Tag: emerging-markets

  • Low-Cost Handsets to Account for over Half of all Mobile Phones by 2014

    According to Juniper Research, low-cost handsets and Smartphones will together account for almost 79% of all new mobile phones by 2014, or just over 1 billion units in all.

    New research, which results have been contained in the latest Jupiter’s report ‘Low Cost Handsets: Markets, Opportunities & Forecasts 2009-2014’, has shown how the mobile handset market is becoming increasingly polarised between low cost handsets for emerging markets and high-end smartphones for developed regions – with the mid-range handset market being squeezed.

    Operators and vendors are preparing to deal with a massive influx of new users from low-income socio-economic groups in developing markets and a rising demand for complex ‘smart’ devices from affluent users in developed markets.

    Vendors such as Nokia, Apple and RIM (makers of Blackberry) are well positioned to benefit from these trends whilst players operating more in the mid range market such as Sony Ericsson and Motorola are having to rethink their strategy.

    According to the report author Andrew Kitson: “Low-cost handset shipments will number more than 700 million in 2014, up by 31% from levels seen in 2008, albeit down slightly from a peak of 716 million in 2012 as some users begin to upgrade to costlier devices. At the same time, smartphone shipment volumes will grow continuously across the forecast period, reaching almost 360 million by the end of the period. We therefore expect that mid-range device sales volumes will fall by more than 41% over the period”.

    In 2008, the Indian Sub Continent region accounted for the majority (23%) of low-cost handset sales, due to efforts by operators such as Vodafone to meet low-income users’ needs in markets such as India. By 2014, the region will account for 22% of sales.

    The report says also that take-up in emerging markets will be boosted by the availability of low-cost, highly targeted localised information services, such as Nokia’s Life Tools offering.

  • Bharti Telesoft Renamed "Comviva" In Market Drive


    Bharti Telesoft has been renamed Comviva Technologies Limited as part of a company-wide re-branding initiative.

    Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director of the Bharti Group, said the name change also signals its intent to be the leading integrated VAS solution provider for mobile operators in emerging markets.

    "The company has grown rapidly to achieve stature and scale," he said.

    Manoranjan (Mao) Mohapatra, CEO of Comviva

    "With a strong reputation in the market and a new vision reflecting its ambitions, it is the right time to adopt a new and unique identity."

    Manoranjan (Mao) Mohapatra, CEO of Comviva Technologies Limited, said the need for a powerful brand that resonates with customers globally has grown as the company extended its reach.

    It now has 100 plus customers across over 80 countries.

  • Flat-panel TV Price Falls Factor In LG Losses


    Pricing pressure for flat-panel TVs was among the factors given as LG Electronics reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, ended 31 December.

    On a parent-company basis, LG reported sales of USD $4.84 billion for the quarter, an operating loss of USD $228 million and a net loss of USD $493 million.

    In the fourth quarter of 2008, sales on a global basis rose 22.5 per cent year on year to USD $9.82 billion and operating profit was USD $74.2 million, resulting in a profit margin of 0.8 per cent.

    For fiscal year 2008, annual sales on a global basis rose 20.8 per cent to a record USD $36.2 billion with operating profit at USD $1.56 billion.

    By operating unit, LG’s digital display company sales rose to USD $3.39 billion, an increase of 16.4 per cent from a year earlier.

    Sales of flat-panel digital TVs grew 22 per cent year on year and 26 per cent quarter on quarter, but PDP module sales declined 44 per cent year on year and 24 per cent quarter on quarter.

    Globally, operating profit saw a loss of USD $10 million primarily due to a sharp drop in the prices of TVs and slowdown in external sales of PDP modules.

    The company said it sees global demand in 2009 to be similar to 2008 as a result of growing low-end/small sized flat-panel TV demand in emerging markets and expects to expand its market share with stronger branding activities and product lineup.