OXFORD, United Kingdom-Mobile developers Zucotto Wireless, RF Micro Devices and PacketVideo have each announced separate plans to establish research and development centers in Europe. These companies, which are following in the path of many other high-tech firms, including Intel and Microsoft, are looking to catch the wave of deployments that will be associated with 2.5- and third-generation (3G) deployments by European mobile operators.
James Cook, the newly appointed general manager of PacketVideo Europe, said Europe is leading the way in the adoption of advanced wireless technologies and services. “Because of this rapid adoption by sophisticated mobile users, the European market presents a major opportunity for our technology,” he said.
However, any rush to take advantage of these deployments must be tempered by Motorola’s recent forecast that consumers are adopting WAP phones at a slower rate than expected and some markets, such as Europe and Asia, are reaching high penetration rates. The company cut its estimate of worldwide industry mobile-phone unit sales fro 2000 by 410 million to 425 million units, from a previous projection of 425 million to 450 million units, which industry analysts considered to be at the high end.
Motorola has also revised its estimate of worldwide industry mobile-phone unit sales for 2001 to a conservative 525 million to 575 million, from a previously more aggressive estimate of 600 million to 650 million.
