ZTE to launch Android 3G tablet
ZTE, the fast-growing Chinese telecom equipment maker has launched its first tablet PC, ZTE Light. The device has a seven-inch touchscreen and uses the GSM family of standards, including WCDMA and runs on Android, the open source software platform created by Google.
According to the company, ZTE plans to sell the tablet through retail channels as well as in partnerships with telecom operators. All of the devices will carry the ZTE brand, but some may be co-branded with mobile operators.
ZTE joins Nokia, LG Electronics, Dell, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard, which have all rolled out their offerings since Apple’s launch of the iPad. ZTE has not quoted prices for the device as yet
The company claims that it would start selling the ZTE Light before the end of the year.
Microsoft reveals Windows Phone 7 handsets
Microsoft has revealed its Windows Phone 7 array that includes 9 models with Windows operating system. The step is taken aimed at reversing share losses to Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Google Inc.’s Android software.
The phones are built-up by 4 manufacturers: Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung for approximately 60 mobile operators across the world. AT&T and T-Mobile will sell handsets running Windows Phone 7 on November 8 in the U.S. Verizon and Sprint models will not carry them until 2011.
The Windows Phone software features a new design, the ability to take and post photos faster and connections to Facebook and Microsoft’s Xbox Live game service. Amid market research firm Gartner Inc. expecting smartphone sales will conceal those of personal computers in the next two years, Microsoft’s mobile business is in need of a quick turnaround.
According to Ross Rubin, an NPD Group Inc. analyst, handsets are a critical market if Microsoft is going to expand their business beyond PCs. Windows Phone 7 will offer an interface that will be familiar to some and offer a new experience to others; it is a matter of taste.
According to Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, the company has built a different kind of phone. Everybody should be able to look at a Windows Phone and say, ‘I can represent me in this phone.’
Starting at US$199 with two-year contract, the device features WVGA displays (480 x 800 pixels), Qualcomm Snapdragon processors and integration with XBOX Live. The user interface will use Live Tiles, small squares updated in real-time that feature user-content, social feeds, news, weather, and more.
According to the company, thousands of developers, including Electronic Arts Inc., eBay Inc. and Imdb.com Inc. are working on applications and didn’t disclose the number that will be available when the phones go on sale. There are more than 250,000 apps available for Apple’s iPhone and more than 70,000 for Android.
According to Gartner, Microsoft’s share in the global smartphone market fell to 5% in the second quarter, from 9.3% a year earlier. Android climbed to 17% from 1.8%, while the iPhone rose to 14% from 13%. Nokia Oyj’s Symbian software held 41% of the global smartphone market in the second quarter, down from 51% a year earlier, and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. had 18%, down from 19%.
According to Microsoft, it opted not to do a CDMA version of the program until next year, meaning Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., which uses that technology, will not be offering phones with the operating system for sale initially.
Nokia considers Windows Phone 7
If reports are to be believed, Nokia may consider Windows Phone 7 as a platform for its upcoming smartphones.
Nokia has also teamed up with Intel to develop the MeeGo mobile platform which has yet to emerge on the handsets and doesn’t show any signs of becoming a serious rival.
If they were to make a Windows Phone 7 handset they would need to strengthen the internal hardware, one of the areas in which the N8 lacks. The 600MHz processor features may just not be enough to cut it in the existing smartphone/OS conflicts, so a more powerful option would be a necessary. Nokia has seen a steep decline in its company value since the release of the iPhone in 2007.
Microsoft’s mobile platform currently has five launch partners; HTC, Samsung, LG, Acer and Dell and is a major improvement over the previous WinMo OS.
If Rumors are to be believed, Finnish company would soon ditch the Symbian platform entirely have proven untrue and were ridiculous to begin with. This was demonstrated last week when Nokia and AT&T announced a competition to entice developers to make apps for the Ovi Store with up for US$10million in prize money up for grabs.
