Yankee Group uncovers 4G disconnect

CHICAGO, USA: While 60 percent of users surveyed by Yankee Group say they are interested in mobile Internet access, just 3 percent say they are anxiously awaiting 4G and 43 percent say they have heard the term “4G” but don’'t understand what it means.

That disconnect is just one hurdle service providers must overcome before they can successfully reap the promise of 4G and the mobile Internet.

These are core topics of 4G World and Mobile Internet World, which run through Sept. 18. The events have 7,000 registered attendees, and feature 250 sponsors and exhibitors and 150 speakers, including eight Yankee Group analysts. The report, “Beyond 4G Rhetoric: Capitalizing on the Mobile Internet,” released today spotlights industry challenges:

* Mobile Internet is spawning new, tougher competition. Service providers are not only challenged to transform their businesses for the mobile Internet, but must also keep up with innovative non-carrier competitors, like device makers Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM and Nokia, as well as new entrants in emerging markets.

* High smartphone usage will continue to stress networks. Yankee Group surveys show 60 percent of users are likely or highly likely to purchase a smartphone as their next mobile device. Data traffic is expected to increase by more than 29 times between 2009 and 2015, with most demand coming from smartphones. In fact, the proportion of data traffic coming from smartphones will increase from 18.5 to 56 percent between 2009 and 2015.

* Service providers must overhaul their infrastructure. “In addition to moving to all-IP cores, service providers must adopt holistic strategies to transform their entire network, IT and operational ecosystems,” says Phil Marshall, senior research fellow and author of the report. “Service providers must capitalize on the mobile Internet or perish.”

Smartphones to surpass PNDs in navigation market in 2014

EL SEGUNDO, USA: The days of supremacy for the Portable Navigation Device (PND) in the global navigation market are coming to an end with the rise in worldwide usage of GPS-equipped smartphones in the coming years, according to iSuppli Corp.

After several years of strong sales growth, PNDs will continue to lead the navigation market in 2009, with 114 million sets to be in use by the end of the year, compared to 57.8 million smartphones. However, by 2014, usage of navigation-enabled smartphones will rise to 305 million units, exceeding the 128 million PNDs that will be around by then.

The figure presents iSuppli’s forecast of global usage of PNDs and navigation-enabled smartphones. Please note that this figure presents the number of products in use instead of annual shipments.Source: iSuppli, USA

“Previously, smartphones were not seen as a threat to the dominance of PNDs due to mobile handsets’ poor battery life, unclear pricing structures and inferior interface,” said Danny Kim, global Location-Based Service (LBS) analyst for iSuppli. “However, as smartphone design moves forward, many of these issues have been or will be resolved, leading to increased market share for navigation applications on smart phones.”

New smartphone models are more suitable for use with navigation applications for a range of reasons, including the integration of GPS functionality, better usability, larger screens, built-in connectivity and most importantly, the flurry of applications being developed for smartphones. Other features boosting the smartphones’ utility for navigation include better microprocessor support, higher internal flash memory and improved battery life.

iSuppli believes that in 2011, nearly 100 percent of all smartphones shipped will integrate GPS functionality.

“These features will give smartphones similar feature sets as mid-range PNDs, making them more attractive to users,” Kim said.

Apps are everything
Another factor driving increased usage of smartphone navigation is the launch of high-profile navigation applications from TomTom and Navigon for the iPhone.

“These new applications will make the iPhone a better match for the PNDs, diverting attention from the portable navigation devices,” Kim said.

With TomTom’s announcement last week, Apple now has eight navigation applications for the iPhone—two off-board solutions and six on-board counterparts.

The initial reaction from iPhone users should be encouraging to the application suppliers.

Owing to the arrival of these applications, iPhone navigation users are expected to increase to 28 million in 2013, up from just 2 million in 2009, iSuppli predicts.

Rise and fall of the PND
The rise of smartphone navigation represents another milestone in the remarkable story of the PND.

The starting gun for the PND market was in 2004, when the product began exceeding all expectations in growth and popularity and continued to so for several years. The year 2009 marks the dividing line when sales expansion for the PND slows as the product moves from the growth phase to the maturity stage of its life cycle.

The two major PND vendors are expected to maintain very similar market shares in the PND space into 2013.

iSuppli forecasts that the number of TomTom and Garmin PNDs in use—based on a three-year life span—will not significantly change between 2009 and 2013. Any new growth in PND shipments is likely to come from the Asia-Pacific region, where past map coverage has been patchy but is improving.

More feature phones among new handsets sales in Q2 2009

PORT WASHINGTON, USA: According to The NPD Group, a leading market research company, when it comes to sales of mobile phones in the US feature phones still rule the market, even as smartphone sales continue to increase their share of overall handset sales.

NPD’s Mobile Phone Track information reveals that unit-sales of new feature phones fell 5 percentage points to 72 percent of new handset sales in the second quarter (Q2), while sales of new smartphones (i.e., handsets that are sold with their own operating systems) reached 28 percent of overall consumer purchases -– a 47 percent increase in the category’s share since last year.

“Despite their ties to pricey data plans, the rich Internet access capabilities of smartphones are attracting consumers wooed by lower device prices,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at The NPD Group.

Overall handset sales volume in the US grew 14 percent year over year in Q2 2009, as sales revenue increased 18 percent. The average selling price of all mobile phones increased 4 percent year over year – reaching $87 in Q2.

NPD’s Q2 2009 ranking of handsets showed the LG enV2 and Samsung Rant led feature phone sales, while Apple iPhone 3G and RIM Blackberry Curve were the top-selling smartphones.

Wi-Fi capability increased three-fold since last year, with 20 percent of all new handsets equipped with this capability. Touch screens on both feature phones and smartphones have also seen tremendous growth since last year, with 26 percent of all new handsets purchased in Q2 including this feature; physical QWERTY keyboards, by comparison, were available in 35 percent of handsets sold.

"Feature phones are taking on more of the physical characteristics of smartphones, and often offer greater exposure to carrier services," Rubin said. "Although their user interfaces continue to improve, the depth of their applications generally lags behind those of smartphones.

"With the price gap between smartphones and feature phones narrowing, to remain competitive feature phones need to develop a better Web experience, drive utility via widgets, and sidestep the applications arms race."

Microsoft, Nokia form global alliance to design, develop and market mobile productivity solutions

NEW YORK, USA: The worldwide leader in software and the world's largest smartphone manufacturer have entered into an alliance that is set to deliver a groundbreaking, enterprise-grade solution for mobile productivity.

Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop and Nokia's Executive Vice President for Devices Kai Oistamo announced the agreement, outlining a shared vision for the future of mobile productivity. This is the first time that either company has embarked on an alliance of this scope and nature.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will begin collaborating immediately on the design, development and marketing of productivity solutions for the mobile professional, bringing Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft business communications, collaboration and device management software to Nokia's Symbian devices.

These solutions will be available for a broad range of Nokia smartphones starting with the company's business-optimized range, Nokia Eseries. The two companies will also market these solutions to businesses, carriers and individuals.

Both Microsoft Corp. and Nokia possess a rare combination of enterprise experience and consumer understanding and, in addition to the collaboration on existing software and services, will use these assets to jointly design a range of new user experiences for future Nokia devices.

These experiences will be identified together, and will be created by dedicated teams inside both companies to better meet the growing needs of the mobile professional.

"With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us," said Elop.

"Today's announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere, as part of our strategy to provide the best productivity experience across the PC, phone and browser."

"If you are going to provide a seamless and integrated productivity experience on a mobile device, Microsoft is an ideal partner," said Oistamo.

"Together with Microsoft, we will develop new and innovative user experiences for employees of small and large businesses alike, ensuring Nokia's smartphones are an integral part of the office and home-office environment, and addressing the significant opportunity in mobile enterprise productivity."

This announcement builds on the existing work Nokia is doing by optimizing access to e-mail and other personal information with Exchange ActiveSync. Next year, Nokia intends to start shipping Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its smartphones, followed by other Office applications and related software and services in the future. These will include:

* The ability to view, edit, create and share Office documents on more devices in more places with mobile-optimized versions of Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft OneNote.
* Enterprise instant messaging and presence, and optimized conferencing and collaboration experience with Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile
Mobile access to intranet and extranet portals built on Microsoft SharePoint Server.
* Enterprise device management with Microsoft System Center.

"Having these two major players cooperating at this level will help us continue to meet our customers' needs and reinforces our future business mobility strategy," said Diane Sanchez, head of Telefonica USA.

"The scope of the alliance between Microsoft and Nokia, and potential value for the enterprise and individual is significant," said Stephen Drake, VP of Mobility & Telecom at IDC. "By bringing Microsoft's productivity solutions to Nokia's large customer base, the two companies should be better able to serve the needs of the growing mobile worker population, which IDC estimates to reach 1 billion worldwide in 2011."

Global mobile phone sales drops 6pc, smartphones grow 27pc in Q2-09

MUMBAI, INDIA: Worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 286.1 million units in the second quarter of 2009, a 6.1 percent decrease from the second quarter of 2008, according to Gartner Inc.

Smartphone sales surpassed 40 million units, a 27 percent increase from the same period last year, representing the fastest-growing segment of the mobile-devices market (Table 2).

"Despite the challenging market, some devices sold well as consumers who would usually have purchased standard midrange devices either cut back to less expensive handsets or moved up the range to get more features for their money," said Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner.

"Touchscreen and qwerty devices remained a major driver for replacement sales and benefited manufacturers with strong, touch-focused midtier devices. However, the decline in average selling price (ASP) accelerated in the first half of the year and particularly affected manufacturers that focus on midtier and low-end devices, where margins are already slim."

The recession continued to suppress replacement sales in both mature and emerging markets. The distribution channel has dealt with lower demand and financial pressure by using up 13.9 million units of existing stock before ordering more. Gartner expects the gap between sell-in to the channel and sell-through to customers will reduce in the second half of 2009 as the channel starts to restock.

Table 1: Worldwide Mobile Terminal Sales to End Users in 2Q09 (Thousands of Units)Note: This table includes iDEN shipments but excludes ODM-to-OEM shipments.
Source: Gartner (August 2009)

Nokia maintained its leadership position, but its portfolio remained heavily skewed toward low-end devices. Its flagship high-end N97 smartphone met little enthusiasm at its launch in the second quarter of 2009 and has sold just 500,000 units in the channel since it started to ship in June, compared to Apple's iPhone 3G S, which sold 1 million units in its first weekend.

"The right high-end product and an increased focus on services and content are vital for Nokia if it wants to both revamp its brand and please investors with a more promising outlook in ASPs and margins," said Ms Milanesi.

Samsung and LG both had a very strong second quarter of 2009 with sales of 55 million units and 30.5 million units, respectively. Samsung's touchscreen devices, qwerty phones and smartphones drove sales in mature markets, and Gartner expects it will continue to gain market share in the second half of 2009 to close the gap with Nokia.

Gartner expects LG to keep moving into lower-tier devices to drive growth in emerging markets and be well-positioned to take advantage of China's 3G rollout as it can deliver good-value-for-money devices.

Table 2: Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users in 2Q09 (Thousands of Units)Note: For HTC, Gartner counts only the company's own-branded devices, including the G1.
Note: Totals may not add to 100.0 percent due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (August 2009)

Motorola's sales of 15.9 million units were slightly better than expected, but its presence has rapidly concentrated on the Americas, and it has lost most of its share of the Western European market, where it sold fewer than 1 million units in the second quarter of 2009. Most operators and customers will be waiting for Motorola's new Android-based products planned for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Sony Ericsson's market share dropped 2.8 percentage points year-on-year in the second quarter of 2009 but its volume dropped 41 per cent. Although the market environment was challenging, Gartner attributes Sony Ericsson's poor performance to its uncompetitive range of handsets.

"Sony Ericsson has neglected to exploit key trends such as qwerty products for messaging and e-mail, internet browsing and navigation. If it wants to build the presence of its three new products announced this quarter in the channel and capture Christmas sales, the products need to come to market early in the fourth quarter of 2009," Ms Milanesi added.

"Smartphone sales were strong during the second quarter of 2009, with sales of 40.9 million units in line with Gartner's forecast of 27 per cent year-on-year sales growth for 2009," said Ms Milanesi. "Given the higher margins, smartphones offer the biggest opportunity for manufacturers. It is the fastest-growing market segment and the most resistant to declining ASPs."

Apple's expansion into a larger number of countries in the past year has produced a clear effect on sales volumes, as have the recent price adjustments on the 8GB 3G iPhone. Sales of 5.4 million units in the second quarter of 2009 indicated a 51 percent growth in shipments and helped Apple maintain the No. 3 position in the smartphone market, where it has stayed since the third quarter of 2008.

Apple brought its much-anticipated new device — the iPhone 3G S — to market at the end of the second quarter of 2009, but its full potential will only start to show in the sales figures in the second half of 2009.

