Cellular

Cellular related stories

Nokia Grabs Lead In 3G Phone Market
Nokia has risen to become King Of The Hill of 3G phones with a market share of 17%, with its attractive range of 3G phones trouncing products from rivals NEC and LG.
According to a report by Strategy Analytics, the phone-shifting Finns scooped a 17% of the 3G handset market in the three months from April to June, 2005.
Chris Ambrosio, director of the Strategy Analytics wireless device strategies service observed that Nokia’s hefty share of the 3G market represents nearly half of its global overall share in the global mobile market, currently standing at 33%.
Previous 3G front-runners Motorola and LG have been overtaken by Nokia, with the report warning the manufacturers that they “have significant work to do to match up in the next battle for WCDMA phones priced below US$200 (~£111, €164~) wholesale, which will present significant mass-market opportunities in 2006 to 2010”.
The study notes that the market for 3G phones is still comparatively small, with only nine million units shipped in the second quarter of 2005 – small beer compared to the total sales of 185m handsets for the same period (source UDC).
“WCDMA (3G) technology, which accounted for just 5% of total handset sales during Q2 2005, remains a market in the early stages of development, but it is worrying for a cluster of aspiring Asian vendors that Nokia has already become best in class,” commented Chris Ambrosio, director of the Strategy Analytics’ wireless device strategies service.
Nokia’s market lead has been assisted in no small part by the popularity of their acclaimed 6680 3G handset, recently lauded as the “best-in-class 3G phone” in Western Europe.
Nokia’s triumph means long faces in the Motorola offices, with the company failing to make much progress with their 3G phones, despite their funky ‘lifestyle’ GPRS phones like the V3 Razr proving a hit.
Strategy Analytics
24 August, 2005
BBC Offers Dr Who Video On Mobiles
The BBC has announced that it will be offering classic episodes of “Doctor Who” and “Red Dwarf” on digital video chips for viewing on mobile phones.
The company’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, has teamed up with mobile phone content firm ROK Player to flog special multimedia memory cards that let users watch feature-length films and programmes on their mobiles.
The films are pre-recorded on Sim card-sized DVC (digital video chips) chips which slot into the multi-media memory card of compatible mobile phones.
With no content to download via mobile networks, films will automatically load once the card is inserted – and with no requirement for network coverage, commuters will be able to watch Dalek battles while stuck in a train tunnel.
Films can be fast forwarded, rewound and paused, just like a conventional movie player.
The cards, capable of storing up to two hours of entertainment, will be sold for £17 (US$30, €25), twice the price of a downloaded iTunes album but roughly the same price as the latest DVD releases.
ROK Player said they have invested £10 million (US$18m, €14.7m) creating the software which they claim will allow viewers to see high-quality pictures despite the teensy weensy mobile screen size.
The first scheduled release is The Five Doctors, a 90-minute Dr Who special originally shown in 1983, followed by three episodes of cult sci-fi hit, Red Dwarf.
More programmes are expected to follow from the BBC archive, with the chips initially being sold through Nokia stores, ROK Player’s website and Choices video outlets.
ROK Player also offers music videos and films such as “Wallace and Gromit” and “The Shawshank Redemption.”
ROK Player
23 August, 2005
Sony Offers Manga Comics To 3G Subscribers
Sony Pictures Entertainment is set to triple the number of comic books it offers as mobile downloads in Japan, making the company the number one provider of “manga” downloads.
Sony has brokered deals with 10 popular Japanese comic artists, letting comic-mad 3G mobile users download about 300 manga books.
Manga comics are huge in Japan, with the name being coined in 1814 after the famous Japanese artist Hokusai created a book of black & white sketches that he called manga (involuntary sketches).
In Japan, manga comics are targeted at all age groups and cover a wide range of genres, covering a far wider range of topics than Western graphic novels – subjects can range from fantasy & adventure, to sports & cooking.
Sony is hoping to tap into this widespread appeal, offering five stories per month for 315 yen ($2.90), with additional charges for further downloads.
