selling and launching all these platforms is much higher than what people thought,'' Pablo Perez-Fernandez, an analyst with Global Crown Capital in San Francisco, said in an interview. He recommends buying the shares, which he doesn't own.
Second-quarter net income rose 72 percent to $495.5 million, or 86 cents a share, from $287.7 million, or 50 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Analysts predicted a profit of 87 cents on average for the period, which ended Aug. 30. Revenue climbed 88 percent to $2.58 billion, compared with a projection of $2.59 billion from analysts.
Shares Plunge
Research In Motion, based in Waterloo, Ontario, fell $20.06 to $77.47 in extended trading after closing at $97.53 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have dropped 14 percent this year.
The company is working on a touch-screen phone and an update to its Curve consumer model, in addition to the Bold and a flip- phone version of its Pearl, according to Mike Abramsky, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
Some of the new phones aren't as profitable as older models, co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie said on a conference call today. The Bold, for example, has a brighter screen, making it more expensive to produce.
``It's difficult to pass on all these costs to customers,'' Balsillie said.
That will push down gross margin, the percentage of sales remaining after deducting production costs, to 47 percent in the current quarter from 50.7 percent, Vice President Edel Ebbs said on the call. That measure may drop further in the fourth quarter, she said.
Rising Costs
Sales expenses in the current quarter may climb between 10 percent and 11 percent from the previous period, Ebbs said.
Research In Motion added 2.6 million users last quarter, compared with a 2.64 million estimate from Perez-Fernandez. The company expects to add 2.9 million users this quarter, missing Perez-Fernandez's projection of 3.09 million. Research In Motion currently has about 19 million BlackBerry users.
The company, which once focused mainly on corporate users, is offering cheaper phones as it competes for consumers with Apple's $199 iPhone. About 40 percent of Research In Motion's customers are now consumers, while the rest are business customers. The U.S. accounts for more than half of the company's annual revenue.
In the past quarter, Verizon Wireless reduced the price tag on the BlackBerry Pearl to $79 from $99.
Apple, meanwhile, is going after corporate users with features such as access to office e-mail. Based in Cupertino, California, Apple introduced the iPhone 3G in July, selling a million units in the product's first three days. The original iPhone, which ran on a slower network, debuted in June 2007.
Wireless carriers are promoting so-called smart phones, devices with e-mail and Web-browsing features, as revenue from traditional land-line service declines. Research In Motion increased its share of the U.S. smart-phone market to 53.6 percent in the second quarter from 44.5 percent in the first, according to Framingham, Massachusetts-based research firm IDC.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vivek Shankar in San Francisco at vshankar3@bloomberg.net
Profit will be 89 cents to 97 cents a share on sales of as much as $3.1 billion, Research In Motion said today in a statement. Analysts predicted 99 cents in profit on average and revenue of $2.96 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Research In Motion's earnings forecast missed projections for the second straight quarter as it readied four new phones. The cost of promoting new models contributed to $379.6 million in sales and marketing costs last quarter, almost double the year- earlier amount. The company also had to delay the U.S. release of its Bold product, which will challenge the iPhone 3G.
``The cost of selling and launching all these platforms is much higher than what people thought,'' Pablo Perez-Fernandez, an analyst with Global Crown Capital in San Francisco, said in an interview. He recommends buying the shares, which he doesn't own.
Second-quarter net income rose 72 percent to $495.5 million, or 86 cents a share, from $287.7 million, or 50 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Analysts predicted a profit of 87 cents on average for the period, which ended Aug. 30. Revenue climbed 88 percent to $2.58 billion, compared with a projection of $2.59 billion from analysts.
Shares Plunge
Research In Motion, based in Waterloo, Ontario, fell $20.06 to $77.47 in extended trading after closing at $97.53 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have dropped 14 percent this year.
The company is working on a touch-screen phone and an update to its Curve consumer model, in addition to the Bold and a flip- phone version of its Pearl, according to Mike Abramsky, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.
Some of the new phones aren't as profitable as older models, co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie said on a conference call today. The Bold, for example, has a brighter screen, making it more expensive to produce.
``It's difficult to pass on all these costs to customers,'' Balsillie said.
That will push down gross margin, the percentage of sales remaining after deducting production costs, to 47 percent in the current quarter from 50.7 percent, Vice President Edel Ebbs said on the call. That measure may drop further in the fourth quarter, she said.
Rising Costs
Sales expenses in the current quarter may climb between 10 percent and 11 percent from the previous period, Ebbs said.
Research In Motion added 2.6 million users last quarter, compared with a 2.64 million estimate from Perez-Fernandez. The company expects to add 2.9 million users this quarter, missing Perez-Fernandez's projection of 3.09 million. Research In Motion currently has about 19 million BlackBerry users.
The company, which once focused mainly on corporate users, is offering cheaper phones as it competes for consumers with Apple's $199 iPhone. About 40 percent of Research In Motion's customers are now consumers, while the rest are business customers. The U.S. accounts for more than half of the company's annual revenue.
In the past quarter, Verizon Wireless reduced the price tag on the BlackBerry Pearl to $79 from $99.
Apple, meanwhile, is going after corporate users with features such as access to office e-mail. Based in Cupertino, California, Apple introduced the iPhone 3G in July, selling a million units in the product's first three days. The original iPhone, which ran on a slower network, debuted in June 2007.
