Business News Holding

Tag: mobile-devices

  • Smartphone Ownership Now "Mandatory", Not Techie Toy


    Not owning a smartphone today is the social equivalent to not having email a few years ago – at least in the US.

    That’s the conclusion of a report in the New York Times, which says that having an iPhone, Pre or BlackBerry is pretty much mandatory these days unless you want to ostracise yourself from "society".

    It says the devices are no longer a status symbol or techie toy but have become mandatory equipment for belonging to society.

    David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, told the paper: "The social norm is that you should respond (to an email) within a couple of hours, if not immediately.

    "If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail."

    The report comes, conveniently, as research shows that 41 per cent of consumers will make a smartphones their next mobile device.

    As a result, smartphone volumes will grow to 38 per cent of all handsets by 2013, representing the largest growth opportunity within mobile devices.

    This makes the smartphone category the most important competitive battleground in wireless today, according to the Yankee Group study.

    It also shows that trends within the smartphone ecosystem are profoundly impacting the power dynamics between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators.

    Traditionally, operators have had the upper hand when working with device manufacturers to bring a new device to market, but the power dynamics are shifting.

    With more competitive entrants, tighter budgets and increased consumer expectations, OEMs and operators need to work together, on equal ground, to thrive.

    Chris Collins, Yankee Group senior analyst, said the release of the Palm Pre spotlights the changes in the OEM-operator dynamic.

    "Sprint and Palm are two companies desperate for a blockbuster hit," he said. "And as such, they are either the perfect – or worst possible – partners for one another.

    "The fate of both companies relies on the success of their alliance around the Pre."

  • Dell's Smartphone Preparations Gain Pace


    Dell’s plans for entering the smartphone market have gained some more meat.

    The world’s second largest PC brand is working with two companies to develop software and hardware for new mobile devices.

    Accel’s Jim Breyer join Dell’s board

    Chi Mei Communications – an unlisted unit of Taiwan’s Hon Hai – is involved with the hardware, while China-based Red Office is engineering the operating system, according to Reuters.

    The outcome is expected to be the launch of multiple smartphones in the Chinese market before the end of the year.

    If all goes well, the US and Europe would then get the PC maker’s devices.

    Dell’s move into the smartphone market – and China, where China Mobile is seen as the favored operator – could be part of the reason why it has appointed Jim Breyer, of Venture firm Accel Partners, to its board.

    Already on ten boards, including Facebook, Etsy, Wal-Mart and Marvel, his company launched a USD $250 million fund in China in 2005.

    Breyer’s experience of finding the right partners and market could be important to Dell as it prepares new devices.

  • Visualon Integrates On2 VP6 Video Into Mobile Apps


    On2 Technologies has licensed its On2 VP6 video format and software to VisualOn Inc.

    VisualOn is to integrate VP6 decoding software into its multimedia application suite for mobile platforms.

    These software applications allow consumers to play rich multimedia content on mobile devices without expensive dedicated hardware.

    The power-efficient software codecs and multimedia applications offer everything needed to enable video, audio, and still image applications on a range of devices.

    Last month, On2 Technologies announced a 1080p video encoder aimed at improving image quality and compression performance in battery operated devices and consumer electronics.

    The new hardware design, the Hantro 8270, supports H.264 Baseline, Main and High Profile video along with 16Mpixel JPEG still images.

    Yang Cai, CEO of VisualOn, said the widespread presence of On2 VP6 content on the web makes it an essential format for VisualOn’s product portfolio.

    "Adding VP6 to our application suite will enable mobile users to watch high-quality VP6 without requiring a bleeding-edge processor or a pocketful of batteries," he said.

    "Our customers as well as consumers ultimately benefit from the high quality, lower power, and reduced cost achieved through VisualOn’s partnership with On2."

    On2 VP6, through its inclusion in the Adobe Flash and Sun JavaFX application platforms, has become the de facto format for web video and a fundamental requirement for Internet-connected mobile devices.

    Matt Frost, COO and interim CEO of On2 Technologies, said that when compared to H.264 Baseline profile (a video format used in wireless applications) On2 VP6 content offers 10-20 per cent better video compression performance while requiring less computing power to play.

    He said that as a result, VP6 enables a wider range of mobile devices to play high-quality content without sacrificing battery life.

    "We are pleased to have VisualOn optimize and integrate On2 VP6 to their application suite," he said.

    "They have exceptional skill and experience in delivering highly optimized multimedia software for mobile devices, and we look forward to seeing high-performance playback of our codec as an integral part of their solutions."

  • Smartphones Help WeFi Pass One Million User Mark


    The growing number of WiFi enabled smartphones appears to be spurring WeFi Inc on to greater things.