At the high end of the smartphone market, HTC remained in the No. 4 position behind Apple, where it has been since the third quarter of 2008. It reported lower expectations for the second half of 2009 due to product delays and now expects 2009 revenue to decline by low- to mid-single digits year-on-year, far below its previous outlook of 10 per cent annual growth.

In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Symbian held 51 percent share, down from 57 percent a year ago, while RIM and Apple grew their shares year-on-year. Android's share was just under 2 percent of the market and more Android-based devices will come to market in the fourth quarter of 2009, intensifying competition in the smartphone OS market, particularly for Symbian and Windows Mobile. Microsoft's share continued to drop year-on-year to account for 9 percent of the market in the second quarter of 2009.

"Microsoft licensees HTC and Samsung continued to add features to their own interfaces, on top of Windows Mobile, to create more competitive products and make up for the usability constraints of the Microsoft platform," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner.

This quarter also saw the debut of the long-awaited Palm Pre based on the new web operating system. "This device attracted a lot of media attention but showed mixed results at the cash register as sales only reached 205,000 units," said Ms Cozza.

"Palm currently ranks 10th in the smartphone market and Gartner remains concerned about its ability to gain traction outside the US market, where its brand is less strong."

"For the remainder of 2009, manufacturers must offer products with the features that consumers and operators are demanding most strongly — like touchscreens, focus on user interfaces and application/content ecosystems — and work hard to keep operators loyal," concluded Ms Milanesi.

"We expect competition to intensify in the second half of 2009. Mobile operators are likely to drive competition among manufacturers as they start selling e-book readers and mini-notebooks from other manufacturers to foster mobile broadband subscriptions.

"Operators are also starting to subsidise e-book readers and mini notebooks on contract and this means that there will be less subsidy available to drive sales of mobile phones and smartphones. In turn, operators will demand lower prices from phone manufacturers, which will be under even more pressure to deliver strong feature sets at the lowest possible price."

Low-cost handsets to account for over half of all mobile phones by 2014

HAMPSHIRE, UK: New research has shown how the mobile handset market is becoming increasingly polarised between low cost handsets for emerging markets and high-end smartphones for developed regions –- with the mid-range handset market being squeezed.

Low-cost handsets and smartphones will together account for almost 79 percent of all new mobile phones by 2014, or just over 1 billion units in all. Operators and vendors are preparing to deal with a massive influx of new users from low-income socio-economic groups in developing markets and a rising demand for complex ‘smart’ devices from affluent users in developed markets.

Vendors such as Nokia, Apple and RIM (makers of Blackberry) are well positioned to benefit from these trends whilst players operating more in the mid range market such as Sony Ericsson and Motorola are having to rethink their strategy.

According to Low-cost handsets report author Andrew Kitson: “Low-cost handset shipments will number more than 700 million in 2014, up by 31 percent from levels seen in 2008, albeit down slightly from a peak of 716 million in 2012 as some users begin to upgrade to costlier devices.

“At the same time, smartphone shipment volumes will grow continuously across the forecast period, reaching almost 360 million by the end of the period. We therefore expect that mid-range device sales volumes will fall by more than 41 percent over the period.”

Other findings from the low-cost handsets research include:
* In 2008, the Indian Sub Continent region accounted for the majority (23 percent) of low-cost handset sales, due to efforts by operators such as Vodafone to meet low-income users’ needs in markets such as India: by 2014, the region will account for 22 percent of sales.

* Take-up in emerging markets will be boosted by the availability of low-cost, highly targeted localised information services, such as Nokia’s Life Tools offering.

LIN TV first to launch mobile app for BlackBerry smartphones

PROVIDENCE, USA: LIN TV Corp., a local television and digital media company, announced the expansion of its mobile offerings to include a new application for BlackBerry smartphones.

LIN TV has leveraged News Over Wireless’s (NOW) technology to develop custom BlackBerry smartphone applications for each of its 27 local television stations.

Six LIN TV stations will launch service today, including WISH-TV, WAVY-TV, KRQE-TV, WANE-TV, WALA-TV and KXAN-TV. LIN TV is the first in its local markets to provide instantaneous and on-demand access to its local news, sports and entertainment, as well as video, weather forecasts and traffic reports to BlackBerry smartphone subscribers.

During the second quarter of 2009, LIN TV announced its partnership with NOW to further extend its newsrooms and unveiled custom iPhone applications for each of its local television stations.

“Launching an application for BlackBerry is the natural next step in the evolution of LIN TV’s mobile business and will further our strategy to engage viewers any time of day and across any platform they may be viewing,” said LIN TV’s Senior Vice President New Media Robb Richter.

“We look forward to capitalizing on the tremendous population of BlackBerry users to increase brand loyalty and grow additional revenue streams, including national and local advertising.”

The mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones is the latest addition to LIN TV's fully synchronized television and digital offerings that will be available free of charge on LIN TV’s station web sites.

Smartphone capability tracker: what’s hot and what’s not

UK: Tim Renowden, analyst at Ovum, comments:

GPS and WiFi are hot
Ovum’s data (collated from DeviceMine and Ovum research) identified 77 smartphone models released by key manufacturers in the sample period. Of these, 59 handsets had GPS capability and 49 had WiFi, indicating that these technologies are now key features across nearly all smartphones, not just high-end models.

Some operators still have a reluctance to admit WiFi-equipped handsets onto their networks, but Ovum believes consumers now expect WiFi to be present in smartphones.

The widespread availability of GPS (across all of the major smartphone platforms) is great news for developers wishing to deploy location-based applications and services, but so far few developers have taken advantage of this beyond basic navigation products.

Ovum’s smartphone capability tracker showed much lower penetration for TV-out capability, although this was of little surprise as it is only recently that most platforms have really possessed the multimedia abilities required to justify its inclusion.

Only the iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms produced devices with TV-out, with Samsung in particular being proactive in supporting the feature. Ovum expects TV-out to grow in popularity among media-centric smartphones, along with increasing processing power and screen resolutions.

On the processor front, most smartphones are currently based on ARM11 architecture, but Ovum expects some ARM Cortex A8-based chipsets to appear in devices within the next update, and platforms like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon or Nvidia’s Tegra to emerge later in 2009 as manufacturers seek to add greater multimedia functionality to devices.

Devices based on the ARM Cortex A9 multi-core architecture are expected in 2010.

RIAs and widget frameworks are not
Widgets are another buzzword in the industry, but the tracker shows that only around 10 percent of smartphones support Internet widget frameworks. This is another area where we expect rapid growth in adoption through 2009/10.

