TAIWAN: According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce , as the number of shipped smartphone devices continues to expand, worldwide smartphone shipments are estimated to reach 210 million units in 1Q13, up 9.4 percent from the number in 4Q12.
Samsung, whose smartphones show strong sales performances in 1Q13 and rank first in the Chinese market, is expected to have a near total of 65 million handsets shipped by the end of the first quarter.
Already, the growth in the demand for Samsung’s smartphones is causing supplies of eMCP/CI-MCP to tighten. Given the large number of Chinese branded smartphones that are known to rely on Mediatek’s eMCP reference chips, the constraints to eMCP supply are expected to have a negative impact on various Chinese manufacturers’ shipments.
Hardware specs, according to TrendForce, will become less of a differentiating factor as smartphone products mature. Whereas brand marketing and product pricing strategies remain critical in terms of improving market share, a manufacturer’s ability to ensure steady component supplies is key to ensuring its success within the industry.
With Samsung appearing to have little trouble maintaining its global image, much of the company’s focus has been directed towards advancing its vertically integrated component designs and manufacturing processes. The key high-end smartphone parts that are currently known to be produced by the Korean company include core processors, AMOLED panels, LPDDR, and NAND Flash. These components are used not only in Samsung's own smartphone devices, but also those produced by other companies as well.
In the event that Samsung eventually achieves record shipments, it is not inconceivable that the company would begin excluding other manufacturers from accessing its component parts. A few noticeable signs of this can already be spotted within the memory card industry.
As Samsung accounts for approximately 60 percent of the overall eMCP/CI-MCP shipments, its decision to tighten eMCP/CI-MCP supply is likely to have major repercussions for companies like Mediatek, which is known to provide chips to Chinese smartphone makers.
As indicated by TrendForce, Mediatek's strong reputation in the Chinese market, along with its chips' ideal price and design, is one of the reasons why Chinese branded manufacturers have been keen to develop smartphone products that are based off of the Taiwanese company’s chip designs, in particular those that incorporate the eMCP/CI-MCP solution.
Mainstream products like eMCP/CI-MCP 4+4 and 4+8 are common in the mid-to-low end market, while the more advanced eMCP/CI-MCP16+8 is known to be more popular within the high-end segment. Should Samsung continue to lower and restrict its chip supply, it is predicted that during April, only first-tiered Chinese brands like Huawei, ZTE, Coolpad, and Lenovo would have access to the Korean company's eMCP/CI-MCP memory products.
These smartphone manufacturers currently account for approximately 70 percent or less of total demand. For the second and third tiered manufacturers, the supply restrictions are expected to be even more rigid. The tightened supply of eMCP/CI-MCP 4+4 and 4+8 are likely to have a direct impact on the shipment for mid-to-low end Chinese smartphones during the second quarter.
According to TrendForce, if manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix do not successfully resolve the eMCP/CI-MCP shortage issue during April, and if other memory manufacturers are unable to fill in the gap, the eMCP/CI-MCP inventory of smartphone manufacturers are in danger of dropping below safety levels.
This is likely to create a domino effect affecting not only the shipment progresses for smartphone components like core chips and panels, but also the revenue performances of relevant component manufacturers. For the Chinese branded manufacturers, the impact is expected to be particularly noticeable.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Viber brings free messaging and calls to Windows Phone 8
ENGLAND: Viber, the leading mobile communications platform offering free messaging and HD-quality phone calls, announced the release of Viber for Windows Phone 8. This version brings Viber’s free messaging and voice calls to the latest and most advanced generation of Windows Phone devices.
The Windows Phone 8 version of Viber features a “native” interface that has been especially tailored for Windows Phone devices. Key among these features are a native call screen and support for Windows Phone live tiles, allowing users to see their latest messages and other info from their home screen.
Other important features in this release include:
* Free calls with HD sound quality.
* Free text and photo messaging.
* Share photos directly from your device’s photo gallery.
* Connect with your friends in group conversations of up to 40 participants.
* Share your location in messages.
* Pin favorite conversations to your home screen.
* Lock screen notifications.
* 30 supported languages.
The Windows Phone 8 version of Viber features a “native” interface that has been especially tailored for Windows Phone devices. Key among these features are a native call screen and support for Windows Phone live tiles, allowing users to see their latest messages and other info from their home screen.
Other important features in this release include:
* Free calls with HD sound quality.
* Free text and photo messaging.
* Share photos directly from your device’s photo gallery.
* Connect with your friends in group conversations of up to 40 participants.
* Share your location in messages.
* Pin favorite conversations to your home screen.
