Tag: LG Page 2 of 3

LG is Bullish: 9% growth in 2009

On 17/06/2009

In 1

Not all is in recession it seems. The handset vendor world #3, LG predicts to ship 110m phones this year, which would represent a 9% increase in volumes on a year-on-year basis (see the market shares for 2008 and Q1/2009 below; courtesy of Strategy Analytics) in the face of what it believes will be an overall flat market this year.

So whilst everyone is shrinking, LG is growing. Everyone? Ah, now, Samsung is growing, too. The victims? Seemingly Motorola and Sony Ericsson with Nokia also suffering. No news then? Well, by 2012 LG wants to be #2 and ship around 200m devices (which would be 100% more than in 2008). So 9% growth wouldn’t get them there, would it?

Joking aside. Is this surprising? I think not. LG had had a couple of very “pretty” devices out. Starting with the LG Prada, they came out with the “Shine” and had a great success with the Viewty. They have been upping their game at a time where in particular Sony Ericsson and Motorola had been struggling to compose a coherent product strategy, and this will have enhanced the overall effect.

Top 10 Phones in the US, December 2008: the Ascent of the Smartphone

By Volker

On 25/02/2009

In Apple, OEM

There’s new data out on the bestselling handsets, and this time it is not being derived from accessory sales (which may have its flaws as I pointed out here) but from a survey amongst service reps and store managers across the 4 big US mobile networks (Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile; these comprise 85% of the total subscriber base). Now, this would arguably reduce the recorded sales for the iPhone since this is also being sold via Apple’s own retail stores as well as Walmart, Best Buy, etc. So again not an entirely accurate yardstick, huh?

It is noteworthy that only one handset is available on more than one carrier (and, yes, it ranks prominently amongst the top 1) and that Nokia, despite all waiting, has still not managed to break the top 10.

It is also noteworthy that most of the handsets would certainly be classified at smartphones (the Samsung Rant might be the exception). And this is certainly good news. The T-610 and RAZR may finally have left the building…

So here we go (number in brackets is the previous month’s rank):

1. (1) Blackberry Curve

2. (2) iPhone

3. (3) Blackberry Storm

4. (6) LG Voyager

5. (4) LG Dare

6. (5) Blackberry Bold

7. (-) Samsung Rant

8. (9) Samsung Behold

9. (10) Samsung Instinct

10. (8) LG Env2

Source: Rankings are by Avian Research LL.C. (via the above link)

Top US Handsets in Q3/2008

By Volker

On 09/01/2009

In Apple, OEM

And it still goes on, it seems: Nielsen published its (digital) media top 10 lists for Q3/2008, and the once cool Motorola V3 still rules the United States – and by a HUGE margin. A whopping 9.3% of all phones in use are RAZR‘s, more than 7 points ahead of its sibling, the KRZR. Apple’s iPhone follows on #4 with 1.5% share. And Nokia‘s call to arms with a view to the US market has as yet to materialize: its best handset is the 6101 series with a meagre 1.1% (compared to a reported global market share of the Finnish giants of close to 40%). Sony Ericsson and Samsung are both notably absent from the list.

Here’s the top 10 table then:

1 Motorola RAZR V3 series (V3, V3c, V3m, V3i, V3i DG, V3) 9.3%

2 Motorola MotoKRZR series (K1m, K1) 2.0%

3 LG VX8300 series 1.6%

4 Apple iPhone 1.5%

5 LG VX8500 series (Chocolate, VX8500, VX8550) 1.2%

5 RIM BlackBerry 8100 series (Pearl,8110, 8120, 8129) 1.2%

7 Nokia 6101 series (6101, 6102, 6102i) 1.1%

8 LG VX8350 1.0%

9 Motorola V325 series (V325, V323, V325i, V323i) 0.9%

9 Nokia 6010 series 0.9%

Source: The Nielsen Company, Q3 2008

Time for a lot of people to shake things up!

Adobe Flash Opens Screens

By Volker

On 02/05/2008

Flash maker Adobe isn’t tiring on bringing out news these days: this time it announced the “Open Screen Project”, in which it is partnering with a plethora of mobile industry giants, namely ARM, Chunghwa Telecom, Cisco, Intel, LG, Marvell, Motorola, Nokia (see also here re Microsoft‘s Flash competitor Silverlight), NTT DoCoMo, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson (see also their initiative to marry J2ME and Flash here), Toshiba and Verizon Wireless as well as major media players such as the BBC, MTV Networks and NBC Universal.

It said “the project is dedicated to driving rich Internet experiences across televisions, personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer electronics. Adobe said it would open access to Flash technology, accelerating the deployment of content and rich Internet applications (RIAs).” This will include:

Removing restrictions on use of the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications
Publishing the device porting layer APIs for Adobe Flash Player
Publishing the Adobe Flash Cast protocol and the AMF protocol for robust data services
Removing licensing fees – making next major releases of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices free

Adobe says its Flash Player reaches over 98% of Internet-enabled PCs and more than 500m mobile devices today. It now expects more than 1bn handsets to ship with Flash technology by the end of 2009 (this means a year faster than previously forecasted). Flash technology is used to deliver vector graphics, text, interactivity and application logic, video and sound over the Internet. Currently, more than 75% of broadcasters who stream video on the Web use Flash technology (YouTube will be a big contributor to that number).

