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Boosting both the commodity and premium brand markets in 2013 with much more smartphones and tablets while the Windows notebook shipments will shrink by 2%
This is my conclusion after reviewing
- The ongoing trends in the commodity and premium brand ecosystems of Android devices:
– Smartphones
– Tablets
and
- The emerging new trends in the premium ecosystem of the Windows devices:
– Notebooks
– Smartphones
as reported by the most knowledgeable sources.
Updates: – ODMs see weaker profits from tablet business [DIGITIMES, March 26, 2013]
As Google and Amazon reportedly will release their next-generation 7-inch entry-level tablets in the near future, sources from the upstream supply chain have estimated that related ODMs’ profits from these tablets will be about 20% less than those from notebooks.
Since tablets have a simpler design than notebooks, the ODMs are only able to earn about US$9-10 for each tablet made, lower than US$13-20 for notebooks.
In addition, fewer components needed means that ODMs will have difficulties using their purchasing advantages to earn profits, and tablet brand vendors’ demand for specific components will also impact the makers’ profits, the sources noted.
Seeing weak growth in the notebook industry, most ODMs have turned to place their focuses on the tablet market and are competing aggressively for orders through price cuts, the sources said.
– Wintel camp mulls measures to rekindle weakening notebook industry [DIGITIMES, Feb 21, 2013]
Suppliers within the Wintel camp are mulling to launch a series of measures, including price cuts for their products, in the second quarter of 2013 to rekindle the stymied notebook industry caused by growing popularity of tablets, according to industry sources.
The launch of Windows 8 has failed to ignite replacement demand for notebooks in the end markets, resulting in a prolonged inventory adjustment process at the supply chain that has been going on since the third quarter of 2012, the sources noted.
With market reports indicating that global tablet shipments are likely to reach 200-300 million units in 2013, including 150 million units in China and other emerging markets, notebook vendors will see their market share continue to be eroded by tablets, commented the sources.
While agreeing to the consensus that price-cutting will be the only way to stimulate notebook demand, related PC chip suppliers are urging the major players in the Wintel camp, mainly Intel and Microsoft, to take the lead in action so that the entire supply chain can follow.
The Wintel camp has always chosen to start cutting their product prices in the third quarter each year, noted the sources, but it would be too late to safeguard the notebook industry as well as its supply chain if Intel and Microsoft do not take actions till the third quarter this year.
Since Intel usually will cut significantly its CPU prices prior to the launch of new models, the planned launch of Haswell platform in June may persuade the chip giant to lower the quotes for its Ivy Bridge family CPUs earlier, the sources revealed.
But it remains to be seen if price cuts by Intel alone could stir up notebook replacement demand amid the squeezing-out effect triggered by the rise of tablets, mobile phones and other mobile Internet devices, commented the sources.
End of updates
Before reading the sections of this post corresponding to the above, do not forget to read my own analytical posts which are based on the new product directions and supporting SoC trends (and as such predicting the year 2013 market even better than the external analyses quoted here which are mainly based on supply chain trends and market changes observed already in 2012):
– $48 Mogu M0 “peoplephone”, i.e. an Android smartphone for everybody to hit the Chinese market on November 15 [Nov 9, 2012]
– Lowest H2’12 device cost SoCs from Spreadtrum will redefine the entry level smartphone and feature phone markets [July 26 – Nov 9, 2012]
– The low priced, Android based smartphones of China will change the global market [Sept 10-26, 2012]
– Unique differentiators of Nokia Lumia 920/820 innovated for high-volume superphone markets of North America, Europe and elsewhere [Sept 6 – Nov 13, 2012]
– With Asha Touch starting at $83 and Lumia at $186 Nokia targeting the entry-level and low-end smartphone markets [Nov 1, 2012]
– Boosting the MediaTek MT6575 success story with the MT6577 announcement – UPDATED with MT6588/83 coming early 2013 in Q42012 and 8-core MT6599 in 2013 [June 27, July 27, Sept 11-13, Sept 26, Oct 2, 2012]
– MT6577-based JiaYu G3 with IPS Gorilla glass 2 sreen of 4.5” etc. for $154 (factory direct) in China and $183 [Sept 13, 2012]
– China’s HW engineering lead: The Rockchip RK292 series (RK2928 and RK2926) example [Oct 27, 2012]
– Nexus 7: Google wanted it in 4 months for $199/$245, ASUS delivered + Nexus Q (of Google’s own design and manufacturing) added for social streaming from Google Play to speakers and screen in home under Android device control [June 28, 2012]
– Giving up the total OEM reliance strategy: the Microsoft Surface tablet [June 19 – July 30, 2012]
– ASUS: We are the real transformers, not Microsoft [Oct 17, 2012]
– Microsoft Surface: its premium quality/price vs. even iPad3 [Oct 26, 2012]
– BUILD 2012: Notes on Day 1 and 2 Keynotes [Oct 31, 2012]
– Acer Iconia W510: Windows 8 Clover Trail (Intel Z2760) hybrid tablets from OEMs [Oct 28, 2012]
– Microsoft Surface with some questions about the performance and smoothness of the experience [Nov 12, 2012]
Update: The sections of this post are somewhat taking into the account the most dramatic disruption in the whole history of ICT, what I am calling the ‘ALLWINNER PHENOMENON’ (all ‘Allwinner et al phenomenon’ sometimes when including Allwinner’s internal mainland China competitors such as Rockchip into account as well). EVERYBODY SHOULD BE AWARE of the fact, however, that even in the latest forecasts by bigname ICT market researchers the ‘Allwinner phenomenon’ is not taken into account at all. The two very recent updates from IDC given below should therefore be read with that in mind as the ‘Allwinner phenomenon’ will add hundreds of millions to those forecasts starting as early as in 2013. Especially the numbers for the tablets will be affected. To understand more about that please read my special posts given in a newly created blog about the ‘Allwinner phenonmenon’:
– Allwinner A31 SoC is here with products and the A20 SoC is coming [Dec 10, 2012]
– Is low-cost enough for global success? [Dec 5, 2012]
– The upcoming Chinese tablet and device invasion lead by the Allwinner SoCs [Dec 4, 2012]
– $40 entry-level Allwinner tablets–now for the 220 million students Aakash project in India [Dec 4, 2012] from this alone 220 million additional tablets would have been delivered from 2013 to 2016
– USD 99 Allwinner [Nov 30, 2012]
– It’s a Strategic Inflection Point [Dec 1, 2012]
Update: HTC 1Q13 smartphone shipments to grow slower than expected, say sources [DIGITIMES, Dec 18, 2012]
Affected by the launch of iPhone 5 and rapidly declining smartphone prices in China, HTC reportedly has revamped its product roadmap for 2013 and is expected to see its smartphone shipments rise 10-15% sequentially in the first quarter of the year compared to a 20-30% growth projected previously, according to industry sources.
HTC has suspended development of a number of new models for 2013, reducing the visibility of its orders for handset components, the sources revealed.
HTC declined to comment on market speculation.
However, the industry watchers believe that HTC is heading for a bumpy road ahead, since shipments of its Windows Phone 8-based smartphones have not been as strong as expected, while Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy III have continued to enjoy brisk sales.
In China, HTC is facing cut-throat competition from local white-box smartphone vendors and has been forced to enter the sub-CNY2,000 (US$321) segment, which runs counter to its established policy focusing mainly on the high-end sector, said the sources.
Update: Worldwide Smart Connected Device Market, Led by Samsung and Apple, Grew 27.1% in the Third Quarter, According to IDC [IDC press release, Dec 10, 2012]
The worldwide smart connected device market – a collective view of PCs, tablets, and smartphones – grew 27.1% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12) reaching a record 303.6 million shipments valued at $140.4 billion dollars. Expectations for the holiday season quarter are that shipments will continue to reach record levels rising 19.2% over 3Q12 and 26.5% over the same quarter a year ago. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker, 4Q12 shipments are expected to reach 362.0 million units with a market value of $169.2 billion dollars. Holiday season growth will be driven by tablets and smartphones, which are expected to grow 55.8% and 39.5% year-over-year respectfully, while PCs are expected to decline slightly from this quarter a year ago.
From a vendor perspective, Samsung maintained the top position in 3Q12 with 21.8% market share based on shipments. Apple, which ranked second overall in shipments, led all vendors in value with a total of $34.1 billion in 3Q12 and an average selling price (ASP) of $744 across all device categories. Following Samsung’s 21.8% share and Apple’s 15.1% share were Lenovo (7.0%), HP (4.6%), and Sony (3.6%). While Samsung, Apple, and Lenovo have all grown share over the past year, HP, which is virtually non-existent in the mobile space, has dropped its share from 7.4% in 3Q11 to 4.6% in 3Q12 with shipments declining -20.5% during that time.
“The battle between Samsung and Apple at the top of the smart connected device space is stronger than ever,” said Ryan Reith, program manager, Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers at IDC. “Both vendors compete at the top of the tablet and smartphone markets. However, the difference in their collective ASPs is a telling sign of different market approaches. The fact that Apple’s ASP is $310 higher than Samsung’s with just over 20 million fewer shipments in the quarter speaks volumes about the premium product line that Apple sells.”
Looking forward, IDC expects the worldwide smart connected device space will continue to surge well past the strong holiday quarter and predicts shipments to surpass 2.1 billion units in 2016 with a market value of $796.7 billion worldwide. IDC’s research clearly shows this to be a multi-device era, although market dynamics are shifting in terms of product category. In 2011, PC’s – a combination of desktop and portable PCs – accounted for 39.1% of the smart connected device market. By 2016 it is expected to drop to 19.9%. Smartphones will be the preferred product category with share growing from 53.1% in 2011 to 66.7% in 2016. Tablets will also grow significantly with share growing from 7.7% in 2011 to 13.4% in 2016. The shift in demand from the more expensive PC category to more reasonably priced smartphones and tablets will drive the collective market ASP from $534 in 2011 to $378 in 2016.
“Both consumers and business workers are finding the need for multiple ‘smart’ devices and we expect that trend to grow for several years, especially in more developed regions,” said Bob O’Donnell, program vice president, Clients and Displays. “The advent of cloud-based services is enabling people to seamlessly move from device to device, which encourages the purchase and usage of different devices for different situations.”
Top 5 Smart Connected Device Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q3 2012 (shipments in millions)
Vendor
3Q12 Unit Shipments
3Q12 Market Share
3Q11 Unit Shipments
3Q11 Market Share
3Q12/3Q11 Growth
Samsung
66.1
21.8%
33.5
14.0%
97.5%
Apple
45.8
15.1%
33.1
13.9%
38.3%
Lenovo
21.1
7.0%
13.2
5.5%
60.0%
HP
14.0
4.6%
17.6
7.4%
-20.5%
Sony
11.0
3.6%
8.7
3.7%
25.4%
Other
145.6
48.0%
132.7
55.6%
9.7%
Total
303.6
100.0%
238.9
100.0%
27.1%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker, December 10, 2012.
Smart Connected Device Market by Product Category, Shipments, Market Share, 2012-1016 (shipments in millions)
Product Category
2016 Unit Shipments
2016 Market Share
2012 Unit Shipments
2012 Market Share
2016/2012 Growth
Desktop PC
151.0
7.2%
149.2
12.5%
1.2%
Portable PC
268.8
12.8%
205.1
17.2%
31.1%
Smartphone
1405.3
66.7%
717.5
60.1%
95.9%
Tablet
282.7
13.4%
122.3
10.2%
131.2%
Total
2107.8
100.0%
1194.0
100.0%
76.5%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker, December 10, 2012.
Update: IDC Raises Tablet Forecast for 2012 and Beyond As iOS Picks Up Steam, Android Gains Traction, and Windows Finally Enters the Market [IDC press release, Dec 5, 2012]
A strong competitive landscape—including surging Android tablet shipments and robust demand for Apple’s new iPad mini—has led International Data Corporation (IDC) to increase its 2012 forecast for the worldwide tablet market to 122.3 million, up from its previous forecast of 117.1 million units. In the latest forecast update of the Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, IDC also raised its 2013 forecast number to 172.4 million units, up from 165.9 million units. And by 2016 worldwide shipments should reach 282.7 million units, up from a previous forecast of 261.4 million units.
“Tablets continue to captivate consumers, and as the market shifts toward smaller, more mobile screen sizes and lower prices points, we expect demand to accelerate in the fourth quarter and beyond,” said Tom Mainelli, research director, Tablets at IDC. “Android tablets are gaining traction in the market thanks to solid products from Google, Amazon, Samsung, and others. And Apple’s November iPad mini launch, along with its surprise refresh of the full-sized iPad, positions the company well for a strong holiday season.”
In addition to increasing the unit totals for 2013, IDC also updated its operating system splits for the year to reflect Android’s growing strength in the tablet market. IDC now expects Android’s worldwide tablet share to increase from 39.8% in 2011 to 42.7% for the full year of 2012. During that same time Apple’s share will slip from 56.3% in 2011 to 53.8% in 2012. Long term, IDC predicts Windows-based tablets (including Windows 8 and Windows RT) will grab share from both iOS and Android, growing from 1% of the market in 2011 to 2.9% in 2012, on its way to 10.3% in 2016.
“The breadth and depth of Android has taken full effect on the tablet market as it has for the smartphone space,” said Ryan Reith, program manager for IDC’s Mobile Device Trackers. “Android tablet shipments will certainly act as the catalyst for growth in the low-cost segment in emerging markets given the platform’s low barrier to entry on manufacturing. At the same time, top-tier companies like Samsung, Lenovo, and ASUS are all launching Android tablets with comparable specs, but offered at much lower price points.”
Once again, IDC’s increase in tablet shipments comes at the expense of eReaders. IDC lowered its forecast for eReaders for 2012 and beyond. While the front-lit eReader offerings from Amazon and Barnes & Noble have captured the interest of a subset of consumers who prefer a dedicated eReader, most buyers are gravitating toward multi-use tablet products and finding a ‘good enough’ reading experience on these traditional back-lit tablets. IDC now expects 2012 eReader shipments to top out at 19.9 million units, down from the 27.7 million units that shipped in 2011.
Tablet Operating Systems, Market Share Forecast and CAGR 2012-2016
Tablet OS
2012 Market Share
2016 Market Share
CAGR 2012 – 2016 (%)
iOS
53.8%
49.7%
20.9%
Android
42.7%
39.7%
21.0%
Windows
2.9%
10.3%
69.2%
Other
0.6%
0.3%
7.7%
Grand Total
100.0%
100.0%
23.3%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, December 5, 2012
Table Notes:
- Windows shipments include Windows RT, Windows 8, and Windows 7 tablets.
- Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end users. OEM sales are counted under the vendor/brand under which they are sold.
