Distributor updates
Industry News - July
Its an especially good morning if you trade Samsung or HTC, both of which are gaining in popularity on the trading floor, you can see this in the statistics chart below.
Speaking of trading, get your stock for sale listed by clicking here: Offer Phones For Sale
Make a request here: Make a Purchase Request
Accessories go here: Take me to accessory trading board
Used/Refurbished Traders go here: Take me to the Refurbished board
Industry news, ad-hoc trading, consoles etc go here:
Take me to the Noticeboard
(Premium only, call me/reply to upgrade)
ARE YOU INVISIBLE?
If you do not post stock on the trading floor then technically you are.
Why? gsmExchange is a trading platform, not a company directory, the only way a company can find you is if you are actively listing and promoting your company. There is a search function but it is only for narrowing down listings by model and by region. The most effective way to do deals is not by using the search function but by listing what you want to buy and sell.
Still feeling out of the loop? why not call your account manager or request a call by email? Your account manager is full of useful suggestions on how to get the most out of gsmexchange and as we are the focal point of trading, we may just be able to give you the occasional piece of important industry news, if you ask nicely!
GSMEXCHANGE TRADING FLOOR STATISTICS
Samsung and HTC are gaining well, Nokia is staying the same and slight drops for Apple and Blackberry
gsm Trade Zone @ CeBIT 2011
gsmExchange is proud to announce the GSM Trade Zone @ CeBIT 2011. Following the incredible success of last year’s event, gsmExchange will again host the biggest exhibition area dedicated to the trade of mobile phones and accessories in CeBIT.
If you are an exhibitor looking for a stand in this exclusive area, please contact the gsmExchange sales team to discuss your options on +353 1 255 8655 or email dan@gsmexchange.com
If you are interested in visiting the GSM Trade Zone @ CeBIT, please register your details on the GSM Trade Zone Facebook page. We will be giving away 20 FREE passes to the event to winners picked at random from all the people listed as attending.
Look West for Distribution
High Activity From the USA
The gsmExchange.com community continues to grow and to complement our successes in introducing key distributors from Africa and Latin America, we have also seen a rise in the membership from the more mature and closed markets and in particular the USA. gsmExchange.com have reported a significant increase in the amount of US companies applying for membership or reactivating their accounts in an attempt to source international contacts. The US, who traditionally was always a Carrier Controlled Market has seen a rapid increase in the volumes of Prepay offers. This coupled with a strong dollar has seen a recent surge from our US members to source new contacts and import stock into the USA. Open Source trading in the USA is more GSM focused than CDMA and as a result has encouraged international distributors to focus more intensely on the US market. The GSM market continues to grow and demand from US distributors looks set to increase through Q3
USA Exporting Apple & Blackberry Products
US distributors still have some advantages, even with a strong dollar. Their access to Apple & Blackberry products has boosted their international sales as dealers search frantically for iPads and the iPhone 4. These products are feature heavily on the trading floor with a large portion of all the trades of US origin.
Refurbished Stock.
The USA continues to be one of the largest markets in refurbished stock. Over the course of the year to date, gsmExchange.com has facilitated in the trade of thousands of refurb deals and continues to see sustained growth in this market, particularly with Blackberry, Apple and Motorola products.
We are Here to Help
As always, your gsmExchange Account Manager is here to help your business to grow. For further information about getting the most from your gsmExchange account, please contact us on +353 1 255 8555
Who Benefited the Most from the Google/HTC Relationship?
HTC have been one of the biggest success stories in the mobile phone industry over the past couple of years. After securing the lucrative contract to produce the Nexus One, Google’s first Smart Phone, HTC was propelled into the top tier of mobile phone manufacturer’s rankings and through the continued success of their own phones, HTC’s business has grown into one of the Super Powers of the Smart Phone industry. But is there conflict between HTC’s own phones and those being produced for Google? Up until recently the Nexus One was only available through exclusive channels in selected countries and it’s poor sales performance has been attributed to this distribution strategy.