* Lock screen notifications.
* 30 supported languages.
Native mobile apps top priority for most retailers
USA: Artisan, creator of the industry’s first Mobile Experience Management (MEM) platform, today released research results underscoring the importance of mobile apps in retail marketing and mobile commerce. The results also highlight retailers’ mobile investment and growth intentions for 2013.
In a survey of 200 retail executives responsible for mobile marketing and/or mobile commerce strategy, the majority of respondents said they expect significant mobile commerce growth in 2013 and view mobile apps as a top channel for engaging with consumers.
Survey highlights include:
* 56 percent of respondents plan on putting more resources into developing and implementing their mobile marketing/commerce strategies in 2013 than they did in 2012.
* 84 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that they expect to see mobile commerce grow at a faster rate in their organization than online commerce did.
* 71 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that native mobile apps will become the single most important touch point for engaging with their consumers in the next one to three years.
* 72 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that investing in a native mobile app experience is one of their top three priorities in 2013.
* 66 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that enhancing a native mobile app is more important that enhancing a mobile optimized website.
“Mobile apps represent a significant engagement and revenue opportunity, and this survey shows that retailers are intending to invest even more resources in making them an effective part of the overall marketing and sales strategy in 2013," said Bob Moul, CEO, Artisan. "The timing is ideal. The combination of consumer demand and new Mobile Experience Management platforms that enable real-time optimization means mobile apps have the potential – for the first time – to make a substantial impact in the retail market."
Anticipating a surge of consumer activity in 2013, the majority of retailers say they plan to invest greater resources in mobile marketing and commerce strategies this year. Fifty-six percent of survey respondents said they would spend more in 2013 compared to 2012, while 37 percent said resource investment would remain the same. Only seven percent stated they would invest fewer resources in mobile marketing and commerce than they did in the previous twelve months.
Retailers are also convinced that the ramp-up period for mobile commerce will be shorter than it was for e-commerce. Nearly half of survey respondents (49 percent) said they strongly agree with the statement that they expect to see mobile commerce grow at a faster rate in their organization than online commerce did. An additional 35 percent said they agreed with the statement, while only four percent disagreed.
In a survey of 200 retail executives responsible for mobile marketing and/or mobile commerce strategy, the majority of respondents said they expect significant mobile commerce growth in 2013 and view mobile apps as a top channel for engaging with consumers.
Survey highlights include:
* 56 percent of respondents plan on putting more resources into developing and implementing their mobile marketing/commerce strategies in 2013 than they did in 2012.
* 84 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that they expect to see mobile commerce grow at a faster rate in their organization than online commerce did.
* 71 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that native mobile apps will become the single most important touch point for engaging with their consumers in the next one to three years.
* 72 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that investing in a native mobile app experience is one of their top three priorities in 2013.
* 66 percent of respondents strongly agree or agree that enhancing a native mobile app is more important that enhancing a mobile optimized website.
“Mobile apps represent a significant engagement and revenue opportunity, and this survey shows that retailers are intending to invest even more resources in making them an effective part of the overall marketing and sales strategy in 2013," said Bob Moul, CEO, Artisan. "The timing is ideal. The combination of consumer demand and new Mobile Experience Management platforms that enable real-time optimization means mobile apps have the potential – for the first time – to make a substantial impact in the retail market."
Anticipating a surge of consumer activity in 2013, the majority of retailers say they plan to invest greater resources in mobile marketing and commerce strategies this year. Fifty-six percent of survey respondents said they would spend more in 2013 compared to 2012, while 37 percent said resource investment would remain the same. Only seven percent stated they would invest fewer resources in mobile marketing and commerce than they did in the previous twelve months.
Retailers are also convinced that the ramp-up period for mobile commerce will be shorter than it was for e-commerce. Nearly half of survey respondents (49 percent) said they strongly agree with the statement that they expect to see mobile commerce grow at a faster rate in their organization than online commerce did. An additional 35 percent said they agreed with the statement, while only four percent disagreed.
NFC Solutions Summit 2013 to be held in May
USA: NFC technology is having a breakout year, with newly available NFC-enabled smart phone handsets enabling quick transactions, ticketing, digital content exchange, secure identification, social networking and communication between electronic devices.
To discuss the state of this promising technology, a broad base of industry players will gather at the NFC Solutions Summit 2013 this May 15-16, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, Calif. Presented by the Smart Card Alliance in partnership with the NFC Forum, the Summit is the leading annual NFC conference, featuring leaders from the entire NFC ecosystem.
