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Tag: market-data

  • HDTV sales surpass 10 million in UK

    Sales of HDTVs healthy but viewers face problem of content gap

    Cumulative sales of HDTVs to date surpassed 10 million in the UK, according to a report by GfK Retail and Technology.

    In the first six months of 2008, more than 2 million were added and the market research firm expects the cumulative total to be approaching 15 million by the end of 2008.

    While the UK lags behind other nations such as the US in HDTV pentration, the GfK report said the figures were significant considering it was a product which only really started selling in significant quantities in 2004.

    It pointed out that since some homes had more than one HDTV, the number of households not yet owning a high def set “must be well over 10 million”.

    “In other words, the spectacular uptake of this product so far may not even equate to half of its potential sales,” the report said.

    However, GfK said any enthusiasm should be tempered by the sobering thought that an overwhelming majority of HDTVs are not yet relaying genuine high definition broadcasts.

    This is because the digital terrestrial platform cannot yet broadcast in HD.

    “Fortunately, there has been a sustained growth in large screen TVs, and HD is now a standard feature on all of these products,” said the report.

    “Manufacturers and retailers have also been quick to move their focus to 1080p (so-called Full HD) products.
    “By June 2008, this segment accounted for 18 per cent of flat TV market volume and 33 per cent of the turnover.”

    Intense pressure on prices is key feature

    A comparison between the 52 weeks ending June 2007 and June 2008 confirms that HD was transformed from GBP £721 down to GBP £502.

    The 32"+ large screen decline was an equally steep GBP £859 to GBP £646, despite the move to larger screen sizes.

    Narrow the parameters to 1080p only and the price in the same reporting periods plummets from GBP£1660 to GBP£954.

    Other points arising from the GfK market monitor include:

    * In the small/ medium segment (up to 26"), the HD volume share increased from 37 to 63 per cent.

    * The Internet accounted for 29 per cent of HDTV sales in the first half of 2008, compared to 17 per cent purchasing all TVs.

    * In the 12 months to March 2006, 9 per cent of HDTV sales were for use in a household bedroom, compared to 85 per cent of sales intended for use in the living room. In 2008 – HDTV sales for use in a bedroom had risen to 19 per cent, while HDTV’s bought for the living room had dropped to 73 per cent.

  • Nokia dominates global smartphone ad traffic

    Nokia may lead the world in smartphone mobile ad traffic rankings but iPhone fastest growing device

    Smartphones accounted for 25.8 per cent of worldwide mobile ad traffic in August, up 3.4 per cent since May 2008, according to AdMob’s August 2008 Mobile Metrics Report.

    Nokia dominates globally, with a 62.4 per cent slice of the traffic in August and more than 50 per cent in every region except North America. In the US, where Nokia does not have a top 20 ranked smartphone, RIM rules the roost.

    The Canadian company has 31.2 per cent of US smartphone traffic and manufactures three of the top 10 devices.

    According to the report, the Apple iPhone was the fastest growing device in the world last month and ended August with more than 2.9 million ad requests per day.

    AdMob stores and analyzes data from every ad request, impression and click and uses this information to optimize ad matching.
    In the latest report, AdMob has highlighted the rapid and global growth of smartphone usage.

    The anticipated launch of new smartphones in the coming months, including the first of Google’s Android phones, the RIM Bold, and the Nokia N96, is a strong indication that this growth is likely to continue throughout the year.

    According to the report, the iPhone ended August with more than 2.9 million requests per day.

    The top five smartphones in the US – the BlackBerry Pearl, Palm Centro, BlackBerry Curve, Apple iPhone, and Samsung Instinct – generated 12.9 per cent of all US traffic in August, a 2.4 per cent increase over July.

    Other highlights from the August 2008 report:

    * RIM is in second place worldwide with 10.8 per cent of smartphone traffic with the large majority of that coming from North America.

    * Motorola and SonyEriccson have a large share of overall mobile traffic, but neither has a smartphone ranked in the top 20 worldwide.

    * Smartphones continue to increase marketshare in the US, accounting for 23.7 per cent of traffic in August, up 3.5 percent since May 2008.

  • Market for mobile touch screen worth US$5bn in 2009


    Apple’s iPhone has done much to thrust touch screens firmly into the public’s consciousness – a place they seem certain to increasingly inhabit.

    A report from ABI Research forecasts that revenue from the global touch screen market for smartphones and other handheld devices such as MIDs, UMPCs, and PNDs will reach USD $5 billion in 2009.

