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Tag: market-data

  • Mobile Navigation Users Increased to 28 Million

    According to a new research report by Berg Insight, the number of mobile subscribers downloading navigation routes and turn-by-turn navigation instructions using their mobile handsets increased twofold from H1-2008 to H1-2009 and reached 28 million.

    Until 2015, the subscriber base is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.7 percent to reach 160 million users worldwide.

    The growing adoption will primarily be driven by the broader availability of GPS-enabled handsets and bundling of navigation applications with mobile devices and service plans.

    The report says in countries such as the USA and Japan where mass market GPS handsets are already available, adoption of mobile navigation services have already surpassed 3 and 4 percent of the total mobile subscriber base respectively.

    More recently, increasing volumes of GPS handsets have also started to pave the way for adoption of mobile navigation services in Europe where Personal Navigation Devices have been the prevailing navigation solution for some years.

    In other regions of the world, better availability of low-cost GPS handsets and improving map coverage will enable rapid uptake of navigation services in the coming years.

    “Mobile operators and handset vendors are now starting to experience the business opportunity of a growing installed base of GPS handsets and customers trying navigation services”, said André Malm, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight.

    He adds that since relatively few subscribers need turn-by-turn navigation services on a daily basis, the mobile industry should integrate navigation services with other location-based services to improve the total user experience and ensure that customers continue to subscribe.

  • Canalys Special Report “Smart phone market trends 2009/2010”

    ADVERTORIAL. The mobile industry is pinning its hopes on smart phones as the driver of growth in difficult times. Overall mobile phone shipments are falling, but smart phones are growing and taking an increasing share of the market.

    Companies such as Apple and RIM are seeing increases in demand for their devices, challenging the likes of Nokia, and leading a fundamental shift toward new device form factors and use of mobile applications by consumers and businesses.

    Network operators are struggling to establish the best strategy to open up new revenue streams, while having to manage complex partnerships with strong hardware vendors, as well as other companies that have entered their world with mobile service revenue aspirations of their own, such as Google and Microsoft.

    The Canalys “Smart phone market trends 2009/2010” report pulls together, in a concise format, qualitative analysis of key market trends, top-level market share and shipment estimates for the leading vendors, comparative analysis of vendors’ performance and evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses, and forecasts for future market development.

    “Smart phone market trends 2009/2010” report gives the precise and exhaustive answers to the following questions:

    • Who are the leading smart phone vendors in each region?
    • What impact will application stores have on operators and vendors?
    • How are the different mobile operating systems evolving and why?
    • Which operators have the best smart phone strategies?
    • How will the different regions grow over the next five years?
    • What are the biggest threats to today’s leading smart phone vendors?
    • How can mobile companies make the most of growth in China?
    • What are the implications of a more software-centric mobile ecosystem?
    • What are the key trends in user interfaces and form factors?
    • Where are the key competitive arenas for Google, Apple, RIM, Microsoft, Nokia et al?

    The full report, published in August 2009, is 70 pages and includes supporting definitions and explanation of the research methodologies used, and is only available direct from Canalys – the acknowledged leading market analyst firm in this area.

    Click here to find out more

  • AIRCOM Reveals the Economic Reality of LTE Migration

    AIRCOM International, the network planning and optimisation consultancy, revealed the economic reality of LTE migration facing mobile operators around the world – as much as US$1.78 billion for a tier one US operator in the first year.

    As the economic downturn puts pressure on credit markets, and mobile operators attempt to limit significant CAPEX commitments, AIRCOM says they believe that innovative approaches to LTE network roll out, network sharing for example, will be essential in ensuring the profitable delivery of future mobile services.

    LTE investments vary by region, the legacy equipment operators have in place and the spectrum they have available. However, AIRCOM estimates the total CAPEX investment facing a tier one mobile operator in the first year of roll out to be as follows:

    "With an all IP-based network infrastructure, LTE requires completely new thinking compared to previous mobile technologies. Mobile operators around the world face very different challenges in embracing LTE, which will have serious implications on the levels of finance they need to raise," said Margaret Rice-Jones, CEO at AIRCOM International.

    While raising capital in today’s volatile global financial markets continues to prove difficult, operators and supporting infrastructure vendors are struggling to find the necessary credit to support the necessary enhancements to their radio network, backhaul and core network infrastructures.

    Rice-Jones continues: "Very few operators have the available resources or shareholder freedom to meet these costs. This means that innovation within the mobile industry needs to be redefined. It has been traditionally tied to finding the next "killer application". The economic reality of the mobile industry now means that true innovation is finding technology that will enable operators to deliver services more cost effectively."

    AIRCOM believes mobile operators can embrace innovation in a variety of different ways. Most significantly, operators must accept that the techniques used to drive efficiencies and revenues with previous technologies will not be applicable to LTE.

