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Tag: market-data

  • Standard Smartphone Charger Gets Green Light in Europe


    European smartphone users are to get a standardised charger following an agreement between handset manufacturers that control 90 per cent of the region’s mobile market.

    From next year, new phones will be sold with the charger but will eventually come without one – significantly lowering manufacturing and shipping costs.

    The phone makers – Motorola, Nokia, Apple, Sony Ericsson, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments – announced their plans on Monday through the European Commission.

    The accord finally ends the long-running debate over doing away with the waste and cost of having to change charger whenever buying a new phone that have been rumbling on for years – in Europe at least.

    Following the announcement, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said: "People will not have to throw away their charger whenever they buy a new phone."

    The chargers will be usable only on data-enabled phones that access the Internet, going beyond voice calls and SMS.

    Nearly half of the 185 million estimated mobile phones projected to be sold in Europe 2010 are expected to be data-enabled – and compatible with the charger.

    Verheugen said the it was assumed the new European initiative would have a knock-on effect globally.

    Consumers will gain from being able to borrow someone else’s charger – regardless if they have an iPhone, Blackberry or Nokia.

  • iPhone Fuelling Handset Navigation Uptake


    The rapidly growing smartphone market is providing a much-needed boost for handset-based turn-by-turn navigation.

    While PNDs and in-dash navigation device sales continue to suffer from the economic recession, the number of paying handset-based turn-by-turn navigation users will increase to 26 million by the end of 2010, according to ABI Research.

    The Asia-Pacific region is forecast to experience the strongest growth.

    ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte said that in the wake of a continuous stream of eye-catching touchscreen smartphone launches, navigation software developers are rushing to port their solutions to as many new platforms as possible.

    These includes Android (ALK, Telenav) and the new Palm webOS (Telenav).

    But it is Apple’s iPhone that is causing the biggest waves.

    "The most significant driver for the uptake of handset navigation is expected to come from the iPhone, following Apple’s decision to finally enable turn-by-turn navigation on its latest 3.0 platform version," according to Bonte.

    Software from TomTom, Sygic, AT&T (Telenav), and Networks In Motion is already available from the iPhone App Store, with Navigon’s solution expected soon.

    ABI Research’s report said that while application stores are expected to become an important channel for the distribution of navigation software, many carriers and handset manufacturers prefer to pre-install or bundle navigation software with their phones and offer plans based on strategic partnerships with navigation developers.

    Examples include Verizon/NIM, AT&T/Telenav, Vodafone/Telmap LG/Appello, HTC/ALK Technologies, and Samsung/Route 66.

    Market leaders Nokia and Vodafone have respectively opted to acquire navigation providers Gate5 and Wayfinder, allowing tighter integration of navigation and LBS services into their portfolios. Both approaches often coexist.

    However, Bonte believes that several barriers still remain in place: "High monthly subscription fees and data roaming costs will need to be addressed for off-board navigation on handsets to reach high penetration levels."

    Free ad-funded navigation is one possible way forward with Locationet’s Amaze solution powering Technocom’s SpotOn GPS platform, Huawei’s new GPS phones, and Bouygues’ free navigation offer in France.

  • Major US Broadcaster Networks Claim 53% Of Free Online TV


    The major US broadcasters are evolving into multi-platform TV distribution networks in a "land-grab" attempt to replicate their traditional channels business online.

    So much so that the online web-based TV services of the four major US TV networks – together with Hulu, the joint venture between NBC Universal, News Corporation and Disney – accounted for 53 per cent of an ad-supported US online TV market, according to a report from Screen Digest.

    The online TV market generated USD $448m in revenues in 2008.

    The remaining share of revenues was made up of the online video services of major sports leagues, video services from traditional online portals, and direct services from other major channel groups and content owners.

    The report goes on to state that the combined dominance of the leading broadcaster-supported platforms – ABC Full Episode Player, CBS Audience Network, NBC.com and Fox.com – will drive the total ad-supported model for the distribution of online entertainment programming, news, sports and events in the US to more than USD $1.45bn in revenues by 2013.

    In contrast, third party platforms such as YouTube, Joost and other portals, which have no direct vertical affiliation with major rights holders, nor direct access to premium content rights, will struggle to aggregate ad-supported movies and TV shows.

    The Hollywood Studios and major rights holders will continue to limit such deals, instead preferring to build their own syndicated ad-supported online video services – such as Crackle, developed by Sony Pictures, and the CBS Audience Network.

    The report said this is a trend that will gather momentum. As a result, third party ad-supported video platforms may have to:

    • diversify into new forms of their own original programming
    • exit the content aggregation business and offer technology and advertising solutions to the content-owners’ and broadcasters’ own services
    • settle on the low-margin business of becoming affiliates of the player-platforms distributed by the content rights holders themselves

    According to Arash Amel, author of the report: "With better targeting and increased ad inventory, online TV services could be generating per-viewer revenues comparable to an average TV broadcast viewing in as little as three years.