Ovum has previously discussed the potential for rich Internet application (RIA) frameworks as application platforms in mobile handsets, but the tracker shows how little impact RIAs have so far made on smartphones.

Adobe’s Flash and Flash Lite have achieved the best penetration, with 41 smartphone models supporting Flash. Symbian dominates this figure: 25 are Symbian-based (all except one of the Symbian handsets released support Flash).

Windows Mobile has patchy support for Flash (manufacturers even support it inconsistently across their Windows Mobile portfolios), and iPhone OS and Android currently do not support it at all.

Of the other RIA frameworks tracked (Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight), penetration is zero, indicating that usefulness of these platforms for application developers is still some way off.

App stores are cooking unevenly
One of the biggest talking points in the industry in the last 12 months has been the rise of on-device application stores. Despite the limitless hype, for the sample period very few devices were released with pre-installed app store clients. Apple’s iPhone, HTC’s Android devices and several Nokia handsets (featuring Nokia’s Download! client, not the newer Ovi Store) were the only devices with app stores pre-installed.

We expect a big change in this area in the next version of the smartphone tracker, as platform owners and manufacturers have now begun to respond in earnest to the app store buzz. On-device app stores have launched on BlackBerry and Palm’s WebOS, Nokia now has Ovi Store, Windows Mobile 6.5 will feature an app store, and a greater proportion of new handsets will feature these clients in the next version of the tracker.

GPS smartphone shipments to reach 77mn units in 2009

BOSTON, USA: According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, worldwide GPS smartphone shipments will grow 34 percent from 57 million units in 2008 to 77 million units in 2009.

GPS adoption in smartphones is being fueled by widespread consumer acceptance of portable navigation devices in Europe and the United States, and the increasing presence of mapping applications among mobile vendors such as Nokia, Apple and Blackberry.

Joanne Blight, Navigation Director at Strategy Analytics, said, "We forecast worldwide GPS smartphone shipments will grow a healthy 34 percent from 57 million units in 2008 to 77 million units in 2009. GPS smartphones, such as the Nokia N97 and Apple iPhone, are a high-growth segment that continues to expand even during the current, tough economic times.”

Neil Mawston, Wireless Director at Strategy Analytics, added, "Two key factors are fueling the adoption of GPS smartphones. First, there is widespread consumer acceptance of portable in-vehicle navigation devices from companies such as TomTom and Garmin in Europe and the United States. Second, mobile navigation services are improving. There is an increasing presence of mapping applications among major smartphone vendors, such as Nokia Maps, Apple Google Maps and Blackberry Maps.”

The full report containing further analysis on this emerging topic, called the GPS Smartphone Marketshare Tracker, is published by the Strategy Analytics Navigation and Location Opportunities (NLO) service.

223mn smartphones to be shipped with open source OS by 2014

HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND: The number of smartphones shipped with open source operating systems (OS) will increase from 106 million this year to 223 million by 2014 according to a new report from Juniper Research.

The Open Source OS research found that operating systems and the applications are playing an increasingly important role in the differentiation of new smartphones and a key factor in the choice of which handset to choose from by users.

AppStore and Open Source
The last three years has seen a revolution in the OS market with market leader Symbian moving to open source and Apple leading the way in the distribution of Applications through their innovative, but now widely copied, AppStore approach.

The move to open-source OS has also encouraged developers to design new and attractive applications and with over 60 percent of the OS market is now based on open-source, and a sizeable pool of software design talent out there, there is a massive opportunity for innovation.

However, the real key is not whether the OS is open-source but whether it’s easy for a developer to design an application and make money from that effort. The combined changes of Apple’s open route to the market and LiMo, OHA and Symbian’s open-source OS approach have generated a tidal wave-like effect which even the economic downturn has been unable to reverse.

There is a clear warning for device manufacturers –- the choice of OS is now critical and market share will, to a large extent, follow application development. The unexpected side effect however will be a shift in the balance of power towards application developers and end users -– they will begin to play the tune!

Open Source OS Whitepaper and further details of the study, ‘Mobile Open Source Operating Systems: Markets & Opportunities 2009-2014’ can be freely downloaded from the Juniper Research website.

Huawei showcases smartphones at CommunicAsia 2009

HYDERABAD, ANDHRA PRADESH: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd today showcased two new smartphones at CommunicAsia 2009 in Singapore -– the Android-powered U8230, and the C8000, which use the Windows Mobile operating system.

Equipped with the latest mobile handset technologies, the new smartphones were being exhibited in advance of their commercial release in the second half of 2009.

The Android-powered U8230 smartphone allows users to switch between full and half QWERTY keyboards and to navigate programs easily via a 3.5-inch LCD touch screen. Huawei’s U8230 uses the Google Chrome Internet browser which supports a variety of Google applications such as Google Map, Google Search and Google Talk. It is also fitted with a battery which has a capacity of 1500 mAH - the longest battery capacity among Android-powered handsets currently available.

The C8000, which supports Windows Mobile operating software, incorporates a 3-D menu GUI and a unique independent display adapter, which enables the smooth presentation of video files and DVD-quality pictures on a 2.8-inch touch screen. With optimized power management, the new handset is capable of playing video files continuously for six to eight hours.

“Having joined the Open Handset Alliance in 2008, Huawei is rapidly moving forward with the development of cutting-edge high-end handsets, especially smartphones powered by Android and Windows Mobile operating systems,” said Glory Chueng, the spokesperson of Huawei Terminals. “The U8230 and the C8000 handsets on display here at CommunicAsia take the interactivity experience of smartphones to a whole new level, and Huawei is looking forward to working with our customers to bring them to market later this year.”

Huawei plans to launch a series of touchscreen handsets that support WCDMA, CDMA, and TD-SCDMA standards in the second half of 2009. Meanwhile, Huawei’s progress in handset sales is gaining momentum, with shipments of CDMA handsets recently surpassing the 50 million mark.

iPhone 3.0: usability tweaks and new APIs

Comment from Tim Renowden, analyst, Ovum

Mapping and in-app billing are the headline improvements
Apple has provided some key new APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to developers, include a mapping API which gives third-party applications access to Google Maps data and allows turn-by-turn navigation. Location-based applications and services are already looming as the next big thing in mobile applications, and Apple is clearly intent on capitalising on the buzz around them.

Apple has also added support for in-app billing, which means developers can prompt users to purchase additional content or upgrades from within the application, without having to return to the App Store. Developers can also now sell applications on a subscription basis.

