Samsung I7500: its first Android-powered mobile phone

SEOUL, KOREA: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today unveiled the I7500, its first Android-powered mobile phone. With a launch of I7500, Samsung became the first company among the global top three mobile phone manufacturers to unveil an Android-powered phone.

“Samsung is among the earliest members of the Open Handset Alliance and has been actively moving forward to introduce the most innovative Android mobile phone,” said JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communication Division in Samsung Electronics. “With Samsung’s accumulated technology leadership in mobile phone industry and our consistent strategy to support every existing operating system, I believe that Samsung provides the better choices and benefits to our consumers” he added.

The Samsung I7500 is a cutting-edge smartphone, featuring a 3.2” AMOLED full touch screen and 7.2Mbps HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, giving users access to Google™ Mobile services and full web browsing at blazing speeds.

The Samsung I7500 offers users access to the full suite of Google services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, and Google Talk. The integrated GPS receiver enables the comprehensive use of Google Maps features, such as My Location, Google Latitude, Street View, local search and detailed route description. Hundreds of other applications are available in Android Market. For example, the application Wikitude, a mobile travel guide, allows consumers to access details of unknown sights via location-based Wikipedia articles.

Based on Samsung’s proven product leadership, Samsung I7500 comes with latest multimedia features. The large and vivid 3.2“AMOLED display ensures the brilliant representation of multimedia content and enjoyable full touch mobile experience. Along with supporting a 5-megapixel camera and various multimedia codec formats, the I7500 also provides a long enough battery life (1500mAh) and generous memory capacity up to 40GB (Internal memory: 8GB, External memory: Up to 32GB) to enjoy all the applications and multimedia content. The phone also boasts its slim and compact design with mere 11.9mm thickness.

The Samsung I7500 will be available in major European countries from June, 2009.

Reliance 'Magic Tariffs now @ Re 1' for Karnataka CDMA customers

BANGALORE, INDIA: Reliance Communications, India's largest and only telecom service provider to offer nationwide GSM and CDMA services today introduced a further convenient option of availing Magic Tariffs on a daily basis.

With Magic @ Re 1 the new CDMA subscribers can make Local calls at 60 paise per minute and STD calls at Re 1.20 per minute, by conveniently paying a rental of just Rs. 1 per day. Customers can avail of this attractive offer by recharging their prepaid mobile with Rs. 26 and enjoy the benefits valid for lifetime.

As a promotional offer, the Re 1 rental is waived for the first 60 days from the day of recharge. Magic Tariffs were introduced recently with the options of 1 month, 6 months and lifetime validity and enable customers make calls at 40 percent lower rates.

Existing customers too can make use of this unique offer and enjoy all the benefits by recharging with Rs. 34.

Packet Design's Route Explorer adds IPv6 support

ANTA CLARA, USA: Packet Design has added support for IPv6 to Route Explorer, its network management system that gives enterprises and service providers visibility into routing operations on their IP networks. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) developed IPv6 to replace the existing version, IPv4, which faces address-space limitations as Internet usage continues to grow.

With the new IPv6 capability, Route Explorer, which works by passively "listening" to routing protocol exchanges and computing a real-time, network-wide layer-3 topology, will now be able to monitor and analyze IPv6 networks, as well as those running IPv4. This information will enable network engineers to quickly identify and resolve problems, perform effective network maintenance, and do accurate change planning on increasingly complex networks that incorporate both versions of the protocol.

Route Explorer's IPv6 support is initially available for BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) and IS-IS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System), two routing protocols used widely by service providers. Support for IPv6 on the OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) routing protocol will be added later this year, followed by Cisco's enterprise-oriented EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol) in 2010.

"With the Internet expanding to encompass everything from phones to appliances, the use of IPv6 and its greatly expanded address space will become a necessity," said Jeff Raice, Packet Design's executive vice president of marketing and business development.

"While few organizations today have moved exclusively to IPv6, many are beginning to deploy it in parallel with IPv4 as they prepare their networks to support next-generation standards and heavier traffic volumes. Companies in the Far East and a growing number of service providers worldwide are taking the lead in this area, and migration to IPv6 is mandated for the US federal government. Since many of these organizations use Route Explorer to troubleshoot and plan their networks, it was critical for us to begin supporting IPv6 before it moves fully into the mainstream.

"Based on the market demand we've seen, IS-IS and BGP are most important for early adopters of IPv6, who are chiefly service providers. We will later add support for OSPF and EIGRP, as well as providing specialized variations such as 6PE, VPNv6 and 6VPE for providers of VPN [virtual private network] services," he added.

IPv6 support for the IS-IS and BGP protocols is available immediately as a $5,000 option with version 7.5 of the Route Explorer software.

Mobile handset market stays afloat with 258 million shipped in 1Q-2009: ABI Research

NEW YORK, USA: Despite tough corporate and unemployment news making the headlines, the mobile handset-buying public did not head to the hills during the first quarter of 2009.