    "However, based on the current online ad strategies implemented, it will account for 2.2 per cent of all US TV advertising revenue by 2013, but definitely won’t be generating enough to offset the USD $2bn we expect total US TV advertising to have declined by during in that period."

    Amel said the challenge now is to maximize the ad-supported online video business model, see how new forms of short form and traditional long form content can drive growth, and explore more advanced methods of video advertising while there are still revenues from the traditional business to support the transition to multiplatform.

    He said that in this regard, the next few years will be critical.

  • HD Models Taking Over PVR Market


    The personal video recorder (PVR) market is continuing to grow, fueled by high-definition models.

    Global PVR shipments exceeded 25 million in 2008, with HD PVRs making up nearly 75 per cent of the total, according to In-Stat.

    Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst, said demand for HD units has increased dramatically recently.

    "Over the past 18 months, HD PVR product unit shipments have not only surpassed SD PVR product unit shipments, they now account for nearly three-quarters of all PVR product shipments," he said.

    Research by In-Stat also found:

    • Multi-room or "whole home" PVR service has become available in an increasing number of cities in the US over the last year
    • On a regional basis, growth of PVR products is much stronger in Asia Pacific and Europe, compared to the more mature North American market.
    • Over a quarter of US survey respondents were extremely or very interested in multi-room PVR capability

  • HTC Forecasts 50% US Sales Growth


    Hot on the heels of launching its third Android smartphone, HTC is forecasting its US handset sales to grow by at least 50 per cent this year.

    With the arrival of the Hero, the Taiwanese phone maker is establishing itself as the leading manufacturer of the Linux-based devices.

    The release of the Hero follows the G1 and the myTouch3G.

    Jason Mackenzie, vice president of sales and marketing for HTC America, said this would help the company drive sales despite a smarphone market packed with rivals.

    Apple, Palm and Research In Motion have all recently launched new handsets – and other major mobile makers are expected to release Android phones this year.

    Mackenzie said HTC’s forecast sales growth would represent sales of around 6 million phones in the US this year.

    "Competitively we feel very good," he said.

    AT&T Mobility is seen as the carrier that will offer the Hero in the US this fall.

    It will be available on T-Mobile and Orange in Europe in July and in Asia by late summer.

    Similar in appearance to the G1, the Hero has an updated profile – no physical keyboard – and is based on a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A processor.

    It also has two of the highly-in-demand features – a 3.5mm headphone jack and the multi-touch and fingerprint-proof 3.2" HVGA touch display (320 x 480).

    Other features include:

    • a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen
    • 288 MB RAM
    • quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
    • 7.2 Mbps HSPA/WCDMA radios
    • Bluetooth 2.0
    • GPS
    • digital compass
    • gravity sensor
    • 5 megapixel camera
    • MicroSD slot

    HTC has also layered its own UI – known as Sense – over and above the Google-backed Android.

    This enables addition of gesture controls, widget support, and quick-launch icons for use in web-specific applications like e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter.

    The Hero also supports Adobe’s Flash technology.

    While HTC’s Sense UI will be available on its non-Google branded Android devices, licensing terms prevent it being on any phone that’s got the "with Google" branding.

  • Palm Targeting Smartphone Growth – Not Apple


    Palm’s new CEO Jon Rubinstein believes there is sufficient growth in the smartphone market to profitably sustain "three to five players".

    He was speaking after announcing "strong and growing" sales of the company’s new Pre handset – with download applications now numbering more than 1 million three weeks after it launched.

    What Rubinstein didn’t reveal in unveiling Palm’s fourth quarter results – its last full quarter before releasing the phone – is how many Pre smartphones have actually been sold.

    Analysts estimate Palm has shipped about 150,000 units so far.

    Palm posted a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter net loss applicable to common shareholders of USD $105 million, compared with a loss of USD $43.4 million in the year-ago period.

    Palm said it could turn cash-flow positive in the second half of fiscal 2010 and reassured analysts that its capital position was sufficient.

    Revenue fell 71 per cent to USD $86.8 million.

    However, despite increased losses and falling revenues, Rubenstein said he was happy with the way the Pre launch had gone.

    While there have been problems with meeting demand at Sprint stores in the US, he said this is being addressed.

    "We’re successfully ramping supply to meet demand that is strong and growing," he said.

    The Pre, featuring Palm’s new WebOS, is entering a smartphone market full of competitors, from Nokia and RIM to HTC.

    A new iPhone 3GS launched last Friday and sold more than a million units in the first three days.

    However, Rubenstein said the "significant growth" forecast for the smartphone industry meant there is room for up to five smartphone manufacturers.

    "We don’t have to beat each other to prosper," he added

  • Game Consoles Main Driver in Online Video Growth


    Networked video game consoles are the most used devices for bringing web video to the TV in the US – and look set to remain so until 2013, according to an In-Stat report.