    Shipments of touch screen-based mobile devices increased 91 per cent in 2007 compared to the previous year.

    Yet according to Kevin Burden, research director at ABI, said nearly all mobile handset manufacturers were getting into touch screens to a greater or lesser extent.

    But he added that there were strong regional differences in the uptake of touch screens.

    The Asia/Pacific market, where more than 80 per cent of the world’s touch screen-based mobile phone production was consumed over the past year, has been a major driver in the rising demand.

    “The acceptance of touch screens to date has varied by geographic region, which has been a significant factor in determining the success of individual handset vendors,” he said.

    Samsung and Motorola have been the most successful, commanding 33 per cent and 30 per cent shares of the touch screen mobile phone market respectively.

    “Samsung and Motorola lead the market for touch screen phones primarily because of their scale and significant presence in the Asian markets,” said Burden.

    “Because it’s difficult to represent even a fraction of the common Asian characters on a QWERTY-style keyboard, touch screen devices on which characters can be written with a stylus are immensely popular.”

    At 24 per cent, Sony Ericsson has the third-largest market share, while all the other handset vendors – including Apple – are essentially niche players.

    The ABI report said that a number of factors are driving further adoption of touch screen-based mobile devices.

    *Consumers are looking for more intuitive user interfaces and personalization options as device functionality increases.

    *Prices for touch components and panels continue to decrease and are falling on an average of nearly 10 per cent per annum.

  • Leading VoIP Developer In Agreement with Codima

    Selects Codima VoIP Solution For Japanese Governmental NGN Project

    Codima Inc, a global provider of best practice software tools for VoIP and IT Asset Management, has announced it has entered a partnership agreement with Artiza Networks, Japan’s leading Network and VoIP Testing Solution developer.

    To supply the Next Generation Network (NGN) project, Artiza Networks has selected the comprehensive VoIP management solution Codima Toolbox.

    Artiza Networks will provide the solution offered by Codima to enable their customers, including leading Japanese IT corporations to build the new Japanese IP-based infrastructure.

    The Japanese Next Generation Network (NGN) project requires fundamental investments in infrastructure technology.

    Analyst IDC Japan values the network management market alone at US$7.75 billion over the next three years.

    To address this significant demand Artiza Networks has decided to select the Codima VoIP Solution and prioritize the project by forming a specific NGN Group.

    The group will target the customer base including major system integrators, telecom carriers and telecommunications manufacturers.

    Artiza Networks required a comprehensive end-to-end solution to monitor and troubleshoot SIP-based VoIP systems in real time with options for pre-assessment testing and engineer’s kits.

    Codima delivers a suite of products that is ideal for these purposes. Specifically Codima’s flagship products autoVoIP, providing robust post-deployment monitoring and troubleshooting to ensure Quality of Service (QoS) and autoMap with its unique capabilities to map and visualize IT networks directly with Microsoft Office Visio are of interest to enable cost efficient VoIP network management.

    The ground breaking governmental initiative involving Japan’s leading IT corporations NEC, Fujitsu OKI and Hitachi, transforms Japan’s analogue telephone network into an IP-based infrastructure for unified communications.

    According to Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 100 per cent of the Japanese population will have access to broadband connections by 2010.

    The Japanese External Trade Organization Jetro estimates that the converged network market in Japan was worth 59.3 trillion yen (US$485 billion) in 2007 and will balloon to 87.6 trillion yen (US$740 billion) by 2010.

    Christer Mattsson, CEO of Codima, said: “We are proud to form a partnership with Artiza Networks, an experienced industry leader in Japan.
    “The local partnership will open up channels to resell our products to the NGN project, a governmental initiative of a magnitude that holds unparalleled business opportunities for companies like Codima.”

    Takashi Tokonami, CEO of Artiza Networks, said: “Codima Toolbox met our requirements for a comprehensive VoIP management solution.

    “Being a supplier to the Japanese network market for almost twenty years, we consider the market is shifting toward Next Generation Network, and it boosts up Codima Toolbox.”

  • Williams to distribute Syspine VoIP Phone System in Canada


    Quanta Computer has announced that Williams Telecommunications Corp will be serving as a master distributor of the Syspine Digital Operator Phone System throughout Canada.

    Syspine, an advanced IP phone system designed for small businesses with up to 50 employees, was created for ease of use, low costs and integration with other technologies.