Handset vendors had shipped 258 million handsets by the end of the quarter. Although that represents an 11% year-over-year decline, the result significantly exceeded the previous forecast of 253.5 million. “Green shoots are sprouting,” is how ABI Research vice president Jake Saunders describes the latest figures.

Distributors reduced their inventories in 4Q-2008 and 1Q-2009 as they prepared for economic Armageddon but the market did not take another “leg down” in 1Q-2009. ABI Research has introduced a note of mild optimism in its handset forecasts for YE-2009, revising them from -8.4 percent to -8 percent. Saunders notes, “This will not be a V-shaped recovery. 2Q-2008 was a fairly strong quarter for handset sales so handset shipments for 2Q-2009 are going to report a -10 percent decline YoY, but QoQ, they should show improvement.”

“As always there are winners and losers,” comments practice director Kevin Burden. “Samsung and LG demonstrated healthy gains to take their market shares to 17.8 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively. Another star performer was RIM which raised its share to 3 percent due largely to the success of its Blackberry Bold.

It is a little curious that Apple’s market share is just 1.5 percent given the success of its AppStore. As popular as the iPhone3G has been, increased competition in the touch-screen segment and a lack of product differentiation may be dampening demand. ABI Research expects that by 2H-2009 the iPhone3G will have one or more siblings. That will allow Apple to accelerate growth.

Nokia was beaten out by SonyEricsson for the dubious distinction of showing the largest contractions (their shares now stand at 36.2 percent and 5.6 percent). Nokia will breathe a sigh of relief once its latest smartphone, the N97, enters the market. Nokia has had a fair amount of success with the E71 but needs to beef up its touch-screen product lines.

While Sony-Ericsson has the Experia smartphone line-up, the firm’s exposure to the feature phone segment was squeezed more than other handset sectors. While feature phones serve many needs in the market, operators have been especially keen to snap up smartphone stock and were cooler on the ultra-low cost and feature phone orders.

Despite the positive signs, says ABI Research, the industry should be cautious. The IMF has issued another sharp downgrade to its global outlook. Unemployment figures are also likely to continue creeping up. Buyers in the developed world are still concerned about debt and job security. Developing economies are expected to take a hit on the credit side which could have knock-on consequences on credit lines for purchases and stock levels.

Arthur D. Little sees mobile payments surging ahead

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: In the last five years, markets with mobile payment offers have matured with a variety of players entering the industry value chain and new services being launched.

Initially, there was a race to enter the market and a strong rivalry between different technological propositions that would facilitate mobile transaction channels. Today, we observe that, in many national markets, only one or two dominant mobile payment platforms (e.g. the paybox platform in Austria) have prevailed, and key issues now being addressed include cross border interoperability and standardization.

While the prevailing financial crisis poses challenges to value chain players, we still believe that m-payment services will significantly develop over the coming years with the rise of mobile internet, the continuous improvement of mobile handsets and the younger generation’s preference for mobile services.

Arthur D. Little’s new global m-payment report: “M-Payments surging ahead: distinct opportunities in developed and emerging markets" provides insights into the current stages of the m-payment market development in different countries and regions, and draws conclusions for relevant value chain players.

Arthur D. Little expects m-payments to grow globally at 68 percent pa and to reach a transaction volume of almost USD 250 billion by 2012. M-payments will develop differently in emerging and developed markets resulting in emerging countries growing faster, representing 65% of the total transaction volume by 2012. In developed markets, m-payment services will not substitute existing payment systems, as massive adoption will be limited to niche segments.

"Despite the current hype, we do not expect to see a massive Near-Field-Communication (NFC) adoption in a majority of developed countries until 2011 at the earliest", says Karim Taga, co-author of the report and Director at Arthur D. Little’s Telecoms, Information, Media & Electronics (TIME) Practice.

Leveraging existing customer relationships will be critical to encourage market adoption, while cross-border partnerships will become more important. In emerging markets, m-payment services will become the first widespread, cashless transaction system. End user's benefits will mainly be created through low-value, but high-frequency transaction services, while remittances will be the strong growth driver for transaction volume and cross-border cooperation.

Arthur D. Little has distinct recommendations for the relevant value chain players:

* Mobile network operators should focus on low-value, high-frequency transaction services in emerging markets and especially on remittances. Playing an active role in shaping the regulatory environment is crucial to preserve the long-term market development potential, and establishing inter-country operability will ensure the success of remittance services.

* In developed markets, mobile network operators need especially to focus on reaching the required critical mass in terms of retailing partners, as we expect a shift from predominant low-value services to Near-Field-Communication (NFC)-enabled high-value services in the medium-term. Partnerships with independent payment service providers are one way to speed up the expansion of the value chain network.

* For financial institutions, m-banking and related m-payment services can be a differentiating factor and a chance to tap into the trillion US$ market of micro cash payments.

* For merchants, it is best to evaluate the m-payment channel as a means to increase customer convenience, mobility and accessibility of their services and goods.