    It found that 29 per cent of US 25 to 34 year olds with game consoles already use the devices to watch streaming video off the Internet.

    That’s going to keep growing and by 2013, over 10.7 million consoles will be used as Web-to-TV mediation devices in the US.

    The range of connected consumer electronics devices delivering web video into the living room is also growing.

    Device types include digital media adapters (DMAs), pay TV set top boxes, Blu-ray player/recorders, HDTVs and media-center PCs.

    Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst, said that while still at the early adoption stages, the impact of bringing web video to the TV will bring both opportunity and threats to a range of companies in the electronics and TV markets.

    He said that by 2013, the revenue from Web-to-TV streaming services will grow to US $2.9 billion.

    "Currently Web video is largely additive to traditional TV revenue streams," he said.

    "However, ultimately web video to the TV will force a complete restructuring of today’s video distribution ecosystem."

    Other findings of the In-Stat research include:

    • Two separate in-home content delivery networks (CDNs) are evolving in the digital home—one for broadcast media services (e.g., cable TV), the other for Internet-based broadband services
    • Within five years, the number of US broadband households viewing Web-to-TV content will grow to 24 million
    • Video content will be optimized for broadcast or Web-to-TV based on content type

  • IDC Reports Storage Software Sales Decline


    Storage software revenue has experienced its first quarterly year-over-year decline in more than five years, according to IDC.

    The analysts’ Worldwide Quarterly Storage Software Tracker showed that the device management, replication and infrastructure categories had the biggest declines.

    Symantec was the only vendor to grow revenue year-over-year, increasing 2.5 per cent. Hewlett-Packard’s 21.5 per cent drop was the biggest fall, while market leader EMC slipped 14.5 per cent.

    Michael Margossian, research analyst, storage software at IDC, said the combination of the normally slow first quarter for most companies with the continued economic climate was displayed in the first quarter’s results.

    "A majority of companies displayed either negative or very low year-over-year growth," he said.

  • UC Desktop Prices Drop in Q1


    Average selling prices in the UC desktop market, which has been holding steady over the past six months, dropped slightly in Q1 2009.

    This weakening indicates the growing competitive nature of the industry, according to the authors of a Synergy Research Group report on the global market for collaborative applications.

    The study found vendor sales down generally for the first quarter of 2009 in both the enterprise and SMB market segments.

    It showed that collaboration application vendors had sales of USD $913.3 million for the first quarter.

    Avaya, Cisco and Siemens were the top three vendors in the enterprise category, and ShoreTel, Cisco and Avaya lead the SMB category.

    While Jeremy Duke, CEO, Synergy, said these companies are in strong strategic positions in their respective markets, the top six vendors in both segments experienced quarter-over-quarter sales declines.

    There is also a growing interest in managed UC offerings as small business suffer decreased credit availability.

    Interesting trends spotted in the Q1 2009 and analyzed in the Synergy report include:

    • Social Networking continues to be a hot topic of discussion as UC vendors look to interface or incorporate Social Networking applications into their UC offerings.
    • Conferencing bucked the decreasing trend in collaborative applications by growing revenues 7 per cent quarter-over-quarter. This is on top of a 5 per cent growth in revenues in Q4. Conferencing (web, video and audio) still shows good growth as corporations continue to spend on technologies that are perceived to have relatively short-term returns on investment and a positive effect on employee efficiencies.

  • Vyke: VoIP market "Doing Well"


    VoIP provider Vyke expects to see a strong performance over the rest of 2009 as demand for the technology remains strong despite the global recession.

    While the company has announced a wider full-year 2008, which it said is due to acquisitions, it remains confident that the VoIP market is doing well.

    Vyke chairman Tommy Jensen said they expects to deliver results in line with original expectations over the course of 2009.

    He said that despite the difficult global economic situation and the work involved in the internal migration of operations from US to UK, the first five months of 2009 had progressed well.

    "We are optimistic about the organic and acquisitive growth opportunities currently available in the market," he said.

    VoIP has become an increasingly mainstream tool for businesses and individuals alike as access to high-speed broadband services becomes more widespread.

    Vyke highlights – Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2008:

    • Gross billing on all operations increased by 46% to GBP £39.0 million from £26.8 million in the previous year
    • Gross billing on continuing operations increased by 65% to GBP £30.0 million from £18.2 million in the previous year
    • Loss before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) on continuing operations: GBP £3.3 million (2007: loss £2.6m)
    • Loss for the year on continuing operations: GBP £4.4 million (2007: £3.0 million)
    • Loss for the year including discontinued operations: GBP £6.6 million (2007: £3.6 million)
    • Callserve Communications Limited and Iios Limited acquired in first quarter 2008
    • Disposal of loss making legacy businesses in second half of the year