Downloadable manga comics are displayed on mobile phones using a technology called Comic Surfing.
This displays mobile-formatted artwork at a predefined speed and sequence, with pop-up frames and vibration during action scenes adding interest to the stories.
Sony intends to offer more comic books than competitors like NTT Solmare, (unit of telecom firm NTT) and Toppan Printing.
Surprisingly, a spokesman for Toppan Printing opined that Sony’s downloadable manga offerings would prove a good stimulus for growth of the market.
“The market for comics through 3G mobile phone handsets just began to emerge last year, when handsets equipped with clear colour and movies on the screen were put on the market. But we expect it to grow more,” he added.
Competitors NTT Solmare were equally magnanimous about their new competitors, commenting: “We hope that Sony’s entrance will be a path to our mutual prosperity, as it could promote the lifestyle of reading comics by mobile.”
NTT Solmare’s catalogue of 80 comic books have already earned the company more than one million downloads this month alone, so Sony looks to be on a right earner.
Manga [Wikipedia]
23 August, 2005
CC75, C110 Handsets: Siemens Goes Simple
Following hot on the heels of Vodafone’s successful stripped-down phone ‘Vodafone Simply’, Siemens has introduced a similarly frill-bereft mobile, the CC75.
The no-nonsense blower is designed for easy going folks who don’t want to do battle with a crateful of technology every time they want to make a call.
Accordingly, the Siemens CC75 has no camera, no Java applications, no memory expansion, no Bluetooth, no email, no video and no inbuilt speaker phone, serving up its set of Ye Olde basic functions in a simple, stylish design.
Simple doesn’t have to mean crap though, and the thin and light phone offers a 65k colour display, SMS and MMS with an innovative button on the side of the phone allowing a MMS voice message to be recorded easily.
In line with its Stenna stairlift shuffling demographic, the CC75 provides a screen with 16-dot lettering making characters 33 percent larger than usual and visible from any angle – so granny will have no problem finding a nephew to nag from her address book.
The Siemens CC75 will be available in Q4 2005, retailing in the “medium price range”.
Siemens have also announced their new CF110 slim slider phone.
Aimed at those weird people who like to “use their phone as a fashion accessory” (rather than talking into them), the attractive tri-band GSM CF110 offers a 130×130 pixel trans-missive 65K TFT, served up in a “Moonlight Silver” and “Midnight Blue” finish.
The CF110 is also something of a frill-free affair, with no camera, Bluetooth or music playback functionality onboard.
It does, however, offer a pretty useful set of day-to-day functions: WAP 1.2 browser, polyphonic ringtones, Java support, MMS, GPRS, basic PIM functions and a rather anorexic 1.5Mb of memory
The Siemens CF110 will be available in Q4 2005 in the mid to low price range.
Siemens
15 August, 2005
HTC To Build Windows-Based Palm Treo 670/700?
HTC are rumoured to have won the contract to manufacture the much-hyped Windows Mobile-based version of Palm’s Treo smart phone.
The combination of Windows OS and the Treo’s fabulous form factor could prove a real market winner, although the device’s release is believed to some way off.
An article in the DigiTimes Website reported that the Treo/HTC hybrid was announced in the Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial Times.
The Taiwan-based High Tech Computer (HTC) firm already manufactures its own popular suite of Windows Mobile-based smart phones and PDA-style communicators, which go under a mass of different names worldwide, depending on the mobile networks operators and handset vendors.
Their big-selling models include the XDA Mini (MDA Compact/ HTC Magician/ i-mate JAM/Qtek s100), XDASII (Qtek 2020/i-mate/Orange SPV M1000/Movistar tsm 500) and XDAIIs (MdaIII/iMate PDA2k/Qtek 9090/HTC Blue Angel/Audiovox 6600/Siemens SX66/Orange SPV M2000).
HTC also undertakes contract manufacturing on behalf of a number of partners, and was said to be producing the Palm OS-based Treo 650 back in September 2004.
