Mobile Handsets & Devices
Highlights from Day 3 of the MWC in Barcelona
RIM champions BlackBerry traffic efficiencies
In Asia-Pacific markets, operators are putting pressure on Apple to address some of the signalling issues made increasingly worse by continued growth of smartphone adoption, in order to reduce the iPhone’s impact on the network. We’re hearing from the operators we speak to that the device is proving more inefficient in the way it handles signalling versus other competing devices. Somewhat controversially citing BlackBerry devices as a solution to the capacity crunch, RIM CEO stated that ‘you could carry five BlackBerry devices for each iPhone on the network’. Whether true or not, this bears no relevance to consumer purchasing decisions – whether it convinces operators to push the BlackBerry more aggressively is unclear.
Highlights from Day 2 of the MWC in Barcelona
Voice takes centre stage
It’s the end of day two here in Barcelona and despite the wind, rain and the long queues at the entrance gates (not to mention the food halls), it’s been another overwhelmingly positive day. The hustle and bustle in and around the stands here at MWC is obvious and there’s clearly an upbeat mood generally, a marked contrast to last year’s event.
Perhaps one reason for the general positive feeling is that operators have remembered just how big this business is. There’s a lot of talk about the importance of data and whilst it will, of course, be the main revenue driver in the future, it’s worth taking stock of just how much the mobile industry has grown. Informa’s latest forecasts suggest that more than US$700 billion will be generated in operator service revenues from voice in 2010 alone.
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Highlights from Day 1 of the MWC in Barcelona
An agreement between 15 of the world’s largest mobile operators to combat the dominance of Apple in mobile applications dominated proceedings on Day 1 of the Mobile World Congress here in Barcelona.
Other highlights in Barcelona today included Microsoft’s latest attempt to build an attractive, user-friendly operating system for mobile phones and Ericsson’s entree into the already-crowded mobile applications space. Read more »
Keys to success are elusive for iPhone apps developers
IPhone application developers don’t need to offer an inexpensive iPhone app in order to make a dent in the marketplace, but, that said, it’s sometimes the simplest applications that derive the most high-profile attention.
Those were two of the lessons I learned at the 360iDev conference last week. The 225 or so attendees at this event, held in Denver, appeared to be acolytes of Apple CEO Steve Jobs (though that is exactly how one attendee said he did not want to be described). For the most part, they didn’t seem interested in developing apps for Google’s Android OS, Windows Mobile, Palm’s webOS or anything without the Apple brand on it. Read more »
Download the Executive Summary from our Financial Crisis report
No one is immune to the current economic downturn - even mobile operators are now starting to see an impact on their businesses and customer base. Read more »
Download the Executive Summary from our Mobile Operating Systems report
The decline in new handset sales that we are expecting will lead to increased competition and pressure on costs. As a result, the growing power of software in enabling device features and applications will see it play a pivotal role in the smartphone market, which we predict will grow by 30% in 2009. Read more »
Network APIs moment of truth: Are there revenue opportunities?
Open network APIs are arguably the most publicized alternative business model to the traditional voice, SMS and data operator offering. Network APIs are enablers for a variety of business models, including operator branded application stores, two sided business models, web mashups and developer communities. However, as Tier 1 operators continue to announce API initiatives, there is confusion in the market regarding their revenue potential and whether operators should deviate from the traditional voice or bit pipe paradigm to become smart pipes and third party service enablers. Read more »
Informa Telecoms & Media launches the NEW Intelligence Centre
We are extremely pleased to unveil the new Intelligence Centre, which includes enhancements to the structure of our content, the search functionality and the introduction of over 2500 dedicated company and country overviews. Read more »
Shipment growth in 2Q09 reassures mobile handset industry
The recent 2Q09 earnings results of the world’s top five handset vendors by volume showed a quarter-on-quarter growth of 12.1% in shipment numbers, led by LG, Samsung and Nokia. With channel inventory reduced to more normal levels, prospects for continued quarterly growth in 2H09 have improved. However, challengers such as ZTE could displace Motorola or Sony Ericsson while they restructure. Meanwhile, Nokia is increasingly focusing on value. Read more »
Apple fiscal Q309 results: iPhone 3G S performing well as iPod sales decrease
The headline grabbing announcement from Apple’s results on Tuesday was that iPhone sales had grown 626% year on year to 5.2 million. Although statistically correct, one year ago Apple were consciously ramping down sales of the iPhone 2G in advance of the iPhone 3G launch. Nevertheless, the company from Cupertino can take a number of positives from the iPhone’s recent performance:
- Sales of the iPhone 3G S were strong, registering over 1 million sales within three days of its launch on 19th June,
- Although as yet unquantified it seems that the reduced retail price of the iPhone 3G at least created increased consumer interest and probably increased sales
- The now customary shortages of the latest iPhone seem likely to continue into next quarter while the company looks to extend its distribution from 18 to 80 countries.
The positive iPhone performance is important for Apple given the drop in iPod volume sales, in part due to Apple’s decision to reduce channel inventory and from the maturing MP3 player market being cannibalized by both the iPod Touch and the iPhone. Reassuringly iPod Touch sales also performed “extremely well” in the quarter.
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