Wireless carriers are promoting so-called smart phones, devices with e-mail and Web-browsing features, as revenue from traditional land-line service declines. Research In Motion increased its share of the U.S. smart-phone market to 53.6 percent in the second quarter from 44.5 percent in the first, according to Framingham, Massachusetts-based research firm IDC.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vivek Shankar in San Francisco at vshankar3@bloomberg.net
China Mobile may offer Android handsets through cooperation with HTC, say Taiwan makers
2008/9/25
China Mobile Communications (China Mobile), the largest operator of mobile communication services in China, may take the initiative to offer Android handsets in the China market through outsourced production by Taiwan-based High Tech Computer (HTC), the maker of the T-Mobile G1, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
China Mobile Communications (China Mobile), the largest operator of mobile communication services in China, may take the initiative to offer Android handsets in the China market through outsourced production by Taiwan-based High Tech Computer (HTC), the maker of the T-Mobile G1, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sony Ericsson boss says studying Android system
LUND, Sweden (Reuters) - Sony Ericsson is studying Google's Android mobile operating system, but was not able to embrace it yet, President Dick Komiyama said on Wednesday.
"We are certainly studying this opportunity, although we're not in a position to do this at this moment," Komiyama told journalists at a media event in the southern Swedish city of Lund, where the company has a research and development site.
"We should look at this application," he said. "We are certainly interested."
Android is an open source platform for designing mobile devices which Google (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) says will encourage innovation by allowing outside software developers to tinker with the system and create better mobile programs and services.
However, Komiyama said Sony Ericsson was already part of the Symbian Foundation, a group which since June has attracted some 40 companies and gives developers free access to its software.
Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile unveiled on Tuesday the first cellphone that uses Android software. The phone is being touted as Google's answer to the iPhone. The G1 phone, made by HTC Corp, has a touch-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard and Wi-Fi connections.
"We are certainly studying this opportunity, although we're not in a position to do this at this moment," Komiyama told journalists at a media event in the southern Swedish city of Lund, where the company has a research and development site.
"We should look at this application," he said. "We are certainly interested."
Android is an open source platform for designing mobile devices which Google (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) says will encourage innovation by allowing outside software developers to tinker with the system and create better mobile programs and services.
However, Komiyama said Sony Ericsson was already part of the Symbian Foundation, a group which since June has attracted some 40 companies and gives developers free access to its software.
Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile unveiled on Tuesday the first cellphone that uses Android software. The phone is being touted as Google's answer to the iPhone. The G1 phone, made by HTC Corp, has a touch-sensitive screen, a computer-like keyboard and Wi-Fi connections.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
T-Mobile Planning "Google Phone" Launch at End of Sept - Report
T-Mobile USA is reported to be planning a launch of its first Google Android phone within just a few weeks. Sources told the Reuters news agency that the mobile operator would make an announcement in New York City, and said that Sept 23rd was the probable date for the press conference.
There had been reports that the phone would be delayed - but T-Mobile has said that it is still on target for a launch in (or by) October.
"T-Mobile is on track to bring an Android-based phone to market in the fourth quarter," said a T-Mobile spokesman earlier this month. "We haven't announced any specific details about the Android phone at this point and don't comment on rumors."
T-Mobile did not comment when Reuters contacted them today.
The touchscreen based smartphone will be supplied by Taiwan's High Tech Computer, or HTC, a company which has traditionally focused on Windows Mobile based handsets. There were unconfirmed rumours last month that Sony Ericsson is in talks to buy HTC.
Google is also widely expected to announce improvements to the Android platform in the next few weeks - including a new software development kit (SDK) following complaints about the current platform.
On the web: Reuters
Posted to the site on 11th September 2008
There had been reports that the phone would be delayed - but T-Mobile has said that it is still on target for a launch in (or by) October.
"T-Mobile is on track to bring an Android-based phone to market in the fourth quarter," said a T-Mobile spokesman earlier this month. "We haven't announced any specific details about the Android phone at this point and don't comment on rumors."
T-Mobile did not comment when Reuters contacted them today.
The touchscreen based smartphone will be supplied by Taiwan's High Tech Computer, or HTC, a company which has traditionally focused on Windows Mobile based handsets. There were unconfirmed rumours last month that Sony Ericsson is in talks to buy HTC.
Google is also widely expected to announce improvements to the Android platform in the next few weeks - including a new software development kit (SDK) following complaints about the current platform.
On the web: Reuters
Posted to the site on 11th September 2008
Nokia Expects to Support China's TD-SCDMA Standard
11 Sept 2008
Nokia is planning to support all three of the proposed 3G standards in China by releasing handsets for each of the networks. It is anticipated that China Mobile will use the Chinese developed 3G standard, TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom will use CDMA2000 and China Unicom will use WCDMA.
Nokia's vice-president of Greater China sales, David Tang told the South China Morning Post that the company aims to retain its number one position in the market.
As China Mobile has a market share of around 70%, supporting the TD-SCDMA format is essential for any handset vendor seeking to retain their market position.
"Nokia supports the development of TD-SCDMA. We will have the handsets in the market when the service becomes active," said Mr Tang in an interview at Nokia's Green Campus headquarters in Beijing.
Although Nokia does not currently have any TD-SCDMA based handsets, the company is a 49% holder in a Chinese joint venture, Potevio(中国普天 www.potevio.com ) with China Putian to develop network infrastructure based on the 3G standard, so it has access to the necessary technical expertise. Potevio was set up in 2005 and has also been the major supplier of equipment to China Mobile's TD-SCDMA trial networks in Tianjin and Qinhuangdao.
Nokia sold just over 70 million mobile phones in China during 2007, giving it a 42% market share.
On the web: South China Morning Post
Posted to the site on 11th September 2008
Nokia is planning to support all three of the proposed 3G standards in China by releasing handsets for each of the networks. It is anticipated that China Mobile will use the Chinese developed 3G standard, TD-SCDMA, while China Telecom will use CDMA2000 and China Unicom will use WCDMA.
Nokia's vice-president of Greater China sales, David Tang told the South China Morning Post that the company aims to retain its number one position in the market.