Rumours quickly spread that HTC would be creating a Windows Mobile-based Treo called the Treo 670, with a host of fuzzy images purporting to be the new device appearing on the Web.
Both Palm and HTC have staunchly refused to confirm their collaboration.
There’s no denying that HTC would be a logical choice to create a Windows Mobile-based Treo, with some pundits suggesting that the company may have lent some Windows Mobile development expertise to Palm’s design team.
The Commercial Times article suggests that HTC may well have designed the 670 itself, working to the parameters of the standard Treo feature-set and case design.
Just as we went to press, another rumour flashed across the Web, with Cool Tech Times showing a fairly convincing photograph of what it reckons is the new Treo 700.
Naturally, large opencast excavations of salt are needed when it comes to these things, but for the record the site claims that the Treo will feature a 1.3 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom and EVDO capability (EVDO stands for Evolution Data Only, and is the wireless broadband protocol of choice for CDMA networks).
Although the design could have come straight off the screen of some time-rich spoddy Photoshop kid (and we definitely have some doubts about its authenticity), it’s still a pretty looking affair, reflecting the strong points of the Treo’s long standing design ethos.
Whatever the final Treo looks like, it’s only Palm’s hopeless feet-dragging over implementing consumer-demanded features like proper Wi-Fi support that reluctantly sent us to the Windows dark side a few months ago, so whenever the next Treo 670/700/whatever-you-want-to call-it ever surfaces, we’ll take a boxful please!
DigiTimes.com
12 August, 2005
Star Trek Special Edition Phone Announced
Viacom have announced that they will be launching a special super-spoddy edition Star Trek Communicator Phone, in association with Sona Mobile.
Cool as a heatwave, only twice as hot, the special phone will serve up an intergalactic feast of Star Trek related guff so that Trekkers will feel that the Enterprise is never far away.
The phone will let Sci-Fi nutjobs enjoy a multi-player online Star Trek game or stream video clips while simultaneously text messaging a friend or accessing information on the Internet.
Naturally, Borg buffs, Ferengi fans, Cardassian connoisseurs and Delta Quadrant devotees will be able gorge themselves on a planet full of downloadable Star Trek ring tones, wallpapers as well as access news, information, and other fan activities.
As if all these Spock-tastic goodies weren’t enough, The Star Trek Communicator Phone will also come equipped with a custom Star Trek faceplate and other themed features.
Naturally, there are more tie-ins than a Houdini convention at work here as Viacom own Paramount Pictures who own the Star Trek brand.
Sandi Isaacs, VP of Interactive at Viacom Consumer Products set his phaser to ‘gush’ and enthused, “There is a tremendous opportunity to tap into Star Trek fans around the world and offer them a device to interact, connect and download Star Trek entertainment. This not only promotes the Star Trek spirit but creates a new paradigm for the wireless community.”
We couldn’t find a picture of the actual phone anywhere, although one poster on a Star Trek site claimed it was a re-branded Motorola V3 phone, while another frothed enthusiastically about a “multiplayer, persistent game universe, that uses location based / GPS information to alert you when an ‘enemy player’ is within range so you can do battle!”
Whatever it looks like, I’d imagine Trekkers would be most disappointed if it doesn’t make that funny noise when you flip it open.
A Star Trek themed phone isn’t the kind of thing that warms our warp drives, but if someone designed a phone based on Tribbles, we’d say, “bring it on!”
The phone will be available beginning 30, September, 2005.
Sona mobile
12 August, 2005
Opera Releases Opera Mini Browser For Phones
Norwegian browser brewers, Opera Software, have announced Opera Mini, a J2ME (Java 2 Mobile Edition) Web browser for “virtually all mobile phones”.
Their new Opera Mini enables Web access on more than 700 million low to mid-tier Java-capable phones around the world, with the company trumpeting that it will “finally bring mobile Internet into the mainstream”.