    Mobile operators must therefore find new business models to monetise LTE, compared to subsidising handsets and offering free voice minutes in return for fixed-term contacts.

    The significant investment required for LTE deployment could also see mobile operators globally embracing network sharing as a means of reducing CAPEX and OPEX. Other innovative ways of lowering costs include the automation of key optimisation processes through the roll out of self-organising networks (SON) and the deployment of femtocells within a network to cost-effectively provide macro network offload capabilities as well as indoor coverage solutions.

    "Despite the financial commitment required, there can be no doubting the tremendous potential of LTE technology in taking mobile services to the next level," added Rice-Jones.

    "LTE represents a major evolution and mobile operators must take an intelligent approach to network migration. With careful planning however, LTE will deliver sufficient network capacity and data speeds to further enhance the delivery of high bandwidth services to consumers globally."

  • Mobile application sales to hit $16 billion per year by 2013

    The number of smartphones sold each year will increase from around 165.2 million in 2009 to 422.96 million in 2013, with the total number of smartphone users approaching 1.6 billion, according to Wireless Expertise, an UK-based wireless market research and consulting firm.

    Its latest report “The future of mobile application storefronts” shows how smartphone penetration will reach approximately 28-30% of the total mobile market by 2013.

    “We expect smartphone growth to have a positive impact on the number of application downloads in the short- to mid-term,” said Anuj Khanna, CEO of Wireless Expertise and author of the report.

    Wireless Expertise forecasts that the global mobile app market – including games – will be worth $4.66 billion in 2009, rising to $16.60 billion, in 2013.

    With mobile phones outnumbering PCs around the world by 4:1, mobile applications represent an even bigger opportunity for the mobile industry than the fixed-line perceived the internet a decade ago.

    “With over four billion mobile users around the world compared to approximately one billion PCs, mobile will become the ideal channel for businesses to reach their consumers,” continued Khanna.

    “Mobile operators have to adopt a dual app store strategy, using the now widely-accepted app store model in conjunction with a browser-based widget store, to provide the greatest potential for a mass-market proposition.”

    The report credits Apple for growing and revolutionalising the applications market. “Apple has not only invigorated what was rapidly becoming a stagnant mobile content and services market, but its App Store has paved the way for professional content developers and publishers to stand side-by-side with the new breed of garage developers introducing innovative and functional apps,” said Khanna.

    “However, we expect Apple to face tough competition from mobile operators, independent service providers and competing vendor application portals in the next 18-24 months.”

    Wireless Expertise suggests that Nokia will be very active in the smartphone market and Nokia’s biggest advantage over Apple is its ability to offer Ovi on a wide range of handsets, ranging from the high-end to the mainstream. And the fact that Nokia is pushing its app store to a mass market is very encouraging.

    “Diverse and competing mobile operating systems from other vendors such as Symbian, Google Android, Microsoft Windows and Research in Motion will also help in growing the market,” concluded Khanna.

    “We predict the emergence of independent mobile application stores which specialise in niche content such as games and location-based services.”

    Mobile Operators releasing a mobile internet API would address the issue of fragmentation and help create a multichannel app services and content retail environment coupled with integrated billing and payment mechanisms.

    However, operators must be involved in the delivery and payment of the service with their own platforms giving improved revenue shares as high as 90% if they want to compete in this market.

  • Q2: Nokia Retains Lead but Apple and RIM Are Rising Fast

    “Smart phones continue to shine as one of the brightest spots of the technology industry, with shipments growing despite the global recession,” says the recent Canalys’ report on the Q2 key smartphone market trends.

    “Innovation in interfaces, design, applications and promotion continue to excite consumers, which, in contrast to the PC industry, is helping to keep average selling prices stable. The rise in data traffic seen by mobile network operators is finally generating a return on their investment in broadband capacity and will drive further infrastructure expenditure,” the autors predict.

    According to the report, Apple has established industry leadership in terms of industrial design, ease of use and application availability, offering one of the most desirable devices on the market and setting a standard that rivals are striving to emulate. It reinforced its position during the quarter by launching the iPhone 3GS.

    Pete Cunningham, Canalys senior analyst, said, “Apple has revolutionised the smart phone sector, leapfrogging more experienced rivals. The competition must move much faster to close the gap in terms of functionality and design and at the same time try to target Apple’s weak spots. These are primarily related to its business model, which requires premium upfront pricing, high cost of ownership and, in many countries, a restricted operator line-up.”

    The research shows that the competition is building in a number of different forms. RIM has successfully expanded its product portfolio to include a wide selection of devices and interfaces that appeal to a range of customers at different price points. This includes 2.5G models that are smaller, lighter, lower cost and have better battery life than most of its 3G rivals. Palm has received widespread acclaim following the launch of the Pre in the US during Q2.