Details about the event, attendees, exhibitors, and agenda for the pre-conference workshops and the conference are now available. Early registration discounts are available until April 2.
"With all of the recent product and joint venture announcements from industry-leading handset manufacturers, financial service providers, and mobile network operators, there is no doubt that 2013 will be a significant year for NFC," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance.
"However, we are still not yet at a point where the immense potential of NFC technology has been fully realized. Working along with the NFC Forum, we are able provide a comprehensive, educational agenda that explores the numerous opportunities the technology provides, suited to all NFC industry stakeholders regardless of education level or business focus."
The two-day NFC Solutions Summit will features leaders from financial services, payments processing, retail services, technology providers, applications development, and industry analysts in an interactive, instructive forum on the business issues, implementation milestones, and technology advancements happening in NFC markets.
The Summit will include comprehensive topics covering the state of the technology, developments in new NFC devices and applications, the status of the growing NFC ecosystem, the promise of NFC-enabled payments, marketing, access control and other popular use cases applications, NFC implementation guidance, and North American and international experiences with NFC pilots and implementations.
To discuss the state of this promising technology, a broad base of industry players will gather at the NFC Solutions Summit 2013 this May 15-16, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, Calif. Presented by the Smart Card Alliance in partnership with the NFC Forum, the Summit is the leading annual NFC conference, featuring leaders from the entire NFC ecosystem.
Details about the event, attendees, exhibitors, and agenda for the pre-conference workshops and the conference are now available. Early registration discounts are available until April 2.
"With all of the recent product and joint venture announcements from industry-leading handset manufacturers, financial service providers, and mobile network operators, there is no doubt that 2013 will be a significant year for NFC," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance.
"However, we are still not yet at a point where the immense potential of NFC technology has been fully realized. Working along with the NFC Forum, we are able provide a comprehensive, educational agenda that explores the numerous opportunities the technology provides, suited to all NFC industry stakeholders regardless of education level or business focus."
The two-day NFC Solutions Summit will features leaders from financial services, payments processing, retail services, technology providers, applications development, and industry analysts in an interactive, instructive forum on the business issues, implementation milestones, and technology advancements happening in NFC markets.
The Summit will include comprehensive topics covering the state of the technology, developments in new NFC devices and applications, the status of the growing NFC ecosystem, the promise of NFC-enabled payments, marketing, access control and other popular use cases applications, NFC implementation guidance, and North American and international experiences with NFC pilots and implementations.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Kyocera selects Atmel maXTouch controllers
USA: Atmel Corp. announced that Kyocera has selected Atmel to provide touchscreen controllers for its new Rise, Hydro and Digno S smartphones.
The Atmel maXTouch mXT112E touchscreen controller is powering both the Kyocera Rise and Hydro 3.5-inch touchscreens, and the Atmel maXTouch mXT224S is powering the Digno S 4.7-inch touchscreen.
With Atmel maXTouch touchscreen controllers, users enjoy multi-touch experiences with faster response times, higher accuracy with less unintended touches, lower power consumption, brighter displays and better operation even around noisy chargers.
"We continue to bring new innovative, smartphone designs to our customers in every region of the world," said Nobuaki Kobayashi , engineering manager, Kyocera. "To provide our customers with the best touchscreen performance, we've selected Atmel maXTouch controllers to ensure a flawless touch performance every time."
"Kyocera's Rise, Hydro and Digno S devices are three of the best smartphones available today for consumers in the US and Japanese markets," said Binay Bajaj, director of Touch Marketing, Atmel. "Both the Rise and the Hydro offer a convenient touchscreen for the entry-level US markets, while the Digno S offers very long battery life for the mid-range Japanese market. Atmel looks forward to collaborating with Kyocera on future designs."
The Atmel maXTouch mXT112E touchscreen controller is powering both the Kyocera Rise and Hydro 3.5-inch touchscreens, and the Atmel maXTouch mXT224S is powering the Digno S 4.7-inch touchscreen.
With Atmel maXTouch touchscreen controllers, users enjoy multi-touch experiences with faster response times, higher accuracy with less unintended touches, lower power consumption, brighter displays and better operation even around noisy chargers.
"We continue to bring new innovative, smartphone designs to our customers in every region of the world," said Nobuaki Kobayashi , engineering manager, Kyocera. "To provide our customers with the best touchscreen performance, we've selected Atmel maXTouch controllers to ensure a flawless touch performance every time."
