Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Moto makes bank in a hot handset market
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—The handset market in the United States continues to run hot, with new figures from The NPD Group reflecting an 11-percent growth in sales for the first quarter over the year-ago quarter. The biggest beneficiary in the United States is Motorola Inc., which achieved a 29 percent overall market share, up two points from the fourth quarter. The market analysis firm estimated that Americans purchased nearly 35 million handsets for about $2.3 billion in the first quarter. In case you’ve been living in a cave beyond all news and human (or wireless) contact, the continued strength of the market is not surprising. The surprise, at least to The NPD Group’s Neil Strother, research director for mobile devices, is the strength of the first quarter, which typically cools off after the holiday gift-buying season. … Read more
Unraveling the Razr factor
The reason a wireless handset becomes successful in the marketplace remains something of a mystery. Everyone knows it must depend, in part, on a winning combination of many factors-brand, price, style, features, the integration of form and function, marketing muscle, a smart match between product and market, and perhaps even authentic consumer demand, which every handset vendor would have you believe precedes every handset launch. Add an ephemeral element that every handset vendor must be considering in the wake of an unprecedented sales run-50 million units shipped, according to Motorola Inc.-by the Razr handset, the industry’s first mega-hit wireless phone: could the Razr’s success in part have anything to do with its name? And, of course, if so, what lessons can be drawn from that connection? Talk about a mystery. The Razr moniker-with Motorola’s now characteristically dropped vowel-indeed succinctly describes the phone’s style, deemed to be an “iconic” form factor for the slim, clamshell designs now sweeping the market. … Read more
MVNOs want some of that Digital Chocolate
SAN MATEO, Calif.—Digital Chocolate Inc. scored dual MVNO agreements, announcing deals to offer its games from the decks of mobile virtual network operators Amp’d Mobile Inc. and Helio L.L.C. Each operator plans to carry about two dozen titles from the publisher, which specializes in casual and community games. The first offering on both decks is expected to be MLSN Sports Picks, a community-based application allowing users to predict the outcome of sporting events. Amp’d said it also plans to offer 3-D titles from Digital Chocolate. The announcements mark two much-needed wins for the publisher, which was launched by Electronic Arts Inc. founder Trip Hawkins. Digital Chocolate published just 2.3 percent of all U.S. mobile game downloads in the first quarter, according to new figures from M:Metrics. … Read more
This seems like a legit business model
Voce, the luxury mobile virtual network operator, has begun offering its services on a small scale in the L.A. area. Steve Stanford, Voce’s chief executive officer, described the quiet start as an invitation-only market trial, with participation capped at around 500 people “for whom what we have to offer is compelling.” Stanford said that Voce plans to expand this fall in New York and San Francisco. Voce’s service runs on Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s GSM network; since Cingular does not offer data services to its MVNOs, Voce does not offer a data service component and therefore is not targeting data users. However, Stanford said that the MVNO would like to offer data services and is exploring the CDMA arena for that component. He said Voce would like to eventually offer both CDMA phones and GSM phones. Stanford said the company’s target demographic is users between 40 and 60 years old-and obviously affluent, since the service involves a one-time membership fee of $1,000 and a $400 recurring fee each month. Those figures are generally in line with ballpark figures that the company gave RCR Wireless News last year for its prices. … Read more
Helio joins the MVNO party
Helio L.L.C. made its long-awaited debut in the wireless marketplace last week with two high-end handsets linked to social networking site MySpace.com and plans to have its services available through 1,000 retail locations by the end of the month. Helio’s target audience is young and will have to be affluent, given the MVNO’s prices. The mobile virtual network operator’s two exclusive handsets, the black Hero and the pearly Kickflip, will cost consumers $275 and $250, respectively. Helio offers three All-In service plans that include all of its data services, including the MySpace.com connection, a reviews-driven game channel, 3D games, messaging services, and the ability to ask for and give other users content—or in Helio terms, “gifting” and “begging.” “Helio is custom-built for the lifestyle of young people who have their mobile device at the center of their universe,” said Sky Dayton, Helio’s chief executive officer. Helio’s service plans start at $85 per month for 1,000 anytime voice minutes, then bump up to $100 for 1,500 minutes and $135 for 2,500 minutes. … Read more
Here an MVNO, there an MVNO, everywhere an MVNO-O
HOUSTON—Dexa Wireless, a Mexican-owned mobile virtual network operator, threw its hat into the MVNO ring, announcing it launched commercial operations last week in Los Angeles. The company said it is targeting the Hispanic population with prepaid service under its Va Contigo commercial brand. Alejandro Bosque, chief executive officer of Dexa, noted prepaid service is popular in Mexico and other Latin American countries and that the company believes that appetite for prepaid service among Hispanic customers will translate into the U.S. market. … Read more
Where’s the money in picture messaging?
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.-Carriers may not be earning the additional revenue they expected from the popularity of camera phones, according to new research from The NPD Group Inc. In less than four years, camera phones have found their way into the pockets and purses of more than half of all mobile subscribers in the United States, and most of those customers say they are satisfied with their camera phone purchase, said the report. “When these devices were first introduced, carriers expected to earn additional revenue from subscribers who chose to take, share and print photos,” said Neil Strother, research director for mobile devices at The NPD Group. “But for the most part that hasn’t happened. Instead, we’ve seen consumers simply taking photos and leaving them on their phones, which obviously doesn’t enhance carriers’ balance sheets.” … Read more
MediaFlo’s ticket across the pond
SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. may be closer to snaring a European deal for its MediaFlo mobile TV offering through a new agreement with digital TV platform operator British Sky Broadcasting Inc. The two companies agreed to test MediaFlo in the United Kingdom this summer. The companies said they plan to trial 10 channels of BSkyB content on a small number of MediaFlo devices provided by Qualcomm. BSkyB’s channels are available in about 10.8 million households across the U.K. through cable and digital TV. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