    Featuring Microsoft Response Point technology, Syspine has a powerful voice-recognition system that can be linked with a company’s internal phone directory, as well as an individual’s Microsoft Office Outlook address book.

    Robert Gordon, director of sales and marketing at Syspine, said Williams Telecommunications was a well-known and respected name in the telecom industry.

    “It’s a win-win situation. Williams’ network of dealers and resellers will be able to introduce Syspine to an untapped market, while this is an equally great opportunity for Williams to deliver an affordable VoIP phone system with Microsoft Response Point technology to small businesses in Canada,” he said.

    Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Williams distributes products from many of the major manufacturers, as well as a complete line of peripheral products.

    Jim Willians, president and CEO of Williams, said VoIP is growing exponentially and Williams had been there right from the beginning.

    “We have always been inspired by the latest technology and its opportunities and are excited to partner with Syspine, to distribute their Digital Operator Phone System, and Microsoft, which supplies their Response Point technology to the system,” he said.

    “This new product is easily and rapidly deployed and offers customers flexibility, stability and scalability, as well as the latest features.”

  • Hitachi Aims to Repeat Robust Growth

    Hitachi Data Systems hits 45 per cent growth in 2007 and hopes to keep momentum going in current year

    Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), part of the Hitachi Storage Solutions Group, is looking to continue its robust growth in the Asean region in its fiscal year that started in April 2008.

    Ravi Rajendran, Asean general manager of HDS, said that in fiscal 2007, the company achieved 45 per cent year-on-year growth in Asean.

    “It’s a fantastic revenue scenario to be in,” he said. “We believe we can keep the growth momentum going during the current fiscal year.”

    Hitachi Storage Solutions Group, which apart from HDS, comprises Hitachi’s storage business in Japan, recorded an 8 per cent increase in revenue to 361 billion yen (USS $4.61 billion) in fiscal 2007.

    Rajendran said that last year the company won a record number of new customers in Asean.

    “What’s important is that we grew much faster than the market and we believe we improved our market share substantially,” he said.

    Software and services revenue constitute 48 per cent of HDS’ total revenue – and this is an area of growth for HDS in the Asean region.

    Rajendran said that Hitachi continues to invest in innovation and will sink USD $2 billion worldwide in fiscal 2008 in storage solutions.

  • VoIP Service Revenue Up 52% in 2007

    Boom Expected to Continue

    Communications market research firm Infonetics Research reports that worldwide revenue from hosted VoIP and managed IP PBX services jumped 52 per cent to US$24 billion in 2007.

    This follows a rise of 66 per cent in 2006, and is expected to grow in the strong double-digits through at least 2011.

    Infonetics’ report shows that hosted VoIP services continue to outpace managed IP PBX services by far, with residential services fueling market growth.

    Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise voice and data at Infonetics Research, said that while VoIP services are being embraced by consumers worldwide, businesses have been comparatively slower in their adoption due to various roadblocks.

    However, he said this was about to change.

    “For example, many PBX manufacturers have already added SIP trunking interfaces to their equipment, and more recently, they’ve greatly expanded the list of certified service providers,” he said.

    “That’s going to fuel the growth in SIP trunking services. These kinds of developments will boost the overall VoIP business services segment for years to come.”

    Other highlights from the report:

    * The number of worldwide residential/SOHO VoIP subscribers grew 60 per cent between 2006 and 2007, to over 75 million, with the largest gains in North America and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), although Asia Pacific still leads

    * Asia Pacific, which had been leading the VoIP scene for a few years, is now neck and neck with EMEA and North America in 2007; EMEA will break away this year and lead the market at least through 2011

    * Business customer (vs. consumer) share of worldwide hosted VoIP service revenue will increase from 26 per cent in 2007 to 41 per cent in 2011

    * Comcast is North America’s largest consumer VoIP service provider, with 20 per cent subscriber market share, France Télécom leads in the EMEA region, Softbank leads in Asia Pacific, and Cableco and Vono Brazil are neck and neck in CALA

  • Dutch VoIP market will reach 3.25m users by year-end


    The total Dutch consumer telephony market grew by almost 44,000 connections during the second quarter of 2008 to 5.797 million.

    This was despite a 4.2 per cent drop in PSTN/ISDN connections to 2.57 million on 30 June 2008, according to Telecompaper’s quarterly update on the Dutch fixed telephony market.

    The number of mobile-only households increased to 1.283 million. The number of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) users grew by 17,000 during the fourth quarter to 360,000 on 30 June 2008.

