USA expected to become ZTE Corp’s biggest market by 2015 (China, USA)
Chinese mobile-phone equipment maker, ZTE Corp., has reportedly said that the U.S. market will overtake domestic sales, to become its biggest market for handsets and tablet computers by 2015 on account of the increasing demand for cheaper devices. According to reports, ZTE Executive Vice President, He Shiyou said that as at September 2011, China accounted for 35 percent of ZTE’s sales whereas USA accounted for only 10 percent of the same. Further, Mr. Shiyou has reportedly said that the company projects the US mobile device revenue growth to go up to more than 50 percent in the next three years.
According to sources Mr. Shiyou has reportedly said that ZTE is relying on mobile devices to expand in the U.S., where selling network infrastructure has become increasingly complicated because of politics. He added that the mobile-phone market is easier to enter, and their growth in the U.S. is important for them to improve their brand awareness and position globally.
However, industry analysts claim that most of ZTE’s products largely include low or middle end devices which are better sold in developing countries like China and Africa, and need to update their products to succeed in the US market.
Brightpoint concludes C20 Mobile acquisition(SE Asia)
Brightpoint, a mobile handset distributor has completed its acquisition of the business and assets of smartphones, tablets, mobile devices and accessories distributor C20 Mobile and C20.
The acquisition was made by Brightpoint Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brightpoint. With the acquisition of C20, Brightpoint enhances its position as a mobile device distributor and supply chain services provider in the Singapore market and this provides a base to grow within South East Asia.
CIOs raise security concerns about ‘Backdoor’ mobile devices
A research has unearthed that employee owned, ‘Backdoor’ mobile devices entering the corporate network and the ‘WikiLeaks’ affair highlight the ongoing security challenges with enterprise mobility.
According to researchers, enterprise mobility may well be a business imperative, but it remains a massive risk. Indeed, 67% of organizations today are more concerned about mobile data security because of the recent ‘WikiLeaks’ revelations. But, this is only part of a more complex problem that most businesses face today.
Attempts to improve the management of mobile devices such as smartphones and more recently laptops, netbooks and tablets as they connect over cellular networks are hampered by a number of challenges. For example, IT strategies such as simplifying management by standardizing on specific devices or platforms are regularly overturned by users, who now want to bring their own devices into the enterprise. First, it was in the mobile phone arena. Now, we see employees bring in computing devices like the iPad and Galaxy tablets.
According to the survey, 76% of CIOs say employee-owned mobile devices are creating security headaches. 78% don’t even know what devices are connected to the corporate network. Consequently, 77% of enterprises have no idea what data is on all of these devices. In fact, 1 in 3 isn’t able to track data on devices that they themselves issue to employees. More worryingly, in the likely event that a device is ever lost or stolen, only 56% of businesses are able to secure them. Unlike traditional IT infrastructures, mobile platforms tend to be fragmented and are changing at a fast rate. This means that unique processes are required, even for standard management tasks such as security, software updates, device configuration and trouble shooting.
These processes must also be performed over-the-air, as the device is often off the corporate network and becomes costly to recall for everyday support issues. Point solutions do exist to address the problem, but have significant limitations in terms of cost, as large upfront CAPEX investments are needed as well as the ability to keep up to date with the latest devices.
In fact, 77% of CIOs say that unlike management of traditional computing devices that are on the network, limited time and budget, coupled with increasing complexity has led to a lack of maturity when it comes to managing mobile devices.
Telstra to expand online service and add more than 100 new stores
Telstra Chief Executive Officer Mr David Thodey announced a new online customer service unit to serve the company’s expanding customer base and improve customer satisfaction.
The unit will design and operate online self-service platforms that give customers the option of performing many transactions with Telstra online using their computer or mobile devices, rather than speaking to agents over the phone.
Telstra’s new online customer service unit will support our growing customer base, providing customers with the option of faster and more convenient ways of interacting with the company, including through social media,†Mr Thodey said.