"Kyocera's Rise, Hydro and Digno S devices are three of the best smartphones available today for consumers in the US and Japanese markets," said Binay Bajaj, director of Touch Marketing, Atmel. "Both the Rise and the Hydro offer a convenient touchscreen for the entry-level US markets, while the Digno S offers very long battery life for the mid-range Japanese market. Atmel looks forward to collaborating with Kyocera on future designs."
IEEE forms 4-pair PoE study group
USA: IEEE, the world's largest professional organization advancing technology for humanity, announced the formation of a new study group to consider initiating a formal project to standardize 4-pair Power over Ethernet (PoE).
The IEEE 802.3 4-pair Power over Ethernet Study Group will consider a 4-pair solution’s capability to enhance energy efficiency and provide greater than 25.5 Watts of power in improving PoE, which has become the preferred method to power networked devices, such as IP phones, access points and other network devices.
“The formation of this study group will allow collaboration on a proposal for the development of a 4-pair PoE standard, which would allow support of new PoE applications in the areas of IPTV, industrial Ethernet and more,” said David Law, chair of the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group and distinguished engineer with HP Networking. “A 4-pair approach would result in increased efficiency, since the use of additional pairs results in lower channel resistance.”
Individuals interested in the future of PoE standards are invited to contribute to the IEEE 802.3 4-pair Power over Ethernet Study Group, which is scheduled to meet during the IEEE 802.3 Interim Meeting, 14-17 May 2013 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
"PoE has become the dominant powering method in many Ethernet-based products—access points and IP phones, for example—demonstrating that customers will migrate towards convenience,” said Chad Jones, chair of the IEEE 802.3 4-pair Power over Ethernet Study Group.
“Enabling applications beyond 25.5 Watts will extend this convenience to other products. An additional benefit is the reduction of power lost in the delivery channel by at least half. This benefit can be extended to existing powered products by moving from a 2-pair powering system to a new 4-pair powering system."
The IEEE 802.3 4-pair Power over Ethernet Study Group will consider a 4-pair solution’s capability to enhance energy efficiency and provide greater than 25.5 Watts of power in improving PoE, which has become the preferred method to power networked devices, such as IP phones, access points and other network devices.
“The formation of this study group will allow collaboration on a proposal for the development of a 4-pair PoE standard, which would allow support of new PoE applications in the areas of IPTV, industrial Ethernet and more,” said David Law, chair of the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group and distinguished engineer with HP Networking. “A 4-pair approach would result in increased efficiency, since the use of additional pairs results in lower channel resistance.”
Individuals interested in the future of PoE standards are invited to contribute to the IEEE 802.3 4-pair Power over Ethernet Study Group, which is scheduled to meet during the IEEE 802.3 Interim Meeting, 14-17 May 2013 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
"PoE has become the dominant powering method in many Ethernet-based products—access points and IP phones, for example—demonstrating that customers will migrate towards convenience,” said Chad Jones, chair of the IEEE 802.3 4-pair Power over Ethernet Study Group.
“Enabling applications beyond 25.5 Watts will extend this convenience to other products. An additional benefit is the reduction of power lost in the delivery channel by at least half. This benefit can be extended to existing powered products by moving from a 2-pair powering system to a new 4-pair powering system."
CTIA-The Wireless Association statement after FCC releases notice of inquiry on RF
USA: After the FCC released its Notice of Inquiry (NoI) on Radio Frequency (RF), CTIA VP of Public Affairs, John Walls issued the following statement:
"CTIA welcomes the FCC's focus on cellphones and health effects. In establishing RF emission requirements for wireless devices, the FCC has always been guided by science and the evidence produced by impartial health organizations and the scientific community.
"As the GAO stated in its July 2012 report, 'Scientific research to date has not demonstrated adverse human health effects of exposure to radio-frequency energy from mobile phone use, but research is ongoing that may increase understanding of any possible effects.' The US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health have reached similar conclusions about the state of the science.
"As this review proceeds, it is important to recall the FCC's Director of Communications has said, 'We are confident that, as set, the [FCC's] emissions guidelines for devices pose no harm to consumers.'"
"CTIA welcomes the FCC's focus on cellphones and health effects. In establishing RF emission requirements for wireless devices, the FCC has always been guided by science and the evidence produced by impartial health organizations and the scientific community.
"As the GAO stated in its July 2012 report, 'Scientific research to date has not demonstrated adverse human health effects of exposure to radio-frequency energy from mobile phone use, but research is ongoing that may increase understanding of any possible effects.' The US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health have reached similar conclusions about the state of the science.
"As this review proceeds, it is important to recall the FCC's Director of Communications has said, 'We are confident that, as set, the [FCC's] emissions guidelines for devices pose no harm to consumers.'"
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