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Tag: market

  • 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.

  • Disk Storage System Sales Badly Impacted By Economy


    Worldwide external disk storage systems factory revenues fell 13.6 per cent year-on-year to USD $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2009 (1Q09), according to IDC.

    For the quarter, the total disk storage systems market declined to USD $5.6 billion in revenues, an 18.2 per cent decline from the prior year’s first quarter.

    Steve Scully, research manager, Enterprise Storage at IDC, said the results were driven by continued weakness in server systems sales.

    He said total disk storage systems capacity shipped reached 2,146 petabytes, growing 14.8 per cent year over year.

    "The disk storage system vendors are really seeing the impact of the global economic downturn in the first quarter revenues," he said.

    "However, while total revenues declined year over year, the overall storage capacity shipped continued to grow.

    "These contrasting results are due to a combination of currency implications, lower overall sales, shifts in product mix, and aggressive pricing actions."

    Liz Conner, research analyst, Storage Systems, said that although the economic crisis was fully realized by the enterprise storage systems market in the first quarter of 2009, the quarter wasn’t without its bright spots.

    "Entry-level price bands ($0K – $14.99K) showed 9.9 per cent year-over-year growth and the midrange price band ($15K – $49.99K) was flat year over year," she said.

    This supported IDC’s belief that storage products are still in demand, according to Conner, adding that customer spending was trending towards more modular, price point options.

    "In addition, the high-end price band ($300K-499.99K) saw a 14.5 per cent year-over-year growth as vendors discounted their very high-end products, shifting the ASV’s into lower price bands in order to meet the demand for high-end storage while accounting for reduced IT budgets," she said.

    EMC maintained its lead in the external disk storage systems market with 20.7 per cent revenue share in the first quarter, followed by HP and IBM in a statistical tie for the second position with 11.5 per cent and 11.3 per cent revenue share, respectively.

    Dell and Hitachi finished the quarter in a statistical tie for fourth place with 9.8 per cent and 9.4 per cent revenue share respectively.

    The total network disk storage market (NAS Combined with Open SAN) had year-over-year growth of minus 12.5 per cent in the first quarter with more than USD $3.1 billion in revenues.

    EMC continues to maintain its leadership in the total network storage market with 26.0 per cent revenue share, followed by NetApp with 12.0 per cent revenue share.

    In the Open SAN market, which declined 14.3 per cent year over year, EMC lead with 21.9 per cent revenue share.

    The NAS market declined 6.7 per cent year over year, led by EMC with 39.0 per cent revenue share and followed by NetApp with 28.7 per cent share.

    The iSCSI SAN market continued to show strong momentum, posting 40.5 per cent revenue growth compared to the prior year’s quarter.

    Dell led the market with 36.4 per cent revenue share, followed by EMC with 15.8 per cent.

    Natalya Yezhkova, research manager, IDC Storage Systems, said price sensitivity was a big factor in the healthy growth of iSCSI SAN.

    He said that was the only installation environment segment that ended the quarter in positive territory.

    "While still a relatively small segment of the market, iSCSI SAN is the bright spot for end users and for vendors, as it helps end users to deploy network storage, often with enterprise-class functionality, at a lower price point than traditional FC SAN, and, thus, creates more selling opportunities for vendors," he said.

  • Optical Media With 1.6 Terabyte Capacity Created


    Researchers have announced they have created a "five-dimensional" optical media that can hold up to 1.6 terabytes of data.

    The team from the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia said the technology could easily be on the market within 10 years.

    In order to create the massive storage capacity the scientists used ‘nanoparticles and a "polarization" dimension’.

    The team has already signed a deal with Samsung, which says the disc could potentially hold up to 10 terabytes.

    Min Gu, a team member, said they were able to show how nanostructured material can be incorporated onto a disc in order to increase data capacity, without increasing the physical size of the disc.

    "These extra dimensions are the key to creating ultra-high capacity discs," he said.

  • LG-Nortel Launches New Line Ahead of Expected Surge in IP Phone Demand


    LG-Nortel has responded to an expected doubling of IP phone penetration in businesses this year by launching a new line of desktop IP Phones.

    Geared towards business users and carrier-hosted VoIP services, JD An, vice president, Enterprise Solutions at LG-Nortel, said the IP Phone 8800 series had been designed to meet rising demand for IP phone solutions from enterprises.

    "LG-Nortel has worked diligently to meet this demand with the industry’s most feature-packed, cost-effective IP phones," he said.

    An said models in the series extend from entry-level units designed for ease of use by employees, to feature-packed models providing a range of communications features.