As China Mobile has a market share of around 70%, supporting the TD-SCDMA format is essential for any handset vendor seeking to retain their market position.
"Nokia supports the development of TD-SCDMA. We will have the handsets in the market when the service becomes active," said Mr Tang in an interview at Nokia's Green Campus headquarters in Beijing.
Although Nokia does not currently have any TD-SCDMA based handsets, the company is a 49% holder in a Chinese joint venture, Potevio(中国普天 www.potevio.com ) with China Putian to develop network infrastructure based on the 3G standard, so it has access to the necessary technical expertise. Potevio was set up in 2005 and has also been the major supplier of equipment to China Mobile's TD-SCDMA trial networks in Tianjin and Qinhuangdao.
Nokia sold just over 70 million mobile phones in China during 2007, giving it a 42% market share.
On the web: South China Morning Post
Posted to the site on 11th September 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Velocity Mobile Announces Availability of Its First Touchscreen Phone
Velocity Mobile has announced the retail availability of its first touchscreen phone, the Velocity 103. The Velocity Mobile 103 combines Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, an Odyssey Interface, Velocity Over The Air updates (Vota) and will ship by the end of September.
Velocity 103
Velocity Mobile, in collaboration with Inventec, designs and engineers 2G and 3G mobile devices and data cards based on Qualcomm and Samsung platforms.
"Consumers these days are demanding more from their phones. Our research tells us that people want experiences, not applications and functions," said David Hayes, president and managing director, Velocity Mobile. "Velocity Mobile has brought together some of the greatest minds and best of breed partners in the industry to deliver positive experience and value to consumers."
Velocity Mobile's core leadership team collectively has nearly forty years' experience in innovative mobile engineering, design, sales and marketing, and is working in collaboration with Inventec Corporation, one of the world's top three original design manufacturers (ODMs) for notebook computers.
Posted to the site on 10th September 2008
Velocity 103
Velocity Mobile, in collaboration with Inventec, designs and engineers 2G and 3G mobile devices and data cards based on Qualcomm and Samsung platforms.
"Consumers these days are demanding more from their phones. Our research tells us that people want experiences, not applications and functions," said David Hayes, president and managing director, Velocity Mobile. "Velocity Mobile has brought together some of the greatest minds and best of breed partners in the industry to deliver positive experience and value to consumers."
Velocity Mobile's core leadership team collectively has nearly forty years' experience in innovative mobile engineering, design, sales and marketing, and is working in collaboration with Inventec Corporation, one of the world's top three original design manufacturers (ODMs) for notebook computers.
Posted to the site on 10th September 2008
Sony Ericsson Announces Xperia Launch Date
Sony Ericsson has finally confirmed the launch date for its first Windows Mobile phone - the Xperia X1. The phone will be initially available to consumers in the UK, Germany and Sweden from the 30th Sept and available in other markets across Europe, Asia and Latin America throughout Q4 2008.
Availability dates for North America, China, Australia and Russia along with other countries not mentioned above will be announced by local markets in the coming months.
"We are extremely pleased with the innovation and new user experience we have created for consumers on the Xperia X1," said Rikko Sakaguchi CVP and Head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson.
The Xperia X1 is the first product under Sony Ericsson's new premium sub-brand Xperia.
Posted to the site on 10th September 2008
Availability dates for North America, China, Australia and Russia along with other countries not mentioned above will be announced by local markets in the coming months.
"We are extremely pleased with the innovation and new user experience we have created for consumers on the Xperia X1," said Rikko Sakaguchi CVP and Head of Creation and Development at Sony Ericsson.
The Xperia X1 is the first product under Sony Ericsson's new premium sub-brand Xperia.
Posted to the site on 10th September 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Sony Ericsson Looking at Unlimited Music Downloads Service
Sony Ericsson is reported to be working on a mobile music service which would offer handset purchasers an unlimited download of music tracks. The move is expected to compete directly with the similar platform from Nokia which is just launching in the UK and offers 12 months worth of unlimited downloads with selected new handsets.
The Financial Times reported that the company is in talks with all the major music labels about a product launch prior to the end of this year.
Warner Music, Universal Music and Sony BMG are all suppliers to the Nokia service - although Sony, the 50:50 joint owner of Sony Ericsson recently took full control of the BMG music label.
Dan Cryan, an analyst at Screen Digest, told the newspaper that competition had encouraged Sony Ericsson to launch a product it had once rejected as devaluing music.
“Sony Ericsson’s market share is shrinking,” he said. “If everybody is launching 'all you can eat’ services, which make handsets more attractive to end users and to operators, they don’t have much choice, especially when so much of their brand value is built around the Walkman.”
On the web: Financial Times
Posted to the site on 9th September 2008
The Financial Times reported that the company is in talks with all the major music labels about a product launch prior to the end of this year.
Warner Music, Universal Music and Sony BMG are all suppliers to the Nokia service - although Sony, the 50:50 joint owner of Sony Ericsson recently took full control of the BMG music label.
Dan Cryan, an analyst at Screen Digest, told the newspaper that competition had encouraged Sony Ericsson to launch a product it had once rejected as devaluing music.
“Sony Ericsson’s market share is shrinking,” he said. “If everybody is launching 'all you can eat’ services, which make handsets more attractive to end users and to operators, they don’t have much choice, especially when so much of their brand value is built around the Walkman.”
On the web: Financial Times
Posted to the site on 9th September 2008
Sony Ericsson Shows Off 3G Slider Phone
Sony Ericsson has shown off a new 3G slider phone - the G705. The handset comes with built in aGPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and 3.2 megapixel camera.
"The G705 is ideal for those who need a bit of help organising their busy life." said Catherine Cherry, Global product marketing manager at Sony Ericsson. "This life-enhancing phone has everything you need to keep track of your daily activities and is perfect for keeping in touch with friends. It also allows you to stay fully up-to-date thanks to the full HTML browser, email support, and desktop RSS feeds - all delivered at turbo 3G speeds."
