New Devices to stir the Next Wave of Growth for Chipset Manufacturers
There was a time when PC’s were a premium device accessible only to the upper segment of SEC. But talking about today it is more of a necessity then luxury, a very less number of people in this world are still thinking of buying one. And for these thinkers Smartphones are coming up with a taste of processing power from the most personal of computers. At the same time mobile phone are catching up with a new road into other consumer devices, like providing e-books and map updates on the go.
Intel, this week grabbed the wireless chip business of Germany’s Infineon. Up for captures is a US$30billion annual semiconductor market. While by the end of this year mobile phone unit sales is predicted to go around a tenth higher on last year, the smartphone portion which contains more valuable silicon is expanding at three times that rate. As smartphone units replace other traditional phones, average selling prices for chipmakers would stay reasonably stable, even as smartphone prices themselves will continue to fall.
Production is still relatively isolated. Qualcomm is the largest manufacturer, supplying processors to 80% of Smartphones using Android, the best ever growing mobile operating system. But Qualcomm only takes 30% of wireless chip market revenues overall, calculates consultancy iSuppli. While the rivalry has contracted over the last five years, the market is still open to unsettling innovation.
The source of that disruption remains to be seen. Texas Instruments is meandering behind its baseband business in wireless to concentrate on processors, while Intel is heading in the opposite direction Infineon’s engineers are expert in cramming several functions onto one chip. It is not hard to understand the appeal.
New devices such as e-readers and media tablets are still in the tens of millions range, but such growth is incremental and technologically straightforward to address. Gartner forecasts revenue growth for the mobile application processor market of 22% annually from 2009 to 2014.
Nokia, Intel team up to create mobile interface lab
Nokia and Intel have created the ‘Intel and Nokia Joint Innovation Center’, which will focus on developing 3D graphical interfaces for mobile phones. The services will take place at University of Oulu.
The two companies, with their new R&D lab are aspiring to capitalize on future advancements in mobile processing and graphics power.
According to Rich Green, Nokia’s chief technology officer, the new joint laboratory with Intel draws on the Oulu research community’s 3D interface expertise and over time will lay down some important foundations for future mobile experiences.
According to Intel, the work at the centre will be associated with the MeeGo open source device platform, jointly created with Nokia, which provides the greatest flexibility for developing new 3D experiences on mobile devices.
Orange partners Intel on MeeGo device support
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: To develop support for mobile data services on devices running the MeeGo software, Orange and Intel has agreed to work together wherein Orange will use Intel Atom processors. The announcement has been made by MeeGo which is a Linux platform built around Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo systems.
According to both the companies, they will work together to increase the availability of Orange Signature Services, such as Orange TV and Orange Maps, on devices running MeeGo.
Intel’s mobile push threatened by iPad
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Among the entire hullabaloo during the launch of Apple’s iPad, the most important fact which did not come to the fore was the new tablet computer will be powered by an in-house chip called the A4.
Though the chip will not be marketed by Apple publicly, it is highlighted that the rival chip designs may eventually win out over Intel’s designs in the emergent hot category of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. It is also said to give the iPad a long battery life and is considered comparable to rival processors in both speed and performance.
According to Intel, the first smartphones using its chips go on sale by 2010′s second half, as it tries to stake out a corner in the wireless market and replicate what it did for the formerly red-hot netbook category it now almost completely dominates.
TATA india to offer SIM cards on its CDMA network
Oberthur Technologies the world’s second largest provider of Smart Card based solutions today announced the commercialization of its OMHTM (Open Market Handsets) SIM cards for CDMA (Code Development Multiple Access) networks. OMH SIM cards contain subscriber, network and service configuration data that allow subscribers the freedom to easily change and upgrade their handset, but maintain their network configuration.
Oberthur Technologies collaborated with Tata Teleservices Limited, one of India’s fastest growing private telecom service providers, and Qualcomm Incorporated, a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies, to introduce OMHTM SIM cards into the India market.
Olivier Leroux, Head of the Mobile Product Line for the Card Systems Division at Oberthur Technologies said, “Oberthur Technologies is the first to commercially launch OMHTM SIM cards. We are pleased to partner with industry leaders such as Tata Teleservices and Qualcomm who are enhancing the subscriber experience for Indian consumers.”
The OMHTM SIM card, referred to as a removable user identity module (R-UIM), is a state of the art smartcard that stores operator and subscriber specific configuration parameters, separate from the handset memory. By having this configuration parameters located on the OMHTM SIM card rather than the device, subscribers can more easily switch or upgrade their handsets. These cards allow CDMA network operators to increase the selection of devices and services while lowering distribution and inventory costs.
