ZTE Corp. shipped more than 60 million mobile terminals in 2009, including 13.4 million units during the fourth quarter, pushing the China-based company past Motorola Inc. into the No. 5 spot worldwide, according to iSuppli Inc. Motorola shipped approximately 12 million devices during the...
While the “civilian” fanboy response to Apple Inc.'s iPad was as expected the analyst community, which also includes a number of fanboys and girls, appeared more rational. Most comments were regulated to the embedded functionality of the device with few commenting on its networking...
While 2009 was dismal for overall semiconductor sales, smartphones, electronic readers and netbooks/smartbooks should help the industry in 2010. “The year 2009 will be remembered as one of the most dismal years in the history of the global semiconductor business, with a plunge of...
China is set for a wireless data boom, according to research firm iSuppli Corp., which predicts the country's revenues surged nearly 19% in 2009 and are set to double from 2008 to 2013. The firm said it expects the data revenue from both messaging...
China’s 3G network spending this year nearly tripled to $6.3 billion, with another $6.1 billion set to be spent on base station transceiver infrastructure next year, according to a new iSuppli Corp. report.“After a strong increase in purchases of wireless communications gear in China...
Fresh off its $6 million acquisition of Kyocera Wireless Corp.'s Indian facility, MindTree Ltd. said it will enter the Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) business with Kyocera as its first customer, at a time when the market is stabilizing following a disastrous first quarter.Called N!Mo...
When in past years Symbian Ltd. nervously eyed the nascent promise of mobile Linux, Symbian evangelists noted sharply that the rival, open-source platform would require considerable sweat equity or costly out-sourcing to ready it for market.That claim turned out to be true to an...
An inventory buildup, slowing demand and lack of visibility into how to weigh those two factors is hanging over the wireless chip industry as companies search for a way ahead. As most handset vendors posted volume shipment decreases for the typically hot fourth quarter,...
The first half of 2009 may see alarmingly slow handset sales worldwide and, even if the back half of the year improves markedly, all sources point to negative growth for the coming year. Forecasts for the magnitude of the anticipated slowdown, however, vary widely...
As goes the handset market, so goes the chip market - with a few notable variations on the theme.The slackening demand for handsets has caused an inventory buildup among chip suppliers' channels, will dampen those suppliers' revenue in the new year and may lead...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile indU.S.try to give their insights into the marketplace.While it was good to see some retailers reporting stronger than expected sales for Black Friday and...
Revenue earned by the global semiconductor industry will contract by 2% this year compared to last year, according to iSuppli Corp., a sharp change from a similar forecast made just two months ago. For 2008, total chip revenue is projected to reach $266.6...
The ecological impact of the most ubiquitous consumer-electronics device in history - yes, mobile handsets - may be likened to a coin. On the coin's face is the easily recognized topic of recycling, as familiar to most Americans as a likeness of George Washington...
FEW ARE CERTAIN whether Apple Inc.’s simultaneous, 22-country launch of its 3G iPhone this Friday is unprecedented in the industry.
But many observers, cognizant of manufacturing logistics, regulatory-approval and carrier-testing hurdles, will watch closely to see how well the Cupertino, Calif.-based company pulls off this...
Based on preliminary analysis of the 3G iPhone, Apple's new handset may be its most profitable product, garnering better than 50% margins, according to analysts.Though the grand shift from hardware profits to service-and-application profits has yet to materialize for the mobile industry's biggest players...
Ever looked at your cellphone menu and wondered what the heck the wrench is for? Or the clipboard? Or any other random icon put there to help, but which sometimes makes using a cellphone even more confusing? Well, imagine your sight is not what...
Samsung has diversified its suppliers of UMTS baseband chips to include Infineon Technologies AG, leaving the world's second-largest handset vendor less dependent on Qualcomm Inc., Samsung confirmed."This is no surprise," said Will Strauss, principal at Forward Concepts, which tracks the mobile chip market. "Samsung...
A sequential dip in shipments by Motorola Inc. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications between the fourth quarter and the first quarter spelled t-r-a-c-t-i-o-n for numerous second-tier handset makers, particularly in emerging markets. The opportunity for greater volumes among those outside the elite top tier...
Remember the "soccer mom"? First, she was avidly courted as a voter, later as a consumer.If you believe the handset marketers -- admittedly, a leap of faith -- the soccer mom even helped create a new breed of enterprise devices. Because devices are only...
The landscape of the wireless industry is in flux as you read this story, with product launches, pre-announcements and hype flying by like so much confetti on the wind.Or is that confetti actually the cellular industry after being fed through a shredder?The traditional cellular...
Although the global market for mobile handset baseband semiconductors will continue to expand in 2008, business conditions for suppliers of such solutions will become more challenging due to the shrinking top-tier customer base and more complex requirements from these companies, according to iSuppli Corp....
"CAN SOMETHING AS EVOLVED as the book be improved?" Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asks himself rhetorically on the online superstore's homepage, clearly hoping to position his newest product squarely before the public as it shops for holiday gifts.If the answer turns out to be...
No wonder people can't agree on a cure for the mobile gaming industry. Some insiders don't even think it's sick.There's no question that the space-which just a couple of years ago was envisioned as the pace-setting genre of mobile content-has failed to live up...
Like former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, Tele Atlas N.V. plans to cash in on the free-agent market.The Netherlands-based digital mapping company in July accepted a bid of $2.8 billion from TomTom NV, agreeing to recommend the offer to shareholders. But Tele Atlas last week pounced...