    These include:

    • multi-line support
    • a phone directory screen
    • Bluetooth wireless headset support

    The series also provides support for common protocols, including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) ensures compatibility with a broad range of VoIP call servers, according to An.

    "In an era where businesses are looking for the most cost-effective telephony solutions possible, VoIP has become the option of choice for businesses of all sizes," he said.

    An said the standards compliance LG-Nortel IP Phone 8800 series makes it easy to install and manage, while providing employees with the right mix of features to help them work more efficiently and become more productive.

  • Subscriptions and Video Drive Mobile Adult Revenues To $ 2.2bn In 2008


    Increasing demand for streamed subscriptions services and video chat earned the global mobile market for adult content USD $2.8 billion in 2008.

    That represents an increase of 36 per cent over the previous year, according to a report from Juniper Research.

    The mobile adult report found that the increasing prevalence of 3G handsets in many European markets had led to migration away from services offering only text and graphics towards video-based services.

    This has resulted in significantly higher average revenue per user (ARPU) levels for service providers.

  • Handset Names Key To US Smartphone Market Share?


    Forget a stylish smartphone packed with cutting edge features – if you want it to sell give it a cool name.

    At least that’s what research by Strategic Name Development (SND) claims in a report that links higher market share with cell phones having names that consumers prefer.

    The study suggests that Nokia’s "clinical-sounding alphanumeric names" are why the Finnish phone giant fails to connect with US consumers.

    Equally, Motorola’s succesful use of 4LTR names – RAZR, ROKR, SLVR, PEBL – eventually became jaded with KRZR and consumers stopped buying.

    The study by SND argues that its claims on the importance of a phone’s name are borne out by both companies’ experiencing a falling market share.

    Between 2004 and 2006, Motorola’s market share peaked at 35 per cent but after it introduced the KRZR in late 2006, this fell to 21 per cent by the second quarter of 2008.

    William Lozito, president of SND, a brand naming consultancy, said names created a distinct sense of identity and personality.

    He said thay also offered a way for people to connect with the product on an emotional level.

    "Names matter," he said.

    Lozito said it was no coincidence that LG and Samsung had identical US market shares of 16 per cent in Q3 2005, and 20 per cent in 2008.

    He said this was because they introduced very similar product naming strategies.

    The researchers praised LG and Samsung’s choices – LG’s Chocolate, Shine and Vu "appeal to the senses", while Samsung’s BlackJack, Juke and Glyde brought "fresh naming innovation" to the category.

    “Conversely, during the same period, Nokia continued a less popular naming convention and its US market share dropped from 16 per cent to 9 per cent," said Lozito.

    For some unexplained reason, the survey only looked at Motorola, LG, Samsung and Nokia – and was limited to the US market.

    And while a great name undoubtedly sets the tone for a phone, can it really condemn a handset to failure?

    We would be really interested to hear how important you think a name is to a smartphone’s success.

  • Dell Smartphone Needs To Shine


    Suggestions that Dell is to launch a smartphone have surfaced again following a research note by Kaufman Brothers analyst, Shaw Wu.

    Wu speculates that the move would be to offset the impact smartphones are having on notebook sales.

    But the analyst warns that Dell would have to make its device truly distinctive to stand any chance of securing a healthy slice of the extremely competitive smartphone market.

    For this reason, Wu suggests Dell would be well advised to consider acquiring a software maker.

    The comments come after investigations within Dell’s supply chain reportedly indicate that lengthy discussions with potential component suppliers are reaching fruition.

    While details such as device specifications and a launch date are unknown, some reports suggest Dell is planning a handset launch as early as next month at 3GSM or the Mobile World Congress.

    Dell has publicly tried to play down rumors of it launching a phone but has stopped short of openly denying the claims.

  • Nokia Remains Dominant As Smartphone Market Slows


    Growth in the global smartphone market dipped to 11.5 per cent in the third quarter year-on-year, the slowest rate of growth since it started tracking smartphone sales, according to research firm Gartner.

    Some 36.5 million smartphones were sold globally in the July-September quarter.

    Despite all vendors seeking a larger slice of the smartphone market, the growth rate is expected to continue slowing.

    Gartner also painted a fairly gloomy picture for the handset market generally, something announcements by the likes of Nokia and RIM over the past few days have done nothing to dispel.

    Not surprisingly, it blamed the current economic climate for "negatively impacting" on sales of high-end devices.