The ongoing trends in the commodity
and premium brand ecosystems of Android devices
Smartphones
Motorola likely to bid farewell to Taiwan handset ODMs after Google sells plants to Flextronics [DIGITIMES, Dec 17, 2012]
The partnerships between Motorola Mobility and Taiwan-based handset ODMs such as Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) will begin to fade away, as Google, the parent company of Motorola, has signed an agreement to hand over Motorola’s manufacturing operations in Tianjin, China, and Jaguariuna, Brazil to Flextronics International, according to industry sources.
After the deal between Google and Flextronics is completed in the first half of 2013, Motorola will completely withdraw from the handset manufacturing industry, and instead will transform to a brand operator targeting mainly the mid-range to high-end smartphone segment, the sources indicated.
While the streamlining of Motorola’s operations comes as no surprise to Taiwan handset ODMs, Google’s decision to sell Motorola’s plants to Flextronics, instead of its long-tern partner FIH, has raised concerns among the industry.
Flextronics is purchasing the plants in exchange for orders from Motorola since the Singapore-based EMS giant has made little progress in gaining handset orders from Apple or major players in the Android or Windows Phone camps, the sources commented.
It is also no longer necessary for FIH to buy plants in exchange for orders, as the company has transferred from handset EMS operations to focus on smartphone ODM business, indicated the sources, adding that FIH has also managed to establish partnerships with a number of major players in the smartphone sector.
However, a deepened cooperation between Motorola and Flextronics may affect the handset component supply chain in Taiwan, the sources warned.
Digitimes Research: Android phones to account for 70% of global smartphone market in 2013 [DIGITIMES Research, Dec 6, 2012]
Android will further solidify its market leadership in the smartphone operating system race in 2013, thanks to a broad support from smartphone vendors and the rollout of a wide range of low-priced models for sale in emerging markets. Shipments of Android phones are expected to top 600 million units or over 70% of global smartphone shipments in 2013, Digitimes Research estimates.
iOS will trail Android to take the number two position in the OS ratings with a 20% share, while other smartphone platforms will share the remaining 10%.
Shipments of Windows Phones, including 7.x and 8.x models, will grow 150% on year to 52.5 million units in 2013 for a 6.1% share, followed by RIM’s BlackBerry devices with a 3.7% share, Digitimes Research estimates. Other platforms, including Tizen and Firefox, will take up a portion lower than 1%.
Digitimes Research: Global smartphone shipments to grow 30% in 2013 [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 19, 2012]
Global smartphone shipments are expected to grow 30% to 865 million units in 2013, accounting for 43.9% of total handset shipments in the year, Digitimes Research has estimated.
Factors including relationships between platform providers and hardware makers, support from telecom carriers for new models, and key developments or decisions by some vendors will affect smartphone sales in 2013, Digitimes Research believes.
Google is expected to further strengthen its control over the Android ecosystem and its production partners, which may limit the development of other platforms or variant Android models.
Microsoft’s launch of own-brand smartphones may result in a reduction in support for the Window Phone platform by hardware vendors, which should otherwise serve as a key factor to push for the growth of the Window Phone to become a third major platform in the segment.
While Amazon is likely to enter the smartphone market, 2013 may be crucial a year for Nokia and RIM (Research in Motion) to make vital decisions concerning their smartphone businesses.
Demand for high-end smartphone models in Western Europe will be affected seriously by reduced government budgets and weak consumption in the region because of the prolonged financial crisis.
However, smartphones’ growing penetration in China, Russia, India, Indonesia, South America and other emerging markets will serve as a growth driver for global smartphone shipments in 2013, Digitimes Research believes.
Google, Amazon and other vendors in China to lead pricing in low-cost smartphone segment, say sources [DIGITIMES , Nov 5, 2012]
While sales of low-cost smartphones are expected to continue growing in the next few years, Google, Amazon and other Internet service companies in China may lead price competition in the segment, according to industry sources.
Shipments of low-cost smartphones, defined as models with a selling price of less than US$150, are forecast to double every year from 2010 to 2016, increasing from 4.5 to 311 million units, according to NPD DisplaySearch.
Most of the demand (60%) is from the Asia Pacific region, where a large majority of component suppliers and manufacturing factories are located – providing both time and cost savings, said DisplaySearch.
In China, the trend for telecom carriers to continue cooperating with chipset suppliers, handset design houses and handset vendors for the launch low-priced smatphone models will continue for a while, the sources noted.
Vendors including Huawei Device, ZTE, Lenovo and Coolpad have emerged as the leading group of the smartphone suppliers in China through the offerings of low-cost models, but most of vendors has suffered losses or seen the profits of their handset business decline due to fierce price competition in the segment, the sources revealed.
Lenovo’s handset business unit is still operating in red, and Huawei and Coolpad have seen their profits decline, while ZTE and TCL have seen their handset businesses swing from profitability to loss, the sources indicated.
In order to stemming losses, or improving profitability, most branded smartphone vendors in China have been trying to expand their share in the mid- and high-end segment, while pushing their sales through local retain channels or export sales.
But other China-based smartphone vendors such as Xiaomi Technology, Internet service companies including Baidu and Shada Interactive Entertainment, as well as online retail giant 360buy, are likely to continue to adopt aggressive price strategies to pushing sales of their own models, said the sources.
In the global market, the cooperation between Google and LG Electronics for the launch of Nexus 4 at prices ranging from US$299-349 is also expected to lead to the proliferation of more low-priced Android smartphone models, the sources indicated.
Amazon, which has been aggressive in the tablet segment, is expected to release its first smartphone model in 2013 with the same price tactics, which is likely to further drive down the prices of smartphones, commented the sources.
Digitimes Research: Nexus 4 to be popular in prepaid SIM card and telecom retail channels [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 7, 2012]
Google’s Nexus 4, which comes with a 4.7-inch 720p HD display and Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, is expected to become a popular model in the prepaid SIM card segment as well as in telecom retail channels for unlocked subscribers, according to Digitimes Research.
With its high hardware specifications and pricing of US$299 for the 8GB version and US$349 for the 16GB version, the Nexus 4 will cause price pressure on other comparable models rolled by rival brands.
Sales of Windows phones are expected to grow 250% in 2013 due in part to support from telecom carriers which are seeking a third platform other than Android or iOS. However, Android will continue to lead the market with a wide margin, Digitimes Research said.
Google aggressive pricing for Nexus 4 smartphone to affect sales of other brands [DIGITIMES, Oct 30, 2012]
Google’s pricing of US$299-349 for its newly released 4.7-inch, quad-core Nexus 4 smartphone is lower than market expectations, and thus could affect the sales of Android-based smartphones launched by other branded vendors, according to industry sources.
Prior to the release of the Nexus 4 in cooperation with LG Electronics, Google had cooperated with HTC and Samsung Electronics, respectively, for the launch of three generations of Nexus smartphones with prices ranging from US$500-700.
The Nexus 4 will enjoy the advantage in pricing even compared to the latest quad-core Android models rolled out by other vendors, indicated the sources, noting that Asustek Computer’s 4.7-inch Padfone 2 is available for US$600, while China-based Xiaomi Technology’s second-generation Xiaomi phone is priced at CNY1,999 (US$320).
Other Android-based smartphone vendors, including HTC, Sony Mobile Communications, Huawei Device, ZTE and even Motorola Mobility, all are likely to adjust their price strategies, since chances are high that the Nexus 4 will make a strong impact on the smartphone market, commented the sources.
China market: Nexus 4 pricing to affect sales, prices of other brands, says report [DIGITIMES, Nov 7, 2012]
The aggressive pricing strategy adopted by Google for its Nexus 4 may affect sales of Xiaomi smartphones in China and may also force other brands including Samsung Electronics, Motorola and HTC to lower the prices of their offerings in China, according to a China-based 21st Century Business Herald report.
The price of US$299 (CNY1,890) for the 8G version of the Nexus 4 is more competitive than Xiaomi’s next-generation quad-core smartphone which is available at CNY1,999, the paper noted.
Xiaomi is selling its first quad-core model below its BOM of CNY2,350 and will limit initial sales of the model to 50,000 units only, said the paper, which added that Xiaomi aims to ramp up volumes to 250,000 units to bring down the BOM when it begins to offer the second round of sales in mid-November.
Although the Nexus is not yet available in China, consumers may hesitate to pick up the quad-core Xiaomi smartphones because they have to wait for several months before Xiaomi will begin delivering the devices, said the paper.
China market: Coolpad hopes to regain mid-range, high-end smartphone share [DIGITIMES , Nov 7, 2012]
China-based handset maker Coolpad hopes to re-enter the mid-range and high-end smartphone market in China by introducing smartphone products with China Mobile that will be priced above CNY5,000/unit (US$800/unit).
In the recent years, Coolpad has been focusing on smartphones at the price range of CNY1,000/unit by cooperating with China’s three telecom service providers. Entry-level and mid-range models have accounted for 85% of Coolpad’s total shipments. The firm recently introduced a new model, Coolpad 9960 (Da Guan HD), with a 4.7-inch screen, Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, and a 13-megapixel front camera. The model will be priced above CNY5,000/unit.
Currently, China’s mid-range and high-end smartphone markets have been dominated by international brands such as Apple, HTC, Motorola, and Sony. Coolpad has been the only local brand that has a relatively strong market share.
According to industry sources, in 2012, Coolpad increased investment in R&D of high-end products by 20% on year and formed an R&D team of 800 staff to strengthen its high-end product line.
Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE faced with challenges to reach quarterly shipments of 10 million smartphones, say Taiwan makers [DIGITIMES , Nov 5, 2012]
A total of 60 million smartphones were shipped to the China market in the third quarter of 2012, and Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE shipped nine million units, 8.5 million units and 7.5 million units, respectively, with a combined market share of 41.7%, according to DRAMeXchange under consulting company TrendForce.
Except for Apple and Samsung Electronics, other international vendors including HTC, Sony Mobile Communications, LG Electronics, Nokia have not been able to attain quarterly shipments of 10 million smartphones, the sources indicated. Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE stand a chance to ship 10 million smartphones a quarter if they can strengthen their branding operations, marketing and product lines of mid-range and high-end models in overseas markets, the sources pointed out.
Lenovo has focused on entry-level smartphones priced below CNY1,500 (US$240) and relied too much on the domestic market, the sources indicated. In comparison with Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE have the advantage of cooperation with mobile telecom carriers in many countries, but their brand image is not strong enough for marketing mid-range and high-end smartphones, the sources pointed out.
PC vendors recommended to target niche smartphone market to avoid direct competition [DIGITIMES , Oct 3, 2012]
Branded PC vendors including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Asustek Computer, which plan to reignite their smartphone businesses, are recommended to offer models with strong application platforms, sleek product design and integrated cloud computing capabilities targeting niche markets, while avoiding direct competition with smartphone vendors, according to sources at Taiwan’s handset supply chain.
Among the leading brands, HP, Dell and Asustek have not launched new handsets for some time, while Acer has made little progress in the sector although it has continued rolling out new phones, indicated the sources.
Lenovo’s performance has been exceptional, taking the second-ranked title in China’s smartphone market by optimizing an array of entry-level models priced at around CNY1,000 (US$158).
The reason major branded PC vendors are considering a comeback to the smartphone market hinges on emerging business opportunities that are anticipated to come along with the launch of Windows 8. They are hoping that sales of Windows 8-based PCs will help promote the sale of Windows Phone 8 smartphones as well.
Even so, prospects are still slim for PC brands to make a strong presence in the smartphone market, given that Apple and Samsung Electronics are currently the top-2 vendors dominating the segment, while other smartphone brands including Nokia, RIM, Sony Mobile Communications, Motorola Mobility are lagging behind with heavy losses, the sources commented.
Worldwide Mobile Phone Growth Expected to Drop to 1.4% in 2012 Despite Continued Growth Of Smartphones, According to IDC [IDC press release, Nov 1, 2012]
The worldwide mobile phone market is forecast to grow 1.4% year over year in 2012, the lowest annual growth rate in three years despite a projected record number of smartphone shipments in the high-volume holiday season. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors will ship more than 1.7 billion mobile phones this year. In 2016, IDC forecasts 2.2 billion mobile phones will be shipped to the channel.
Global smartphone volume in the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12) is expected to reach 224.5 million units, representing 39.5% year-over-year growth due primarily to strong consumer demand. For the year, smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 45.1% year over year to 717.5 million units. Strong smartphone growth is a result of a variety of factors, including steep device subsidies from carriers, especially in mature economic markets where carriers resell the majority of smartphones, as well as a growing array of sub-US$250 smartphones in emerging markets.
“Sluggish economic conditions worldwide have cast a pall over the mobile phone market this year,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “However, the fourth quarter will be relatively bright due in part to sales of high-profile smartphones, such as the iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S3, in addition to lower-cost Android-powered smartphones shipped to China and other high-growth emerging markets.”
Smartphone Operating Systems
“Underpinning the worldwide smartphone market is a constantly shifting mobile operating system landscape,” added Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team. “Android is expected to stay in front, but we also expect it to be the biggest target for competing operating systems to grab market share. At the same time, Windows Phone stands to gain the most market share as its smartphone and carrier partners have gained valuable experience in selling the differentiated experience Windows Phone has to offer. What bears close observation is how BlackBerry’s new platform, BlackBerry 10, and multiple versions of Linux will affect the market once the devices running these systems are available.”
IDC forecasts Android to be the clear leader in the smartphone mobile operating system race, thanks in large part to a broad selection of devices from a wide range of partners. Samsung is the leading Android smartphone seller though resurgent smartphone vendors LG Electronics and Sony, both of which cracked the top five smartphone vendors during 3Q12, are not to be overlooked. IDC believes the net result of this will be continued double-digit growth throughout the forecast period.
iOS will maintain its position as the clear number two platform behind Android at the end of 2012 and throughout the forecast. The popularity of the iPhone across multiple markets will drive steady replacements and additional carrier partners will help Apple grow iOS volume. However, the high price point of the iPhone relative to other smartphones will make it cost prohibitive for some users within many emerging markets. In order to maintain current growth rates, Apple will need to examine the possibility of offering less expensive models, similar to its iPod line. Until that happens, IDC forecasts iOS to ship lower volumes than Android.
The BlackBerry OS will grow slowly but largely maintain share over the coming years following the BlackBerry 10 launch next year. The new operating system and devices will be valued by some longtime BlackBerry fans, particularly those who have waited for the new OS as Research In Motion delayed its release. This will allow the company to maintain pockets of strength in higher-growth emerging markets such as Indonesia and various Latin American countries. But, as with many other new platforms, the success of BB 10 will be partly dependent upon channel advocacy, like sales associates who can effectively tell the BlackBerry story.
Windows Phone will battle with BlackBerry for the number three spot in 2013, but will gain further clarity in the years that follow. Windows Phone will build on the progress it made in 2012, with Nokia establishing its presence and HTC solidly jumping back into the race. Moreover, contributions by Samsung, ZTE, and Huawei will help grow its footprint. With more vendors releasing more devices aimed at multiple segments, sales associates will be better positioned to tell a compelling Windows Phone story and to explain the value of Windows Phone’s differentiated experience compared to market leaders Android and iOS.