Opera Mini is being marketed as a fast and easy alternative to Opera’s Mobile browser, allowing users to access the Web on mobiles that would normally be unable to run a Web browser.
Weighing in at a slimline 60K the Mini is a mere slip of a thing compared to its big brother Mobile browser which hogs anything between 1MB and 4MB of precious phone memory.
The browser makes up for the feeble firepower of low end phones by using a remote server to pre-process Web pages before sending them to the phone, rather than trying to get the phone to process the pages.
The ‘mini-me’ pages will offer standard browsing capabilities like bookmarks and browsing history, but won’t provide full access to some complex Web pages with advanced security features and other such gizmos.
“Mobile Web surfing has until now been limited to more advanced phones that are capable of running a browser,” says Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software.
“With Opera Mini, the phone only has to run a small Java-client and the rest is taken care of by the remotely located Opera Mini server. With Opera Mini you don’t have to have an advanced phone to surf the Web, which means that most people can use it with their existing phones.”
Installing Opera Mini seems simple enough, with users blasting off an SMS message or clicking on a link through their WAP browser to receive the application.
With the Opera Mini making the Web available to low to mid-tier phones, there’s huge potential for operators to scoop up revenue by offering compelling mobile Web services to entice subscribers.
With this in mind, the browser can be customised for operators, broadcasters, mobile content providers and the Internet industry.
Patriotically, Norway’s leading commercial television station, TV2, have already bundled Opera Mini with its mobile services in Norway to offer its viewers a complete mobile content package with a branded Web browser.
“Finally we see how we can generate revenue from real mobile browsing,” says Morten Holst, VP Strategy, TV2 Interactive. “By introducing TV2’s portal through Opera Mini (TM) we have combined the best of mobile services with mobile Web access.”
Opera Mini will be available to consumers through operators and companies who elect to include it in their offerings.
It’s currently part of a pilot project in Norway, with wider availability yet to be announced.
Opera Mini
11 August, 2005
Sony Ericsson’s All Sensing Smartypants Phone
Sony Ericsson’s boffins have come up with the cunning idea of creating phones which automatically change the way they behave, depending on the time, date and place.
The cunning plan was revealed after the New Scientist magazine spotted a patent application by Sony Ericsson for a ‘System method and computer program product for managing themes in a mobile phone’.
Here’s the application abstract:
“Themes provide the mobile phone with changeable characteristics pertaining to the appearance and sound presented by the mobile phone. A theme profile associated with the mobile phone contains data pertaining to which theme to apply to the mobile phone and when to transition to another theme as well as where theme content data is located.
The mobile phone then waits for a triggering event to occur. When such a triggering event occurs, it causes a transition from the currently active theme to another theme. A new theme based on an associated triggering event is applied to the mobile phone changing its look and feel.”
What this means (in slightly less wordy language) is that the phone’s wallpaper display could automatically change to reflect dates logged in the calendar application of a user’s phone.
For example, the wallpaper display on the phone might automatically display a picture of a lovely big cake on the user’s birthday or a sparkling Christmas tree on December 25th.
Travellers touching down in Glasgow airport may be ‘treated’ to a bagpipes ringtone courtesy of a GPS country location signal, or perhaps the phone might blast out some demonic black metal on arrival in the Norwegian hinterland.
A more productive use of the technology could be in restaurants where a list of the day’s menu specials could be delivered direct to the phone’s screen via Bluetooth.
Another use may be in cinemas and theatres where Bluetooth could be used to automatically silence bleeping, ringing and ‘amusing’ ringtones.
The New Scientist article suggests that the feature could be used to keep stockbrokers updated with the latest share prices every 10 minutes or give walkers continually updated weather forecasts with the information being displayed as the phone’s wallpaper.
Happily, priority coding will let users override some automated controls, thus eliminating the prospect of a tinny rendition of KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s the Way (I Like It)” blasting out during granddad’s funeral.
New Statesman
4 August, 2005
PDA Sales Set For Record Year
In spite of pundits’ predictions of a swift demise, the PDA refuses to die with 2005 looking set to be a record year for handheld sales.