Following my many posts on mobile Flash (see e.g. here and here), this now looks like a real assault on the medium. Given that Flash reduces developer cost (less porting because of vector-based graphics) means it is a likely boost to the content industry: more and richer content at lower cost. Could this be it?

Motorola loves UIQ

By Volker

On 16/10/2007

US handset maker Motorola acquired half the shares in UIQ, the smartphone software unit, from Sony Ericsson. Sony Ericsson had bought UIQ from handset OS maker Symbian last year. UIQ is essentially a graphic interface adding components to the Symbian OS. Symbian in turn is 47.9% owned by Nokia. Under UIQ, native programming can be made in C++ although the software does support the – in the mobile games space – ubiquitous J2ME standard. Motorola’s new flagship Z8 (nicknamed “MotoRzr” as in “riser”) is running on it already. The battle of the OS giants begins…

It is an interesting move since Moto has been the most active OEM for the use of Linux Mobile: it has released a whole range of phones for the open source OS featuring the penguin. It is also one of the founding fathers of the LiMo Foundation, an initiative it embarked on together with industry heavyweights NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, Samsung, NEC and Panasonic (and which was recently joined by LG, McAfee, Broadcom, Ericsson and others). Now, I understand that Linux and C++ work together but must admit that my knowledge is more than limited here. It is in any event noteworthy that Motorola goes with a UI based on Symbian rather than straight-forward Linux. Motorola was quick to state that UIQ would only be “one of the actions to support [a] strategy” adding more investment in multimedia product segments.

With hundreds of millions in development cost at stake, it is probably too early to tell but it certainly is a new twist in the quest to uproot Nokia‘s top position with the Symbian s60 platform. So, what’s next?

Sony Ericsson to leverage PSP and Bravia brands?

By Volker

On 12/09/2007

In OEM

According to the FT, Sony Ericsson ponders the release of PSP and Bravia (its TV moniker) branded high-end mobile phones, quoting SE’s president, Miles Flint. The Bravia-phone is – I was surprised to learn – already a reality, namely as a mobile TV phone with DoCoMo in Japan. Regarding a PSP phone, Flint was cautious, saying that the technology was still some way from being perfected. “We need to make sure that it is a credible phone, and be sure we are justified in putting that identity on it,” he was quoted.

This approach would continue SE’s strategy to leverage Sony consumer electronics brands in its phone business, which it has done with the ubiquitous Walkman (now turned video player) and its digital camera brand, Cybershot. This strategy has apparently helped to double its margins – in addition to moving up one spot from #5 to #4 in the leading manufacturers’ list.

It seems eminently sensible to try and build on Sony’s considerable fame in consumer electronics, in particular as Nokia (most recently with its high-powered and feature-packed N95) and new entrant Apple seem to be pushing the edge of the envelope, and LG adding on the design front (the Prada phone and the LG Shine spring to mind). SE’s approach of weaving the trust it enjoys from consumers for its electronic devices into the mobile phone branding may well be suitable to counter this race. However, as was also noted, Mr Flint did not forget to point out the most important thing: “We need to make sure that it is a credible phone, and be sure we are justified in putting that identity on it.” There you go!

The statements probably come on the back of reports during the last weeks (e.g. here and here) that SE was to release a games phone with a games-oriented user interface and styling, and comprising – geek excitement levels rising through the roof – things like motion-sensitivity, which will pave the way for Wii-like gameplay on a handset (be aware of flying handsets on your commute then).

iPhone, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone, anything else?

By Volker

On 09/06/2007

In Apple, OEM

Now, I wonder if this is damaging to the readership of this blog: this must be the 3rd time or so in the very young age of this that I have been drawn into the debate about the device that reinvents telecommunications, interaction on the go, human interaction and also orders you a coffee at Starbucks. Holy Jobs, what have you done? However: there have been a couple of interesting pieces written on this wonderous affair, so I’ll have another crack:

The WSJ has a piece about the iPhone and its “answers”, which are, alas, no answers. They compare the HTC Touch, the LG Prada (of which you could read here, too), the Samsung UpStage and the Nokia N95 (reported on here). It steers the debate to the probably most important aspect of the not so secret secret of Apple’s success, namely the combination of smart technology with very smart marketing. It is not my words (or thoughts) but the ones of very, very smart Yankee analyst John Jackson who said “Any handset maker is more than capable of making clever devices. But it’s really about business models. That’s where Apple maintains its business advantage.”

However, the hype has been less in Europe and Nokia’s market position is stronger in Europe and because the N95 has everything the iPhone has (except for brand and the looks) and some more (namely 3G although that might well come in the iPhone’s European iteration) AND because the N95 is out in the market and kicking some substantial rearsides, this might well work (remarks another smart analyst, namely Mr Greengart.

Anyway, Cellular News published some information on the average potential iPhone user (courtesy of Solutions Research Group), which is this:

If they can sell the 10m devices to this user base, then AT&T (I still prefer Cingular) and all other Apple partner will be happy chappies indeed.

And the beat goes on… but what would you say if the one, the only, the incredible Hummer phone would take all the glory? Doh!