Handset market updates

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Two industry leaders in their respective fields are preparing to enter the GSM market and begin producing their own brand handsets. Both Google and TaoBao are apparently close to launching their new handsets which will ultimately see them competing with their own clients for market share in the already competitive GSM market.

Google who already provide Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson with the Android software will look to tempt potential users with an array of features including a processor that is almost twice the speed of that used by Apple's iPhone 3GS. Dan Quinn from www.gsmLeads.com said "Google have a tradition of exceeding all expectations and the Google phone is sure to follow suit. It will be interesting to see who 's market share will suffer at the hands of the Google phone"

TaoBao, China's largest online marketplace is also rumoured to be planning the announcement of a new handset that will be co-branded by Lenovo Mobile and feature TaoBao's increasingly popular applications.

TaoBao have traditionally provided a sales platform for mobile phone manufacturers, so this move will see a complete change of direction as they get involved in the manufacturing processes. Essam Bischara, CEO of www.gsmExchange.com also pointed out "this move will put TaoBao in direct competition with other manufacturers advertising on their sister website Alibaba.com, so it will be interesting to see how they react".

It is going to be interesting to see what distribution option Google and TaoBao select; online/direct or via wholesalers. Manufactures using our gsmLeads.com are opting for the wholesale model and are using the gsmLeads.com platform to locate and recruit distributors worldwide. Over 100 Manufactures have already signed up to the gsmLeads.com service since launch a few weeks ago.

We'll keep you posted on when these phones will be available on the gsmExchange.

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Do you trade GSM modems? Perhaps you should consider it, as this market is about to explode. And, out of all places, the most successful areas will be in Africa and the Middle East. An obvious reason for this is the fact that current fixed broad band availability in the region is very sporadic at best. Pyramid research has just come up with a report confirming this; Emerging Opportunity: Boom Times Ahead for Mobile Broadband in Africa & Middle East examines the use of mobile broadband as an Internet access technology for PCs, excluding the use of mobile networks for Web browsing on smartphones or other handsets. This report, part of Pyramid's new Africa/Middle East Telecom Insider report series, identifies the factors that affect future adoption of mobile broadband in markets across the region. Tell us what you think, and if you are planning to distribute modems any time soon,

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South Korean consumers have been buzzing about the possibility getting their hands on iPhones and Blackberry handsets. Soon they'll have their way. The South Korean market is being opened up to foreign smartphones. Smart traders will start planning their strategies for taking advantage of the newly opened market in South Korea.

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We've talked a lot about smartphones, specifically touchscreen smartphones, in the past months. The Apple iPhone 3G taking over the market! The long-awaited Google Android-powered G1 changing the way users interact with their phones! The Blackberry Storm and its clickable touchscreen! Now we have our eyes on Nokia. The company just announced that their N97 will be released in the first half of 2009.

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According to a recent study, in four years 30% of all handsets shipped will be smartphones; that is 452 million smartphones in 2012. We're already seeing this trend on the gsmExchange trading floor. Check out "What's Hot" and you'll see some of the most popular phones are now smartphones. A few market trends are contributing to the surge in the smartphone market.

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This year's financial slowdown has a lot of people worried, but many analysts predict that telecom will hold up better than other industries. In the past few months we've seen increasing evidence of the recession affecting the mobile phone industry, as well. There will be, of course, some companies that will fare better than others, and there's still some good news amongst the bad. Here are some highlights we've pulled from recent news and trends.

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Market Research firm Gartner has released some figures for the mobile handset market place. It is forecasting 1.28 billion units to hit the market in 2008; a growth of 11% relative to the 1.15 billion units sold last year. A For the first half of 2008, c. 600 Million handsets have hit the market. We are however set to see a moderate improvement for the second half of the year, and this will very much depend on the last quarter where seasonality and new product introductions are a sales booster.

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Wholesalers are making nice profits by abusing the subsidized offers for several models - mostly low ends, but the iPhone, as we all know, is right there too.

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Mobile Today is reporting a price drop of £100 for the trendy phone.

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gsmExchange.com has compiled a list of most traded handsets during the year of 2007.