These features will be popular with developers as it gives them more flexibility in how they charge for their applications - but if they are not implemented carefully they could become a nuisance for users.

Apple will need to provide and enforce clear guidelines around what developers are legitimately allowed to charge for, to prevent applications becoming spam or worse. Overall, iPhone OS 3.0 will be judged on whether it lets developers build better mobile applications than competing platforms. Providing new APIs certainly won't hurt, but the ball is now in the developers' court.

Incremental tweaks to user experience
New features include the much-requested copy and paste (which works across applications); the ability to send and receive multimedia messages (MMS); Spotlight (searching the contents of the iPhone); improved online Calendar support (but no API for applications to access calendar data); tethering to allow use of the iPhone as a cellular modem (subject to network operator approval) and push technology allowing applications to alert users when a message or event is received. Apple also improved the consistency of its user interface, adding a landscape-format on-screen keyboard across all core applications.

All of these tweaks will improve the overall user experience, without making any radical changes to what is widely regarded as the most polished mobile user interface currently available. Apple did not add support for multitasking, one area where its competitors remain ahead.

Developer tools are significant for iPhone strategy
iPhone OS 3.0 provides improvements to the developer experience, which demonstrates the extent to which Apple's strategy for the iPhone is now driven by its success in the mobile application market. Apple has been focusing its marketing and advertising on applications, positioning the iPhone (and iPod Touch) as the best mobile platform for applications and games.

The success of the iPhone App Store has stirred Apple's competitors into life, with other vendors (Nokia, Google, RIM, Microsoft, Palm) and network operators launching competing application store offerings. Apple has a big head start in mindshare around mobile applications -- among consumers and developers -- and the new SDK and developer tools are aimed squarely at attracting as many developers as possible, preferably away from other platforms.

The new SDK gives developers access to 1,000 new APIs, which Apple claims will give applications better access to the iPhone hardware, ultimately improving the quality and variety of applications on the platform.

Samsung Jet -- smarter than a smartphone!

NEW YORK, USA: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. unveiled the latest in mobile handset innovation, Samsung Jet, at a series of global launch events in London, Dubai and Singapore.

Samsung Jet enjoys the benefits of both advanced features of a smartphone and easy-to-use user interface of a conventional mobile phone.

Samsung Jet is not a simply another full touch mobile phone; it brings a brand new concept of mobile phone to today’s consumers. ‘Smarter than a smartphone,’ Samsung Jet supports the latest smartphone features which include multi-task manager and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, bringing user-friendly menu navigations in a sleek and compact design.

Samsung Jet boasts world firsts in both display technology and speed of performance. Its pioneering 16M WVGA AMOLED display (3.1”) offers the most vivid and colorful full touch mobile experience available; the WVGA AMOLED screen provides a resolution that is four times higher than a WQVGA screen. Its 800MHz application processor delivers breathtaking speed and stunning performance, making Jet the fastest full touch handset on the market today.

With its eye-catching brilliant screen, Samsung’s latest TouchWiz 2.0 user interface gives an unrivalled user experience and includes iconic new features such as motion UI, smart unlock, and customizable widget screen, which are all perfect for managing your life at work and at play.

Samsung’s Dolfin Internet browser is designed to let users surf the net and access popular websites, especially social networking sites, with ease and speed. The browser enhances the mobile Internet experience by allowing users to view up to five web pages simultaneously and bookmark their favorite websites as widgets on the phone’s homepage.

A built in ad-blocker, multiple downloading and background downloading feature, and multi-purpose address field, further enhance the experience while Dolfin’s unique one finger zoom enables users to zoom in and out of web pages using only one hand.

JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communications division, Samsung Electronics, explained: “Samsung Jet provides a seamless and unrivalled mobile experience as a result of our accumulated technology leadership and pursuit of perfect craftsmanship. Our aim is to deliver ultimate satisfaction to our consumers and I believe that Samsung Jet answers the calls of today’s mobile users who want smart features and easy-to-use user interface. This product perfectly reflects our consumer-oriented strategy.”

Unlike many smartphones that sacrifice features for form factor, Samsung Jet packs all of these into a super sleek body and super cool frame. Samsung Jet also boasts a host of multimedia features including a 5 mega-pixel camera, built-in GPS, DNSe & SRS Sound Effect technology for superior sound quality, and DivX and XviD video support for hassle-free video downloading and viewing.

Samsung Jet was launched at ‘Samsung Mobile UNPACKED’ events in London, Dubai and Singapore. Featuring the latest in live technologies and entertainment, the events will provide an exciting hands-on experience with the new handset.

Introducing: Samsung Omnia family

NEW YORK, USA: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, is showcasing its latest smartphones at CommunicAsia 2009 -- the Omnia II (I8000), OmniaPRO series (OmniaPRO B7610, OmniaPRO B7320) as well as the OmniaLITE (B7300). Featuring cutting-edge technology, these mobile devices will strengthen Samsung’s leadership in the smartphone market.

The new Omnia smartphone line-up follows the success of the very first flagship ‘Omnia’ phone, Samsung’s milestone Open OS model which was launched at CommunicAsia last year.

With the introduction of its new Omnia smartphone series, featuring diverse functions for a wide range of user needs, Samsung truly offers a variety of smartphones for everyone -- from those seeking entertainment to business users to light users.

All-in-one redefined: Omnia II (I8000)
The Omnia II is designed for the smartphone user who demands an enhanced and convenient multimedia experience featuring Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.

Featuring the world’s largest 3.7-inch AMOLED display with crystal-clear WVGA resolution, the Omnia II offers unbeatable screen clarity, even under the day light.

Complete with larger icons and a simpler structure, Omnia II’s user interface has been deeply customized to provide touch-optimized usability. Also, innovative TouchWiz 2.0 User Interface and 3D effects make enjoying multimedia and multi tasking convenient and fun. Advanced R Touch (Resistive Touch) enables faster, more accurate touch response for a touch experience that’s 100% user friendly.

The much enhanced display and user interface make it even more pleasurable to enjoy the rich multimedia functions of the Omnia II, including its DVD-like (480p) video recording/playback, smooth Internet browsing as well as interactive 3D games.

Users can also access and download content speedily while on the move thanks to the Omnia II’s HSUPA 5.76Mbps, HSDPA 7.2Mbps and Wi-Fi capabilities. Generous memory up to 48GB lets users store more of their favorite content for on-the-go access.