It will give customers the option of using their computer or mobile devices to order new services, change their plans or activate features, for instance, without having to call to speak to company representatives,†he said.
Mr Thodey said the new unit would be headed by Gerd Schenkel, who joined Telstra from his role as general manager of UBank, an exclusively-online bank established by the National Australia Bank. Mr Schenkel will report to Gordon Ballantyne, Group Managing Director of Telstra Consumer & Country Wide.
We have recruited one of the best leaders in the field of online customer transactions. Gerd’s experience will help us establish online services that are comprehensive, relevant and integrated for our customers,†he said.
Telstra research reveals more than 85% of Australians find it convenient to perform simple self-service transactions using their computer or mobile devices. Telstra has a target to perform 35% of transactions using online self-service channels by 2013, compared to rates of more than 60% for many banks and airlines.
Mr Thodey also today announced an expansion of Telstra’s retail footprint over the next three years with more than 100 additional Telstra stores that will feature a simpler range of products and accessories tailored to suit local markets.
Our existing stores welcome around 30 million customer visits each year, and this initiative means our retail outlets will now appear in even more locations, making it easier and more convenient for customers to interact with us,†Mr Thodey said.
Mr Thodey said the new online customer service channel and additional stores would give customers a consistent, improved and integrated experience whether they dealt with the company by phone, in-store or online.
Smartphone shipments beat PCs
A research report has revealed that manufacturers shipped more smartphones than personal computers in the fourth quarter of 2010, crowning mobile devices as the computing platform of choice much earlier than many industry-watchers had expected.
According to reports, makers of mobile devices distributed a total of 101 million smartphones in the last three months of the year, showing a gain of 87% from the same period in the year.
The earlier reports also suggested that PC shipments reached 92 millon units in the fourth quarter,showing a mere gain of
less than 3%.
Analysts had expected smartphones to take the lead at some point in 2011, but the transition happened more quickly as a wide range of manufacturers of mobile devices embraced Android, the malleable open-source operating system from Google. Android continues to gain by leaps and bounds, helping to drive the smartphone market. It has become the cornerstone of multiple vendors’ smartphone strategies, and has quickly become a challenger to the market leader Symbian.
Android passed Apple’s phone software and Nokia-backed Symbian as the most widely adopted program for smartphones at the end of last year. Since Google’s software is used in devices made by other groups, Nokia, which makes smartphones as well as the Symbian software, is still in the lead in terms of smartphone shipments. The Finnish company’s unit share widened to 28% from 20% in the quarter.
Apple’s iPhone, meanwhile, nearly doubled its share from the final quarter of 2009 to 16% in the final quarter of 2010, passing Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, to gain the number two spot.
In revenue and profit terms, Apple does much better per phone, as many Nokia products are less expensive and offer fewer functions.
The market for PCs continues to grow, setting another shipment record in the recent quarter.The increases are much smaller than in the past year due to their higher average price relative to phones and slower innovation in the segment.
Apple alone sold about 15 million iPad tablets in 2010 and more than 7 million in the fourth quarter, which would have brought the PC category close to level with smartphones.
Many more companies are introducing tablets this year and their sales are expected to go more than double as a whole in 2011.
The growth in smartphones will continue to surge as the high-end models improve constantly and the middle tier gets more affordable.
Motorola Mobility launches as independent company
Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (Motorola Mobility) today announced that it has completed its previously announced spin-off from Motorola, Inc. and its shares will begin trading this morning on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “MMI.”
Motorola Mobility is comprised of two industry-leading global technology businesses. The Mobile Devices business is an innovative provider of smartphone devices designed to fit every lifestyle. In 2010, the Mobile Devices business launched 23 smartphones globally, including the highly successful family of DROIDâ„¢ by Motorola devices as well as BRAVOâ„¢, DEFYâ„¢, FLIPSIDEâ„¢, MILESTONEâ„¢ and others. The Home business is one of the largest providers of digital set-top boxes and end-to-end video solutions. Motorola Mobility will leverage the capabilities of both the Mobile Devices and Home businesses to deliver innovative smartphones, tablets, set-tops and other converged devices as well as content delivery and management, and interactive cloud-based services to consumers in the home and on the go.
