Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications lost a quarter of a billion dollars in the fourth quarter as sales were down 23% year-on-year. SEMC shipped 24.2 million devices in the fourth quarter, down 21% year-on-year, and down 6% sequentially. The vendor shipped nearly 97 million devices...
In about two weeks, when the world's leading handset vendors deliver their earnings statements for fourth-quarter 2008, analysts will be expecting not just numbers but some critical commentary to understand how the world may have changed. With mobile phones and service increasingly becoming a...
Just in time to miss the annual retail orgy, the aptly named Phenom Communications Inc. has launched the latest cellphone-and-everything-else-on-your-wristwatch gadget. "The Most Innovative Gadget in the World" (Phenom's words) can be yours for only $295!The name of the SpecialOPS model reflects the intended...
The swirl of events last month and their possible implications for the domestic handset industry are several-fold, analyst said last week. First, despite an outlook tempered by drastic economic headlines, the wireless market in the United States may not be the "meltdown" many are...
China Mobile, the world's largest network operator, will offer 3G handsets from Nokia Corp. on its homegrown, TD-SCDMA 3G network. It already offers such handsets from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The Nokia handsets will be dual mode, GSM/TD-SCDMA. And the operator said it was...
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications announced its high-end, touchscreen smartphone, the Xperia X1, will be available to U.S. shoppers in time for the holiday season - but the device will carry the staggering price tag of $800. The announcement appears to reflect Sony Ericsson's inability...
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications posted solid unit shipments for the third quarter, but reported financial metrics that illustrated the company's struggles with its portfolio in the current market. Revenue for the seven-year-old, Japanese-Swedish joint venture reached $3.8 billion, down 10% from the year-ago quarter...
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and AT&T Mobility today launched the former's W760a 3G handset at $130 with a two-year contract and a mail-in rebate. The device features integration between the music-centric phone and the carrier's stable of music services, including Napster Mobile, eMusic Mobile,...
Financial analysts typically gauge companies on their future prospects, not past performance. That is acutely so for the current moment in history, a couple weeks into the critical fourth quarter. The collapse of the financial sector, tightened credit markets and global repercussions that began...
Despite concerns about the economy, the mobile device market is on track to deliver 13% growth this year, with annual shipments of 1.3 billion units, according to a report from ABI Research.The firm said 301 million units shipped during the second quarter and tier-one...
Sony Ericsson finally unveiled its response to Nokia Corp.'s Comes With Music service.The company outlined PlayNow plus, a hardware-and-content offering that will bundle as many as 1,000 pre-loaded songs with the purchase of a phone. Buyers will be enrolled in a monthly all-you-can-eat subscription...
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications took a baby step toward improving its position in the United States today by announcing its first handset for T-Mobile USA Inc.The TM506, a 3G clamshell with a 2-megapixel camera and video, assisted GPS and stereo Bluetooth, offers tri-band GSM...
Motorola Inc. managed to both pleasantly surprise the market today and disappoint industry observers who are looking further down the road.The company posted a meager profit, beat expectations on handset volumes and forecast it would end the year in the black.Motorola also said its...
Nokia Corp. hit the second-quarter finish line (pun intended) with strong year-over-year growth in handset shipment volumes, a key metric for Wall Street and those given to horse-race analogies.The company's performance established that, despite global macro-economic woes, growth in shipments remains possible. Indeed, Nokia...
As analysts and pundits scoured the tea leaves in the wake of Apple Inc.'s 3G iPhone launch, a few issues emerged.Who, besides Apple, will get a boost from iPhone mania? Who gets hurt? Will a rising iPhone-tide lift all boats in the second half...
Nokia Corp. set the bar for its competitors yesterday - growth is possible under current market conditions. But Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications could not perform a chin-up. The Japanese-Swedish joint venture reported today that key metrics were down across the board and its...
Consumers are shelling out big money for high-end phones with hi-resolution screens and eye-popping features. But mobile gaming is still all about casual.More than 7 million smartphones were sold in North America in the first quarter of 2008, according to Gartner, doubling the number...
Handango Inc. announced a deal to deliver content directly to consumers through Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications' convergence phones.The Texas-based retailer of smartphone applications said the worldwide pact will see its InHand client embedded on handsets, allowing users to shop for business offerings, games and...
Handset vendors' second-quarter earnings are expected to be ho-hum, based on a global lull in new product launches during the quarter. As usual, however, analysts will carefully parse the language used by leading vendors - most prominently, Nokia Corp. - to describe their outlook...
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the Chinese vendor of entry-tier phones, is seeking a capital infusion for its handset division to fuel international expansion of that business, particularly in the United States. Such a move would provide a brand-building opportunity and also free up resources...
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications warned today that it would only break even in the current quarter and that handset shipments will be nearly flat over the first quarter, reflecting "moderating demand" for its mid- and high-tier phones. The joint venture also acknowledged that new...
Last year, of course, the iPhone launch drove hand-wringing over the need to revamp user interfaces, accompanied by a move to large-display touchscreens.A wave of devices sporting large-display touchscreens followed, with varying results on the user interface. That influence continues to play out with...
Nokia Corp. will acquire total ownership of Symbian Ltd., buying out current partners in a deal valued at about $411 million, the company said today.Nokia said it would combine its own S60 platform with the Symbian platform and provide the results - a single...
Wireless had a muted role at the event as it traditionally takes a back seat to its wireline competitors at NXTcomm shows, and this year's event was no different. ; Nxtcomm; The troubles likely are to continue for...