Also announced today is the G705u, the first UMA enabled phone from Sony Ericsson. UMA enables users to seamlessly roam between the mobile network and local area networks thanks to GSM/Wi-Fi dual capabilities. The G705u is exclusive to the operator Orange in its territories.
In addition, Sony Ericsson is pleased to today announce a partnership with Google meaning that YouTube will be integrated into selected upcoming models from Sony Ericsson. This capability will allow users to instantly download and upload video directly from their phone to YouTube. The G705 will be YouTube compatible and further models will be announced at a later stage.
The G705 and G705u (exclusive to Orange) support GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSDPA 2100. G705 will be available in selected markets from early Q4.
The G705 will also be available in a version for American markets supporting networks GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSUPA 850/1900/2100. G705 for American markets will be available early Q1 2009.
Posted to the site on 9th September 2008
"The G705 is ideal for those who need a bit of help organising their busy life." said Catherine Cherry, Global product marketing manager at Sony Ericsson. "This life-enhancing phone has everything you need to keep track of your daily activities and is perfect for keeping in touch with friends. It also allows you to stay fully up-to-date thanks to the full HTML browser, email support, and desktop RSS feeds - all delivered at turbo 3G speeds."
Also announced today is the G705u, the first UMA enabled phone from Sony Ericsson. UMA enables users to seamlessly roam between the mobile network and local area networks thanks to GSM/Wi-Fi dual capabilities. The G705u is exclusive to the operator Orange in its territories.
In addition, Sony Ericsson is pleased to today announce a partnership with Google meaning that YouTube will be integrated into selected upcoming models from Sony Ericsson. This capability will allow users to instantly download and upload video directly from their phone to YouTube. The G705 will be YouTube compatible and further models will be announced at a later stage.
The G705 and G705u (exclusive to Orange) support GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSDPA 2100. G705 will be available in selected markets from early Q4.
The G705 will also be available in a version for American markets supporting networks GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSUPA 850/1900/2100. G705 for American markets will be available early Q1 2009.
Posted to the site on 9th September 2008
SIM Technology eyes TD-SCDMA phone tenders
Frederick Yeung
Sep 09, 2008
SIM Technology Group, a contract manufacturer of mobile telephones on the mainland, expects to grow its market share as it goes after the tenders for the next phase of TD-SCDMA 3G phones later this year, according to chief financial officer Richard Chan Tat-wing....
Sep 09, 2008
SIM Technology Group, a contract manufacturer of mobile telephones on the mainland, expects to grow its market share as it goes after the tenders for the next phase of TD-SCDMA 3G phones later this year, according to chief financial officer Richard Chan Tat-wing....
Thursday, August 28, 2008
China's mobile phone user base increases to 608.38 million in July
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.
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.
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
Thursday, July 31, 2008
MediaTek Projects to Pump 3G Chips Into Samsung`s Supply Chain
Taipei, July 31, 2008 (CENS)--MediaTek Inc. plans to begin supplying Samsung with chips for third-generation (3G) mobile phones in first quarter next year. It is now having the chips verified at the South Korean electronics manufacturer. MediaTek plans to make foray into 3G-chip market by the end of this year after completing the acquisition of Analog Devices Inc.`s (ADI`s) handset-chip unit early this year. It will contract Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) by the end of this year to make its wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) chips using 65-nanometer process for Samsung`s handsets. Industry watchers estimated that the verification of MediaTek`s 3G chips at TSMC would go as smoothly as expected since ADI has set up partnership ties with TSMC before selling its handset-chip asset to MediaTek. ADI began using TSMC`s 90-nanometer process after rolling out 3G chips in late 2006 and planned to use TSMC`s 65-nm process in late 2007. The plan will soon be resumed by MediaTek. According to chip-making equipment suppliers, MediaTek`s 3G-chip business has been mainly centered on mainland China`s TD-SCDMA and Europe`s WCDMA markets. Its products for TD-SCDMA phones include its SoftFone-LCR+ chipset, which enables a cell phone to switch between GPRS and TD-SCDMA mode. Phone makers in the greater China region, including ZTE Corp., Inventec Corp., Datang Telecom Technology Co., Wah Lee Industrial Corp., and Longcheer Holdings Ltd., have adopted the chipset. For WCDMA phone, MediaTek will introduce 65-nm SoftFone-W chipset by the end of this year to support WCDMA/EDGE dual mode. Industry watchers pointed out the chipset has been verified by Samsung. Some industry insiders felt that MediaTek`s US$350 million acquisition of ADI`s handset-chip business unit was an expensive deal for MediaTek when it announced the acquisition. But today, many of them have changed the idea in light of the bullish prospect for the company`s business. In addition to expected orders from Samsung, MediaTek is already a supplier of LG. Industry watchers estimated the Taiwanese chip design house to make an overwhelming feat in mainland`s 3G-phone market as it has done in its 2G market, where eight of the mainland`s top 10 phone makers are buying its chips. The company scored after-tax net income of NT$5 billion (US$169 million at US$1:NT$30), or NT$4.93 per share, in the second quarter, and had net income of NT$9.1 billion (US$304 million), or NT$8.83 per share, for the first half of this year. The company projected its revenue for the third quarter to rise 8-10% from the second quarter, but it expected gross margin to remain unchanged at around 53.8% as registered in the second quarter. The company raked in revenue of NT$22.3 billion (US$743 million) in the second quarter, soaring 15.2% from a quarter earlier and 21.2% year on year. In the first half this year the company had revenue totaling NT$41.6 billion (US$1.3 billion), gaining 25.1% from the same period of last year.