On May 19th, gsmExchange.com reported that a decision had been made to change the distribution system and introduce a major distributor into the equation. In theory, this should have changed the fortunes of the Nexus One but new figures produced today reveal that trading on the open market is still poor for the Nexus One while the demand for Google’s closest rival in terms of operating system and design, the HTC Desire has exploded with supply running at only 56% of the current demand. Over the past three months of trading, demand for the HTC Desire has forced the unit price up 8.24% to €404.82 an incredible result compared to the Nexus One who barely managed to hold on its price over the same period, with a small increase of 0.4%.
What is interesting is the demand comparison between both models. The results in June have revealed that the Desire’s demand is outstripping requests for the Nexus One by more 300%. Reports from the trading floor suggest that the international trading community has accepted that the Nexus One is too difficult to source and appears to have focused attention on similar models that are more readily available, resulting in the success of the HTC Desire in this area
Overall the HTC range continues to be extremely popular on the open market and it isn’t only the Nexus One that is suffering from this success. Recent reports from HTC have highlighted the overall growth of their market share which has to have impacted Blackberry and Nokia’s results.
iPhone 4G, What Should the gsmExchange Community Expect?
The iPhone 4 launch is only weeks away and from a trade perspective, the wholesale community can expect a peak in prices straight after launch, with demand outstripping supply. After the launch and over the course of the following 6 months, the iPhone 4 would be expected to drop in price somewhere in the region of 4 – 6%
The three previous iPhones have all decreased in price over the first 6 months period, although this figure has continuously reduced per model. The original iPhone saw a drop of 21% in the first 6 months, the 3G model reduced by 11% and the latest 3GS only reduced by 9%.
Statistics from gsmExchange has revealed that demand for the outgoing model could remain in place for up to 6 months although the price will continue to drop. One major consideration for traders is whether or not the difference between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS will be so extreme that the 3GS could become obsolete overnight. In July 2009, Apple launched the 3GS model to take over from the existing 3G phone. On this occasion, the difference between the two models was relatively minimal and demand for the 3G model remained high. In contrast to this statistic the original iPhone disappeared overnight after the launch of the 3G version. phoneLot recorded a decrease in requests of up to 85% for the original iPhone between June and July 2008.
Early indications from the gsmExchange.com trading platform is showing an expectation of an event similar to that experienced in 2008. Prices fell sharply on the trading floor today with some traders posting offers up to $50 less than before the iPhone 4 announcement.
Google Revert Back To Traditional Distribution Solutions
Google has decided to change their distribution strategy and revert back to traditional distribution solutions. The news comes after months of short supply of Nexus One on gsmExchange.com and looks set to reverse the fortunes of Google in the mobile phone market. We know the Android platform is good, with over 65,000 smartphones that carry it sold every day and we know the manufacturer is good, demand for HTC phones was consistently high in Q1. So it all went down to supply and unfortunately for Google, it appears consumers prefer traditional retail to buying online.
What can gsmExchange Members Expect?
gsmExchange members can expect an immediate rise in demand for the Nexus One, similar to the requests seen after news broke of its launch date. This time however, the demand should be satisfied and we look forward to helping our members in finding new distributors carrying Nexus One stock.
Offer or Request the Nexus One today on gsmExchange.com
gsmExchange’s Security Policy, Unpopular but Necessary
gsmExchange’s strict security policies have always been unpopular with the majority of traders trying to enter the trading platform but this month has really given us good insight into why these measures are necessary. We have heard of an dramatic increase in bogus traders and this month alone was forced to reject and incredible 93% of applications for the good of the gsmExchange community. The majority of those rejected are legitimate businesses but their trading volumes were not in line with those already in the network. These measures always prove unpopular with those who have been unsuccessful in their application but as always stressed by the gsmExchange team, it is important to only invite businesses that can trade on the same level as those already using the platform.
On a plus side, we have been aggressively developing business in new and emerging markets and have successfully signed up a number of leading distributors in South America and Africa. On a whole, the community grew by nearly 30% in Q1 and we are happy to welcome the new members.
Visit gsmExchange at CTIA
Visit gsmExchange at CTIA
Following on from the tremendous success in Germany, we are delighted to inform all our members that we will be exhibiting at the CTIA Wireless Exhibition in Las Vegas. This exhibition will be taking place from Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th March 2010. For those of you making the trip, especially our premium members coming from overseas, please visit us at our stand # 5942 in the North Hall and we look forward to helping you network with other members from the gsmExchange community.