* We recommend independent payment service providers to expand their partnerships in order to become better integrated in the market, and hence to increase their bargaining power concerning value chain margin distributions.

Suppliers (e.g., handset and point-of-sale terminal vendors) should participate in Near-Field-Communication (NFC) trials in order to improve their readiness for market growth.

“M-Payments surging ahead: distinct opportunities in developed and emerging markets” is available for download at www.adl.com/mpayment

VocalTec partners with AMT Group for VoIP solutions

HERZLIA, ISRAEL: VocalTec Communications Ltd, a global provider of carrier-class multimedia and voice-over-IP solutions for communication service providers, has signed a partnership agreement with AMT Group, a Russian systems integrator. The partnership has already yielded a first joint customer.

The partnership will focus on the delivery of VocalTec's comprehensive set of VoIP solutions to service providers and enterprise customers across Russia. AMT Group is fully certified to market, sell, install and support VocalTec's products and solutions.

The partnership is part of VocalTec’s strategy to expand the sales of its Essentra VoIP solutions through well respected channel partners in Russia. AMT Group specializes in the in design, implementation and technical support of complex telecommunication and information systems, having already successfully implemented and delivered thousands of projects.

AMT Group’s experience and large local presence will serve to further promote VocalTec’s widely accepted solutions in Russia.

VocalTec and AMT Group are happy to announce the first customer of this partnership. Ijsvyaz Invest, an alternative carrier in Russia, has deployed VocalTec's Essentra BAX, class 5 application server enabling the delivery of residential and hosted enterprise VoIP services over any broadband infrastructure. The deployment also features VocalTec’s Essentra iCX, a uniquely integrated SIP-to-SS7 solution enabling seamless interworking between IP and legacy networks.

“VocalTec’s Essentra solutions are ideal for the needs of competitive and next-generation VoIP carriers in Russia," said Oleg Tabarovsky, Technical director at AMT Group. "We value this partnership and believe that VocalTec and AMT Group share the same inspiration, based on leveraging next generation technologies to provide fast ROI and business advantages to carriers."

“AMT Group’s customer-base and expertise, together with our comprehensive VoIP offering, ideally positions us to take advantage of the fast growing VoIP market in Russia," said Ido Gur, President and CEO at VocalTec. "We are delighted to welcome AMT Group as our partner and view this agreement as another very positive step in expanding our presence in Russia. VocalTec’s class-5 certification by Infocom, the Russian Center of Examination and Certification is expected to further enhance the market opportunity for both companies.”

Rules change in mobile handset outsourcing business: iSuppli

EL SEGUNDO, USA: With the structure of the mobile handset supply chain upended by the global economic crisis, the old rules for the contract manufacturing of wireless devices have been overturned, leaving new pitfalls for OEMs and EMS providers, according to iSuppli Corp.

One major rule change is that the contract manufacturing business can no longer count on incremental growth in outsourced production from all wireless OEMs.

"Until recently, the contract manufacturing industry yielded consistent double-digit year-over-year growth rates in mobile handset outsourcing,” said Jeffrey Wu, senior analyst, EMS/ODM for iSuppli. “However, the uncertainty in the marketplace now is forcing some OEMs to not only decelerate outsourcing but also to reclaim production by moving it in-house. Nokia, for instance, is one such OEM."

In 2008, Nokia decreased the percentage of its outsourced manufacturing volume to 17.1 percent, down from 21.5 percent in 2007. The attached figure presents the balance of in-house and outsourced manufacturing at Nokia from 2005 to 2008.

“This reflects a larger trend in the mobile-handset supply chain,” Wu said. “Decelerating and decreasing outsourced manufacturing by those OEMs that are still operationally competent will hurt the growth prospects of contract manufacturers.”

Thus, as EMS and ODM providers mull their future strategies, they should not fall into the trap of assuming continued strong growth in production outsourcing among mobile-handset OEMs.

Vertical structure goes flat
Looking at another potential pitfall, the success of Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) in recent years has spurred other EMS firms to emulate the company’s vertical supply chain structure, including component procurement.

FIH’s extensive integration of various nodes of the supply chain into its operations often was credited as a key contributor to the company’s success and its rise to the leading position in the global EMS market. However, the halo surrounding FIH disappeared in 2008 and was replaced by a series of disappointing financial announcements.

"When the economy is going strong and market demand is vibrant, the vertically integrated model can help an EMS provider grow because the economies of scale can be leveraged internally, and the manufacturing business and the component business can subsidize each other," Wu said. "But when the order volume drops, this model doesn’t allow a lot of flexibility for the manufacturing arm and prevents it from sourcing to external component suppliers easily. Thus, the vertical integration model is like a double-edged sword, helping an EMS provider to compete better when the market grows, but making it suffer more when the economy stagnates."

Because of this, EMS firms may want to avoid the hazard of adopting FIH’s vertical structure amid the market downturn.