“We are pleased that Motorola Mobility has reached this important milestone. After more than two years of planning, today we begin operating as a financially strong, independent company trading on the New York Stock Exchange,” said Sanjay Jha, chairman and CEO of Motorola Mobility. “We are well-positioned to build on the strong momentum we have in smartphones and end-to-end video solutions and to take advantage of opportunities resulting from the convergence of media, mobility, computing and the Internet.”
“With more than 20,000 employees globally, 24,500 patents granted and pending, and a highly recognizable brand, we are able to deliver cutting-edge devices with differentiated software experiences. In addition, we will continue to work aggressively to capitalize on the next generation of converged devices and experiences to provide consumers with more intuitive and personalized services,” Jha added.
As chairman, Jha serves on the Motorola Mobility Board of Directors with Jon E. Barfield, William R. Hambrecht, Keith A. Meister, Thomas J. Meredith, Daniel A. Ninivaggi, James R. Stengel, Anthony J. Vinciquerra and Andrew J. Viterbi.
Jha and members of the Motorola Mobility management team will ring The Opening Bellâ„¢ at the NYSE today in honor of the initiation of trading of Motorola Mobility shares.
Motorola, Inc. stockholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 21, 2010, the record date for the distribution, received one share of Motorola Mobility common stock for every eight shares of Motorola, Inc. common stock they held.
Motorola buys Aloqa
Motorola has acquired location-based services Software Company Aloqa, which is the handset maker’s second acquisition in less than a month. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Aloqa develops mobile applications for smartphone platforms, including Google’s Android, and more than one million users have downloaded its software. Aloqa is being folded into Motorola Mobility, the unit that houses Motorola’s Mobile Devices and Home businesses. Motorola Mobility is expected to be spun off from Motorola, Inc. in the first quarter of 2011.
According to reports, Aloqa software and services take a user’s location, identity and social relationships to inform them of places, events, bargains and other opportunities that might interest them.
According to Motorola, the outfit will be merged into its Motorola Mobility handset business. Oddly enough, Mobility will be spun out from the rest of the Illinois-based company early next year.
According to Aloqa CEO Sanjeev Agrawal, the company is proud that a global mobile giant like Motorola chose the Aloqa platform as a core part of its future in location technologies.
Motorola CEOs continue to accept their pay cuts
Motorola is fighting for getting back its image of a giant mobile phone maker it once was. With the introduction of Android phones, the company has shown a clear sign of its way back to prominence. Also, in order to support the company one step further, co-CEO Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha have agreed to continue taking their voluntary salary cut of 25% for 2010.
Motorola is all set to make their long-awaited comeback in the mobile space with solid plans to divide the company into two separate publicly trade entities. While Sanjay Jha is expected to take his seat as the head of the Mobile devices and Home Businesses division, Greg Brown will rein the Motorola Enterprise unit.
Though the company has showed that they have the capability to be one of the formidable players in the smartphone space, the long-term success of the company will largely depend on its ability to continue to capture mindshare in the US and around the world. At present, Motorola Droid is considered to be a good step; but it won’t be enough to carry Moto through the next year.
IBM collaborate with varsities in India and Japan to make mobile devices more accessible
IBM is embarking on a research project to design mobile gadgets which will be easy to use for people with disabilities or those who are not fully literate.
The institute has collaborated with India’s National Institute of Design and the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advance Science and Technology.
The aim of the collaboration is to develop a common interface for mobile devices that will make the gadgets easier to use.
According to Chieko Asakawa, an IBM Fellow and chief technology officer of IBM’s accessibility research, through this collaborative research initiative, the institute will uncover real information accessibility requirements and issues that the elderly and people in developing economies are facing everyday.
He is also of the opinion that by focusing on mobile devices, which have a tremendous potential to empower them, the findings will help them offer affordable services to large population who are still deprived of access to key information sources.