Linux will trail the market leaders throughout our forecast though it is expected to be the dark horse of the forecast. K-Touch has quietly built its Linux volumes this year while Haier recently released its first Linux smartphones. In addition, multiple platforms are expected to announce and launch their Linux-based smartphones in 2013, including Samsung’s Tizen and Jolla’s SailFish. Benefiting these platforms are their ties to previous platforms from the LiMo Foundation and Nokia’s MeeGo, which could lead to greater developer interest.
Top Smartphone Operating Systems, Forecast Market Share and CAGR, 2012–2016
Smartphone OS
2012 Market Share
2016 Market Share
CAGR 2012 – 2016 (%)
Android
68.3%
63.8%
16.3%
iOS
18.8%
19.1%
18.8%
BlackBerry OS
4.7%
4.1%
14.6%
Windows Phone
2.6%
11.4%
71.3%
Linux
2.0%
1.5%
10.5%
Others
3.6%
0.1%
-100.0%
Total
100.0%
100.0%
18.3%
Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, December 3, 2012
Android Marks Fourth Anniversary Since Launch with 75.0% Market Share in Third Quarter, According to IDC [IDC press release, Nov 1, 2012]
The Android smartphone operating system was found on three out of every four smartphones shipped during the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12). According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, total Android smartphone shipments worldwide reached 136.0 million units, accounting for 75.0% of the 181.1 million smartphones shipped in 3Q12. The 91.5% year-over-year growth was nearly double the overall market growth rate of 46.4%.
“Android has been one of the primary growth engines of the smartphone market since it was launched in 2008,” said Ramon Llamas, research manager, Mobile Phones at IDC. “In every year since then, Android has effectively outpaced the market and taken market share from the competition. In addition, the combination of smartphone vendors, mobile operators, and end-users who have embraced Android has driven shipment volumes higher. Even today, more vendors are introducing their first Android-powered smartphones to market.”
“The share decline of smartphone operating systems not named iOS since Android’s introduction isn’t a coincidence,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “The smartphone operating system isn’t an isolated product, it’s a crucial part of a larger technology ecosystem. Google has a thriving, multi-faceted product portfolio. Many of its competitors, with weaker tie-ins to the mobile OS, do not. This factor and others have led to loss of share for competitors with few exceptions.”
Mobile Operating System Highlights
Android, having topped the 100 million unit mark last quarter, reached a new record level in a single quarter. By comparison, Android’s total volumes for the quarter were greater than the total number of smartphones shipped in 2007, the year that Android was officially announced. Samsung once again led all vendors in this space, but saw its market share decline as numerous smaller vendors increased their production.
iOS was a distant second place to Android, but was the only other mobile operating system to amass double-digit market share for the quarter. The late quarter launch of the iPhone 5 and lower prices on older models prevented total shipment volumes from slipping to 3Q11 levels. But without a splashy new OS-driven feature like Siri in 2011 and FaceTime in 2010, the iPhone 5 relied on its larger, but not wider, screen and LTE connectivity to drive growth.
BlackBerry‘s market share continued to sink, falling to just over 4% by the end of the quarter. With the launch of BlackBerry 10 yet to come in 2013, BlackBerry will continue to rely on its aging BlackBerry 7 platform, and equally aging device line-up. Still, demand for BlackBerry and its wildly popular BBM service is strong within multiple key markets worldwide, and the number of subscribers continues to increase.
Symbian posted the largest year-on-year decline of the leading operating systems. Nokia remains the largest vendor still supporting Symbian, along with Japanese vendors Fujitsu, Sharp, and Sony. Each of these vendors is in the midst of transitioning to other operating systems and IDC believes that they will cease shipping Symbian-powered smartphones in 2013. At the same time, the installed base of Symbian users will continue well after the last Symbian smartphone ships.
Windows Phone marked its second anniversary with a total of just 3.6 million units shipped worldwide, fewer than the total number of Symbian units shipped. Even with the backing of multiple smartphone market leaders, Windows Phone has yet to make a significant dent into Android’s and iOS’s collective market share. That could change in 4Q12, when multiple Windows Phone 8 smartphones will reach the market.
Linux volume declined for the third straight quarter as did its year-over-year growth. Samsung accounted for the majority of shipments once again, but like most other vendors competing with Linux-powered smartphones, most of its attention went towards Android instead. Still, that has not deterred other vendors from experimenting, or at least considering the open-source operating system, as multiple reports of Firefox, Sailfish, and Tizen plan to release new Linux-based experiences in the future.
Top Six Smartphone Mobile Operating Systems, Shipments, and Market Share, Q3 2012 (Preliminary) (Units in Millions)
Operating System
3Q12 Shipment Volumes
3Q12 Market Share
3Q11 Shipment Volumes
3Q11 Market Share
Year-Over-Year Change
Android
136.0
75.0%
71.0
57.5%
91.5%
iOS
26.9
14.9%
17.1
13.8%
57.3%
BlackBerry
7.7
4.3%
11.8
9.5%
-34.7%
Symbian
4.1
2.3%
18.1
14.6%
-77.3%
Windows Phone 7/ Windows Mobile
3.6
2.0%
1.5
1.2%
140.0%
Linux
2.8
1.5%
4.1
3.3%
-31.7%
Others
0.0
0.0%
0.1
0.1%
-100.0%
Totals
181.1
100.0%
123.7
100.0%
46.4%
Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, November 1, 2012
Note: Data are preliminary and subject to change. Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.Android Smartphone Shipments and Market Share, 2008 – 2012 YTD (Units in Millions)
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012 YTD
Android Total Unit Shipments
0.7
7.0
71.1
243.4
333.6
Android Market Share
0.5%
4.0%
23.3%
49.2%
68.2%
Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, November 1, 2012
Note: Data are preliminary and subject to change. Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
Gartner Says Worldwide Sales of Mobile Phones Declined 3 Percent in Third Quarter of 2012; Smartphone Sales Increased 47 Percent [Gartner press release, Nov 14, 2012]
Samsung Extended Its Lead in the Smartphone Market Widening the Gap with Apple
Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached almost 428 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 3.1 percent decline from the third quarter of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales accounted for 39.6 percent of total mobile phone sales, as smartphone sales increased 46.9 percent from the third quarter of 2011.
While the mobile phone market declined year-on-year, Gartner analysts said there were positive signs for the industry during the third quarter.
“After two consecutive quarter of decline in mobile phone sales, demand has improved in both mature and emerging markets as sales increased sequentially,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. “In China, sales of mobile phones grew driven by sales of smartphones, while demand of feature phones remained weak. In mature markets, we finally saw replacement sales pick up with the launch of new devices in the quarter.”
Smartphones continued to fuel sales of mobile phones worldwide with sales rising to 169.2 million units in the third quarter of 2012. The smartphone market was dominated by Apple and Samsung. “Both vendors together controlled 46.5 percent of smartphone market leaving a handful of vendors fighting over a distant third spot,” said Mr. Gupta.
Nokia slipped from No. 3 in the second quarter of 2012 to No. 7 in smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2012. RIM moved to the No. 3 spot with HTC not far behind, at No. 4. “Both HTC and RIM have seen their sales declining in past few quarters, and the challenges might prevent them from holding on to their current rankings in coming quarters,” added Mr. Gupta.
While seasonality in the fourth quarter of 2012 will help end-of-year mobile phone sales to end users, Gartner analysts said that there will be a lower-than-usual boost from the holiday season. Consumers are either cautious with their spending or finding new gadgets like tablets, as more attractive presents.
Samsung’s mobile phones sales continued to accelerate, totaling almost 98 million units in the third quarter of 2012 (see Table 1), up 18.6 percent year-on-year. Samsung saw strong demand for Galaxy smartphones across different price points, and it further widened the gap with Apple in the smartphone market, selling 55 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2012. It commanded 32.5 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2012.
Table 1
Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Vendor in 3Q12 (Thousands of Units)
Company
3Q12
Units
3Q12 Market Share (%)
3Q11
Units
3Q11 Market Share (%)
97,956.8
22.9
82,612.2
18.7
Nokia
82,300.6
19.2
105,353.5
23.9
Apple
23,550.3
5.5
17,295.3
3.9
ZTE
16,654.2
3.9
14,107.8
3.2
LG Electronics
13,968.8
3.3
21,014.6
4.8
Huawei Device
11,918.9
2.8
10,668.2
2.4
TCL Communication
9,326.7
2.2
9,004.7
2.0
Research in Motion
8,946.8
2.1
12,701.1
2.9
Motorola
8,562.7
2.0
11,182.7
2.5
HTC
8,428.6
2.0
12,099.9
2.7
Others
146,115.1
34.2
145,462.2
32.9
Total
427,729.5
100.0
441,502.2
100.0
Source: Gartner (November 2012)
Nokia’s mobile phone sales declined 21.9 percent in the third quarter of 2012, but overall sales at 82.3 million were better than Gartner’s early estimate, largely driven by increased sales of the Asha full touch range. Nokia had a particularly bad quarter with smartphone sales, and it tumbled to the No. 7 worldwide position with 7.2 million smartphones sold in the third quarter. The arrival of the new Lumia devices on Windows 8 should help to halt the decline in share in the fourth quarter of 2012, although it won’t be until 2013 to see a significant improvement in Nokia’s position.
Apple’s sales to end users totaled 23.6 million units in the third quarter of 2012, up 36.2 percent year-on-year. “We saw inventory built up into the channel as Apple prepared for the coming holiday season, global expansions and the launch into China in the fourth quarter of 2012,” said Mr. Gupta. With iPhone 5 launching in more territories in the fourth quarter of 2012, including China, and the upcoming holiday season Gartner analysts expect Apple will have its traditionally strongest quarter.
In the smartphone market, Android continued to increase its market share, up 19.9 percentage points in the third quarter of 2012. Although RIM lost market share, it climbed to the No. 3 position as Symbian is nearing the end of its lifecycle. There was also channel destocking in preparation of new device launches for RIM, which resulted into 8.9 million sales to end users in the third quarter of 2012. With the launch of iPhone 5, Gartner analysts expect iOS share will grow strongly in the fourth quarter of 2012 because users held on to their replacements in many markets ahead of the iPhone 5 wider roll out. Windows Phone’s share weakened quarter-on-quarter as the Windows Phone 8 launch dampened demand of Windows Phone 7 devices.
Table 2
Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Operating System in 3Q12 (Thousands of Units)
Operating System
3Q12
Units
3Q12 Market Share (%)
3Q11
Units
3Q11 Market Share (%)
Android
122,480.0
72.4
60,490.4
52.5
iOS
23,550.3
13.9
17,295.3
15.0
Research In Motion
8,946.8
5.3
12,701.1
11.0
Bada
5,054.7
3.0
2,478.5
2.2
Symbian
4,404.9
2.6
19,500.1
16.9
Microsoft
4,058.2
2.4
1,701.9
1.5
Others
683.7
0.4
1,018.1
0.9
Total
169,178.6
100.0
115,185.4
100.0
Source: Gartner (November 2012)
Additional information can be found in the Gartner report “Market Share: Mobile Phones by Region and Country, 3Q12.” The report is available on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=2236115.
Tablets
Digitimes Research: Global tablet shipments to surpass that of notebooks in 2013 [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 19, 2012]
Digitimes Research expects global tablet shipments to reach 210 million units in 2013, up 38.3% on year and surpass those of notebook for the first time, with branded tablet shipments to account for 140 million units, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst James Wang.
[Compare this to the notebook shipment forecast by Digitimes Research of 192 million units in 2012 expected to drop to 189 million units in 2013. See additional details of this forecast below in Digitimes Research: Windows 8 expected to have minimal impact on touch screen notebooks in 2013.]In 2013, Google is expected to maintain its momentum from the Nexus series products and become the second largest tablet brand vendor worldwide with shipments of 19 million units. Apple will remain the largest tablet vendor worldwide, but its share in the global branded tablet shipments will drop to only 55.6% [i.e. 78 million units], down from more than 60% in 2012, and 37.4% in total tablet shipments (including white-box models).
With surging shipment growth for white-box tablets, Android is expected to become the largest platform in the tablet market, surpassing iOS. In 2013, Digitimes Research expects Android-based tablet shipments including white-box and branded models, to reach 121 million units, up 40.2% on year. [With the global 210 millions and branded 140 millions the white-box tablet shipments are expected to grow to 70 million units in 2013 vs. 50 millions this year. Therefore the branded Android based-tablets to become 51 millions, and as the Nexus tablets are said here to become 19 millions there will be 32 millions other branded Android tablets sold in 2013 .]
Digitimes Research also expects global tablet shipments will reach 320 million units in 2015 with branded tablets to account for 220 million units and white-box models to account for 100 million units.
Digitimes Research: Global Tablet Market to Enjoy Strong Shipment Growth in 4Q12 [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 13, 2012]
Global tablet shipments from major brands worldwide are expected to reach 40.93 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, up 72.7% sequentially and 89.7% on year, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst James Wang.
As for the tablet vendor rankings in the quarter, Apple will remain as the largest vendor worldwide, while Amazon is expected to return as the second-largest and Google will rank third with assistance from its Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. Microsoft will rank fourth, Samsung Electronics fifth, and Barnes & Noble sixth. Asustek, Lenovo and Acer will rank seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively, Wang noted.
As for the tablet processor supplier rankings, Texas Instruments (TI) will return as the second-largest with Nvidia at third. Intel will also be ranked for the first time due to Windows 8.
Taiwan makers are expected to ship 36.6 million tablets combined in the fourth quarter, up 82.3% sequentially and 86.7% on year, with the volume accounting for 89% of global tablet shipments. Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) will be the largest tablet maker, followed by Quanta Computer, Pegatron Technology, Wistron and Compal Electronics.
Digitimes Research estimates that global branded tablet shipments will reach 104 million units in 2012, up 64% on year, with iPad accounting for 63% of the volume, down 2pp on year, while both Android and Windows will see their proportions increase.
In comparison the white-box tablet shipments are up by whopping 317% in 2012 at least (50 million units shipped as a minimum vs. 12 million units in 2011) according to sources given below:
Digitimes Research: White-box tablet shipments to surpass 50 million units in 2012 [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 8, 2012]
White-box tablets are expected to see a surge in shipment growth in 2012 with volumes surpassing 50 million units, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst James Wang.
There are three major drivers that will help white-box tablets achieve strong growth in the year: a large number of potential consumers brought in by Android handsets, mature development of China-based processors, and decreasing costs o white-box tablets. With the addition of white-box tablet shipments, Android is expected to surpass iOS and become the largest mobile operating system in 2012, while 7-inch displays will also become the mainstream specification for tablets.
As the branded tablet PC market is seeing fierce competition in terms of technology, capacity, yield rates, patents and prices, the rise of white-box tablets has already made these players a new force in the tablet market, with some white-box players even seeing higher shipment volumes than first-tier vendors.