Work-life balance winner: OmniaPRO B7610
With separate mode for Work and Life, the OmniaPRO B7610 boasts features optimized for both work and play, helping users maintain work-life balance. Matching balanced performance with balanced design, the hybrid Touch/QWERTY form offers users greater versatility and ease of use.

At work, users enjoy push email for multiple accounts as the OmniaPRO B7610 supports multiple corporate email solutions, as well as the Microsoft Office Suite so they can view and edit their documents in the palm of their hands.

Users also have access to a PC-like Internet browsing experience with Opera 9.5 and fast data transmission thanks to HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity features.

At play, users can capture their favorite moments with the OmniaPRO B7610’s 5-megapixel camera with smile shot, or enjoy multi-codec supported high quality video with a brilliant AMOLED display. A-GPS with navigation support also ensures that users never get lost while travelling to their next destination.

Personal assistant perfected: OmniaPRO B7320
With its compact design and ergonomic QWERTY keypad, the Samsung OmniaPRO B7320 is a portable messaging centre which lets users carry their inbox with them wherever they go, with corporate push email support.

For those who value networking and maintaining relationships, the OmniaPRO B7320 boasts social networking applications like Facebook and MySpace as well as instant messaging support for MSN, Google Talk and Yahoo Chat.

Additionally, features such as a 3-megapixel camera, FM radio with RDS and Wi-Fi also enable users to be entertained wherever they go.

Simple all-rounder: OmniaLITE (B7300)
The OmniaLITE is designed for users who demand an easy smartphone interface with full support of multimedia, Internet, and business features. TouchWiz 2.0 User Interface and downloadable online widgets make it highly user-friendly, while its 3D multimedia player interface provides and enhanced entertainment experiences.

OmniaLITE comes packed with a host of powerful business tools and multimedia features. Users have multi-push email access and the Microsoft Office Suite lets users edit and view their office documents on the move.

Opera Browser and HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity let users access the net with ease and speed. Additional features like multi-codec supported high-quality video experience, 3MP camera, and A-GPS deliver the complete all-in-one mobile experience.

The new Omnia smartphone series devices will be updateable to Windows Mobile 6.5 upon the new OS update release.

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic: Touches right notes for music lovers!

ESPOO, FINLAND: Nokia today introduced the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, a compact XpressMusic device that uses a touch interface for accessing people and content on the brilliantly clear homescreen. The 'scrolling' Contacts Bar provides direct access to 20 people and their latest conversations and media updates.

The homescreen also features one touch shortcuts to content and popular social networks, like Facebook and MySpace. The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic follows in the footsteps of the top-rated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, expanding the touch XpressMusic phone range with a youthful device that has a solid stainless steel frame finish and comes in five vivid colors.

At the core of the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is the music and entertainment experience. It is an ideal device for those who wish to quickly and easily access, share and mix a huge selection of media. In true XpressMusic form, the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is a great music player with 27 hours of playback time, excellent audio quality and a 4 GB memory card for storing music and other media.

Videos, either self made or from social media sites such as Youtube and Facebook can be enjoyed on the brilliantly clear 2.9 inch widescreen display. New music can be purchased through the Nokia Music Store, either directly on the phone or through a PC. The music collection is easily managed and can be synchronized with the PC using the Nokia Music for PC application. Calls and music can be conveniently managed and listened to with the Nokia Stereo Headset WH-205 with tangle-free cable.

The innovative 'people carousel' features thumbnail images of up to 20 close friends and provides easy access to them and their communications history including emails, phone calls, photos or other social media updates. The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic also features the pop-up Media Bar so music, photos, videos, Internet and on-line sharing applications such as Ovi Share, Flickr and VOX are just a touch away.

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic supports GSM/EDGE networks and also offers fast and affordable access to internet services via the integrated wireless LAN over the ubiquitous wireless networks. Nokia is collaborating with Boingo and offers three months of free Internet access in select markets. Boingo works with hundreds of hotspot operators around the world in familiar locations such as airports, hotels, coffee shops and restaurants.

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is expected to begin shipping in the third quarter of 2009 at an estimated retail price of EUR 199 before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia unveils slim E72 smartphone

ESPOO, FINLAND & SINGAPORE: Swift, slim and resourceful are three words that accurately describe the new Nokia E72, which was unveiled at the Nokia Connection event in Singapore today.

Nokia's latest full QWERTY smartphone brings a rich mobile email and instant messaging experience right out of the box, making it the ideal device for people that want to be productive in both their personal and professional lives.

Building on the formula from the hugely successful Nokia E71, Nokia's best selling QWERTY device to date, this latest arrival in Nokia's Eseries family maintains essential elements of its predecessor, whilst still improving its capabilities in a number of areas.

"Despite the outstanding market performance of the Nokia E71, we still continually look for ways to enhance the device," said Ilari Nurmi, Vice President at Nokia. "So we included the desktop like email experience from the Nokia E75 and gave it a new optical navigation key for more intuitive scrolling through menus, emails and fast panning of images. We also upgraded the camera to 5 megapixels and added a standard 3.5mm audio jack."

On top of these developments, for the first time, owners will be able to set up instant messaging accounts provided by Nokia Messaging direct from the homescreen. In just a few steps, device owners will be able to connect to their favorite IM accounts such as Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi, amongst many others.

These new IM features are complimented by Nokia's range of email solutions with a lifetime license for Nokia's mobile email and IM service, Nokia Messaging, as well as onboard clients for Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler.

Accessing popular accounts such as Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail, Ovi Mail and thousands of other email service providers is simple through improved on-device email setup, with the same easy to use UI integrating all of the owner's corporate email accounts as well.

Performance improvements are evident throughout the user experience including faster Internet up- and downlink speeds. Other notable features which should make the Nokia E72 as popular as recent Nokia Eseries introductions include A-GPS and compass with integrated Maps, including lifetime walk and 10 days of turn-by-turn navigation if activated within the first three months.

Conversations are also clearer with active noise cancellation, and a torch can be activated with a single press of the spacebar key. The office capabilities have been updated with a new version of Quickoffice, which delivers Microsoft Office 2007 compatibility as well as free version upgrades when new features become available.

The Nokia E72 is expected to begin shipping late in the third quarter of 2009 at an estimated retail price of EUR 350 before taxes and subsidies.

iPhone 3G S: 'Lack of innovation' hides true assets

Comment from Tony Cripps, principal analyst, Ovum

UK: Apple’s faithful may be disappointed with the iPhone 3GS’s apparent failure to move the smartphone goalposts, but the refinement of the device through continual software platform evolution remains a key differentiator that others should emulate where possible.

iPhone’s real beauty is its ability to refresh itself
Apple’s latest iPhone offered few surprises to those familiar with the iPhone SDK 3.0 – new features are, after all, ultimately constrained by the capabilities of the device’s software. While this might disappoint Apple’s devoted followers, underlying this gradual evolution is Apple’s key contribution to the smartphone space –- namely, proving the value of firmware upgrades to refresh its devices, whether the new iPhone 3GS, its predecessors or its iPod Touch cousins.