Pre-orders for the N8 have been the highest Nokia has had for any handset till date, though currently it is the only smartphone in its line-up which could potentially have the mass appeal that it needs.
Dell plans to launch iPad-like tablet
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A 5-inch tablet computer called Streak is being developed by Dell Inc that will run Google Inc.’s open-source Android operating system. The move is one more effort of the computer maker to catch up with tablet computing pioneer Apple Inc, which sold its one millionth iPad in late April. Earlier this month, Verizon Communications too announced to work with Google on a similar product.
Streak will hit the stores in UK June and in the U.S. later this summer. It will be able to connect to wireless Internet and 3G cellular networks and will come with built-in Bluetooth connectivity, a 5-megapixel camera and a VGA front-facing camera. Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon computer chips will power the unit and will also have a 1-gigahertz processor.
Dell recently announced that its profit rose 52% in its latest fiscal quarter as PC shipments jumped a higher-than-expected 27%
AT&T & Dell to offer Android phone in the USA
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An Android smartphone from Dell has been planned to be launched by mobile operator, AT&T. Named as Aero, it is Dell’s first smartphone available in the US. Dell already offers phones in China.
According to AT&T, the handset will feature a “new, beautiful custom user interface” developed by Dell and AT&T.
Further details on the smartphone will be released later.
Mobile infrastructure market affected by 2G to 3G transition
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Growth has been predicted in the revenues of the ¬mobile infrastructure market over the next 5 years reaching $42 billion in 2014. But the growth will still be short of the record revenues of over $43 billion reached in 2008.
According to Scott Siegler, Senior Analyst of Mobile Infrastructure research at Dell’Oro Group, the impact of the transitioning of mobile infrastructure market from 2G to 3G technologies is that steep declines in the GSM and CDMA markets will significantly offset strong growth forecast for the WCDMA market over the next five years.
LTE revenue during the same period is forecast to be nearly equal to aggregate revenue from the GSM, CDMA and WiMAX markets, even though WCDMA market is expected to be the prime contributor to the market over the next 5 years.
Nokia tops smartphone sale chart in Q4
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: By shipping 20.8 million smartphones worldwide in the most recent quarter, Nokia increased its share of the global smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2009, claiming 37% of the market share. The result has been attributed to stronger consumer demand and a stream of attractive new 3G models.
With the market growing by 30% in Q4 and the total shipments reaching 53 million units, Nokia itself grew 38% on-year, taking its market share to 39.2%. RIM occupied the second place by raising its unit shipments to 10.7 million from 7.6 million, giving it a 20.2% Q4 market share. Apple closed the gap on second-placed RIM in market-share terms in Q4, shipping 8.7 million iPhones, almost double the 4.4 million it shipped in the year-ago quarter, or 16.4% of the total.
According to Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics, the smartphone market will become ultra-competitive in 2010 after the entry of emerging players like Dell and Huawei which are strengthening their device portfolios and courting major operators.
Dell Mini 3 smartphone offered by AT&T
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: AT&T has joined the club of the mobile operators offering smartphone from Dell’s Mini 3 Android-based lineup. The handset is expected to be offered from the first half of 2010.
Smartphone arrangements has been established by Dell over the past two years with mobile operators including Vodafone in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, M1 and Starhub in Singapore, Maxis in Malaysia, China Mobile in China, and Claro in Brazil.
AT&T will announce further details about Dell’s Mini 3 closer to the device’s availability.
China Mobile and AT&T to launch OPhone smartphones
China Mobile will be introducing eight Motorola phones based on the OPhone smartphone platform sometime next year, according to a report by Reuters.
OPhone is a lower-cost cellphone platform developed by California based firm, Marvell Technology.
AT&T Mobile has certified the OPhone platform for use on its network. Other carriers in the US, Asia and Europe are also considering similar moves.
Motorola and Dell are among the handset vendors currently working on the Ophone platform. Dell chose the OPhone platform to make its foray into the handset business.