Digitimes Research believes that brand vendors should be aware of white-box tablet players’ developments in the future, since even platform designers such as Google and Microsoft have used their resources to increase price competition in the tablet market, and the situation may gradually turn to favor China-based players with expertise in lowering costs.
Source: Digitimes Research, November 2012
or from the Chinese version of the same [Nov 9, 2012]:
China Fabless: Rockchip rattled by Android tablet wars [by Junko Yoshida on EE Times, Sept 25, 2012]
…
How many tablets does China make, how big is the Chinese market?
80 percent of media tablets made in China are exported
Unit: Million of units
Source: Chinese industry estimates
For more information see also: Yoshida in China: ‘Shanzhai’ clouds tablet data [EE Times, Nov 8, 2012]
In retrospect: just 4 months ago the forecast was increased from 30 million to 40 million
Global shipments of white-box tablet PCs to reach 40 million units in 2012, say chip designers [DIGITIMES, July 25, 2012]
Forecast global shipments of white-box tablet PCs in 2012 have been upward adjusted from 30 million units originally to 40 million units due to growing demand in emerging markets including China, India, Thailand and Latin America, according to Taiwan-based design houses of ICs used in tablet PCs.
An estimated 10 million white-box tablet PCs were shipped globally in 2011, and shipments increased to 18 million units in the first half of 2012, the sources indicated.
Vendors/makers of white-box tablet PCs currently cluster in Shenzhen and Dongguan, southern China, the sources noted. A large portion originally made netbooks and have stepped into tablet PCs as chips and the Android operating systems have matured, the sources said.
White-box tablet PCs are primarily competitive in price with models launched by own-brand vendors, with retail prices standing at US$59 for 7-inch models and US$149 for 10.1-inch models, the sources indicated.
China market: Domestic chipset vendors ramping up shipments to white-box tablet PC makers [DIGITIMES, July 20, 2012]
China-based chipset solution vendors including Rockchip Electronics and Allwinner Technology have been ramping up their shipments to white-box tablet PC vendors in China, cutting out market share from Taiwan-based VIA Technologies, according to industry sources.
Shipments of white-box tablet PCs in China totaled eight million units in the first half of 2012 and are expected to reach 16-17 million units for the year, compared to 20 million projected previously, the sources indicated.
Rockchip shipped at least 1.6 million tablet chipset solutions in the first half, accounting for 20% of the white-box tablet PC segment. Rockchip’s latest ARM-based dual-core solution, the SoC RK3066, is being built using a 40nm process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), said the sources.
Allwinner has been delivering more of its A10 solutions, which are also manufactured by TSMC utilizing a 55nm process, added the sources.
then came the news that: Demand for white-box tablets keeps growing despite keen competition [DIGITIMES, Oct 15, 2012]
Demand for white-box tablets rolled out by China-based makers remains strong currently despite the launch of US$199 models by Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Google, and the dominance of Apple’s iPads, according to industry sources.
Some white-box makers in Shenzhen are shipping 200,000-300,000 tablets a month, and a number of large-scale operators are even shipping one million units a month, buoyed by their tactics of optimizing hardware specifications, while keeping device prices low, noted the sources.
Most 9.7- or 10.1-inch white-box tablets powered by a dual-core CPU are currently quoted below US$200, while those comparable models with a single-core processor are priced at US$70-120, revealed the sources.
Some 7-inch models built with China-based Allwinner’s A10 solutions can be available for US$50, the sources added.
Additionally, the FOB prices of US$150-250 for 9.7-inch white-box tablets with dual-core CPUs, high resolution displays and 3G modules are also competitive in emerging markets, the sources commented.
Some tablet exhibitors at the ongoing HKEF 2012 (Hong Kong Electronics Fair, Autumn Edition) estimate that China-based white-box makers as a whole are shipping four million tablets a month currently.
Allen Wu, president, ARM China, predicts that shipments of Android-based tablets by China makers are likely to reach 50 million units in 2012 and increase to 100 million units in 2013.
Over 5.0 million Nexus 7s to be shipped in 2012, say Taiwan makers [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 19, 2012]
At the end of the second quarter, Google expected shipments of 2.5 million Nexus 7s in 2012 but since then it has continually placed additional orders in view of booming sales, with the cumulative shipment volume in 2012 will reach 5.0 million units based on orders released, according to Taiwan-based players in the supply chain.
While international vendors usually place orders for shipments to peak in October and November to meet year-end peak demand beginning in late November, Nexus 7 shipments are expected to remain at a high level of 700,000-1,000,000 units in both November and December, the sources pointed out.
After the launch of the 16Gb Nexus 7 for sale at US$199 and a 32GB version at US$249, Google on November 13 launched a 32GB 3G-enabled Nexus 7 for sale at US$299 and Google Play and Google’s partner AT&T have sold out available stock, the sources indicated.
While the iPad mini is thought of as a major competitor for the Nexus 7, Taiwan-based iPad mini supply chain makers indicated that Apply has not adjusted order volumes since the tablet was launched and monthly shipments remain at nearly 4.0 million units currently.
Digitimes Research: Google will become more influential in tablet market [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 2, 2012]
Senior analyst James Wang of Digitimes Research believes that Google’s recently announced Nexus 10, developed in cooperation from Samsung Electronics, and upgraded storage for the Nexus 7, are aimed at starting competition with players such as Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and China-based white-box tablet vendors.
Since Google has prepared a full-range of tablet products, Wang believes the company’s entry-level Nexus tablet, that has not yet been announced, will have the strongest influence on its competitors.
Google’s Nexus 7 shipments performed better than expected, and are forecast to reach 4.3 million units in 2012, accounting for about 20% of non-Apple tablet shipments (excluding white-box models), while the volume in the fourth quarter is also expected to enjoy sequential growth despite the weak global economy, Wang pointed out.
Digitimes Research estimates that Google’s Nexus series tablets will see total shipments of 19 million units in 2013
accounting for 50% of non-Apple tablet shipments. [In a later estimate Wang raised the shiments of other branded Android tablets to 32 millions, see also here in the beginning, so Google’s Nexus marketshare now is only 37% in its own category.]
But note: Nexus 7 not yet allowed to enter China market [DIGITIMES Research, Sept 11, 2012]
While the Nexus 7, the tablet co-developed by Google and Taiwan-based vendor Asustek Computer, has been witnessing booming sales in major markets around the world, it is difficult for the model to be available for sale in the China market because the China government has not yet approved its import, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
The China government’s negative attitude is interpreted as a response to Google’s announcement of withdrawing from the China market in March 2010, the sources pointed out. It is difficult for the Nexus 7 to enter the China market, even through sale of Asustek’s marketing network there, the sources indicated.
Without the Nexus 7 in the market, China-based white-box vendors of tablets are under much less competitive pressure, the sources indicated. This is because the Nexus 7 has the advantage of Google’s and Asustek’s brand image with commensurate product quality and is expected to be strongly competitive with 8GB Android 4.0 tablet models in the 7- to 9-inch range launched by China-based white-box vendors, including Ainol, Onda, Teclast and Cube, at US$149, the sources pointed out. In addition, the Nexus 7 will bring competitive pressure on tablet PC models of equal specifications offered by Samsung Electronics and China-based vendors Lenovo and Hasee Computer in the China market, the sources indicated.
Without the China market, the cumulative global sales volume of Nexus 7 will reach an estimated 3.5 million units at the end of 2012, the sources noted.
Google attitude against modified Android may lead to split in Android, say Taiwan handset makers [DIGITIMES Research, Sept 18, 2012]
Google’s opposition to Taiwan-based vendor Acer’s launch of the A800, a smartphone based on the Alibaba-developed operating system Aliyun, reflects Google’s attempt to check development of modified Android platforms, but if Google cracks down on this, developers of modified Android platforms may be forced to offer own-brand smartphones or tablets and give up on Android, resulting in an increased split in the adoption of Android, according to Taiwan-based handset supply chain makers.
Google explained that Aliyun is incompatible with the Google ecosystem and therefore unable to ensure a consistent user experience among developers, makers and consumers, the sources noted. In response, Alibaba emphasized that Aliyun, while based on open-source Linux as Google is, is not part of the Google ecosystem and therefore is not necessarily compatible with the ecosystem, the sources indicated.
Developers of modified Android platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba are not members of the Open Handset Alliance and are Google’s competitors, they need not care about Google’s attitude, the sources pointed out. However, smartphone vendors need to cooperate with Google to offer Android models and therefore have to be concerned about Google’s attitude against modified Android platforms, the sources indicated.
If Google cracks down by prohibiting smartphone vendors from adopting modified Android platforms, developers of modified Android platforms, such as Amazon, may skip vendors to directly partner with ODMs to offer their own-brand devices, with such platforms to set up their own ecosystems and thereby become more competitive with Android, the sources pointed out. For some China-based smartphone vendors which have adopted many locally developed applications, because losses arising from forgoing Android may be small, they may shift to a modified Android platforms.
Among China-based smartphone vendors, only Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Lenovo, Haier, Oppo and a few others joined the Open Handset Alliance, the sources noted. As China is the largest smartphone market around the world, Google had better pay attention to response from web service operators, smartphone vendors and consumers, the sources pointed out.
Commentary: Is it a blessing for Asustek to have Google backing? [DIGITIMES, Nov 7, 2012]
Asustek Computer has seen its brand image improve in the US and Japan recently thanks to the launch of dual-branded Nexus 7 in cooperation with Google. Asustek is proud of its product design with regard to the Nexus 7, and also aims to capture the top-vendor ranking in the Android tablet segment. But it remains to be seen whether Asustek will be able to continue to expand its brand image based on the charm of the Nexus 7, since Google has announced its Nexus 10 in conjunction with Samsung Electronics.
Google has been backing Asustek in the development of the Nexus 7, offering the Taiwan-based hardware vendor the priority to design-in its latest Android OS and to penetrate into the US tablet market jointly.
Due to aggressive pricing set for the Nexus 7, industry watchers have wondered whether the Google-Asustek cooperation would generate profits for Asustek before the production of the 7-inch tablet reaches economies of scale. But for Asustek, the dual-brand marketing was not aiming at generating profits initially but rather improving its brand image, particularly in North America.
Optimizing Asustek’s design capability and Quanta Computer’s manufacturing muscle, the Google-Asustek team is able to set the price of the Nexus 7 lower. The low-priced tactics is working as sales of the Nexus 7 have been better than expected, while Asustek’s notebook sales in the US are also improving.
Some industry watchers now estimate that total shipments of the Nexus 7 are likely to reach 4-4.2 million units by year-end 2012, while Asustek will also be able to sell more of its own brand notebooks in the US.
But the skepticism about the merits of the Google-Asustek tie-up still remains, since Google has showed its intention to control the development of the Android market, optimizing the production of the 7-inch Nexus 7 at Asustek and the 10-inch model at Samsung. Furthermore, the latest market rumors also indicate that Google may also team up with Lenovo for penetrating into the China market.
Does Google treat Asustek as a brand partner or an OEM supplier? John Lagerling, director of business development for Android, seems to have an answer to the question.
When approached by the New York Times during a recent interview seeking a confirmation of Asustek’s remarks that current shipments of the Nexus 7 have reached as many as one million units a month, Lagerling replied, “We haven’t announced numbers. We typically don’t allow our partners to announce numbers.”
The message clearly indicates that Google treats Asustek as an OEM partner, but not a dual-brand partner.
In the worst-case scenario, Google may tie up with other vendors such as HTC and Lenovo to develop its next-generation Nexus tablets, which will place Asustek under fire from rivals vying for the Android tablet market.
Asustek has estimated its tablet shipments to reach 6.3 million units in 2012, of which the Nexus 7 will account for over four million. In other words, shipments of Asustek’s own brand Transformer and Padfone tablets are limited.
Asustek’s competitive advantage will wane further if it fails to win the design-in priority for the next-generation Nexus tablets.
The emerging new trends
in the premium ecosystem of the Windows devices
[Windows] Notebooks
Third-generation ultrabooks may be able to achieve 40% of notebook shipments, say players [DIGITIMES, Dec 11, 2012]
As Intel failed to achieve its goal of having ultrabooks account for 40% of total notebook shipments with its Ivy Bridge platform, and the proportion only reached about 10%, sources from notebook players believe the goal may be achievable with the upcoming Haswell platform, which is set to launch at the end of second-quarter, 2013.
The sources pointed out that compared to Ivy Bridge, Haswell’s stronger performance and cheaper price, plus the expectation that Windows 8 should become more standardized by then, should mean ultrabooks have a chance to account for 40% of total notebook shipments by the end of 2013.
Although vendors have released ultra-like notebooks with prices around US$699-899 as alternatives, since these devices lack attractiveness in terms of design and weight, while ultrabook models with specifications similar to the MacBook Air have prices a lot higher than the MacBook Air, most consumers have turned to purchase Apple’s product instead, the sources noted.
Digitimes Research: Surface tablet to mainly devour notebook demand in the short term [DIGITIMES Research, Oct 30, 2012]
Microsoft’s recently launched own-brand Surface tablets have raised the question of whether Surface will devour consumer demand for tablets or notebooks, or maybe even both. In terms of hardware, Surface is capable of satisfying consumer demand for notebooks, but to replace other tablets, it still requires a more complete app software ecosystem, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst James Wang.
Currently, the major difficulty Surface faces in gaining a competitive edge in the tablet market is the lack of a complete app software ecosystem, which means that if Surface can achieve growth in the short term, it will mainly be at the expense of demand for notebook products.
To let Surface to become a tablet killer instead of a notebook killer, Microsoft must expand shipments of Windows RT devices to attract application designers to join and establish an ecosystem. However, due to Android’s existence in the market, most notebook vendors are hesitant about joining the Windows RT market.
Although IBM, Microsoft and Intel were able to defeat Apple previously with an open platform strategy, due to Android’s existence, Microsoft will be unable to compete against Google in terms of business model and will be forced to head to the same business direction as Apple of having a closed platform with integrated software and hardware, making it even more difficult for Microsoft to build a complimentary ecosystem built on the Windows RT platform.
The most popular strategy for platform competition is to offer a free or low-price product or service to attract users and establish an ecosystem to strengthen consumer loyalty, and then seek methods to gain profit. Apple, Google and Amazon’s strategies are all similar – by abandoning profit from some segments including hardware, operating system, software, digital content or advertising, they are able to increase their profits from the remaining segments; however, for Microsoft, since all the above segments belong to different business units, internal struggles and external industry fluctuations will all affect Microsoft’s performance in the future.
Digitimes Research: Windows 8 expected to have minimal impact on touch screen notebooks in 2013 [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 13, 2012]
Shipment growth for touch screens used in notebooks throughout the fourth quarter of 2012 and most of 2013 will at large not be affected by the release of Windows 8, according to Digitimes Research.
Research indicates that consumers are more likely to purchase tablets throughout the time period because of the wide variety of tablet products available, and because of the difference in pricing between tablets and notebooks.