“These are exciting times in the Indian telecom space where innovation, research and development are the key to success and remain competitive in the business. In our constant effort to redefine the telecom space keeping customers at the central point, Tata Teleservices decided to partner with Qualcomm and Oberthur Technologies to further develop the Open Market Handset initiative and offer more choice to customers”, said Lloyd Mathias, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Teleservices Limited.
“Qualcomm is pleased to work with Oberthur Technologies for its leadership as one of the first companies to develop OMH SIM cards,” said Nakul Duggal, Senior Director and OMH Project Lead, Qualcomm Corporate Engineering Services. “The OMH initiative is focused on increasing device variety by offering new channels and distribution options within the CDMA ecosystem to provide greater subscriber flexibility.”
About Oberthur Technologies
With sales of 882 million Euros in 2008, Oberthur Technologies is a world leader in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high quality services ensure Oberthur Technologies’ strong positioning in its main target markets:
– Card Systems: The world’s second largest provider of security and identification based on smart card technology and associated services for mobile, payment, transport, digital TV and convergence markets. – Identity: Leading international supplier for the manufacture and personalization of secure identity documents such as passport, identity card, driving license or health care card – traditional and electronic – and associated services for both governmental and corporate markets. – Security printing: World’s third largest private security printer specialized in high security for the production of banknotes, checks and other fiduciary documents in more than fifty countries. – Cash protection: World leader in the emerging market of intelligent systems to secure cash-in-transit and ATM.
Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an industrial and commercial presence across all five continents.
Oberthur Technologies S.A. is a limited liability company (societe anonyme) registered in France with its registered office at 50 quai Michelet 92 532 Levallois Perret, France. Oberthur Technologies S.A.’s corporate registration number is 340 709 534 R.C.S. Paris.
Website: http://www.oberthur.com
About Tata Teleservices Limited
Tata Teleservices Limited is one of India’s leading private telecom service providers, having a pan-India presence across all of India’s 22 telecom Circles. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom, Tata DOCOMO, Photon and Walky brands, and uses both the CDMA and GSM technology platform(s) for its wireless networks. Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, operates in more than 325,000 towns and villages across the country. In November 2008, Tata Teleservices entered into an agreement with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, and this transaction marks a key step in the strategic evolution of Tata Teleservices Limited. Tata DOCOMO has so far launched GSM services in eight telecom Circles, and the remaining part of the country is also expected to be covered shortly. In December 2008, Tata Teleservices announced a unique reverse equity swap strategic agreement between its fully-owned telecom tower subsidiary-Wireless TT Info-Services Limited-and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited, thereby becoming the largest independent entity in this space. Tata Teleservices’ bouquet of telephony services includes mobile services, wireless desktop phones, public booth telephony and Wireline services.
For details, visit http://www.tatateleservices.com, http://www.tatadocomo.com or http://www.tataindicom.com.
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
India overtakes China
Indian telecom operators added the highest number of new cellular users in the world in a single month in August.
With 5.9 million new mobile users,
India
has beaten
China
, which added 5.19 million new cellular users in the same period. Other countries in the top five include
Russia
with 3.6 million new mobile subscribers,
Brazil
with 2 million additions and the
Philippines
where 1.9 million new cellular subscribers were added in August.
Explosive Growth
Mr T.V. Ramachandran, Director General, Cellular Operator’s Association of India, said that this explosive growth in subscriber numbers was a direct result of the forward looking policies of the Government, the enabling regulatory structure and the commitment of the industry to deliver increased access to subscribers with ever improving affordability. “With this growth,
India
was well on course to exceed the COAI forecast of 130 million subscribers by December 2006,” said Mr Ramachandran
As per global analysts Wireless Intelligence, the last half billion cellular subscribers had come in a record time of 12 months and has been mainly added in the very high-growth emerging markets of
China
,
India
and
Russia
. According to Wireless Intelligence, the global mobile industry has been growing at around 40 million subscribers per month, which is the highest volume of growth that the market has ever seen. The share of the Asia Pacific region in this growth is 41 per cent with
India
and
China
alone accounting for 25 per cent of the total subscriber growth worldwide over the last year.
Going forward, it is estimated that the cellular mobile subscribers will grow by another 500 million to reach 3 billion by the end of 2007. As per experts, the contribution by
India
to this growth would be the maximum and is estimated to be 80 million new cellular subscribers.
Source- http://www.moneycontrol.com
Technorati : Brazil, Cellular, India, Philippines, Russia, operator
Ice Rocket : Brazil, Cellular, India, Philippines, Russia, operator