Taiwan handset shipments to grow 9-10% on quarter in 2H08
31 July 2008
With Nokia, LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson continuing to increase their handset outsourcing, and expanding shipment volumes of High Tech Computer's (HTC's) Touch Diamond, Taiwan's handset shipments are expected to grow 9-10% on quarter during the final two quarters of 2008, bringing total shipments for the year to 120 million units, up 10.7% from a year earlier.
Taiwan's handset sector saw shipments continue to drop 4.4% sequentially to 27.37 million units in the second quarter of 2008 following a 14.3% sequential decline in the first quarter as orders from Motorola remained weak, and those from clients in emerging markets were rather limited due to the transition to new models. However, second-quarter shipments represented an increase of 30.7% from a year earlier due to new orders from India's Reliance Communications and China's Hwawei Technologies.
The proportion of various categories of handsets shipped by Taiwan makers in the second quarter was similar to that seen in the first quarter, although a decrease in orders for entry-level models from Motorola, an increase in orders from LG, and more orders for smartphones were recorded.
As a result, shipments of handsets with a built-in 3-megapixel camera increased by nearly four percentage points to account for 6.5% of total handset shipments in the second quarter, whereas shipments of handsets without a built-in camera or with a only a 300,000-pixel camera declined by 6.5 percentage points sequentially.
While increasing orders from LG and Sony Ericsson are expected to stop Taiwan's handset shipments from declining further in the third quarter, shipments of CDMA models to Nokia and the Touch Diamond handsets from HTC will be the main growth drivers for Taiwan's handset industry in the second half of the year.
The ratio of Taiwan's shipments of CDMA handsets is likely to increase by four percentage points sequentially to account for 28.3% of total shipments in the third quarter, while shipments of WCDMA models will also continue to grow to account for 10% by the fourth quarter, buoyed by shipments of HTC's own-brand models and those shipped to Motorola by Qisda.
Orders for entry-level handsets from Motorola, Reliance and Hwawei in the second half of 2008 are expected to be lower than those seen in the first half, and therefore the ratios of handsets with a monochrome display and without a built-in camera will drop to below 10% and 40%, respectively, in the fourth quarter.
For individual Taiwan handset makers, Compal Communications is expected to rely more on its two new clients, Nokia and LG, to sustain future growth, with shipments of CDMA handsets to Nokia to begin in the second half of 2008 and shipments to LG to contribute a greater proportion of its revenues in 2009.
Chi Mei Communication Systems (CMCS), an affiliate of Hong Kong-listed Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), will also rely on CDMA shipments to Nokia to keep its production scale from declining as its shipments were affected by slow sales at Motorola and Sony Ericsson recently.
Thanks to orders from Sony Ericsson and LG, Arima Communications saw its handset shipments increase 58% on year to 5.46 million units in the first half of 2008 with prospects to see quarterly shipments surpass four million units in the second half of the year.
Due to a change in outsourcing strategy, LG is expected to move up to rank third in the global handset market in the first half of 2008, making it a crucial sales driver for either Compal and Arima (the two ODMs competing for orders from LG) in 2009 and beyond.
In addition, Arima is also expected to tie up with Finland-based EMS provider Elcoteq in order to strengthen its ability to compete with CMCS to win more orders from Sony Ericsson.
Led by HTC, shipments of smartphones by Taiwan makers are expected to grow quarter-by-quarter, with accumulated shipments to account for 16.1% of Taiwan's overall handset shipments in 2008.
With Nokia, LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson continuing to increase their handset outsourcing, and expanding shipment volumes of High Tech Computer's (HTC's) Touch Diamond, Taiwan's handset shipments are expected to grow 9-10% on quarter during the final two quarters of 2008, bringing total shipments for the year to 120 million units, up 10.7% from a year earlier.
Taiwan's handset sector saw shipments continue to drop 4.4% sequentially to 27.37 million units in the second quarter of 2008 following a 14.3% sequential decline in the first quarter as orders from Motorola remained weak, and those from clients in emerging markets were rather limited due to the transition to new models. However, second-quarter shipments represented an increase of 30.7% from a year earlier due to new orders from India's Reliance Communications and China's Hwawei Technologies.
The proportion of various categories of handsets shipped by Taiwan makers in the second quarter was similar to that seen in the first quarter, although a decrease in orders for entry-level models from Motorola, an increase in orders from LG, and more orders for smartphones were recorded.
As a result, shipments of handsets with a built-in 3-megapixel camera increased by nearly four percentage points to account for 6.5% of total handset shipments in the second quarter, whereas shipments of handsets without a built-in camera or with a only a 300,000-pixel camera declined by 6.5 percentage points sequentially.
While increasing orders from LG and Sony Ericsson are expected to stop Taiwan's handset shipments from declining further in the third quarter, shipments of CDMA models to Nokia and the Touch Diamond handsets from HTC will be the main growth drivers for Taiwan's handset industry in the second half of the year.
The ratio of Taiwan's shipments of CDMA handsets is likely to increase by four percentage points sequentially to account for 28.3% of total shipments in the third quarter, while shipments of WCDMA models will also continue to grow to account for 10% by the fourth quarter, buoyed by shipments of HTC's own-brand models and those shipped to Motorola by Qisda.
Orders for entry-level handsets from Motorola, Reliance and Hwawei in the second half of 2008 are expected to be lower than those seen in the first half, and therefore the ratios of handsets with a monochrome display and without a built-in camera will drop to below 10% and 40%, respectively, in the fourth quarter.
For individual Taiwan handset makers, Compal Communications is expected to rely more on its two new clients, Nokia and LG, to sustain future growth, with shipments of CDMA handsets to Nokia to begin in the second half of 2008 and shipments to LG to contribute a greater proportion of its revenues in 2009.