If you are a premium member and would like some visibility at the exhibition but are unable to make it, please contact your account manager and he will be happy to help you.
Google Launch the Nexus One
Google held a Press Conference this week to announce the official launch of the highly anticipated Nexus One. As rumored, HTC are going to manufacture the model which will include 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 480x800 pixels.
The phone can be bought immediately with or without contract on T-Mobile USA and other networks including Verizon and Vodafone look set to secure contracts in the Spring. Google will exclusively distribute the Nexus from its online store and an unlocked GSM version of the phone that will work in most countries is $529.
Google will only ship the new Nexus to USA, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore, although a further expansion in distribution is expected shortly
It appears that buying in bulk will not be an option to start but we will keep you posted on future developments relating to distribution as it happens.
Good Luck in 2010 from gsmExchange
Welcome back everybody who took a holiday recently.
gsmExchnage would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members a prosperous New Year and busy 2010.
The gsmExchange Team is available to help you to grow your business and is more than happy to discuss sales campaigns for 2010 and help in any way possible.
The CES in Las Vegas starts on January 7th. If you are attending and want to arrange some meetings, please feel free to post your details below.
Holiday Greetings from gsmExchange
Dear Members,
The gsmExchange team would like to wish all our members a Happy Holiday season and prosperous 2010.
We look forward to working with you in the New Year and in making 2010 your most successful year ever!
Our offices will be closing on December 24th and reopen on January 4th.
Best wishes
The gsmExchange Team
EU propose ban on loud MP3 Players including iPhone
The EU have suggested a ban on MP3 Players including iPhones that dangerously exceed reasonable sound levels. A study found that some models can reach up to 115 decibels.
The move to reduce volume levels was prompted after Stephen Russell of the European Consumer lobby Anec said 'There are up to 10 million Europeans, mainly young, at risk of losing their hearing permanently in the next five years due to personal listening habits'.
The EU are planning a 85 decibel limit with a decision to be made in the Spring.
What does this mean for iPhone traders on gsmExchange?
There should not be any immediate concerns for iPhone traders on gsmExchange. As mentioned, the EU are only planning to introduce the ban in the Spring and will work directly with the manufacturers to implement the new regulations.
The iPhone continues to one of the most sought after models among the 500,000 handset offered and requested on the gsmExchange every day.
Post your iPhone trades on gsmExchange today
Meet gsmExchange and 36 leading gsm traders at CeBIT 2010
ICP and gsmExchange have combined resources to offer CeBIT attendees the opportunity to network in a GSM exclusive area.
All of our allocated space has now been reserved and we are delighted to announce that 36 of the worlds leading traders will be joining gsmExchange at CeBIT 2010 in Hannover.
If you are attending, please feel free to post your details
.ICP and gsmExchange @ CeBIT 2010
March 3rd - March 8th 2010
Reseller Zone, Hall 14, Hannover, Germany
Western European Market on the Up!
Good news!, after 15 consecutive months of market decline the European GSM industry grew by 5% in Q3 2009 compared to the same period 2008, the ICI reported yesterday.
There was incredible movement in the market with Nokia coming under increasing pressure from Samsung, who we recently reported sold over 40m Smartphones this year and or course the ever impressive Blackberry, who are estimated to have increased sales by 87% on this period last year.
According to our statistics on gsmExchange's Top Ten Requested Modules, the only saving grace for Nokia is the continued high demand for their low end 1208 and 2700 which continues to be popular in certain markets.
LG, who we reported yesterday exceeded the 10m milestone in global sales of their KP500 has overtaken Sony Ericsson into third place after a very impressive 5.1m sales in handsets.
The Motorola Android recorded growth of 5.4% in Q3 and although the Europeans haven't taken to it as well as consumers in North America, the result is still positive for Motorola.
Trading on gsmExchange.com was consistent with the ICI report with Blackberry and Samsung featuring heavily among the 30m handsets offered and requested on the trading floor during Q3.