The notebook shipment forecast is expected to drop by 192 million units in 2012 to 189 million units in 2013 as a result, as well as due to a lack of recovery in the global economy.
However, Digitimes Research pointed out that the expected drop in notebook shipments will also be due to notebook makers increasing the mainstream sizes of their products to 14- and 15-inch, which will thus decrease the amount of panels available for producing notebook products.
Despite the shipment drop, the usage rate for touch panels used in notebooks is expected to increase to 10% in 2013, added Digitimes Research.
Digitimes Research: Asustek to compete with Acer for top-3 worldwide notebook vendor spot in 2013 [DIGITIMES Research, Nov 15, 2012]
Weak Global notebook demand is expected to reshuffle the top-10 notebook brand rankings in 2013, with Lenovo expected to successfully take over Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) leading position. Meanwhile, Asustek Computer, which will rank as the fourth-largest brand vendor worldwide in 2012, will compete against Acer to become the third-largest vendor in 2013.
Toshiba, the sixth-largest notebook brand worldwide in 2012 is expected to be surpassed by Apple in 2013.
With top brand vendors starting to lose their edge, the four new stars in the notebook brand market – Lenovo, Asustek, Apple and Samsung – are expected to see their combined market share rise from 40.9% in 2012, to 43.2% in 2013.
As for upstream ODMs, their contributions to global notebook shipments is expected to grow from around 70% in 2011 to 75% in 2013, while electronic manufacturing service (EMS) providers will step out of the design business and turn to focus mainly on manufacturing.
In 2013, Pegatron Technology and Wistron are expected to have the best performance among the top-five makers as the former will benefit from increased orders from Lenovo and Fujitsu, while the later will benefit from its enlarged cooperation with Asustek.
Source: Digitimes Research, November 2012
HP, Lenovo aim to ship 40 million notebooks each in 2013, say Taiwan makers [DIGITIMES, Nov 19, 2012]
Despite a stagnant global notebook market in 2012, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Lenovo aim to ship 40 million notebooks each in 2013, respectively increasing by 25% and 33.3-37.9% from 2012, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.
As there have been no signals to indicate an economic rebound in the US and Europe, and demand for Windows 8 notebooks will not take off in the near future because consumers will take time to get accustomed to the new operating system, HP and Lenovo may be too optimistic about their notebooks sales in 2013, the sources analyzed.
Among other vendors, Samsung Electronics aims to ship 17 million notebooks and 40 million tablets in 2013, hiking from 2012 by 21.4% and 300% respectively, while Toshiba and Acer have set respective goals of shipping 20 million units, growing from 2012 by 25%, and 28 million units which will rise by 7.7%, the sources noted.
Lenovo 3Q12 global PC market share rises to 15.6% [DIGITIMES, Nov 9, 2012]
Lenovo saw its total global sales volume of notebooks, desktops and tablets during the third quarter of 2012 increase by 10.3% on year, with corresponding global market share rising to 15.6%, according to the company’s fiscal second-quarter 2012 (July-September) report released on November 8.
Lenovo posted sales revenues of US$8.7 billion, gross margin of 12.1%, net operating profit of US$206 million, pre-tax profit of US$204 million, and net profit of US$162 million for the third quarter of 2012.
Lenovo reached the largest PC market shares in China, Japan, India, Russia and Germany in the third quarter, and is likely to do so soon in Brazil, the company pointed out.
Lenovo shipped 8.5 million handsets in the third quarter, of which seven million were smartphones, the company indicated.
Notebook vendors headhunt R&D talent from ODM partners [DIGITIMES, Nov 19, 2012]
As notebook brand vendors grow more interested in-house R&D and manufacturing to promote their brand image, sources from the upstream supply chain have seen some notebook vendors starting to headhunt talent from their ODM partners.
Sources from notebook ODMs also pointed out that vendors have changed their outsourcing strategies and will check with their chassis and hinge suppliers for component materials and prices, and have their in-house R&D teams complete industrial design before handing the work to ODMs.
The sources pointed out that the new strategy is expected to expand in the notebook industry in 2013 and should benefit notebook brand vendors in terms of gaining more control over component costs as well as keeping their product designs confidential.
Acer and Hewlett-Packard (HP) have already started adopting the strategy.
Acer recently pointed out that the company will increase its R&D investment by 20% each year for the next three years. The company currently has about 1,000 R&D engineers. Lenovo will also continue strengthening its R&D and manufacturing abilities and is set to achieve an in-house production rate of 20% in 2013. Samsung’s in-house production rate is expected to maintain at 85-90% in 2013.
Notebook ODMs offer extra services to attract tablet orders [DIGITIMES, Nov 19, 2012]
With notebook shipments estimated to only have a single-digit percentage growth on year in 2013, notebook ODMs including Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics and Wistron, are aggressively trying to land tablet orders by offering extra services, according to sources in the upstream supply chain.
In addition to offering preferences over price, product specifications and shipment conditions, Compal and Wistron also offer their exclusive touchscreen solutions from related subsidiaries to attract downstream brand vendors to place orders.
Meanwhile, Quanta is offering services through its cloud computing expertise and the company reportedly has assisted brand vendors such as Amazon, to build data centers and successfully acquired their tablet orders.
In 2013, Compal estimates it will ship 6-8 million tablets, up from two million units in 2012, while Wistron expects its tablet shipments to reach six million units, up from 2.5 million units in 2012, and Quanta with shipments of 14-15 million units, up from 10 million units in 2012.
11.6-inch becomes niche-market size for notebooks, say Taiwan makers [DIGITIMES, Nov 15, 2012]
As global sales of netbooks have been decreasing due to competition from tablets, 11.6-inch has become niche-market size, according to Taiwan-based notebook supply chain makers.
Among notebook screen sizes, 11.6- and 13.3-inch have accounted for a relatively small proportion of total shipments, the sources indicated. However, as Samsung Electronics and Acer have launched inexpensive 11.6-inch Chromebooks and Asustek Computer has launched a 11.6-inch VivoBook touch-control notebook, an increasing number of 11.6-inch notebooks are available for sale, the sources commented.
Despite shrinking sales, demand for netbooks still exists, especially in emerging markets, the sources indicated. As most netbooks are have screen sizes of 10-inch, and 10.1-inch is so far the upper limit for typical tablet screen sizes, 11.6-inch notebooks are likely to see considerable demand in the global market, the sources pointed out.
Windows 8 may not start a PC replacement trend for enterprises until after 2014 [DIGITIMES, Nov 19, 2012]
Demand for Microsoft’s Windows 8 is unlikely to start emerging until 2013 for the consumer market, while for the enterprise market, demand is expected to come at an even later time and may not appear until 2014, according to sources from the PC industry.
Although Microsoft is trying to present its latest innovations in Windows 8 to response to consumers’ fluctuating demand, it turns out that consumers need more time to understand the new advantages that the product provides and relatively delay acceptance for the new operating system.
Although notebook brand vendors have a high expectation for the year-end holidays this year, their order placement to the upstream supply chain still shows they are cautious about the shipment performance during the traditional peak season.
To prompt enterprises to adopt Windows 8, Microsoft has recently noted that the company will stop providing support to Windows XP in April, 2014 with most of the enterprises expected to turn to Windows 7 and some to Windows 8 as stability and necessity are the major considerations for enterprises to make a purchase.
Component makers concerned Windows 8 demand may not emerge until 1Q13 [DIGITIMES, Nov 19, 2012]
Some upstream component makers have recently started to be concerned that the PC replacement trend expected to be brought on by Windows 8 may not occur in the fourth quarter of 2012 as originally estimated, but will take off in the first quarter of 2013, according to sources from upstream supply chain.
Since an operating system usually needs to have serious debugging after launch, the sources believe consumers may hold back their new PC purchases until some time later and their actions would impact demand for Windows 8-based systems in the fourth quarter.
However, the component makers are still placing high hopes on the new operating system to bring growth.
Notebook ODMs facing uncertainty as brand vendors take over R&D [DIGITIMES, Nov 7, 2012]
Acer plans to release a new notebook that is designed and developed in-house, creating an alert among notebook ODMs that brand vendors are trying to become more involved in R&D and the component purchasing of their notebook products which could impact ODMs’ profitability, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
The sources pointed out that Acer’s in-house developed notebook features Windows 8 and a touchscreen display and will be showcased at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2013, at the earliest. Related R&D has already been completed and Acer is currently seeking a partner to conduct assembly.
So far, the device is the only in-house developed project that Acer plans to release in the short term and shipments will be limited, indicating that the project is a test for Acer to try out its R&D capabilities, the sources noted.
With Lenovo also planning to expand its in-house production by establishing its own plants, if Acer also decides to conduct R&D in house, it could seriously impact the values of ODMs for their clients.
However, some ODMs pointed out that they are not concerned about the moves and believe the possibility of the new business model emerging is low since the brand vendors have already outsourced their R&D to ODMs for a long time, and rebooting their R&D capabilities will require a long period of learning.
Since Wintel is no longer dominating the PC market, brand vendors will also need to spend R&D resources on ARM and Android, which would seriously increase their burden.
At its Windows 8 product launch conference, Acer also revealed that the company will focus more on product R&D and will increase its R&D resources by at least 20% every year.
Commentary: Notebook ODMs face uncertainties in tablet market [DIGITIMES, Nov 7, 2012]
The rise of tablets and smartphones, plus the economic downturn in the US and Europe, have been causing PC brands such as HP, Dell and Acer to report unsatisfactory sales results. This has been affecting the performance of notebook ODM firms such as Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics and Wistron.
ODM firms have been hoping that Windows 8 can stimulate a new wave of demand as consumers switch to new PC models with the Microsoft operating system in 2013. Also, ODM firms have been aggressively fighting over tablet orders as demand in 2013 is likely to reach 200 million units.
Quanta Computers targets revenues from non-notebook business to increase to 30% of total revenues in 2012. Compal is looking to ship 6-8 million tablets in 2013, while Wistron aims to achieve its tablet shipment target of 6 million units in 2013.
Compal’s and Wistron’s targets of shipping 6-8 million tablets to a market whose total shipments are expected to reach 200 million in 2013 show how difficult it has been for notebook ODMs to obtain tablet orders.
One of the reasons is that most of the market has been dominated by Apple while other tablet vendors such as Amazon and Google have yet to see strong sales. Manufacturing orders have been over-concentrated, causing tough competition among firms. As a result, both Quanta and Compal have trimmed their tablet divisions.
The ODM firms have been facing uncertainties regarding tablet orders, such as multiple platforms, unstable orders, and different device sizes.
Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms continue to dominate the market while Microsoft’s Windows comes in third. Samsung is planning to develop its own platform and HP’s webOS may also become one of the major players. The multiple platforms mean firms need to bet on the right one to maintain orders.
As for orders, clients may place large volumes expecting strong sales in the end market. But when sales turn out worse than expected, inventory will build up and orders will be cut. That is the case with Amazon’s Kindle Fire earlier this year. For the tablet segment, manufacturing partners are under much higher pressure from inventory management.
Another uncertainty comes from the size of the devices. There are currently products that are 7-, 8.9-, 9.7-, 10.1-, and 11.6-inch. A small difference in size can mean significant differences in revenues.
In addition, profits have been unstable. Some tablet brands want to increase market share by resorting to low price and sacrificing their gross margin. This directly affects the profit margin of ODM firms.
Taiwan component makers worried about Lenovo plans to hike in-house notebook production [DIGITIMES, Oct 8, 2012]
As China-based vendor Lenovo plans to increase in-house production of own-brand notebooks and will therefore procure components instead of letting ODMs release orders, as a result Taiwan-based component makers have felt pressure of losing orders, according to Taiwan-based notebook supply chain makers.
In-house production currently accounts for 20-30% of Lenovo’s shipments of notebooks, desktops and other types of PCs, the sources indicated.
Lenovo will have LCFC (Hofei) Electronics Technology, its joint venture with Taiwan-based ODM Compal Electronics in Hofei, northern China, start volume production at the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013, to increase in-house production of notebooks, the sources pointed out. In addition, Lenovo is setting up PC production lines in the US and will do so in Brazil in 2013, with volume production to begin in 2013, the sources noted.
In addition to increasing in-house production, Lenovo may set up a supply chain consisting of China-based component makers, the sources pointed out.
Compal/Lenovo joint venture expected to output 3-5 million notebooks in 2013 [DIGITIMES, Sept 4, 2012]
The notebook manufacturing joint venture of Compal Electronics and Lenovo in Hefei, China was reported by local media to enjoy more than 10 million units of notebook production volume in 2013, but sources from notebook players estimate that the plants may only be able to output around 3-5 million units next year as their yield rates still need improvement, while the related process of shifting orders from other ODMs to the joint venture may also affect the total output volume from the joint venture.
The sources pointed out that Compal and Lenovo’s cooperation will create benefits for both firms as Lenovo will be able to directly control the quality of its products, understand the ODM manufacturing process and reduce its cost, while Compal will be able to tighten its relationship with Lenovo and benefit from Lenovo’s orders.
The joint venture will start pilot production in October and start mass production in the fourth quarter of 2012 with monthly capacity at around 300,000 units. Initially, the plants will focus on notebook production, but will later add production for all-in-one PC. The local media has reported that the plants will manufacture about one million notebooks in 2012, 13 million units in 2013 and 20 million units in 2014.
Currently, Lenovo has 51% stakes in the joint venture with Compal holding the remaining 49% and some market watchers are concerned that Lenovo may shift all its Compal orders to the joint venture, affecting Compal’s own orders and profitability since Compal will need to share its profit with Lenovo for any order received by the joint venture.
Commenting on the concerns, Compal president Ray Chen has noted that the two firms have already signed a contract to avoid from this type of situation, but he refused to reveal further details of the contract.
In 2013, sources from the supply chain pointed out that Lenovo will still maintain about 30% of notebook shipments being in-house manufactured and will outsource the remaining 70% with the orders to the joint venture considered as outsourcing.
Compal Electronics lays off tablet R&D, testing personnel [DIGITIMES, Oct 23, 2012]
Taiwan-based notebook and tablet ODM Compal Electronics has laid off more than 100 employees responsible for tablet R&D and testing.
Compal confirmed the layoffs, explaining that the company recruited staff members to meet growing orders for tablets in 2011 but orders received have been far short of expectations and therefore it is necessary to adjust manpower. Although Compal stressed that only one wave of layoffs is planned, internal sources indicated that there may be more.
Compal’s staff cuts signal that tablet vendors have encountered difficulties and notebook supply chains are under pressure, industry sources pointed out. For tablet vendors, the iPad has dominated the high-end segment while competition in among entry-level models, which includes the Amazon Kindle Fire series and Google Nexus 7, is already intensive, the sources analyzed. In addition, tablet vendors originally rested their hopes on Windows 8 models, but Microsoft’s launch of the Windows RT Surface at US$499, and Apple’s planned launch of the iPad mini will cut into their competitive advantages, the sources said.
