Telecommunications & Technology
South Korean electronics Major, LG Electronics reported solid 1Q13 results and raised 2013 smartphone guidance to 45m (from 35m at the beginning of the year) are positive signals supporting our thesis that LGE’s smartphone business is on the rebound. LGE reported 10.3m smartphone shipment, slightly ahead of our 9.8m forecast, and confirmed that inventory remains … Read more
The Amsterdam District Court has granted Nokia’s request for a preliminary injunction against HTC regarding the microphone technology that HTC uses in its current flagship model, the new HTC One.
Nokia claims the microphone components were invented by and manufactured exclusively for Nokia. HTC said in an official statement “HTC is disappointed in the decision. We are considering whether it will have any impact on our business and we will explore alternative solutions immediately.
If you are considering BUYING Samsung Galaxy S4, Read the Reviews of HTC One from Global experts such as Engadget, GSM Arena, BGR, Tech Radar, Tech Crunch and CNET and then decide. We have summarized all of them for your ready reference at one place. Which is the best Android SmartPhone – Poll Results from … Read more
Salora International (SIL) has added another dimension to its product portfolio with launch of its android calling tablet ‘Fontab’ at Rs 6,899, its third in the tablet series. The tablet sports a 17.7-cm (7-inch) display and runs Android 4.1 aka Jelly Bean version out-of-box. The slate is powered by a 1.5 GHz processor, coupled with … Read more
Lenovo has identified SmartPhones and Tablets as the Next Growth Center for its Products. On this front, it is working to improve margin: 1) enlarging scale, 2) increasing mid-to-high-end product offerings and 3) increasing sales in higher-margin open channel.
Lenovo’s smartphone business just turned profitable in the last quarter. However, we expect part of the profits it earned from China’s smartphone markets will be reinvested in developing smartphone business overseas, such as Southeast Asia and Russia.
Scale We project Lenovo’s smartphone shipments to deliver substantial growth of 50%+ YoY in F2014. Lenovo’s smartphone market share in China has reached 13% in C4Q12 from merely 1% in C1Q10.
The weak 1Q PC shipment data have sparked the market’s concern about whether the tablet PC cannibalization as seen in mature countries will be replicated in emerging markets, such as China’s low-tier cities, due to the surge in low priced tablet PCs. We argue that the PC slowdown in China is more cyclical (macro slowdown + government transition) than structural (tablet PC cannibalization).
The weakness in PC shipments has come mainly from the consumer and SMB segments, which have been affected by macro slowdown. The government and education segments were particularly weak in 2012,
We are enthusiastic about Apple. Preview of iOS 7 at WWDC in June which could highlight a new killer app such as mobile wallet. A killer app, like mobile payments, could serve as a demand catalyst similar to Siri driving iPhone 4S sales
We expect Apple to preview new versions of iOS and OS X at the user conference in June. The next iPhone is likely to keep the same hardware form factor as the current iPhone 5 based on Apple’s historical iPhone cycles. Therefore, software and services will determine the success of iPhone 5S, in our view.
Innovative Services on iOS Platform
Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of Internet Software and Services, is working hard to
Apple’s Most Innovative product – iPhone accounted for 16% of India’s smartphone market revenue in the Dec Q or a 400% increase in share, according to IDC. Apple drove the improvement by increasing distribution, launching payment plans that lower the upfront cost of the phone, and improving the ecosystem as the iTunes Store went online … Read more
With EDGE smartphone retail price hitting US$50 and 3G smartphone hitting US$70 by early 2013, we expect low end smartphone to cannibalize feature phone in a meaningful way, leading to a much higher than expected smartphone shipment in 2013.
The Sub-US$100 segment is dominated by whitebox players with no presence from global brands. For US$100 model, whitebox players can feature single core 1 GHz processor with 4 inch WVGA display and 5MP camera. For branded players, their lowest price models are generally around US$120 with outdated 800 MHz processor, lower resolution 3.2-3.5 inch HVGA screen and 3MP camera.
Many are still under the impression that whitebox market smartphone are of low quality and are barely usable. The business have started to change their mentality and focus more on quality. During our multiple trips to China in the past 6 months, we’ve witnessed a huge improvement in whitebox smartphone quality. With better economy of scale, prices also have come down very rapidly.
Most consumers are willing to pay a premium for branded products over Chinese brand / whitebox smartphone, especially in the mid to high end segment. However, we believe that in the sub US $200 segment, whitebox makers can offer similar form factor design but much better hardware specifications at lower prices. As such, it’s extremely difficult for branded players to compete with whitebox makers.