    Chris Jones, Canalys VP and principal analyst, added, “As a relatively small company, Palm has shown what creative leadership and focused investment can achieve. By going back to its roots and developing its own operating system, it has produced an innovative and differentiated product. Investors have responded to this, with its share price growing over 70% this year. Palm still has plenty of challenges ahead – it must find the resources to launch the Pre on the global stage, while continuing to fund development of its product pipeline.”

    Another emerging trend is the rise of the Google-led Android OS, which is already taking 3% of the smart phone market. Success so far has been driven through HTC, but with many other vendors, including Samsung, joining the fray, volumes are expected to increase substantially. The free licence model, tight integration with Google applications and the potential for a high degree of vendor and operator customisation are all benefits attracting industry participants.

    Jones continued, “It is noteworthy how differently the smart phone business is developing compared to the PC industry. PCs are a highly standardised, commoditised platform, where one model is often largely indistinguishable from another. Consequently, PC price points are incredibly low, which is good for customers, but the industry lacks excitement. Smart phones are different – Nokia, Apple, RIM and Palm have all achieved success by developing their own operating systems and delivering distinct devices and interfaces. Android customisation will further add to this diverse mix. As a result, new smart phones are front page news around the world."

    “The main loser has been Microsoft’s highly standardised Windows Mobile platform. Its smart phone market share has now fallen below 10% and the trend is likely to continue as many of its OEM partners, including HTC, Motorola and Palm, are focusing investment on other platforms,” he conclude.

    In addition to smart phones, netbooks are the other hot area within the technology industry in this difficult year. The competition and opportunities created between these platforms will be discussed at the Canalys Mobility Forum, taking place on November 17, near London’s Heathrow Airport.

  • Blu-ray Won’t Replace DVD as the Primary Drive for PCs

    Despite a rapid rise in the sales of consumer Blu-ray players, a fall in their prices and an increase in the number of high-definition movie titles, Blu-ray drives in PC systems have been left singing the blues, according to iSuppli.

    iSuppli’s recent report says that by 2013, Blu-ray drives will be found in only 16.3 percent of PCs shipped, up from 3.6 percent in 2009.

    “BDs won’t be replacing DVDs as the primary optical drive in PC systems through at least the year 2013,” said Michael Yang, senior analyst for storage and mobile memory at iSuppli.

    “They eventually will find success, but during the next five years, that success will be limited in the PC segment.

    According to Yang, the two main reasons hampering the adoption of Blu-ray drives in PCs include costs as well as the lack of a library of movies that justifies the need for consumers to move to a different drive in their PCs.

    Cost, Yang said, is the primary impediment. Given the high price of the product, consumers are unwilling to pay the extra money in order to obtain a high-definition drive. “The cost issue is amplified by the fact that the library of content is so small that there really isn’t a reason for users to switch at the moment,” Yang added.

    And while this is changing and studios are rolling out more Blu-ray content every week, there remains a long way to go.

    A tertiary factor worth mentioning is the difficulty of supplanting an incumbent storage medium in PCs—a distinction currently held by the DVD-RW drive.

    “From a historical perspective, each of the successful storage media in PCs has gained popularity only when content became available and when consumers actually understood that what they were getting was easy to use and worth the cost,” the report says.

    For instance, the once-ubiquitous 3.5-inch floppy drive had a lifespan of 15-plus years, surviving well past its prime. Eventually, it was replaced by CD-ROMs—which, in turn, gave way to DVD drives.

    A changeover occurred and the floppy disk finally supplanted when it became apparent that CD-ROMs not only offered a distinct advantage but were also the medium being adopted by everything from music to games to movies.

    Such a pivotal moment, Yang said, has not yet arrived for the Blu-ray drive. “It’s undeniable that Blu-ray delivers a higher-definition picture, better sound quality and larger storage space for home entertainment,” he remarked.

    “However, these benefits may have little or no value when viewing the content on a smaller desktop or laptop PC screen and using poor speakers.”

    Until BD costs decline and user knowledge increases, the technology will continue to struggle – the report concludes. 

  • Feature Phones Still Rule the U.S. Market

    According to The NPD Group, a market research company, when it comes to sales of mobile phones in the U.S. feature phones still rule the market, even as smartphone sales continue to increase their share of overall handset sales.

    NPD’s Mobile Phone Track information reveals that unit-sales of new feature phones fell 5 percentage points to 72 percent of new handset sales in the Q2 2009, while sales of new smartphones reached 28 percent of overall consumer purchases – a 47 percent increase in the category’s share since last year.

    Overall handset sales volume in the U.S. grew 14 percent year over year in Q2 2009, as sales revenue increased 18 percent. The average selling price of all mobile phones increased 4 percent year over year – reaching $87 in Q2.