Compal’s tablet clients are mainly Acer and Lenovo, the sources indicated.
In September 2011, Quanta Computer laid off over 1,000 production line workers due to a large decrease in orders for tablets from RIM, and in October 2011 Inventec laid off 432 employees because Hewlett-Packard reduced its tablet orders.
Lenovo to launch a table-shaped all-in-one PC [DIGITIMES, Nov 5, 2012]
Lenovo plans to launch a Windows 8-based all-in-one PC that features
asimilar industrial design asMicrosoft’s Surface[on June 18, 2012, a Microsoft tablet of the same name was unveiled, the original Microsoft Surface was rebranded as Microsoft PixelSense, see the About Microsoft PixelSense [Microsoft PixelSense press page, June 18, 2012]], a table-shaped PC. The machine features four legs and when the display is laid flat, it becomes like a table and can be used by multiple users simultaneously, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.The all-in-one PC features a 27-inch display with initial shipments of 20,000 units.
In addition to Lenovo, Acer, Asustek Computer and Hewlett-Packard (HP) all plan to launch new all-in-one PCs with some models will appear as soon as the end of 2012.
At Computex 2012, Asustek chairman Jonney Shih demonstrated an all-in-one PC product under its Transformer series and the all-in-one PC can be detached and become an 18.4-inch tablet, supporting both Windows 8 and Android; however, the product, so far, still has not yet been mass produced.
Meanwhile, Acer has also launched two Windows 8-based all-in-one PCs with special designed hinge and Lenovo also displayed its IdeaCentre A720 with a function to lay out flat.
In 2012, all-in-one PC shipments are expected to reach 16.4 million units, up 20% from 13.7 million units in 2011, according to figures from IHS iSuppli, while IDC also forecast that the all-in-one PC shipments will reach 17 million units in 2013.
[Windows] Smartphones
FIH reportedly lands handset orders from Microsoft and Amazon [DIGITIMES, Nov 26, 2012]
Foxconn International Holding (FIH) has reportedly landed handset orders from Microsoft and Amazon and is set to launch the devices in mid-2013, according to sources from the upstream supply chain. However, both the parent company Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and FIH declined to comment about clients or orders.
Foxconn is the major manufacturer of Apple’s iPhone products, while its subsidiary FIH has clients including Nokia, Sony, Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE.
Microsoft’s own-brand handset will adopt its Windows Phone 8 operating system, the sources noted.
The sources pointed out that Microsoft and Amazon’s own-brand handsets will only have a limited shipment volume initially and may become a new business model for the manufacturers in the future.
In addition to provide manufacturing services to first-tier brand vendors, FIH also supplies white-box handsets to regional vendors in China, Europe and the US.
Taiwan IC design houses to benefit from Samsung aggressive product roadmaps in 2013 [DIGITIMES, Dec 7, 2012]
… the Korea-based vendor is reportedly set to adopt a more aggressive ‘shotgun’ strategy wherein many models will be created in the smartphone, tablet, notebook, LCD TV and DSC sectors that cover a wide range of market segments in 2013, according to industry sources.
In the smartphone sector, Samsung will move into the Windows Phone platform and roll out models targeting the entry-level, mid-range and high-end segments simultaneously, in an attempt to duplicate its success in the Android space, the sources revealed.
Digitimes Research: Android phones to account for 70% of global smartphone market in 2013 [DIGITIMES Research, Dec 6, 2012]
Shipments of Windows Phones, including 7.x and 8.x models, will grow 150% on year to 52.5 million units in 2013 for a 6.1% share
Worldwide Mobile Phone Growth Expected to Drop to 1.4% in 2012 Despite Continued Growth Of Smartphones, According to IDC [IDC press release, Nov 1, 2012]
For the year, smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 45.1% year over year to 717.5 million units.
…
Windows Phone will battle with BlackBerry for the number three spot in 2013, but will gain further clarity in the years that follow. Windows Phone will build on the progress it made in 2012, with Nokia establishing its presence and HTC solidly jumping back into the race. Moreover, contributions by Samsung, ZTE, and Huawei will help grow its footprint. With more vendors releasing more devices aimed at multiple segments, sales associates will be better positioned to tell a compelling Windows Phone story and to explain the value of Windows Phone’s differentiated experience compared to market leaders Android and iOS.
…
Top Smartphone Operating Systems, Forecast Market Share and CAGR, 2012–2016
Smartphone OS
2012 Market Share
2016 Market Share
CAGR 2012 – 2016 (%)
…
…
…
…
Windows Phone
2.6%
11.4%
71.3%
…
…
…
…
Total
100.0%
100.0%
18.3%
Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, December 3, 2012
The previous forecasts taken together mean:
– IDC: 18.7 million Window Phones in 2012 (calculated as 2.6% of 717.5 million units)
– IDC: 161 million Window Phones in 2016 (with 71.3% CAGR of that 18.7 million)
– DIGITIMES Research + IDC: 46.6 million Window Phones in 2013 (150% growth predidicted for WP in 2013 by DIGITIMES Research over 18.7 million given by IDC for 2012)
which makes DIGITIMES Research’s forecast of 52.5 million Window Phones in 2013 quite feasible for me, at least for three reasons:
-
Samsung aggressive move into the Windows Phone platform as noted above by DIGITIMES.
-
The kind of breakthrough for the WP8 Lumias, and WP8 in general, especially against iPhone 5, as described by my recent blog entries ragarding:
High-end smartphones state-of-the-art:
– Lumia 920 vs. iPhone 5 (and vs. Android, Galaxy S3, HTC One X+) [Dec 7, 2012]
– Windows Phone 8 vs. Android 4.1 and 4.2 [Dec 6, 2012] -
The additional, not yet recognized end-user and business partner advantages as described in all detail in my:
– Lead post: Marko Ahtisaari from Nokia and Steven Guggenheimer from Microsoft on the Internet of Things day of LeWeb Paris’12 [Nov 6, 2012]
Uncertain Windows 8 future may relatively affect Windows Phone 8 [DIGITIMES, Nov 5, 2012]
Although Microsoft has been aggressive promoting its new Windows 8 operating system (OS), a weak global economy has the notebook supply chain remaining conservative about the OS’ contribution to their performance in the fourth quarter and the OS’ uncertain future may relatively affect the software giant’s plan for its Windows Phone 8 platform, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Microsoft’s aggressive promotion of Windows 8 touchscreen functions is meant to blur the boundaries between smartphone, tablet, notebook and desktop through a similar usage experience, while expanding its advantages in the IT industry through a unified OS platform structure and gain some benefits from the smartphone market, where the company is currently still behind.
Microsoft originally hoped to strengthen its Windows Phone 8 penetration through a PC replacement trend brought by Windows 8, but since the OS may not trigger a replacement trend as expected, while Microsoft’s smartphone partners such as High Tech Computer (HTC) and Nokia are also conservative about their Windows Phone 8-based product shipments, the sources believe Microsoft’s plans for its operating systems will be further delayed.
Microsoft’s launch of own-brand smartphones in 2013?
It is based on rumors that Microsoft Is Reportedly Testing Its Own Smartphone [TechCrunch, Nov 2, 2012]
First it built the Surface, and now Microsoft is said to be working on another new hardware product, this time a smartphone. That’s according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, which says Microsoft is currently working with Asian component suppliers on its own handset design, though it isn’t yet clear whether or not the device will ever go into mass production.
Details about what a Microsoft smartphone would look like are scarce, but the report does say that the version being currently tested has a screen between four and five inches, which is in keeping with recent designs from Apple and Android handset OEMs. It’s also probably pretty reasonable to assume that any device Microsoft puts out now will have more in common with the flagship phones from its hardware partners for Windows Phone 8, which include Nokia and HTC, than with its previous Kin smartphones. The teen-focused Kin carried Microsoft’s branding, but was made by Sharp, and lasted only 48 days on the market.
Microsoft had made a more dedicated approach to creating its own hardware with the Surface, albeit to mixed reviews. And as the WSJ reports, it’s also been more aggressive about enforcing hardware standards with its partners in recent years, both in terms of the look and makeup of Windows-certified PCs and in minimum specs for partner mobile handsets. That Microsoft could be considering an approach like Apple’s, wherein it would sell both hardware and software and control all aspects of the ecosystem, definitely seems more plausible than it has in the past.
Also, rumors have been building that Microsoft is working on a smartphone since back in June, thanks to Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund, who said that Microsoft was already working with a “contract manufacturer” to create their own Windows Phone 8 mobile device. Then at the beginning of October, Boy Genius Report received a tip that Microsoft was indeed working on its own smartphone, that would sell alongside and compete with partner OEM devices like the HTC 8X and Nokia Lumia 920. The company has shown it’s willing to go there with the Surface, and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop even said on a conference call two weeks ago that a Microsoft-made device would be a boost to the entire Windows Phone 8 device sales ecosystem.
Even if it didn’t become a top seller in and of itself, a Microsoft-branded smartphone could offer Windows Phone what the Nexus line provides Android: a place to show off the latest and greatest software, experiment and build hype around the platform. I think the biggest risk would be in potentially alienating hardware partners, but so far the Surface doesn’t seem to have dampened the enthusiasm of Windows PC OEMs all that much, and Elop has already declared his support. If nothing else, a Microsoft-made Windows Phone 8 smartphone would be interesting, and generating interest is maybe the key ingredient to Microsoft’s future mobile success.
Why Microsoft believes latest-gen Windows Phones are ‘killer hardware’ [TechRadar, Nov 18, 2012]
INTERVIEW We talk to the head of Windows Phone: Terry Myerson
For the last year, Nokia has been the poster child for Windows Phone but recently HTC and Samsung have seemed more in favour.
Samsung announced their Windows Phone 8 handsets first and the HTC 8x was handed out to enthusiasts at the Windows Phone 8 launch.
We asked corporate vice president of the Windows Phone Division Terry Myerson to explain how Microsoft juggles partnerships with rival phone makers and how much influence manufacturers have on the design of Windows Phone.
“We work in different ways with each of them on the engineering and on the marketing,” Myerson told TechRadar.
Nokia gets priority when it comes to development because of the commitment it’s made to Windows Phone; “Nokia is exclusive to Windows Phone and we definitely, on the engineering side, prioritise platform work to support their differentiation coming through.”
Despite the restrictions it puts on handset specs, Microsoft doesn’t want to see the same handset from every phone maker. “Our goal is that Windows Phone is a platform that our partner differentiation can shine through on.
We do spend time planning with HTC and Samsung, sitting down with them and collaborating on what a product is where their differentiation elegantly coexists with Windows Phone and what we bring. There are different cultures to each of these companies and they all have their own plans for how they want to bring their technologies to market.”
“The best devices”
He’s predictably enthusiastic about the handsets that come out of the collaboration with all three partners. “I think the result is the most fantastic killer hardware we’ve ever had, not only for the windows ecosystem – I think these devices are better than any device – well, I they’re the best devices. They’re colourful, they’re beautiful, they’re thin, amazing cameras…”
Some of what you see in Windows Phone 8 handsets is Microsoft’s idea, some comes from the OEMs. “In the case of wireless charging, that was definitely Nokia’s initiative to say they wanted that; they had technologies inside their labs, they took the initiative to put forward a number of engineering designs. There were definitely platform modifications we made to support their innovation but Nokia led on that. All the credit goes to them.”
“The Wallet feature is a place where the Windows Phone team thought about how to use NFC. Roaming content though SkyDrive, encryption; these are all features coming from Microsoft. But the wide angle camera that HTC did with Skype in mind, Nokia’s wireless charging – those are innovations coming from our hardware partners.”
Although app developers get far more access to the platform in Windows Phone 8, Microsoft is still keeping some control and treading a fine line between the free for all of Android that Google is increasingly trying to rein in and the central control of the Apple ecosystem.
“We like to think of it as the structured ecosystem that allows the differentiation of partners to shine though on our platform, at the same time providing consumers the confidence that we will protect their privacy, keep malware off the platform, provide a consistently familiar user experience, and providing developers confidence they can write apps once and target our platforms. So there is more structure and structure at times can feel constraining but also there are benefits to it. It’s helpful that everyone drives on the same side of the road, for example…”
Why was the SDK so hard to get?
Myerson is unapologetic about not making the Windows Phone 8 SDK widely available before the launch (when most developers didn’t have phones to work with) and concentrating instead of key developers to get big-name apps; 46 of the top-selling 50 apps from other phones will be on Windows Phone 8 (and yes, he knows who the missing four are and is working on changing their minds).
The sheer number of apps in the Store is far from the most important thing. “It’s a balance; definitely there is magic that occurs in that long tail of apps, [you get some] delightful things… but it is also true that working with these incredibly popular mobile apps is important as well.”
Windows Phone 8 is the future and it’s getting all the marketing love at the moment, but Windows Phone 7 is far from dead. Myerson assured us. “We’re going to have more to say about 7.8 in the coming weeks,” he promised.
“I would expect both platforms to exist for quite some time, from a global point of view. Windows Phone 7.8 devices will span much lower price points than Windows Phone 8 devices, initially, and given the application compatibility across the platforms, it makes the ecosystem stronger to have more device and more price points. We value every 7 and 7.8 customer we have; we’ll continue to work for them as well but it is true that Windows Phone 8 is our future platform.”
Of course that only matters if Microsoft can finally start selling Windows Phone devices in significant numbers. Just as Steve Ballmer promised you wouldn’t be able to escape Windows 8 ads, Myerson promises what sounds like an advertising blitz, focussing on Windows Phone rather than on the handset makers.
“This holiday it’s very important to us to get out there and tell the Windows Phone story: how we do have this amazingly unique point of view, the smartphone that can be so personal and reflect your interests and the people in your life. Telling that in the most pure sense without confusing them which brands we’re talking about is important. We need consumers to understand and love Windows Phone.”
More advertising money
Certainly Microsoft has promised to advertise Windows Phone better before, without much to show for it, and Myerson seems happy to admit it.
“We weren’t out there with same experience as Windows, even we though shared the same brand; we didn’t have all the right teamwork in place with our partners on the go to market, and we were not advertising the product. We were not out there telling the story to consumers – and that changes now. We will start telling our story. We are going to go out there and advertise the product and tell people.”
What’s different now? In a word, Windows 8 – but also more operator support. “It’s a special time. We have a great product that expresses this unique differentiated point of view, that we are the most personal smartphone, we’ve got killer hardware from partners and we have a great partnership with the mobile operators.
“The fact that they’ve ranged so many phones at such great price points is fantastic. And of course having Windows out there at the same time is exciting; making the experience familiar to users and being the best phone for Windows; if you’re a Windows user, this is the phone for you.”
ST-Ericsson: Fundamental repositioning for modem, APE and ModAps spaces
Rumour: Microsoft to expand ARM processor choices to Samsung and ST-Ericsson SOCs in next Windows update [Oct 5, 2012]
MSNerd, long time Microsoft leaker, has passed on a little tip about the next version of Windows on ARM.
