BBC iPlayer plans to launch Android smartphone (UK)
UK based broadcaster, BBC has confirmed plans to enable TV shows on mobile phones. The broadcaster has already built a hugely popular web based service iPlayer that lets people watch shows for up to a week after they were broadcast and there have been constant reports of a smartphone app to enable the same on the move.
According to Daniel Danker, the BBC’s General Manager of Future Media & Technology, the BBC News app has been a success since its launch last year and he confirmed that the BBC iPlayer will be the next off the production line.
Last year, BBC stated that growth in mobile use of its iPlayer outpaced PC growth by more than 2-to-1 and BBC iPlayer growth on tablets outpaced PCs by more than 20-to-1. They are now just applying the finishing touches to the apps, and all things being well the company plans to have Android and iPad apps in stores by the end of this week.
The new apps will enable people to watch live TV and listen to radio and also access the full catalogue of iPlayer post-broadcast content.
Although developing the app for the iPad was said to be straightforward for it to work on Android devices, they will need to be running Android OS version 2.2 at a minimum along with Adobe Flash 10.1 Player.
Significantly, it will only be available to stream over Wi-Fi networks, which will probably be a relief to the mobile networks who faced the sort of deluge in mobile data usage that had previously upset the UK’s landline internet providers.
NT launches EasyPhone -VoIP service (Nepal)
State-owned national fixed line and mobile operator Nepal Telecom (NT) has launched a session initiation protocol (SIP) based IP telephony service under the brand name ‘EasyPhone’, allowing users to make low-cost calls from their PC via a broadband connection.
According to reports, in order to sign up for EasyPhone users must pay US$6.99 to complete a permanent pre-paid phone registration, which as part of the inclusive charges covers an US$0.69 registration fee and an US$0.12 ownership charge. The remaining US$6.07 is for talk time, including taxes and VAT.
In the launch phase NT is offering the EasyPhone service from its Teku, Baneshwor, Chabahil, Jawalakhel and Gongabu branches.
Smartphones and Tablets set to eclipse computers soon.
Market research major IDC has predicted that smartphones and tablets are in things today and their shipments will overtake PC shipment in the next 18 months, i.e. precisely by June 2012. If reports are to be believed, the United Kingdom is slowly moving away from PCs and going towards mobile devices. However, this is all about development of a new market of smartphones and tablets and in no way it means that PCs would be shunned. They would still be a main part of computing.
IDC also added that the total number of shipments of app-enabled devices such as smartphones and tablets all over the world would touch a 284 million mark. And the projected figures for 2011 and 2012 are 377 million and 462 million respectively. This figure would easily exceed that of PC shipments. For those who are uninitiated, one shipment equals one device.
The company also predicted that the PC shipments to be about 356 million this year as well as 402 million and 448 million for 2011 and 2012 respectively.
According to Frank Gens, Chief Analyst, IDC, non-PC devices are not replacing the PC that’s a key point but they are expanding the market. He also reveals the similarities between the start of the PC era and what is happening today with smartphones and tablets.
He further added, the IBM personal computer arrived in 1981, but it wasn’t until 1986 that vendors stopped debating the future of the PC and rushed toward it. A major turning point for the PC was the 1986 initial public offering of Microsoft, a company quickly embraced by Wall Street. The PC era resulted in the emergence of new companies and the loss of older ones that didn’t adapt to the market change. Today, through acquisitions and other moves, vendors are positioning themselves for the new smartphone and tablet market.
Vietnam Operators Ride the 3G Wave, Pyramid Finds
Operators are using 3G as the key technology to drive Vietnam’s telecom market growth, just as regulation continues to liberalize, allowing foreign firms greater access to the market. Due to the proliferation of 3G services, Pyramid expects to see more future growth coming from mobile data services, with a 13.4 percent CAGR through 2015, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com).
Vietnam: 3G Services and Strong Competition Add Up to a High-Growth Market offers a precise profile of the country’s telecommunications, media, and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid’s research in the market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services, and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.
Download an excerpt of this report here: http://www.pyr.com/downloads.htm?id=18&sc=PRN111710_CIRVIET
Purchase the report here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/CIRVIETNAM.htm?sc=PRN111710_CIRVIET
Until recently, the Vietnam telecom market was monopolistic, with strict controls on foreign ownership of telecom operators, notes Emily Smith, analyst at Pyramid Research. “This year the market has seven MNOs and two MVNOs, and regulation continues to liberalize, allowing foreign firms greater access to the market,” Smith says. “Due to the tough competition for market share, rates plunged to the point that it was cheaper this year to subscribe to a 3G service than GPRS.”
However, by 2011, the decline in voice revenue will be counterbalanced by the rise in data revenue made possible by the 3G and LTE networks that are being built, allowing transmission of greater traffic volume. “Pyramid expects to see a shift in data traffic away from SMS as other data services gain ground,” Smith adds.
“Due to low fixed penetration rates in Vietnam and extremely low 3G tariffs, mobile broad band will quickly gain ground in the market as many consumers will rely on mobile phones for Internet access,” explains Smith.