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Actually, this is not true - you are not going to see a Google Phone. Rather than that - Google is getting involved into the development of the new platform, which will allow a new kind of "open handsets".

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China's National Development and Reform Commission is reporting, that the country will produce 500 to 600 million handsets this year - which is half of the world's production.

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Samsung has now overtaken Motorola as the second largest mobile phone supplier. Figures for the second quarter show Motorola slipping further despite overall solid growth in the market.

iPhone sells 1 million units in the first few weeks

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According to ABI Research, a specialized market research company, mobile phone accessories will generate over US$ 32 Billions in revenues in 2007. This market is driven by advances in technology and increasing customer desire for product customization. Manufacturers and network operators are showing great interest in accessories as the margins are much higher than in the handset business.

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Imagine the beginning of the 90's. Had we told you then that the mobile phone handset is destined to be the best selling consumer electronics item, you probably would have not believed us. Yet, today more than a Billion handsets are sold worldwide.

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The largest Russian handset retailer has published their quarterly estimation of the Russian market for Q1, 2007. According to their data, compared to Q1 2006, there was a 3% increase in number of phones sold (6.7mn handsets total) in Russia, while the financial growth was 12%.

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Well one more year .. one more event .. Thanks to all of you who visited us at our stand this year; it makes us happy to see you and find out how we are helping your business and how to do even more for you in the future.

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According to Strategy Analytics, a market research company, the industry has experienced a 25% growth in '06 to reach an all time record of 1 Billion handsets shipped. Compare this to the 1997 figure of 100 Million, and you begin to realize what an unprecedented ride this has been. For those of us "old timers", it is interesting to reflect back on this, and ponder what is on store for the coming year and beyond.

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A study published by ABI research is suggesting that 1 in 4 handsets sold globaly will be priced below $20 by 2011. Looking at the market statistics on gsmExchange, we can see the sub-20$ phones will become available by the end of 2008.

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US consumers are set for increased choice with Cingular's recent announcement that the company is set to significantly expands it 3G coverage. The company's recent announcement will mean that the US mobile broadband network will stretch from San Francisco to the east coast of New York,

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2007 is set to see U.S. wireless handset volume expand from 7% to 10%. These figures are according to Samsung Electronics's North American wireless unit as featuresd in the Dow Jone's Newswires.

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Applications will begin in January 2007 for new fixed and mobile licenses in Saudi Arabia, as announced by CITC in October. This significant move of allowing additional operators into the market, will make the country the leading liberal telecom market within the Gulf states. Licenses will be awarded for three mobile operators and two fixed.

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Since the recent decision by the U.S. Copyright Office to allow U.S. consumers to use special software and services to unlock their handsets, the 'floodgates' have opened, forcing manufacturers to adapt, signified by Nokia's recent release of models that will among the first in the U.S. that can be used with any network. This will undoubtedly be a challenge for U.S. Carriers, who have for years held a tight grip on what their customers could and could not do.

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Under a groundbreaking ruling by the Library of Congress, cell phone users in the U.S. will, for the first time, be legally entitled to unlock the software network locks on their cellular handsets in order to use them with competing carriers.

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According to a recent report by the financial management and advisory firm, Merrill Lynch, India's cellular handset industry has followed a very different trend compared to previously emerging markets. In the case of India, most handsets sold are done so via retailers rather than being affiliated with specific network operators.

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The December 1st introduction of Reverse Charge accounting in the UK has been postponed until EU discussions on the matter have been resolved.

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Mobile giants Vodafone have joined strategic forces with Yahoo! to combine their knowledge and expertise to create a mobile advertising business aimed specifically at mobile phone users.

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According to Merrill Lynch's recent 'Global Handset Industry Update', it is widely expected that India and China will significantly drive future market growth within the industry, with both nations expected to achieve a combined handset growth of 21% CAGR from 2005 until 2010.

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Russians are successfully clamping down on illegal channels of mobile handset imports, while the brits are successfully fighting other illegal activities related to mobile business, including VAT carousel.

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A look at the future of Sagem and Asian/Russian GSM market

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