    The number of Dutch consumer VoIP subscriptions grew 5.1 per cent during the quarter, to 2.866 million at the end of June.

    This was driven by DSL VoIP with 5.8 per cent, while cable VoIP only reported a quarterly growth of 3.8 percent.

    DSL VoIP expanded its lead as most used VoIP technology with 1.459 million connections at the end of June compared with 1.361 million cable VoIP customers on the same date.

    Telecompaper expects an average quarterly growth of 7 per cent for the two remaining quarters of this year, with the 3 million mark being reached at the end of third quarter.

    KPN saw its share of the Dutch digital telephony market grow to 34.3 per cent on 30 June due to its entry-level brand Telfort.

    During the second quarter, KPN won 60,000 new customers, growing 6.5 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2008 and ending June 2008 with 983,000 VoIP users.

    Ziggo won 25,000 new telephony customers during the second quarter to end the period with 770,000 VoIP users, keeping its place as the second-largest VoIP provider in the Netherlands, although its market share dropped to 26.9 percent.

    The third-largest VoIP provider, UPC won 20,400 new customers, ending the quarter with 526,100, losing only 0.1 per cent market share to end June with 18.4 per cent of the VoIP market.

  • Mobile Operators Must Improve Pricing Transparency


    Europe’s telcoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, has told the European Parliament to back proposed changes to telecoms regulation across Europe.

    She called for quicker data portability, compulsory data breach laws if private information is lost, more transparent pricing structures to make life easier for consumers, and more wireless broadband services to improve net access for rural types.

    Reding said there was no reason for lengthy delays in moving your number from one mobile operator to another.
    "If it can happen in Australia in two hours, then one day should be entirely feasible in Europe," she said

    But Reding said she found it harder to understand why the Parliament had watered down proposals on data breach notification.

    “What I find more difficult therefore to understand in Parliament’s changes, is why subscribers are not similarly empowered and informed, when it comes to the privacy of their personal data?

    “I know that Parliament takes the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights very seriously, so I am surprised that the breach notification requirements in the Commission’s proposals are diluted by the changes now on the table.”

    Reding said the default position should be that subscribers know of a breach of security concerning their personal data, so that the appropriate precautions can be taken.

    “It cannot be left to the service provider to determine whether such a breach is likely to cause the subscriber harm,” she said.

    The Commission also wants a more effective common emergency number across Europe – including better caller location information from some VoIP providers and better access to mobile devices and phones for disabled people.

    The next stage is a vote in the European Parliament on 23 September. This could be followed by an agreement by Telecoms Ministers at a meeting on 27 November under the French presidency.

  • Samsung accepts offer for Symbian buyout

    Nokia said it would buy out other shareholders of smartphone software maker Symbian for US$410 million

    Samsung has accepted Nokia’s offer to buy out its stake in software firm Symbian, and Nokia now has acceptances from all Symbian shareholders to sell their shares.

    Nokia said in June it would buy out other shareholders of UK-based smartphone software maker Symbian and make its software royalty-free to other phone makers in response to new rivals such as Google.

    Symbian’s assets will be contributed by Nokia to the not-for-profit organization, Symbian Foundation, in which it would unite with leading handset makers, network operators and communications chipmakers.

    It aims to create a group offering members a royalty-free license mobile software platform using open-source coding.
    Earlier, in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Symbian’s chief executive, Nigel Clifford, hinted that there could be future consolidation among mobile phone platform makers.

    However, he declined to comment specifically on partnerships or co-operation with rival products such as the Google-backed Android, Microsoft’s Window’s Mobile, or Research In Motion’s Blackberry platform.

    “We have seen consolidation in the past, and, I’m sure, as the market place matures, as every other market place has done, we will see a consolidation in the future,” he said.

    “Whether we participate in that, will be a decision for the Foundation when that is up and running next year.”

    Clifford said a demand for service-rich smartphones is expected to be a catalyst for success in telecommunications markets such as the US.

    Earlier this week, Symbian’s reported that 19.6 million handsets with its operating system were shipped in second quarter 2008, bringing the total cumulative number of Symbian handsets in the market to 225.9 million.

    However, the company said the average royalty per unit declined from US$4.40 in the first half of 2007 to US$3.70 in the first half of 2008.

    Symbian said the reason for the decline was because licensees were migrating to the v9 of Symbian OS, which has a different licensing pricing structure.

    There are currently 159 Symbian phone models available globally from eight handset vendors. Another 92 handsets are in development.