Given the gap between PC and Internet penetration, as well as the low broadband penetration rate, Pyramid sees significant potential for mobile broadband through 3G services.
Vietnam: 3G Services and Strong Competition Add Up to a High-Growth Market is part of Pyramid Research’s Asia/Pacific Country Intelligence Report Series and is priced at $990.
T-Mobile to offer Samsung Galaxy Tab from November 10
T-Mobile has announced that it will sell the Samsung Galaxy Tab from next week. With the device already available from the likes of O2, Orange and Vodafone, T-Mobile has confirmed it will begin selling the gadget from November 10th 2010.
Consumers willing to purchase the Galaxy Tab on T-Mobile will need to pay £529 upfront for the tablet PC and are then free to choose one of the network operator’s Pay Per Day plans. These come in three varieties – one day of web access for £2, a week’s usage for £7 and 30 days of internet browsing for £15.
According to the company, the gadget’s seven-inch touchscreen display makes it ideal for viewing pictures, watching films, reading magazines and ebooks, and sharing documents.
Vice president of T-Mobile propositions Lysa Hardy pointed out that the Galaxy Tab is the first tablet PC to be launched by the company.
According to her, the company is pleased to offer the device on Pay Per Day Mobile Broadband pricing so their customers only pay for the days that they need.
Poland’s Mobile Market expects growth with new MNOs
According to a new report from Pyramid Research, LTE is expected to gain 11% of total subscriptions in 2015, while 3G will make up 69% of subscriptions in 2015, boosted by mobile player investment into HSPA+ networks.
Pyramid expects that the Polish market to grow at a CAGR of 1.7% in local currency terms in the forecast period, reaching US$14.7 billion by 2015, making it the second largest in Central and Eastern Europe, after Russia.
According to Sylwia Boguszewska, Analyst for Pyramid, this growth is driven by the proliferation of fixed broadband and related services, stemming from more intense competition, as well as mobile data, bundled with smartphones and computing devices.
As per Boguszewska, the Polish mobile market is almost evenly divided between the three largest MNOs – PTC, Orange, and Polkomtel. In 2009, two MNOs owned by Aero 2, CenterNet, and Mobyland entered the market. In September 2010, these latest entrants announced the launch of a LTE network, which is set to have a commercial debut towards year-end 2010. Aero 2 is also in possession of a LTE license, and a tender for more LTE spectrum is set to take place in 2011.
Pyramid expects that the mobile arm of the incumbent (Orange) will recover its leadership position. The other operators (Aero 2, Mobyland, and CenterNet) will hold a combined market share of 4% by the end of the forecast period, their competitive advantage being their first mover strategy in the LTE space.
Although CenterNet and Mobyland will provide wholesale services, there are already several players, including the leading DTH operator Cyfrowy Polsat, that are interested in reselling 4G Internet services.
Vodafone allows Prepaid Top-Ups via Facebook Page (Qatar)
Vodafone Qatar has launched the world’s first Facebook reload service for prepaid mobile phone subscribers. Vodafone customers can now top-up their prepaid plans while visiting Vodafone Qatar’s Facebook page. A launch offer gives a 10% discount on all top-ups until the end of the month. All Vodafone customers can also access the Facebook mobile website for free from their phones.
According to DeEtte Christie, Head of Online, and Vodafone Qatar, it is a fantastic achievement for Vodafone Qatar to launch the world’s first mobile credit reloads via Facebook. Vodafone Qatar is the leader in utilizing social media and online to deliver world-class customer experience. The company has a vision for making Qatar the envy of not only the region, but the global community through delivering new and innovative ways for the customers to engage with Vodafone whether through the PC or a handset. The company started by offering free access via mobile phone to not only Facebook, but Twitter, Maktoob, Friendster and Orkut, and they followed this up by giving everyone on Vodafone 10MB of free Mobile Internet access every month. The company has organically grown a vibrant and active Facebook community of more than 30,000 members through offering high quality customer service, breaking news, special offers, and more.
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.
Over a Billion Smartphones by 2015! Smartphones to overtake PC market by 2012.
The rise in the demand of Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android, Samsung’s Bada and Blackberry’s entry into the prepaid segment are some of the factors stimulating smartphone sales, thus overtaking the sale of PCs. The sale of smartphones is expected to jump from approx 190 million in 2009 to over 490 million units by 2012 and touch a billion units by 2015. On the other hand, the PC market will expand to just over 440 million units from the current approx 330 million in the same period.
Smartphones are getting more and more power everyday and with cloud computing, browser based and XMLised content and applications, it is estimated that in 2013, over 60% of the frontline content on the internet like news, email, social networking will be accessed via the mobile first rather than the PC.
This is also being steadily aided by the fact that
- Google’s android platform is taking good shape and is getting wide acceptance from consumers as well as phone manufacturers. The developer community is fast working to create apps for the platform.
- iPhone is improvising and with a huge number of apps and an ecosystem in place, it will flourish further
- Samsung’s Bada is likely to aid this as well
- Internet speeds on the mobile are finally becoming decent!
- More and more publishers are enriching their mobile offerings in a bid to ensure they don’t lose out on the 5th screen.