Post your Samsung and Blackberry trades today on the worlds largest trading platform exclusive to the GSM sector.
LG's KP500 Exceeds 10m Unit Sales
LG announced recently, that the competitively priced KP500 has exceeded the 10 million unit sales target they set for themselves back in April. The KP500's success this year has seen it become one of only five LG models to reach the10 million mark
Dan Quinn from gsmExchange said “the KP500's has regularly appeared in gsmExchange's top ten requests. It was definitely one of the most sought after phones in 2009”
LG attributed their success to their understanding of markets and their ability to adapt and offer features exclusive to particular markets.
The success of the Cookie has prompted LG to reveal that there is a successor for the KP500 ready for launch during 2010 and will be on show at MWC 2010 in Barcelona
Log on to gsmExchange to post you KP500 trades todayDigital China secure Blackberry’s Chinese Distribution Deal
RIM announced yesterday that they have made a distribution agreement with Hong Kong-Listed Information Technology company Digital China, to distribute Blackberry handsets into the Chinese Market.
Rim will use Digital Media’s national distribution network to “help RIM further expand it business in China”
The Blackberry handsets have been available in China since 2006 and were distributed by China Mobile, although they were never strongly promoted.
Both parties are due to hold a news conference in Beijing today, to officially announce the plan.
Dan Quinn from gsmLeads.com “Blackberry have been in China for the last three years with limited success. The Chinese market is very competitive and is full of high spec Chinese brand Smartphones like those found on gsmLeads.com, so it will be a difficult market to break”
Demand for Blackberry handsets remains high on gsmExchange.com with it regularly featuring in the top ten models per month.
Post you Blackberry requests and trades on gsmExchange.com today.
Protect Yourself from Uncertified Handsets
The fallout from the recently introduced block on all handsets in India that do not have valid IMEI programming is estimated to affect up to 25m mobile phone owners. After delaying the proposed ban on two previous occasions the Indian government finally set the date as December 1st to implement the ban.
Mobile phones that will be affected are typically low end handset from smaller Chinese phone manufacturers who remove the IMEI programming stage to cut costs or just don’t have the certification to carry out the process.
The Indian government is offering a reprogramming service to insert a valid IMEI into the handsets, but it is expected that millions will still be without a phone service for some time.
Dan Quinn from gsmLeads.com said “Since the ban was announced, gsmLeads.com has seen a massive increase in inquiries as distributors rush to replace banned non IMEI models with handsets from verified manufacturers.”
This move by the Indian government is sure to lead the way for any countries that haven’t already imposed a ban on non IMEI handsets. Distributors have to protect themselves and can do this by using a platform like gsmLeads.com to ensure they are dealing with certified and verified manufacturers.
Nokia Predicts Growth in the Market in 2010
Nokia have revealed this week that they are predicting a 10% growth in the GSM Market for 2010 after falling some 7% this year.
A major contributor to this result will be the Smartphone market with Nokia’s Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvau stating “Smartphone growth will be significantly higher”.
gsmExchange.com are already facilitating in this growth with Smartphones featuring heavily in Novembers Top Ten requested models.
Nokia expects their overall share of the market to be flat next year but the value of that share to increase slightly.
After a turbulent 12 months which saw them record their first loss in a decade in Q3, Nokia’s CFO Timo Ihamuuotina believes the market is now stabilizing, stating “Visability to the market is a bit better”
Dan Quinn from gsmLeads.com said “Nokia will have a difficult time achieving growth in 2010 with such tough competition from Apple, Samsung and LG, who all experienced growth in 2009 and will be looking for more market share in 2010”
Samsung's Touch Screen Smartphones Exceed 50m Unit Sales
Samsung reported today that sales of the Touch Screen Smartphone has exceeded 50 million units and is continuing to grow.
Samsung have experience incredible growth in 2009 with sales exploding from 10 million last year to 40 million so far in 2009. Dan Quinn from gsmLeads.com said “Samsung have taken advantage of the demand for Smartphones and produced some fantastic phones like the Tocco Lite.
Samsung are expected to exceed all targets in 2009 with the Smartphone range playing a key role to that success.