    The community-based global Wi-Fi network says it has now amassed over one million users in 215 countries, with an increasing number coming from mobile devices.

    WeFi, which recently added Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms to its Wi-Fi-connection service, also reported that it now has 10 million discovered hotspots.

    A statement said this makes it the largest virtual global Wi-Fi network, and the largest worldwide map of Wi-Fi access points available today.

    WeFi offers free downloadable software that enables automatic connection to the best Wi-Fi hotspot available.

    As well as Symbian and Windows Mobile, it has versions available for PCs and Macs, and has gained in popularity as more mobile devices become Wi-Fi compatible.

    In addition to gaining access to hotspots, members of the WeFi community are invited to map and rank open hotspots in any given location around the world, forming an aggregate picture of all the available Wi-Fi connections.

    Zur Feldman, CEO of WeFi, said the one million users demonstrated the rapid growth in users, located all across the world.

    "WeFi has been successful in being able to give our users the ability to add hotspots themselves and to share them with others," he said.

  • Advertisers Need To Adapt To Mobile Internet


    Internet advertisers will need to create campaigns that work with multiple devices and display sizes if they want to benefit from growing mobile advertising revenue.

    That’s according to telecom analysts Berg Insight, who say a significant proportion of mobile advertising revenues will actually derive from mobile Internet users accessing conventional web sites.

    Smartphones will be the key device used to boost traditional Internet advertising revenues.

    Other predictions for the mobile advertising market included in Berg Insight’s report are:

    • Ad-funded business models will become a new paradigm in the discount MVNO segment of the mobile communications market. Price sensitive young consumers with low income will be most inclined to accept ads in exchange for voice minutes or text messages. Incidentally this group is also highly interesting for major advertisers.

    • Idle-screen will eventually become the largest mobile advertising channel. Virtually all consumers carry a mobile handset wherever they go and check out things on the display many times per day. Embedded advertising on the idle-screen and in the user interface would provide an unmatched exposure.

    • The current economic downturn will hold back revenue growth but not innovation. New unproven channels such as mobile media will see a negative effect from cutbacks in marketing budgets. However there is still going to be much innovation in the mobile space that will create new channels for advertisers to reach out to consumers.

    • Size will matter in the race for market leadership. Financial strength will be especially important if the market develops more slowly than previously anticipated. Existing digital and mobile industry players will have a major advantage over venture capital funded start-ups, many of which will have difficulties to find financing.

  • Smartphone demand undented by economic woes

    Global demand for mobile devices still expected to reach 1.3 billion units in 2008 despite financial uncertainties, according to ABI Research

    The fact many global economies are teetering on the brink of recession doesn’t appear to have diminished consumer demand for top-end mobile phones.

    As the recent launch of the 3G iPhone demonstrated, the public appetite for the latest, most sophisticated smartphones is strong.

    Now a report by ABI Research suggests that while handset sales in developed markets were flat, those that did purchase were willing to pay more for the newest smartphones.

    As a result of this, it estimates that the mobile device market will deliver 13 per cent growth to take 2008 annual shipments to 1.3 billion units.

    It shows that in the second quarter of 2008, Tier One handset vendors enjoyed year-over-year unit shipment growth of between 15 and 22 per cent.

    An estimated 301 million units were shipped during the quarter, according to the analysts.

    Jake Saunders, vice president of ABI Research, said: “If there is an economic slowdown, no one bothered to tell the mobile device buying public.

    “In particular, consumers in emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America shrugged off inflation fears to sign up as mobile phone users.

    “These healthy gains in net subscriber additions are stimulating replacement and upgrade sales.
    “In developed markets handset purchases tended to be flat, but those consumers who did purchase dug deeper and paid out more for coveted higher-end handsets and smartphones.”

    In terms of market share, the report Mobile Devices Market Sizing and Share, shows that Nokia has passed the 40 per cent threshold for the first time (40.3%).

    Samsung secured second place with 15.2 per cent, while Motorola barely managed to keep ahead of LG with its 9.3 per cent versus LG’s 9.2 per cent, and both edged out Sony Ericsson (8.3 per cent).

    There is a distinct possibility that LG might overtake Motorola by the end of 3Q 2008, putting Motorola into fourth place.

    “There is admittedly turmoil in the global economy, but the mass market’s fascination with getting the latest and greatest handset shows no sign of abating,” said ABI’s research director Kevin Burden.

    However, even with the expected 1H 2008 success of Tier One handset vendors – with Apple’s latest iPhone leading the charge – Nokia’s overall market share is likely to hold.

    This is in large part down to it refreshing its portfolio in the mid-tier and high end categories and pretty much cornering the ultra-low cost handset market.