Chi Mei Communication Systems (CMCS), an affiliate of Hong Kong-listed Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), will also rely on CDMA shipments to Nokia to keep its production scale from declining as its shipments were affected by slow sales at Motorola and Sony Ericsson recently.
Thanks to orders from Sony Ericsson and LG, Arima Communications saw its handset shipments increase 58% on year to 5.46 million units in the first half of 2008 with prospects to see quarterly shipments surpass four million units in the second half of the year.
Due to a change in outsourcing strategy, LG is expected to move up to rank third in the global handset market in the first half of 2008, making it a crucial sales driver for either Compal and Arima (the two ODMs competing for orders from LG) in 2009 and beyond.
In addition, Arima is also expected to tie up with Finland-based EMS provider Elcoteq in order to strengthen its ability to compete with CMCS to win more orders from Sony Ericsson.
Led by HTC, shipments of smartphones by Taiwan makers are expected to grow quarter-by-quarter, with accumulated shipments to account for 16.1% of Taiwan's overall handset shipments in 2008.
Judge Pushed Qualcomm-Nokia Deal
July 31, 2008
SAN DIEGO—The surprise deal between Qualcomm and Nokia to settle lawsuits over patents and royalties may auger a new era of competitive congeniality in the wireless industry, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said in an interview.
Jacobs said the two companies have been talking continuously, trying to reach an accord, but the ultimate settlement was pushed along because of a pending trial in Delaware. The settlement was reached July 23 even as the judge in the Delaware case urged the lawyers on both sides not to let the company executives leave until a deal was sealed.
The agreement covers various technology licenses and royalties for a host of wireless technologies, including 2G, 3G and 4G. Nokia also agreed to withdraw as a complainant in an antitrust case before the European Commission. Five other companies are still involved in that complaint—Broadcom, Ericsson, Matsushita Electric Industrial, NEC and Texas Instruments.
Jacobs said he hopes Qualcomm can “build off the positive momentum” of the Nokia agreement and resolve that case, as well as a separate suit involving just Broadcom.
“It’s better to license than to litigate,” Jacobs said on the sidelines Wednesday at the Qualcomm Smart Services Leadership Summit. “We’re not going to back down when we’re right, but the history of this company has been licensing. We’ve not been a litigious company.”
Jacobs also said some Qualcomm executives, including President Steve Altman, worked 40 hours without sleep putting the final Nokia deal together. Jacobs himself spent time on the phone with Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. The pressure was on because of the pending Delaware trial, he said, and not because of a coincidental court decision in Germany that went against Qualcomm in a Nokia suit over a GSM patent.
Jacobs didn’t go into detail on the new royalty structure to which Nokia agreed, but analysts have speculated Nokia will pay Qualcomm about $1 billion in past royalties and that royalties the Finnish company will pay in 2009 will add about 30-cents per share to Qualcomm’s earnings.
The CEO also said he thinks the agreement could spell smoother sailing ahead for the wireless industry because companies will ask themselves, “Should we spend time on conflict or should we spend our time on realizing the vision of what a mobile device can be?”
Jacobs added that the next few years will show whether or not that willingness to work together will be realized. “The time ahead will be very interesting and we’re in good position to work with all these companies to achieve their business models,” he said.
Portions of the summit discussed wireless data and the health-care industry. Qualcomm has been working on a health-care MVNO for some time, named LifeComm. Jacobs said in the interview he was confident LifeComm would become a reality. He said LifeComm had been delayed mostly because Qualcomm did not want to be the main investor in the MVNO and thereby a competitor with the carriers. But he said the ownership structure has been settled and “I’m confident it’s going to happen.”
SAN DIEGO—The surprise deal between Qualcomm and Nokia to settle lawsuits over patents and royalties may auger a new era of competitive congeniality in the wireless industry, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said in an interview.
Jacobs said the two companies have been talking continuously, trying to reach an accord, but the ultimate settlement was pushed along because of a pending trial in Delaware. The settlement was reached July 23 even as the judge in the Delaware case urged the lawyers on both sides not to let the company executives leave until a deal was sealed.
The agreement covers various technology licenses and royalties for a host of wireless technologies, including 2G, 3G and 4G. Nokia also agreed to withdraw as a complainant in an antitrust case before the European Commission. Five other companies are still involved in that complaint—Broadcom, Ericsson, Matsushita Electric Industrial, NEC and Texas Instruments.
Jacobs said he hopes Qualcomm can “build off the positive momentum” of the Nokia agreement and resolve that case, as well as a separate suit involving just Broadcom.
“It’s better to license than to litigate,” Jacobs said on the sidelines Wednesday at the Qualcomm Smart Services Leadership Summit. “We’re not going to back down when we’re right, but the history of this company has been licensing. We’ve not been a litigious company.”
Jacobs also said some Qualcomm executives, including President Steve Altman, worked 40 hours without sleep putting the final Nokia deal together. Jacobs himself spent time on the phone with Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. The pressure was on because of the pending Delaware trial, he said, and not because of a coincidental court decision in Germany that went against Qualcomm in a Nokia suit over a GSM patent.
Jacobs didn’t go into detail on the new royalty structure to which Nokia agreed, but analysts have speculated Nokia will pay Qualcomm about $1 billion in past royalties and that royalties the Finnish company will pay in 2009 will add about 30-cents per share to Qualcomm’s earnings.
The CEO also said he thinks the agreement could spell smoother sailing ahead for the wireless industry because companies will ask themselves, “Should we spend time on conflict or should we spend our time on realizing the vision of what a mobile device can be?”
Jacobs added that the next few years will show whether or not that willingness to work together will be realized. “The time ahead will be very interesting and we’re in good position to work with all these companies to achieve their business models,” he said.