Currently Windows on ARM runs on NVidia, Qualcomm and TI processors, which leaves OEMs like Samsung unable to use processors from their own supply chain.
According to MSNerd, in the next update to Windows Nokia and Samsung will be able to use processors from their favourite providers – in Nokia’s case ST-Ericsson’s Novathor processor, and in Samsung’s case its own Exynos processor and SOC.
Blue is said to be an interim update to Windows, much like a service pack, and may be the start of a regular, more phone-like pattern of yearly updates to Windows which add features, as we have come to expect from Windows Phone and the iOS.
So far we do not know much else about the update, but one can hope the update removes the reliance of the Modern UI on the Windows desktop for many settings.
See also:
– Windows Next: Just call it ‘Blue’? [ZDNet, Aug 13, 2012]
– ST-Ericsson NovaThor SoCs for future Windows Phones from Nokia [this blog, Nov 3-24, 2011]
We are talking about the following SoCs according to the latest, May 23, 2012 roadmap presentation:
According to the recent STMicroelectronics information included in the first section below:
- The low-cost version of the current L8540 ModApp will be in mass production next year at the Samsung 32/28nm foundry.
My conclusion: With that ST-Ericcson could compete quite well with Qualcomm’s MSM8x30 “mid-tier market” SoCs in the Snapdragon S4 Plus tier. Depending on the production efficiency even the MSM8x27 “mass market” SoCs in the same tier may be targeted, at least later on. - The 28nm FD-SOI based version of the L8540 (according to a French leak given in Section II the L8580) is slated for mass production by Globalfoundries in H2 2013.
My conclusion: With that ST-Ericsson will compete quite well with what Qualcomm is going to offer later in the current MSM8x60 “premium market” space of S4 Plus.
More information on S4 Plus is in the Core post: Qualcomm decided to compete with the existing Cortex-A5/Krait-based offerings till the end of 2012 [Sept 30, 2012]
Some explanation:
The current L8540 ModApp is a dual-core 1.85GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with a powerful Imagination PowerVR™ SGX544 GPU running at 500Mhz and an LTE/HSPA+/TD-HSPA modem on a single 28nm die. It started sampling in Q3 2012 and debuted on Sept 18 at the PT EXPO COMM China 2012. The low-cost version will run the dual A9-s at 1.2 GHz, while the FD-SOI based version also dual A9s at 2+ Ghz (first information was 2.3 GHz while on the PT EXPO COMM even 2.5 GHz was mentioned as possible). The PowerVR SGX544 GPU will run at a slower than 500MHz in the former and at least 600MHz in the latter case. We also know that the FD-SOI based version has taped out in September and could be available for production smartphones in smaller quantities by the end of H1 2013.
ST-Ericsson’s near term strategy is therefore to compete with the same dual-core Cortex-A9 and SGX544 based SoCs across a broad scale achieved via broad range of manufacturing technologies, and do not engage in many-core battles pursueded by the low-cost Chinese SoC vendors like MediaTek, Spreadtrum, Allwinner, Rockchip and others.
Latest competitive information regarding the low-cost Chinese vendors:
– Core post: Boosting the MediaTek MT6575 success story with the MT6577 announcement – UPDATED with MT6588/83 coming early 2013 in Q42012 and 8-core MT6599 in 2013 [June 27, July 27, Sept 11-13, Sept 26, Oct 2, 2012]
– Core post: Lowest H2’12 device cost SoCs from Spreadtrum will redefine the entry level smartphone and feature phone markets [July 26 – Aug 16, 2012]
– Core post: The low priced, Android based smartphones of China will change the global market [Sept 10-26, 2012]
– Take note: MT6577-based JiaYu G3 with IPS Gorilla glass 2 sreen of 4.5” etc. for $154 (factory direct) in China and $183 [Sept 13, 2012]
Elaboration for the current topic in details is given in the following sections:
I. Reorganization began recently at semiconductor parent STMicroelectronics
II. Summary: ST-Ericsson’s Fundamental repositioning
III. Detailed information: ST-Ericsson’s Fundamental repositioning
Warning: the last section is quite long but worth to go through
I. Reorganization began recently at semiconductor parent STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics Announces New Appointments in the Executive Management Team [STMicroelectronics press release, Sept 13, 2012]
STMicroelectronics, (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, announced today that, effective immediately, Georges Penalver has been appointed Executive Vice President, Member of the Corporate Strategic Committee, Corporate Strategy Officer. Penalver was formerly Managing Director of the Communication Business Group of Sagem and, more recently, Member of the Executive Board of France Telecom/Orange Group in charge of the Group’s Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships. He brings a wide experience in defining corporate strategies, leading businesses and implementing comprehensive transformation processes.
Jean-Marc Chery, Executive Vice-President, will take the additional responsibility of General Manager, Digital Sector, while maintaining his current role of Executive Vice-President, Chief Technology and Manufacturing Officer.
As a consequence of Chery’s expanded responsibilities, Eric Aussedat, General Manager, Imaging and Bi-CMOS ASICs Group; Joel Hartmann,Corporate Vice President, Front-end Manufacturing & Process R&D, Digital Sector, and Philippe Magarshack, Corporate Vice President, Design Enablement & Services, are promoted to Executive Vice Presidents while maintaining their previous scope of activities; Stéphane Delivré, Corporate Vice President, Global Chief Information Officer, will now report to the President & CEO.
Philippe Lambinet, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy Officer and General Manager, Digital Sector is leaving the company today to pursue other interests.
ST also announced it will present its new strategic plan in December. The objectives of the plan are to continue to accelerate the company’s roadmap towards the already announced financial model, taking into account the changed market environment and some specific customer dynamics, and to continue to ensure the future success of the company in total, with the two pillars, the Analog and the Digital businesses, both becoming as quickly as possible sustainable segments of ST.
About STMicroelectronicsST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power technologies and multimedia convergence applications. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people’s life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.
In 2011, the Company’s net revenues were $9.73 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.
Business insider brought in to fix ST [ElectronicsWeekly.com, Sept 14, 2012]
A heavyweight business insider has been brought in to address the deteriorating situation at STMicroelectronics.
Georges Penalver formerly at Sagem and France Telecom and a general partner at US-based investment fund Cathaya Capital, has been appointed Chief Strategy Officer of ST.
ST has two big problems: one is its jv ST-Ericsson which has run up debt of $1.2bn since starting trading in 2009. It is losing $250m a quarter.
The other big problem is a collapse in sales at ST. From $9.73bn in sales last year, sales are expected to be $8.6bn this year – about the same level as they were when the current CEO [Carlo Bozotti] took over in 2005.
On the one hand ST has a solid business in MEMS, discretes, power semiconductors and analogue, on the other hand it has slipped behind in the process technologies on which success in digital microelectronics depend.
Penalver’s job will be to find some resolution to these issues and he is expected to report with a new strategic plan in December.
Samsung and STMicroelectronics Enter Strategic Relationship for Advanced Foundry Services at 32/28nm Technology [Samsung press release, Sept 28, 2012]
Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, announced foundry production of STMicroelectronics’ leading products using 32/28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process technology. Samsung Electronics’ foundry business has been selected by STMicroelectronics to provide it with products at the 32/28nm process node. The relationship has already resulted in taping-out of a dozen ST advanced system-on-chip (SoC) devices for mobile, consumer and network applications.
“We have successfully started production of STMicroelectronics’ new-generation 32/28nm SoC products,” said Kwang-Hyun Kim, executive vice president of foundry business, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics. “A foundry relationship with ST demonstrates our commitment to advanced process technology and our 32/28nm HKMG process-technology leadership. We have aggressively ramped 32/28nm capacity and will continue to deliver the most advanced process solutions to our customers,” he said
Samsung and STMicroelectronics have developed 32/28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) technology through participation in the International Semiconductor Development Alliance (ISDA). Samsung’s foundry business has offered access to 32nm HKMG process technology for early market leaders and 28nm HKMG process technology for customers looking for traditional migration benefits.
“In addition to delivering waves of innovative new products, another key to ST’s success in each of our target markets is working with industry leaders,” said Jean-Marc Chery, executive vice president, chief-technology officer for STMicroelectronics. “Both ST and Samsung have worked together on advanced process-technology development through the ISDA and that experience has provided significant insight into our ability to work together to meet our objectives and thus provide unique service to our customers in demanding and fast-moving markets.”
See Samsung Foundry: 32/28nm Low-Power High-K Metal Gate Logic Process and Design Ecosystem [March 2011]
TSMC 28-nm market share may drop in 2013: Topology [The China Post, Oct 4, 2012]
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) share in the 28-nanometer contract chip-making sector may drop from 80 percent to 50 percent next year on fierce competition from Samsung, reported research firm Topology yesterday.
Samsung has been active in expanding its contract manufacturing business and has raised capital expenditure for two years in a row, Topology said.
The Korean firm has turned a large part of its memory chip business into contract manufacturing, resulting in a sharp increase in foundry capacity that is expected to catch up with TSMC, it said.
“Samsung’s migration into contract manufacturing has sent shockwaves throughout the industry,” said Chen Lan-lan, researcher with Topology. “Its move to raise capital expenditure and transform memory capacity into foundry capacity indicates its ambition in the contract manufacturing sector.”
“This year, Samsung’s contract manufacturing capacity is about a third of TSMC’s. Our forecast indicates next year the figure will change to one-half,” she added.
According to her, it was also worth noting that Samsung’s 300-millimeter capacity has surpassed that of United Microelectronics and GlobalFoundries, the latter of which has also been active in expanding high-end production capacity. These factors will combine to bring fierce competition to TSMC, she said.
“Strong demand for 28-nm have enabled TSMC to report record sales several times this year. Yet next year, with expansion by Samsung and GlobalFoundries, the shortage in 28-nm capacity will improve, and this is expected to bring down TSMC’s share in the 28-nm market,” she said.
Full Interview: Jean-Marc Chery, CTO and CMO at ST [ElectronicsWeekly.com, Sept 10, 2012]
In the first week of September STMicroelectronics taped out the 28nm FD-SOI NovaThor integrated modem and applications processor designed by ST-Ericsson.
The chips are being made at Crolles. The Crolles 28nm FD-SOI line has capacity for 300-500 wafers per week. The process is in the course of being transferred to Globalfoundries’ Dresden fab where it will be ready for mass production in the second half of 2013, said Chery.
The decision to go with FD-SOI was taken in July 2011 after an earlier decision to use bulk [?HKMG?] “28nm bulk with HKMG looked good enough to address smartphones,” said Chery, “over a year ago we taped out HKMG 28nm at Samsung.”
Having made the decision to adopt FD-SOI last July, it has taken a year to get the process to the point where it will be ready to start running 28nm FD-SOI ICs next week.
The 28nm FD-SOI process produces ICs with superior performance to Intel’s bulk 22nm finfet process, said Chery. Intel’s ’22nm’ process has a drawn gate length of 27nm.
“Finfet generation 1 on bulk does not perform as well as SOI performance at 28nm,” said Chery, “finfet generation 1 has good leakage without performance or performance with high leakage.”
“Finfet generation 1 on 22nm is a complex technology and doesn’t give the best trade-off between performance and leakage,” said Chery.
“Finfet generation 2 on 14nm will be the same performance as FD-SOI but much more complex and with less design legacy,” added Chery.
How will ST compete when the processes deliver the same performance? “Our competitive advantage will be in our design technology,” replied Chery, “they’re used to making PC chips for high performance, we are in the world of wireless devices where the priority is power consumption. They’re OK with small volume high value PC chips, not with the very high volumes of tablets and phones where volumes are very high and prices are low.”
ST reckons it has a big lead in FD-SOI particularly in the UTBB [Ultra Thin Body and BOX (buried oxide)] refinement of FD-SOI where the value added is the thickness of the silicon dioxide BOX which is 25nm.
Compared to bulk processes, the FD-SOI process has 10% fewer steps and three fewer masks reducing lead time by 10%. It is scalable to 14nm and has a processing cost equivalent to bulk.
“Planar 28nm UTBB SOI is an evolution of 28nm bulk,” said Chery, “it has the same design rules and the same BEOL process. The FD-SOI FEOL process has 80% in common with 28nm bulk.”
ST is keeping a foot in the bulk CMOS camp. “We’re prototyping 28nm bulk at Samsung,” said Chery, “we start mass-production on 32nm and 28nm next year.”
“Bulk CMOS is introduced first at Samsung, then at Globalfoundries,” said Chery, “SOI is being introduced first at Globalfoundries where it will be ready for mass production on 28nm FD-SOI in H2 2013. And we can use Samsung for SOI if we need to.”
The Samsung and Globalfoundries fabs are synchronised under the IBM Common Platform Alliance so all the design rules are compatible and the same product fits both fabs.
The FD-SOI process will see ST through the 28nm and 20nm nodes without ST having to bother with finfets.
“At 28nm and 20nm we can offer a planar SOI solution which offers the best combination of performance and leakage,” said Chery
The FD-SOI vs finfet competitive battle will be joined in earnest at the 14nm node, reckons Chery.
“Intel’s 14nm finfet process will be fantastic,” said Chery, “so Samsung and TSMC are running fast to introduce a competitive 14nm finfet process.”
ST’s FD-SOI process will scale to 14nm but, after that, ST is looking for partners to develop the technology further.
“The challenge for us will be at 10nm,” said Chery, “because bulk will disappear at 10nm. We need to get others to join the club at Globalfoundries – it’s in our interest to prepare a club for 10nm.”
Chery reckons the FPGA people and the ARM camp could be possible members.
STMicroelectronics’ strategy of being a ‘competitive follower’ means that the advantage in process technology being gained by the ASML, Intel, Samsung, TSMC lithographic alliance will not affect ST.
“We intend to be a competitive follower,” says Jean-Marc Chery, Chief Manufacturing and Technology Officer at ST, “we won’t have the first machines. We’ll have them when production is mature.We won’t fight to take machines at the same time as Intel, TSMC and Samsung but we’ll take them when they’re mature. That’s our strategy of being a competitive follower.”
ST gets its basic process technology from IBM’s Common Platform Alliance and, if IBM can’t get the latest production machines early, that will affect IBM’s ability to develop processes in a timely manner for distribution to its alliance partners.
So is IBM being out of the ASML litho party a problem for the Common Platform Alliance? “We have to decide that at the top executive level,” said Chery adding that he would be going to talk to IBM about it quite soon.
The absence of EUV machines doesn’t mean process development has to stop. “Intel have said they can cope with 14nm using double or triple patterning,” said Chery.
As for ST getting its hands on the latest equipment in a timely manner, Chery points out: “ASML capacity is booked 18-24 months in advance. You pay up-front and they will guarantee supply.”
Being left out of the ASML litho party is more of a problem for Globalfoundries, reckons Chery.
