ROW International Briefs

Nokia, Motorola to handset sales in Q2New figures from Gartner Inc. indicate that Nokia and Motorola accounted for nearly half of all handset sales in the second quarter of 2005. According to the research firm, there were 190.5 million units sold in Q2, a 21.6% increase from the second quarter in 2004. Nokia now holds 31.9% share of the market, while Motorola has a 17.9% share (see table on page 1 for market share division among top six handset vendors). Finnish would pay US $12 per month for mobile TVA mobile TV pilot project from Nokia revealed that 41% of participants in Helsinki would be willing to pay for mobile TV content and that 50% felt US$12 per month was a reasonable price. The initiative showed that participants wanted to watch both traditional TV content and content made specifically for the mobile environment. Participants spent on average 20 minutes per day watching mobile TV with some accessing mobile TV content for as long as 40 minutes daily. News and sports programming were the most popular content. "The message for the industry is clear: for mobile TV services to succeed we need relevant and compelling content, easy-to-use technology and reasonable and simple pricing plans. With these elements in place, consumer demand for mobile TV will follow," Nokia’s rich media VP Richard Sharp said in a statement. Internet users want TV on mobile devicesA new study from Parks Associates indicates that 13% of American Internet users "would like to see" live TV functionality integrated into mobile devices. As well, 12% view "the portable functionality of watching videos such as movie trailers and full-length movies as important." The report, Mobile Entertainment Platforms and Services, says there is small but "dedicated" segment of consumers that will drive the early adoption of mobile video services, and the majority of these consumers come from a segment of the Internet user market, estimated to be about 40 million people. "The percentages of consumers interested in mobile video/TV services are smaller than those for other functions such as taking photos and listening to music," says Michael Cai, a senior analyst at Parks Associates. "But there is a group of hardcore mobile entertainment enthusiasts who are very motivated – either they have already adopted a portable device with video playback functions or they are eager to add live TV support to their mobile devices." U.S. wireless carriers’ cleared of antitrust claimsA federal court in the United States has tossed out claims last week that the U.S. wireless carriers were engaged in antitrust practices. Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile USA were cleared of the charges that said forcing consumers to buy cell phones in packages tied to their services was illegal. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove any one carrier "has the degree of market power necessary to sustain a tying claim or show tying arrangements has an actual adverse effect on competition in the U.S. market for wireless handsets." Interest in ZigBee specs very highAccording to the ZigBee Alliance, there are more than 6,000 organizations, ranging from original equipment manufacturers, equipment vendors, service providers and designers, which have registered to download the ZigBee specifications since the alliance made them available two months ago. The high number of downloads is expected to translate into a spike in ZigBee product demand. Membership in the alliance is also up with 42 new members signing on in the last could of months, bringing total membership to 178 companies. The ZigBee Alliance will hold its first developers conference from October 3 to 5 in Las Vegas, in connection with the Connected@Home conference. WiMAX trial launched in Germany, uses Alvarion gearT-Com, a Deutsche Telekom company, has launched a broadband wireless access trial using WiMAX equipment from Alvarion. The pilot, involving 100 customers, has already started and is slated to end in March 2006. Alvarion’s BreezeMAX base stations have been deployed in Swisttal and St. Augustin, Germany to enable the broadband wireless access. The Alvarion equipment is based on OFDM technology which allows for non-line-of-sight capabilities. Symbol and Intermec end RFID patent disputeThe agreement ending the patent dispute calls for Symbol and Intermec to give reciprocal access to technology and other intellectual property. "This agreement is a fair compromise of the issues related to RFID and that subsequent efforts to reach resolution of all legal disputes is in the best interest of shareholders and customers," read a joint statement.

ROW International Briefs

News | September 8, 2005

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