While mobile software management and firmware upgrades (over the air or otherwise) have long been touted as potentially valuable tools for operators and manufacturers, they won’t typically work well across a broad portfolio of devices –- too many variations make the creation and distribution of updates hard to manage.

Apple broke this impasse by effectively limiting its device platform to a single variant. While this has the effect of limiting hardware innovation (all iterations of the iPhone are, barring core phone functions, similar), the payback has been the ability to gradually evolve the device through software, while relying on a proven -– and still a benchmark -– hardware design.

For consumers, the end result is a device that improves over time and isn’t rendered redundant by the next update or uber device from a rival. The opening up of the device to third-party applications is the most visible evidence of this (spawning the billion-plus downloads to date) but the smaller improvements haven’t hurt either.

Browser tweaks, touch-screen sensitivity and many other features have all notably improved the device since its first iteration, without having to change the physical device itself. Increased stickiness between Apple and the consumer is the end result.

It’s no surprise to see Google following suit with Android. Indeed, the recent 1.5 ‘cupcake’ release (over the air, to boot) has had similar benefits, and from a lower starting point. This has considerably improved the user experience of the HTC/T-Mobile G1, helping build confidence between buyer and vendor.

Others are also recognising the benefits of such refreshes. Nokia’s 5800 touch-screen phone received a similar upgrade, albeit user initiated. RIM also provides updates for more recent devices, although the upgrade process via a PC is both clunky and nerve-wracking. And there will be more.

True smartness lies in active management of experience, not the OS
The risk is in operators and makers of mainstream devices attempting to follow suit. As we said above, this is a difficult process to manage and variety, in devices, is absolutely not the spice of life in this instance.

Better, we feel, to see mobile devices in future falling into two main categories, neither of which corresponds neatly with divisions based on ‘smartness’ or ‘featureness’. These are:

* Those that are being actively managed by the controller off the software platform on the device, with the active participation of the user. Such devices are likely to remain fairly high end. Planned obsolescence through software becomes a viable means to alter this dynamic in time. Don’t be surprised to see Apple invoke this clause when it’s ready.

* Those that aren’t required to be actively managed by anyone. This could easily include many so-called smartphones as well as more basic devices –- the emphasis here should instead be on enabling cloud-based applications easily, but with little or no obligation to upgrade the experience over time.

Taking this bipartite approach will help avoid costly mistakes and help all parties in the mobile handset value chain to focus on core competencies.

Ovum expects 171.9 million smartphones globally to be shipped this year, a growth of 23 percent on 2008, and that smartphones will represent 15 percent of the total worldwide mobile phone market in 2009.

The concepts outlined here are explained in greater detail in the report Of iPhones and Androids: redefining the smartphone and other devices.

Nokia N97 -- first touch device from N Series

BANGALORE, INDIA: Nokia today unveiled the N97, the highly anticipated converged touch device from Nseries. Designed for the needs of Internet savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 will transform the way people connect to the Internet and to each other.

Axel Meyer, Head of Design, Nokia Nseries and Sushma Reddy flagging off the 'Search for N', a national hunt for the Nokia N97.

Introducing the device, Nokia Nseries also announced ‘Search for N’, a national online hunt, for 10 lucky people to discover and take the iconic Nokia N97 device home even before it hits the store shelves.

The Nokia N97 pioneers the concept of a personalized home screen that lets people choose their favourite content, providing an ‘always open’ window to applications and/or Internet content such as social networking sites, RSS feeds and other widgets in addition to Ovi feeds.

Expected to start shipping in India in June end, the Nokia N97 will be the first Nokia device to offer integrated access to the newly opened Ovi Store. According to T.S. Sridhar, Regional General Manager-South, Nokia India: “The Nokia N97 combines the best of the mobile phone and personal internet experience. Together with the host of content on Ovi Store, the Nokia N97 adjusts to the world around us, helping stay connected to the people and things that matter most.

Giving an insight into what went into the making of the Nokia N97, Axel Meyer, Head of Design, Nokia Nseries, said, “Our extensive consumer research shows that many people desire a device that blends the internet functionality of a personal computer with the features and connectivity of a high-end smartphone in one compact device. We believe that Nokia N97 is a very compelling and exciting proposition to such people. It provides a unique amount of personalization. People can choose what live internet services, applications and key contacts they would like to have directly their homescreen. Everyone has a different "personal internet" and we empower people to make this their choice.”

Search for N
‘Search for N’ will run for a period of five days from June 15-19, 2009, in advance of the Nokia N97 going on sale in India. It will invite technology enthusiasts across the country to solve cryptic clues shared online on popular technology websites and blogs.

Five hidden clues, posted one a day, on the sites could relate to news that week, features of the new Nokia N97, which encourage consumers to explore content online. Ten lucky winners, selected from across India, basis the most consistent, correct and fastest answers, will win the Nokia N97! To be part of the ‘Search for N’ hunt, visit www.searchforn.com for more details.

“Search for N is yet another unique online initiative from Nokia Nseries which engages people who are passionate about technology in an entertaining and fun format. Through this campaign we are creating a platform where enthusiasts get to challenge their tech quotient in order to get their hands on the much anticipated device before it reaches the market,” said Sridhar.

Sensing your ‘So-Lo’
Nokia’s flagship Nseries device introduces leading technology -– including multiple sensors, memory, processing power and connection speeds –- for people to share their ‘social location. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, the Nokia N97 mobile computer intuitively understands where it is.

The Nokia N97 makes it easy to update social networks automatically with real-time information, giving approved friends the ability to update their ‘status’ and share their ‘social location’ as well as related pictures or videos.

Ovi Store on board
The Nokia N97 is the first device to ship with Ovi Store, a one-stop shop for a full catalog of applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services, and much more. Ovi Store has paid and free content from a range of global and local content providers and developers, including Facebook, Paramount Pictures and Twitter applications.

In India, the Ovi Store on the N97 will offer a choice of 50 free to download items developed specifically for Indian consumers, by Indian developers under the aegis of Forum Nokia. In addition, users will also have access to global items, a mix of paid and free to download content.