Portions of the summit discussed wireless data and the health-care industry. Qualcomm has been working on a health-care MVNO for some time, named LifeComm. Jacobs said in the interview he was confident LifeComm would become a reality. He said LifeComm had been delayed mostly because Qualcomm did not want to be the main investor in the MVNO and thereby a competitor with the carriers. But he said the ownership structure has been settled and “I’m confident it’s going to happen.”
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Foxconn to invest additional US$200 million in China for capacity ramp
Newswatch - Jul 29, 14:13
The board of Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has decided to invest an additional US$200 million in China to ramp up its output of connectors, PC chassis and pressing parts, handset components and calculators, the Chinese-language Commercial Times quoted sources at the company as saying.
The board of Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has decided to invest an additional US$200 million in China to ramp up its output of connectors, PC chassis and pressing parts, handset components and calculators, the Chinese-language Commercial Times quoted sources at the company as saying.
China mobile handset user base grows to 600.76 million in June
Jul 29, 11:42
There were 600.76 million subscribers for mobile communication services in China as of the end of June 2008, representing growth of 1.46% on month and 19.76% on year, according to statistics published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT, renamed from Ministry of Information Industry).
There were 600.76 million subscribers for mobile communication services in China as of the end of June 2008, representing growth of 1.46% on month and 19.76% on year, according to statistics published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT, renamed from Ministry of Information Industry).
Thursday, July 24, 2008
China handset-design houses finding it hard to survive
A number of handset-design companies in China have been forced to either suspend or trim down their operations due to slack business resulting from keen competition, according to industry sources.
TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology has reportedly reduced its workforce from 1,300 to 300, and Shanghai Simcom, a subsidiary of SIM Technology, has trimmed down the size of its TD-SCDMA unit, the sources indicated.
TechFaith has actually cut off its GSM unit following the massive layoffs and has switched its focus mainly to the development of 3G handsets, the sources noted.
Gilbert Lee, CEO of TechFaith, while confirming that the company has laid off a part of its workforce, said that the extent of layoffs is not as large as has reported, and also insisted that the action was part of cost-down measures.
In addition to 3G models, TechFaith has also entered the development of Windows Mobile-based smartphones, MID (Mobile Internet Device) products and 3.5G data cards, according to market sources.
The availability of low-cost handset platforms from Taiwan-based MediaTek has caused a proliferation of small-scale handset-design companies in China, which have little differentiation in product designs, pointed out the market sources.
Source:DIGITIMES
TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology has reportedly reduced its workforce from 1,300 to 300, and Shanghai Simcom, a subsidiary of SIM Technology, has trimmed down the size of its TD-SCDMA unit, the sources indicated.
TechFaith has actually cut off its GSM unit following the massive layoffs and has switched its focus mainly to the development of 3G handsets, the sources noted.
Gilbert Lee, CEO of TechFaith, while confirming that the company has laid off a part of its workforce, said that the extent of layoffs is not as large as has reported, and also insisted that the action was part of cost-down measures.
In addition to 3G models, TechFaith has also entered the development of Windows Mobile-based smartphones, MID (Mobile Internet Device) products and 3.5G data cards, according to market sources.
The availability of low-cost handset platforms from Taiwan-based MediaTek has caused a proliferation of small-scale handset-design companies in China, which have little differentiation in product designs, pointed out the market sources.
Source:DIGITIMES
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
China handset-design houses finding it hard to survive
Jul 22, 14:35
A number of handset-design companies in China have been forced to either suspend or trim down their operations due to slack business resulting from keen competition, according to industry sources.
A number of handset-design companies in China have been forced to either suspend or trim down their operations due to slack business resulting from keen competition, according to industry sources.
Apple hit by concern over margins
July 22 2008
Strong Macintosh sales continued to drive profits at Apple as the computer maker reported its third-quarter results yesterday, but a tepid forecast sent shares in the computer maker lower.
While Apple executives hailed the strong quarterly results, Wall Street analysts quizzed the group about its unusually weak guidance.
The shares fell 10 per cent to $149.70 after it said it expected profit margins to slip, due in part to a forthcoming "product transition" that it declined to discuss.
Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer, hinted that aggressive pricing of new products could eat into profits.
"We are going to be delivering state-of-the-art new products [at price points] that our competitors aren't going to match," he said.
Apple brushed off concerns raised in recent weeks about the health of Steve Jobs, whose gaunt appearance at the company's annual software developer conference last month alarmed some observers.
Apple later said the Apple chief executive had been suffering from a "common bug".
When asked about Mr Jobs' health yesterday, Mr Oppenheimer said the Apple co-founder, who has previously battled cancer, had no plans to leave the company and his health was a "private matter".
Apple said it had made a net profit of $1.1bn in the third quarter, up from $818m in the year-ago quarter. Sales were $7.46bn, up from $5.41bn last time.
Revenues from Mac sales rose 61 per cent in the quarter as the company shipped almost 2.5m computers.
IPod music player shipments jumped 12 per cent while shipments of the iPhone nearly trebled, with 717,000 mobile handsets sold in the period compared with 270,000 last time.
That figure did not include Apple's new 3G iPhone, which went on sale in 21 countries around the world earlier this month.
Apple predicted earnings of $1 per share on sales of $7.8bn in the coming quarter - lower than most Wall Street analysts had expected.
The group expected its gross margin to fall to 31.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, from 34.8 per cent in the third quarter. It expected a 2009 gross margin of 30 per cent.
While it did not report any numbers, Apple said the reaction to its faster iPhone had been "overwhelmingly positive". It said iPhone customers had downloaded more than 25m software applications from the group's applications store.
Apple last week reported that it had sold more than 1m 3G iPhones during the handset's opening weekend.
Strong Macintosh sales continued to drive profits at Apple as the computer maker reported its third-quarter results yesterday, but a tepid forecast sent shares in the computer maker lower.