    According to NPD’s Q2 2009 ranking of handsets, the LG enV2 and Samsung Rant led feature phone sales, while Apple iPhone 3G and RIM Blackberry Curve were the top-selling smartphones.

    “Despite their ties to pricey data plans, the rich Internet access capabilities of smartphones are attracting consumers wooed by lower device prices,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at The NPD Group.

    The research shows that Wi-Fi capability increased three-fold since last year, with 20 percent of all new handsets equipped with this capability.

    Touch screens on both feature phones and smartphones have also seen tremendous growth since last year, with 26 percent of all new handsets purchased in Q2 including this feature. Physical QWERTY keyboards, by comparison, were available in 35 percent of handsets sold.

    “Feature phones are taking on more of the physical characteristics of smartphones, and often offer greater exposure to carrier services.With the price gap between smartphones and feature phones narrowing, to remain competitive feature phones need to develop a better Web experience, drive utility via widgets, and sidestep the applications arms race,” Rubin said.

    NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers.

  • Plasma and LCD TV Sales Increase in Q2 2009

    Quixel Research’s newly launched USA Large Area Display Report revealed that in Q2 2009 the Plasma TV category was the only large screen TV category to show significant growth quarter-to-quarter.

    Plasma TV (40”+) sales were up 31% in volume and 35% in value when compared to Q1 2009 sales, almost topping the $1B mark.

    “Unit sales of 42” 720p Plasma TVs were up 40% quarter-to-quarter as consumers were looking for value in uncertain economic times,” stated Tamaryn Pratt, Quixel Research’s principal.

    “It also helped that all the models offered were from top brands so consumers felt comfortable making a competitively priced purchase backed up by a well know brand.”

    The surge in 42” 720p Plasma models lifted the segment’s unit share of the LAD category four percent quarter-to-quarter. Plasma TV value topped $910M in the second quarter.

    Revenue results for the overall Large Area Display market were flat or $3.1B in Q2 2009 and when compared to Q2 2008 revenues, were down nine percent. Overall volume for the LAD market was still strong with the market up five percent quarter-to-quarter and up 10 percent year-to-year.

    The research shows that the harsh economic climate didn’t also slow LCDTV sales in the second quarter with sales up significantly quarter-to-quarter. However it did push consumers to purchase entry models as well as smaller screen sized models.

    The overall LCDTV market grew nine percent quarter-to-quarter and 22 percent year-to-year.

    “Unit sales for 22”, 32” and 40/42” models supported the LCDTV category increase in the second quarter,” commented Pratt.

    When assessing large screen size sales results in Q2 2009, the report showed that LCDTV sales 40”+ were flat in units and declined nine percent in value when compared to Q1 2009.

    Connected LCDTVs, or TVs with built-in internet capabilities enabling content such as YouTube, Netflix, Tivo, Facebook etc., saw sales increase significantly in both units and value compared to the prior quarter. Unit sales of connected LCDTVs were up 39 percent quarter-to-quarter and 20 percent year-to-year.

  • Fixed-Line VoIP Service as a Mainstay of IMS Deployments

    Communications market research firm Infonetics Research released results from its IMS Plans: Global Service Provider Survey, published last week as part of its Service Provider VoIP and IMS Continuous Research Service.

    The survey provides a strategic overview of service provider IMS network plans, service offerings, core product features and capabilities, drivers and barriers to deploying IMS, and ratings of 10 IMS vendors: Acme Packet, Alcatel-Lucent, BroadSoft, Cisco, Ericsson, HP, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, Sonus, and ZTE.

    The research shows that the IMS market is advancing from early-stage services to the next phase. According to Diane Mayers, Infonetics’ Directing Analyst for Service Provider VoIP and IMS, the two most important indicators are:
    • the higher number of service providers planning to offer services beyond fixed-line voice—such as video and mobile services—by 2011;
    • the shift in IMS deployment drivers, which include the opportunity to offer converged services, deploy new applications and services, and consolidate networks.

    80% of Infonetics’ service provider respondents run fixed voice over IMS today or will by 2011, making fixed-line VoIP service the current mainstay of IMS deployments.

    More than half of the service provider respondents plan to deploy video telephony and converged mobile/fixed-line services over the next 12–18 months.

    The report also unveils that the top three IMS applications operators expect to offer over the next two years are mobile-related: FMC, mobile presence, and mobile messaging.

    "On the vendor front, Ericsson continues to be the leading IMS vendor, but Huawei has made the most progress in terms of deployments and vendor perceptions. Huawei poses a credible and serious threat to Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, and Nokia Siemens based on the number of providers with Huawei IMS products under evaluation, and overall perception of Huawei across a broad set of criteria," said Myers.

  • 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.