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!
Handset market disruption? What handset market disruption?
CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J.-Although Microsoft Corp. wields tremendous power and has made several major recent forays into the market for mobile-phone software, the wireless industry’s traditional handset manufacturers can hold on to their dominant position, according to a new report from Probe Research. Many of the industry’s leading mobile-phone makers-including Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and others-have rallied around the Symbian operating system, a direct competitor to Microsoft’s software platforms. Symbian’s momentum could block Microsoft’s wireless plays, said Dave Chamberlain, Probe’s wireless market research director. “At this time-early in the fourth quarter of 2002-only high-end PDA-style handsets have been announced,” Chamberlain said. … Read more
Sendo opts for Symbian over Microsoft’s mobile OS
STOCKHOLM, Sweden-In what may look like a political victory of sorts for Nokia Corp., phone maker Sendo jolted the wireless world with its decision to abandon its agreement to use Microsoft’s software and Smartphone operating system for its handsets. The vendor decided to adopt Nokia’s series 60 platform that runs on top of the Symbian operating system. Sendo said it would scrap the Z100 software just days before some major carriers, including Cingular, were scheduled to receive it. The action is a testament to the fragility of some of the wireless contracts announced in the past couple of years. Analysts think that the change to Symbian raises issues about Microsoft’s role in moving toward interoperability and demands of operators. “Sendo’s dramatic defection to the Nokia Series 60/Symbian platform is a cruel blow for Microsoft, which had hoped to gain ground in the mobile market by being the platform of choice for operator-specified smartphones,” commented Eden Zoller, wireless Internet director at Ovum. “Microsoft’s licensing conditions could not accommodate the depth of customization required by operators.” … Read more
SMS use is bigger than the internet in Europe
CANNES, France-GartnerG2, the research and advisory arm of Gartner Group, said short message service is potentially a powerful marketing tool in Europe, with SMS use now exceeding Internet use in Europe. According to research the company presented at the Gartner Symposium/Itxpo in Cannes, France, more people in Europe use SMS than e-mail and mobile phones offer twice the reach of the PC Internet. Sixty-two percent of all adults in major European countries now use a mobile phone, according to the research. Forty-one percent use SMS, compared with 30 percent that use the Internet. Last year, 28 percent used SMS and 29 percent used the Internet. However, Gartner said the mobile industry in Europe is obsessed with third-generation technology and has forgotten consumers. “The vast majority of consumers don’t know what their phones are capable of today, let alone what 3G is and why they should have it,” said Adam Daum, vice president and chief analyst at GartnerG2. “It does not matter how good 3G is if nobody knows or understands what they can do with it.” … Read more
Analysts skeptical of data as a money-maker for Vodafone
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Having launched its revamped data services in an expensive blaze of publicity, Vodafone is now coming under the spotlight of City of London financial analysts as to the likelihood of meeting the target of 20 percent of the company’s revenue being gained from services other than voice calls by 2004. The concerns of these industry watchers is focused on the likely cost of multimedia message service (MMS) cell phones, suggested to be between 300 euros (US$301) and 550 euro (US$552), that Vodafone believes will be the primary driver behind the growth in data traffic. While the company claims that more than 12 percent of current revenues are from data services, it expects the 1 million MMS-capable cell phones it plans to sell by next March will considerably boost this figure. To add to this concern, the company is continuing to cut subsidies on cell phones purchased by its substantial prepaid user base-reported as being 56 percent of the base in Germany and more than 60 percent in the United Kingdom-to purchase these new and expensive handsets. … Read more
Camera phone market booms in Japan, South Korea
BOSTON-Japan and Korea remain the top markets for wireless camera phones, according to a third quarter sales update on cellular camera phones published by Strategy Analytics last week. 9.5 million embedded camera phones were sold worldwide in the first nine months of 2002, according to the report. The report also said J-Phone is the top camera phone operator and Sharp, which sells camera phones operated by J-Phone and NTT DoCoMo, is the top camera phone vendor. The analyst firm cites prepaid and postpaid device costs, device diversity and poor network interoperability issues as critical success factors to the take-up of the technology. … Read more
T-Mo launches a phone with an attachable camera
BELLEVUE, Wash.-T-Mobile USA Inc. introduced a pair of color-screen, camera handsets including Sony Ericsson’s $100 T300 and Motorola Inc.’s $200 T720i. Each handset is available with an attachable camera allowing customers to send pictures from the handset using T-Mobile’s GPRS network and t-zones service. … Read more
Bluetooth: It could be big
LONDON-The Bluetooth industry received a boost from a Frost & Sullivan report noting the wireless technology has progressed from its simple cable replacement origins, with different deployment models anticipated from the home and office through to specific industrial solutions and commercial environment uptake. “We believe that there is strong growth potential in the Bluetooth network infrastructure market,” said Michael Wall, industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “In light of the omnipresence of Bluetooth devices, such as notebook PCs, cellular phones and PC accessories, the emphasis will be on providing software and services that take advantage of this ubiquity.” Hall noted one market that will remain important to the uptake of Bluetooth will be access points and dedicated controllers, which will be spurred in the future by the decision of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group to double the bandwidth of the technology from its current 1 megabit per second in the next specification release. … Read more
FCC allocates 3G spectrum
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission today allocated 90 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.7GHz and 2.1 GHz bands for third generation wireless systems. The agency also proposed flexible service rules for wireless operations in the two bands. The FCC’s action effectively implements the Bush Administration’s 3G plan, which was unveiled in July after hard fought negotiations with the Department of Defense and industry. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