While Apple executives hailed the strong quarterly results, Wall Street analysts quizzed the group about its unusually weak guidance.
The shares fell 10 per cent to $149.70 after it said it expected profit margins to slip, due in part to a forthcoming "product transition" that it declined to discuss.
Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer, hinted that aggressive pricing of new products could eat into profits.
"We are going to be delivering state-of-the-art new products [at price points] that our competitors aren't going to match," he said.
Apple brushed off concerns raised in recent weeks about the health of Steve Jobs, whose gaunt appearance at the company's annual software developer conference last month alarmed some observers.
Apple later said the Apple chief executive had been suffering from a "common bug".
When asked about Mr Jobs' health yesterday, Mr Oppenheimer said the Apple co-founder, who has previously battled cancer, had no plans to leave the company and his health was a "private matter".
Apple said it had made a net profit of $1.1bn in the third quarter, up from $818m in the year-ago quarter. Sales were $7.46bn, up from $5.41bn last time.
Revenues from Mac sales rose 61 per cent in the quarter as the company shipped almost 2.5m computers.
IPod music player shipments jumped 12 per cent while shipments of the iPhone nearly trebled, with 717,000 mobile handsets sold in the period compared with 270,000 last time.
That figure did not include Apple's new 3G iPhone, which went on sale in 21 countries around the world earlier this month.
Apple predicted earnings of $1 per share on sales of $7.8bn in the coming quarter - lower than most Wall Street analysts had expected.
The group expected its gross margin to fall to 31.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, from 34.8 per cent in the third quarter. It expected a 2009 gross margin of 30 per cent.
While it did not report any numbers, Apple said the reaction to its faster iPhone had been "overwhelmingly positive". It said iPhone customers had downloaded more than 25m software applications from the group's applications store.
Apple last week reported that it had sold more than 1m 3G iPhones during the handset's opening weekend.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sony Ericsson head looks to sharpen its portfolio
July 19 2008 Sony Ericsson is slashing up to 17 per cent of its workforce, as the handset manufacturer announced disappointing second-quarter results.
The company - a joint venture between Ericsson of Sweden and Japan's Sony - reported a slide in second-quarter pre-tax profits to €8m ($12.7m), down from €327m in the same quarter last year and €193m in the first quarter of 2008.
Dick Komiyama, president, said the company had too many similar products and needed to "sharpen its portfolio".
But with falling sales in Asia - the one area of global growth in handset sales - and a gloomy economic picture in Europe, he admitted that the third quarter would "not drastically improve. But there's always Christmas".
Mr Komiyama emphasised the company would not be copying Nokia's approach. "We will define our own strategy," he said. But he admitted that "there is a lot of work to be done".
A new product launch is planned for Tuesday. According to a spokesperson, it "will have something to do with music", probably as part of the Walkman range. Further details were not available.
Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst, thought that there was "a tone of defeat" coming from the company about the rest of 2008.
"Talk of taking it day by day is not enough. [Sony] Ericsson need to refresh their products, but they must make sure that they don't damage their brand."
The results were in line with a profit warning
on June 27, when the company said it would only break even because of disappointing European handset sales.
Sony Ericsson sold 24.4m units in the second quarter of 2008, down 500,000 from the same quarter last year. The average selling price dropped 7 per cent to €116.
However, the company forecast growth in the global handset market of about 10 per cent, with demand coming from emerging markets.
Sony Ericsson's focus on high-end phones has left its handset sales exposed to a global slowdown, in contrast to Nokia, whose diversification into emerging markets and lower-end phones has helped it increase market share and lift sales.
Shares in Ericsson closed up 3.6 per cent at SKr72.30.
The company - a joint venture between Ericsson of Sweden and Japan's Sony - reported a slide in second-quarter pre-tax profits to €8m ($12.7m), down from €327m in the same quarter last year and €193m in the first quarter of 2008.
Dick Komiyama, president, said the company had too many similar products and needed to "sharpen its portfolio".
But with falling sales in Asia - the one area of global growth in handset sales - and a gloomy economic picture in Europe, he admitted that the third quarter would "not drastically improve. But there's always Christmas".
Mr Komiyama emphasised the company would not be copying Nokia's approach. "We will define our own strategy," he said. But he admitted that "there is a lot of work to be done".
A new product launch is planned for Tuesday. According to a spokesperson, it "will have something to do with music", probably as part of the Walkman range. Further details were not available.
Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst, thought that there was "a tone of defeat" coming from the company about the rest of 2008.
"Talk of taking it day by day is not enough. [Sony] Ericsson need to refresh their products, but they must make sure that they don't damage their brand."
The results were in line with a profit warning
on June 27, when the company said it would only break even because of disappointing European handset sales.
Sony Ericsson sold 24.4m units in the second quarter of 2008, down 500,000 from the same quarter last year. The average selling price dropped 7 per cent to €116.
However, the company forecast growth in the global handset market of about 10 per cent, with demand coming from emerging markets.
Sony Ericsson's focus on high-end phones has left its handset sales exposed to a global slowdown, in contrast to Nokia, whose diversification into emerging markets and lower-end phones has helped it increase market share and lift sales.
Shares in Ericsson closed up 3.6 per cent at SKr72.30.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
ST-NXP joint venture eyes white-box handset market in China
Jul 2, 15:33
ST-NXP Wireless, a joint venture established by STMicroelectronics and NXP offering communications solutions, is said to be targeting white-box handset vendors in China. A low-cost solution for the company is already in sampling, according to industry sources.
ST-NXP Wireless, a joint venture established by STMicroelectronics and NXP offering communications solutions, is said to be targeting white-box handset vendors in China. A low-cost solution for the company is already in sampling, according to industry sources.
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