Widescreen - Internet and entertainment
The home screen of Nokia N97 can be customized to feature the people, content and media that matter the most. Friends, social networks and news are available by simply touching the home screen. The unique tilting, large touch 3.5”, 16:9 widescreen display, which comes with a fill QWERTY keyboard, can be fully personalized with a range of widgets* which bring live information directly to the devices.

These widgets include key social networking destinations like Facebook, news services like NDTV and Reuters, as well as email, shopping and weather information. The Nokia N97 is also perfectly suited for browsing the web, streaming Flash videos or playing games. The intuitive User Interface with a choice of physical QWERTY and virtual touch input ensure efficiency in blogging, chatting, posting, sending texts or emailing.

Images can also be geo-tagged to specific locations and shared instantly with friends or uploaded online via Ovi Share, Twitter, Flickr or Facebook.

The Nokia N97 supports up to 48GB of storage, including 32GB of on-board memory, expandable with a 16GB microSD card for music, media and more. This is complemented by excellent music capabilities, full support for the Nokia Music Store and continuous playback time of up to 1.5 days.

The Nokia N97 also has a 5-Megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics, 16:9 and DVD quality video capture, and support for services like Share on Ovi for immediate sharing over HSDPA and WLAN.

Latest version of iPhone marks Apple's continued focus on smartphone market

Comment from, Adam Leach, Devices principal analyst, Ovum.

UK: The latest version of the iPhone marks Apple's continued focus on the smartphone market. Ovum expects 171.9 million smartphones globally to be shipped this year, a growth of 23 percent on 2008 and will represent 15 percent of the total worldwide mobile phone market in 2009.

The latest offering from Apple is further evidence of the move towards managed device platforms (MDP), distinguishing those devices that are actively managed by OEMs, MNOs, web companies and retailers from those that aren’t.

Consumers will increasingly make buying decisions based not on a device’s potential to support advanced capabilities but –- crucially –- on the vendor managing their data and services on the device.

The ability to deliver a tightly integrated end-to-end service proposition including content and applications directly to consumers was pioneered by Apple, however, the adoption of the MDP model by Nokia, Google, Microsoft, Sony and other major vendors will drive the adoption of smartphones.

Palm Pre stands to shake up smartphone status quo

EL SEGUNDO, USA: Palm’s new Pre smartphone holds strong potential for robust sales growth, and may have a major influence on other platforms as well as the technology supply chain, according to iSuppli Corp.

Palm Pre shipments could amount to 1.1 million units in 2009. However, if Palm quickly introduces a new Pre that supports the 3G GSM standard, sales could rise to 1.3 million during the year. Furthermore, if Palm opens up the licensing of its webOS operating system used in the Pre, the software could have a wider influence beyond the company’s own products.

“Palm’s webOS appears to be superior to the Mac OS X used in the iPhone in the crucial area of multitasking capabilities,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli. “This key point of differentiation, combined with the product’s multi-touch display, could be enough for Palm to carve out a significant share of the smartphone market.”

Another key allure of webOS is its use of widgets for accessing data and applications like the iPhone, rather than the folders used in Microsoft’s Windows OS. The consensus among most users appears to be that widgets provide a more intuitive interface than folders.

Because of this, there may be strong demand for webOS from other smartphone makers.

“If Palm decides to license webOS to other companies, it could follow in the footsteps of Google’s Android operating system, which is expected to expand its share of global smartphone operating systems to grow by nearly a factor of 12 from 2008 to 2010 according to iSuppli’s Design Forecast Tool (DFT) for Mobile Handsets,” Teng added.

This could lay the foundation for webOS to challenge Apple’s Mac OS X for leadership in the highly intuitive smart-phone operating system market.

Minding the store
Palm could further boost the prospects of webOS if the company opens an application store that sells programs that work with the operating system, similar to Apple’s App Store.

“An application store would make Palm a more complete solution provider to its end customers, allowing it to provide not only a hardware platform and operating system but also the programs essential to take advantage of the capabilities of a smart phone,” Teng said.

Teng noted that industry rumors have circulated since the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January that Palm will offer an online applications catalog. With the arrival of software allowing developers to produce programs that can be compiled to work on multiple mobile operating systems, Palm’s store likely will grow rapidly to sport a large number of applications.

Battle of applications processors
The potential long-term success of the Pre promises to benefit Palm’s applications-processor semiconductor supplier, Texas Instruments Inc. (TI).

While TI remained the leading supplier of standalone media/application/graphic processing chips for mobile handsets in 2008, No.-2 Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. is closing in on the lead, according to iSuppli’s Wireless Competitive Landscaping Tool (CLT). Samsung’s share of global market revenue rose to 16.4 percent in 2008, up from 10 percent in 2007. In contrast, TI’s share declined to 16.8 percent in 2008, down from 23 percent in 2007.

“Owing to rising shipments of the iPhone, which uses Samsung’s media processing silicon, the company is closing the gap,” said Francis Sideco, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli. “Pre’s success could help TI regain some of that share as Pre sales will help boost TI’s revenue for its OMAP line. It also will validate TI’s OMAP approach by demonstrating the need for powerful standalone applications processors in high-end smartphone devices.”

The table presents iSuppli’s market share estimates of global standalone mobile phone media processors.Source: iSuppli, June 2009

Display shortage?
The Pre likely makes use of a Low-Temperature Polysilicon (LTPS) LCD display, which offers superior picture quality compared to regular TFT-LCD panels used in most mobile phones.

This could put constraints on availability of LTPS LCD supplies, which is a popular display choice in the growing smart phone marker segment.

“If the Pre is successful and large volumes are shipped in the coming years, LTPS displays could go into shortage because the supply is limited to a few suppliers that operate smaller generation fabs capable of producing them,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst, small/medium displays, for iSuppli.

In the palm of your hand
An iSuppli preliminary cost analysis of the Palm Pre released in late April revealed a total projected Bill-of-Materials (BOM) and manufacturing cost of approximately $170 for the product.

The estimated BOM consists of a hardware cost of $138, including the battery, nearly $10 for manufacturing and basic test costs, and a software and licensing cost of $23.

iSuppli produced this estimate of the Pre’s hardware and manufacturing costs based on second-quarter component pricing and assembly pricing from the company’s Mobile Handset Cost Model. An iSuppli cross-functional team also participated in developing the virtual teardown, including experts in memory, displays, baseband, component pricing, mobile handsets and wireless connectivity.

A full, physical teardown of the Palm Pre will be released by iSuppli early next week.