A combination of falling prices and extra features like wireless connectivity have invigorated the PDA market, with Gartner reporting 3.6 million units shipped worldwide in the last three months, a 32 percent leap from the same period last year.
This puts the market on track to hit 15 million units shipped by the end of year – a figure that would surpass the previous record of 13.2 million PDAs shipped in 2001.
The study ignored smartphones, such as the Treo 650 and BlackBerry 7100, but included wireless PDAs like the iPAQ 6315 and Nokia 9300.
Research In Motion’s BlackBerry was, not surprisingly, the most popular device, with shipments reaching 840,000 in the second quarter – a hefty growth of 64.7 percent, achieving a sector-leading market share of 23.2 percent.
Palm came in at second place with 17.8 percent, while Dell slipped out of the top five ranking, elbowed out by T-Mobile’s Sidekick II and Pocket PC Phone Edition devices.
HP also suffered falling sales, although both Dell and HP are scheduled to upgrade their product lines in the second half of this year.
The study by analysts Gartner revealed that Windows CE is the favoured operating system for business-minded PDA users, with the underlying software making up 46 percent of worldwide shipments in the second quarter of 2005.
In second place was RIM with 23.2 percent of PDA software shipped, followed by PalmSource’s at 18.8 percent.
“Wireless PDAs are increasingly seen as an adjunct or alternative to notebook computers, while favourable exchange rates have enabled more Europeans to purchase PDAs at an attractive price,” said Gartner analyst Todd Kort.
Like Billy Bunter at a speed eating competition, the Western European PDA market inflated by a massive 94 percent to reach 1.3 million units in the second quarter of 2005.
PDAs are proving a big hit with Europeans, with regional sales accounting for 37 percent of worldwide shipments, up from 25 percent a year ago.
In the States, growth is slower, with shipments totalling 1.4 million units, a mere 1.3 percent increase.
Garner reports that the disappointing US figures are a result of a stagnant market and the continuing decline in Palm PDA sales and aging product lines among Microsoft licensees.
Elsewhere, PDA shipments in Asia/Pacific looked sprightly with a growth of 24.7 percent, totalling around 402,000 units.
These figures chime with a similar handheld report from research firm IDC, although their findings painted a little less rosy future.
Gartner
IDC report
3 August, 2005
95% of Mobile Users Won’t Download Games
Mobile gaming big boys I-Play have released the results of a study which revealed that only 5% of mobile users have ever downloaded a game
The independent survey examined the (cough) “behaviour barriers” and motives of 2,500 mobile users across the US, UK, Italy, Spain and Germany.
The study discovered that mobile phone newbies were pretty clueless about what their phones could do, with 33% of respondents unsure whether their handset could even play games.
A further 17.5% were uncertain how to download a game while the rest said that the downloading process itself was tedious.
Of all those polled, only a mere 5% of mobile users had ever downloaded and used a mobile game.
David Gosen, COO of I-play was ready with the positive spin, “The mobile games market is essentially only five percent penetrated. The good news is that we now know what’s limiting market growth – the industry must improve accessibility to mobile games and more importantly, educate consumers on how and where to obtain mobile games”.
Curiously, the survey revealed national differences, with 80% of smart Spaniards aware of the capabilities of their handsets compared with to just 60% of Germans.
Pricing was seen as a discouraging factor by 51% of the respondents, with 48 percent in favour of free trail versions and 30% saying that that they would go for a game if a friend recommended it.
Despite the aggressive advertising campaigns run to promote mobile gaming, the industry is still clearly in its infancy, although the potential for growth is seen as enormous, especially with the interest shown in emerging markets like India and China.
Gosen went on to explain that, “virgin downloaders” need more education about the process and more information about the game before they feel comfortable making that first purchase and this is critical. We know we have to de-risk that first download for the end user.
De-risk. Now there’s a good word for buzzword bingo.
iPlay
2 August, 2005