JK Shin, Head of Samsung Electronics said “We’ve seen a remarkable growth in full touch-screen mobiles this” and also dedicated Samsung to “continue to expand the global full touch-phone market by introducing devices tailored to individuals regions and user requirements with stylish designs, intuitive user interfaces and cutting edge features”
Post your Samsung trades on gsmExchange.com today!
Early Interest For The LG Expo On gsmExchange.com
GsmExchange.com today announced an increase in inquires for the much anticipated LG Expo. The latest addition to the LG portfolio is creating huge interest in distribution circles and boosts incredible features that include a projector! LG are excited at the prospects of being the first manufacturer to offer this feature and also include a 1 GHz processor, a 3.2-inch touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera with flash, a slide out keyboard, 7.2 Mbps HSPA wireless, microSD storage and Windows Mobile 6.5 in their new model.
LG went on the offensive in Q3 and was one of only a few manufacturers to record growth in sales and market share, largely down to the success of the LG KP500, which featured in the gsmExchange top ten models consistently over the past 3 months
Dan Quinn from gsmLeads.com said “The latest instalment to the LG portfolio should see them make a massive impact on the Smatphone market and further boost LG’s sales and market share.
We'll keep all gsmExchange members posted on any further developments with the LG Expo.
New Nokia N97 Mini Hits Stores
The long awaited Nokia N97 Mini has finally reached stores and demand for it has already been noticed on gsmExchange.com with a flurry of inquires over the past few days.
The N97 mini recently won the best handset at the Asia Mobile Awards 2009 and the device features a tilting 3.2” touch display, QWERTY keyboard and fully customizable homescreen.
Nokia are confident the Mini will continue the success of the original N97. Benoit Nalin, General Manager for Nokia Philippines said “in October 2009, we exceeded 2 million Nokia N97s sold, and now introduce the Nokia N97 mini, underscoring the success of the design. He also went on to say “we are excited about the early feedback that we have received on the Nokia N97 mini”.
Essam Bischara, CEO of gsmExchange.com said “The original N97 is a much sought after phone on the gsmExchange trading floor, featuring in the top ten models consistently over the past 3 months”
Post your trade request for the new N97 mini on gsmExchange.com, the largest wholesale mobile phone trading platform online.
Nokia Move to Reaffirm Competitveness in their Manufacturing Business
Thomas Jonsson, Nokia’s Spokesman released a statement this morning stating the importance of their manufacturing arm to the success of the overall business. “Our logistics and manufacturing network is a very important competitive advantage for us and a core part of our business”.
This statement comes a week after Nokia’s Marketing Head announced that he would not rule out a sale of their core handset manufacturing business in the long term. So where do Nokia really stand when it comes to manufacturing? How important is a manufacturing department for companies focused on the GSM market?
The main players in the GSM market all appear to have an interest in outsourcing some if not all of the manufacturing and this is evident on the newly launched gsmLeads.com. Dan Quinn from gsmLeads.com said “At present there are over 100 manufacturers and distributors networking and placing orders. We have seen a shift in the entire process with more and more companies happy to outsource their manufacturing and concentrate on other areas such as marketing, sales and distribution”.
It is not an easy task to predict if Nokia will still be manufacturing in a year’s time or if they will have followed through with Anssi Vanjoki suggestions and sold off that particular part of their business.
We’ll keep you posted with any further development s as they happen on gsmExchange.com.
Carphone Warehouse - Smartphones Contribute to Better Than Expected Sales
The Carphone Warehouse has announced better than expected sales for the last six months and subsequently increased their full year earnings forecast. The news came after they reported a significant rise in pre-tax profits for the last six months and a 13% rise in revenue.
Areas that have been identified as key to their recent success include the high demand for Smartphones, their joint venture with the US’s Best Buy and their acquisition of Tiscali UK.
Essam Bischara, CEO of gsmExchange commented “The demand for Smartphones on the gsmExchange is at its highest ever. Out of this week’s top ten requested models, six are smartphones.
According to Gartner, the Smartphone market grew 12.8% this year and is expected to continue
Storage Facility Popular With GSM Traders Destroyed Today!
City Box has set up an emergency phone number to deal with inquires from its customers – 00 31 20 511 2566