    Nokia maintained its No.1 position with 42.4 per cent market share in the third quarter of 2008, but for the first time it recorded a decline in sales of 3 per cent year-on-year.
    Gartner attributed the drop to increased competition in the consumer smartphone market.

    Sales of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones increased 81.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2008.

    Apple regained its No.3 position in the global smartphone market and improved its market share to 12.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2008.

  • Could Savings Ratios Give A Clue To Market Robustness?


    Black Friday has arrived in the US and many retailers are hoping fears of prolonged economic difficulties will not hamper consumers’ appetite for spending – not least for HDTVs.

    Paul Gray, Display Search’s director of European TV research, has added some intriguing analysis to the various predictions about how robust consumer demand is likely to be in key markets in the coming months.

    He examined the correlation between the TV penetration and savings and reckons there is some kind of a link.

    Based on his results, the US and UK markets are the most vulnerable whereas Italy and Germany appear well placed to ride out a recession.

    Describing himself as "stunned" by the findings he said the correlations appeared almost too good to be true.

    "But it does perhaps give a peek into where demand can be expected to be most robust," he said.

    "Clearly Germany and Italy have few sets. If the set fails, the choice is to replace it or read a book instead."

    Gray said that by comparison, the US and UK had enjoyed an Anglo-Saxon credit binge and much of the market is supported by second sets.

    "When times get tough, these will not be replaced, or the impulsive demand for another set will easily be extinguished by tight household budgets," he said.

    "These markets look most vulnerable, and indeed have so many sets in the home that in really tight times a bedroom set could be called into front-line duty if the main set fails."

    Just how accurate his methods are remain to be seen, but there is a certain logic to them – isn’t there?

  • Indian VoIP Market Ripe For Growth

    The Indian market for VoIP is second only to China amongst the Asia Pacific countries and, with ever increasing numbers of broadband users, has vast potential for growth.


    biz-news.com blogger correspondent Jolsna Rajan gives her perspective on the internet communications outlook for the nation.

    The VoIP market in India is growing phenomenally. It has picked up and is all set to become the second largest market in the APAC countries after China.

    According to research by iLocus the carrier VoIP equipment market, softswitch and media gateways generated combined revenues of $2.2 billion in 2007, which represents about 24 percent growth over previous year.

    And 1,079 billion minutes of VoIP traffic carried by service providers worldwide was reported as in 2007.

    Of these minutes, 382.3 billion was local call volume, 614.4 billion was national long distance (NLD) call volume, and 82.6 billion was the international long distance (ILD) call volume.

    "India’s telecom market is one of the most dynamic telecom markets in the world, presenting high revenue potential for equipment vendors," said Jahangir Raina, an analyst at iLocus.

    "As carriers in India build next-generation networks that compete globally, we expect very rapid adoption of VoIP services not only in ILD but also in the domestic long distance segment. VocalTec is poised to meet the explosive growth expectations forecasted in our study."

    Competition

    The big players in the market like Skype, Jaxtr , Jajah continue to do well while it is interesting to note that entrants like Phonewala and TringMe have already begun to do exceedingly well.

    The growth of these new companies is very evident:

    • While Phonewala’s promoter Net4 recently got listed at BSE, TringMe is all set to capture a part of market share through its unique offering. Tringme has an embeddable flash widget that allows users to entirely get rid of their phone and call though a landline or even GTalk. Users only need a microphone connected to their computer. Calls are entirely free, and users can choose to keep their phone number private. It is already embarking onto expansion plans and is adding two more products in their portfolio, one of which is in the beta stage and the other will be a first of its own kind video product.

    The Booming Potential

    Lower cost is the most compelling reason to switch to VOIP service.

    It is one among the deregulated markets in India. Hence competitors are increasingly finding ways to cut costs.

    Also, consider the fact that CISCO alone has already shipped in excess of 200,000 IP phones to India. It also recently set up a pilot facility through their global manufacturing partner Foxconn for the production of internet protocol (IP) phones in Chennai.

    According to the Telecom Regulatory Authorty Of India (TRAI) document by 2010 India will have 20 million broadband users. This may give VoIP just get the right boost it requires.

    The Underlying Myth

    Perhaps the biggest misconception about VoIP is that it is illegal in India. Recently TRAI has been providing measures to tackle this misconception among users and hence has recommended removing earlier restrictions by appropriate licensing fees or service tax as captured.

    The second other assumption is that “low cost calls usually face problems with sound quality and reliability”. This misconception is yet to be tackled which would give a wide opportunity space especially with the corporate.

    All these disadvantages will be overcome in time and by 2010, India will witness a much better consumer acceptance.