Part of Chery’s brief at Crolles, as Chief Manufacturing Officer, is to keep the fab there running wafers as cost effectively as anywhere else in the world.
“The challenge Crolles has in manufacturing technology is to offer a competitive supply chain,” said Chery. ST benchmarks its manufacturing cost against foundry manufacturing cost.
So how does Crolle’s 300mm fab capable of running 14,000 wpm at the moment compete on cost with TSMC’s GigaFabs running 100,000 wpm?
“We are competitive in terms of purchasing price,” replied Chery, pointing Crolles is built to make 5000 wafers per week. (it’s running 3,500 wpw at the moment). “At 5K wpw, below 40nm, the advantages of the dimension of scale is getting lower,” he said, “and full automation means we do not need the high volume to be competitive; with a high level of automation we can manage average volume with strong efficiency.”
Crolles currently produces 22% of ST’s annual sales – about $2 billion worth. “The number of good circuits per wafer is between 70% and 90% depending on complexity and ramp up. The challenge is always how to align the wafer cost to TSMC’s selling price.”
The manufacturing strategy varies with the industry cycle. In a down-cycle the strategy is to have 60% out output manufactured in-house and 40% out of house; in the up-cycle the proportions are reversed: 60% out at foundry and 40% in-house.
ST uses the Fast-Yield Learning Curve technology of PDF Solutions.which has brought days-per-mask-level down to 0.7. “With one customer’s apps processor on 40nm we have achieved 0.36 days per mask level,” said Chery.
ST will pursue two options at 14nm. “We don’t want to be a follower of Intel,” said Chery, “at 14nm we’ll have both options: 14nm finfet in bulk – from the Common Platform Alliance, and 14nm FD-SOI planar.”
ST-Ericsson boosts smartphones and tablets to 2.3 GHz! [silicon.fr, July 12, 2012] as translated by Google:
The L8580 is a component NovaThor ARM dual-core clocked at 2.3 GHz, dedicated to mobile terminals. A solution that relies on burning in FD-SOI 28nm STMicroelectronics.
We have seen previously, the 28 nm FD-SOI STMicroelectronics is a very effective means between 28 nm and 22 nm, but also an interesting alternative (and affordable) Intel 3D transistors.
ST-Ericsson is the first to adopt this technology in theNovaThor L8580 , L8540 successor (engraved in 28 nm “bulk”). This component has been designed in Grenoble and Crolles, prototyped and then melted Crolles. Of 100% “made in France”! It features two ARM Cortex-A9 clocked at 2.3 GHz , or 24% more than the L8540 (1.85 GHz maximum).
A champion of energy efficiency
But this is not all: 1.85 GHz, consumes 35% less energy than its predecessor. Better, a voltage of 0.6 V, it is clocked at 1 GHz , almost twice than competitive offerings (which must make the best use of 0.9 V to achieve such a frequency).
The L8580 is faster than most dual-core ARM chips, but also more energy in times of low system load (which constitute the bulk of the activity of a computer system).
ST-Ericsson believes that a classic smartphone, this component will provide an extra day of autonomy compared to L8540, which can result in a surplus of respectively 4 hours or 2:30 in high-speed web browsing or reading HD video.
The top mobile graphics
In addition to its particularly high operating frequency, the NovaThor L8580 is assisted by PowerVR SGX544 GPU clocked at the frequency of very valuable 600 MHz (500 MHz cons above, or 20%). It is among the very best in the mobile world in raw performance, as operating frequency.
Finally, the SoC integrates a DDR2 memory controller and modem LTE is for all smartphones and tablets.
On the actual availability of this offer, STMicroelectronics indicates that the scheme component will be fixed within a month, the chip start to be melted before the end of 2012 .
II. Summary: ST-Ericsson’s Fundamental repositioning
There was a series of fundamental announcements from ST-Ericsson on MWC 2012, then in March and a final one in April last week. The essence of all this is that the company’s modem business is set to grow further within ST-Ericsson while its application processor business will continue to grow within its ST-Microelectronics parent, and its integrated ModAps are repositioned for maximising the chances to achieve true market leadership in the next two years.
In terms of the conventional, Boston matrix based decisions such a strategic repositioning is to be achieved by the following actions (their general meanings are shown in the brackets):
- ModAp or Modem plus application processor integrated in a single SoC (smartphone and tablet platforms, i.e. NovaThor™): Build (i.e. the company can invest to increase market share [what was stressed by Didier Lamouch on MWC 2012 that in ModAp space they “want to drive the market”])
- Modem or thin modem (cellular modem, i.e. Thor™): Build (i.e. the company can invest to increase market share [what was stressed by Didier Lamouch on MWC 2012 that in modem space they “want to drive the market”])
- Connectivity (a “vast connectivity portfolio”): Hold (i.e. the company invests just enough to keep the SBU in its present position)
- RF, Power, Analog mixed signal: Harvest(i.e. the company reduces the amount of investment in order to maximise the short-term cash flows and profits from the SBU)
- Application processor or APE (Application Processor Engine, i.e. Nova™): Divest (i.e. by phasing the SBU out or selling it – in order to use the resources elsewhere)
Meanwhile it has also been reported that HTC is developing its own CPU for lower end smartphones with ST-Ericsson [Unwired, April 23, 2012]
HTC is following in the footsteps of Apple and Samsung, and is now working on its own dedicated applications processor. According to China Times, the Taiwanese smartphone maker has already signed memorandum of cooperation with ST-Ericsson to co-develop the chip.
Contrary to high performance Samsung and Apple [proprietary] CPUs which power their flagships, the new HTC processor will run the lower end smartphones. The devices with new chip will start shipping in volume sometime in 2013.
Note that ST-Ericsson is not the only proprietary SoC partner for HTC as indicated in the latest updates to Tech investment banking expertise to strengthen the unique value focus of growing the HTC brand and to achieve high growth again [this “Experiencing the Cloud” blog, April 18-25, 2012].
III. Detailed information: ST-Ericsson’s Fundamental repositioning
For the most recent information about that see: STMicroelectronics NV 2012 Investors & Analysts Day (NY), May 23, 2012 where a webcast is available as well. ST-Ericsson’s CEO Didier Lamouche had a downloadable plenary session presentation there on the following topics:
- The new strategic direction
- Addressing the right market
- Product Roadmap
- Customer traction continues
From that I will include here the following updated roadmap information:
Ericsson’s JV ST-Ericsson announces new strategic direction [Ericsson press release, April 23, 2012] with slides inserted as appropriate from ST-Ericsson’s CEO (Didier Lamouche) presentation to analysts
(note: the ST-Ericsson press release is essentially same)
- Focused R&D effort and partnership with STMicroelectronics in the development of future application processors
- Restructuring program to lower break even point and accelerate time-to-market
- Ericsson committed to the 50/50 joint venture and its new strategic direction
ST-Ericsson – the 50/50 joint venture owned by Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) – announced today the guidelines of its new strategic direction. Within the company’s new strategic direction it has signed an agreement to transfer its stand-alone application processor R&D activities to STMicroelectronics, and to take additional measures to accelerate time-to-market and lower the breakeven point.
“ST-Ericsson’s strategic shift is a key step in ensuring that the company can reach sustainable profitability and cash generation. With the focus on ModAps for smartphones and tablets it will allow device manufacturers to rapidly bring best-of-breed devices to the market,” said Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson and Chairman of ST-Ericsson Board of Directors.
The new strategic direction announced by ST-Ericsson today builds on four main pillars:
1. Strategic Focus
The Company re-affirms its vision to be a leader in smartphone and tablet platforms and unveiled a new strategy based on repositioning the whole business model. The new strategic direction leverages on ST-Ericsson’s unique capability to deliver complete system solutions for smartphones and tablets; competitive integrated modem plus application processor solutions (ModAp) will be the key differentiating offering through a combined approach of development and alliances.
The key building blocks of the complete system solution – application processors, modems, connectivity as well as power, RF, analog and mixed signal – will be developed either directly or through partnerships and alliances to limit and optimize the R&D effort, while enabling highly compelling solutions for its customers to bring innovative devices to the market in a timely manner. The Company will continue to develop modem IP, a key competitive enabler, sell thin modems and possibly license modem IP to third parties.
2. Partnership already signed: application processor
As a first step of this new strategy, ST-Ericsson has announced that it will partner with STMicroelectronics in the development of future application processors. The combination of the ST-Ericsson and STMicroelectronics teams will create a world-class organization, having the appropriate size, skills and strength to win in the growing multi-segment application processor market.
Under the terms of the agreement, ST-Ericsson, at closing date[1], will transfer its application processor R&D activity and employees to STMicroelectronics and will then integrate the application processor in ModAp platforms for smartphones and tablets under a license agreement from ST. In addition to this, the two companies have entered into a commercial agreement to jointly promote and offer stand-alone processors and thin modems, respectively, to a broader range of customers and applications.
The entire ST-Ericsson application processor R&D team will continue, under a transitional cost sharing model, the development of the current product generation, ensuring full continuity of ST-Ericsson’s product roadmap and full service to customers.
[1] completion of labor law related procedures and merger control approvals, if applicable, are the sole conditions precedent to closing of the agreement.
3. Accelerate time-to-market
In addition to this strategy change, the company will focus on improving R&D execution and accelerating time-to-market, while reducing the overall operating expenses. The activities will be consolidated into a significantly smaller number of sites, which will be specialized by technology as “centers of excellence.” The larger ones will also integrate a wider portion of the smartphone platform value chain, with a view to optimizing time-to-market and delivery efficiency.
This comprehensive site transformation is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of operations and will significantly reduce the number of sites. Additionally the Company aims at reducing its SG&A expenses by about 25 percent versus 2011 by streamlining the general and administrative activities and substantially reducing positions within the top paid members of the management.
4. Lower the breakeven point
As a result of all the above initiatives, the Company – subject to negotiations with work councils and employee representatives as required – foresees a global workforce reduction of 1,700 employees worldwide, including the employees that would be transferred to ST as part of the partnership announced today.
Annual savings of about $320 million are expected from the new and from the on-going restructuring plans, upon completion by the end of 2013. Total restructuring costs are estimated to be approximately $130 to 150 millionthrough completion. Specific impact on country or site level related to the plan will depend on local negotiations based on applicable legislation.
Conference call
An analyst conference call, hosted by Didier Lamouche, president and CEO of ST-Ericsson, will be held on April 23, 2012 at 18:00pm Central European Time (CET). Call-in numbers as well as supporting slides, will be available at www.stericsson.com/investors/investors.jsp.
About ST-Ericsson’s products
An application processor is a complex system-on-a-chip (SoC) for smartphones and tablets that supports applications and software running on mobile devices. In a similar way that a traditional general purpose microprocessor in a computer performs all processing and control functions, an application processor powers complex mobile devices efficiently processing functions such as user interface, graphics processing, phone calls, audio and video recording and playback and web browsing.
ST-Ericsson is a 50/50 joint venture between STMicroelectronics and Ericsson, established in February, 2009. ST-Ericsson’s result is accounted for in accordance with the equity method.
About ST-Ericsson
ST-Ericsson is a world leader in developing and delivering a complete portfolio of innovative mobile platforms and cutting-edge wireless semiconductor solutions across the broad spectrum of mobile technologies. The company is a leading supplier to the top handset manufacturers and generated sales of $1.7 billion in 2011. ST-Ericsson was established as a 50/50 joint venture by STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) in February 2009, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ericsson CEO Committed to ST-Ericsson Venture [Bloomberg YouTube channel, April 25, 2012]
STMicroelectronics Announces its Next Step in Multimedia Convergence [STMicroelectronics press release, April 23, 2012] with slides inserted as appropriate from ST-Ericsson’s CEO (Didier Lamouche) presentation to analysts
- To offer a single application processing platform to serve all markets
- Combining strengths with ST-Ericsson through a strategic partnership
- ST’s consolidated results to benefit from ST-Ericsson’s new strategic direction and related savings
Geneva, April 23, 2012–
STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, announced today the next step in its multimedia convergence strategy, which will focus on offering a single application processing platform to serve a broad range of multimedia devices like set-top-boxes, TVs, cars, smartphones and tablets.
ST signed an agreement with ST-Ericsson on the development of future application processors. Under the terms of the agreement, ST will take on ST-Ericsson’s application processor development R&D activity and then license back its technology to ST-Ericsson for integration into their ModAps (competitive integrated modem plus application processor solutions) for smartphones and tablets. Additionally, the two companies entered into a commercial agreement to jointly promote and offer stand-alone application processors and thin modems to a broader range of customers working across the entire spectrum of electronics applications.
The partnership contemplates the transfer to ST of highly skilled employees from ST-Ericsson, joining forces with the current ST R&D teams working on application processors. The agreement includes a transitional cost sharing model, followed by a royalty scheme from ST-Ericsson to ST. This transfer is subject to the completion of consultations with work councils and employee representatives, which ST currently estimates to be completed by July 1, 2012.
The partnership with ST-Ericsson is part of a wider new strategic direction announced today by our joint venture aiming to offer, through a combined approach of development and partnerships, competitive integrated ModAps, in addition to capturing a total of $320 million of annual savings from their new and on-going restructuring plans. The expected ST-Ericsson savings will benefit ST’s consolidated results, starting in Q3 2012, through the completion of the savings plans by the end of 2013.
“With this agreement, ST is one of very few companies to provide complete solutions based on a single application processing platform that delivers the features required by its customers and the whole ecosystem,” said Philippe Lambinet, ST’s Corporate Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Digital Sector. “By combining ST-Ericsson’s skills and deep knowledge of the smartphone and tablet business with ST’s strengths in IPs and consumer platforms, we now have capabilities that are second-to-none in mastering all of the key technologies necessary to serve the multi-screen society.”
“This is a further major step forward in our ambition for undisputed leadership in multimedia convergence, one of the two pillars of our vision together with Sense and Power,” said Carlo Bozotti, president and CEO of STMicroelectronics. “By partnering with ST-Ericsson in such a critical and R&D-intensive domain, we are able to leverage our investments over a wider range of applications and market opportunities, while capturing significant synergies benefiting both ST-Ericsson and ST. Overall, the agreement announced today well positions ST and ST-Ericsson for future success in application processors. In addition, ST, as a shareholder of ST-Ericsson, will benefit from the joint venture’s new strategic plan and expected cost savings.”
The closing of the deal is subject to completion of labor law related procedures and merger- control approvals, if applicable.
EE Times Analysis: ST-Ericsson rescue plan underwhelms [April 24, 2012]
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The plan as laid out is for ST-Ericsson to be a developer of mobile device SoCs and firmware to create “platforms” based on a mix of home-grown and licensed-in IP blocks.
Lamouche called the strategy ModApp indicating that ST-Ericsson would put together modem-plus-application processor platforms. To that end ST-Ericsson will continue to develop modem IP, which it considers its crown jewels, but the ARM-based application processor cores and about 500 jobs are being passed to STMicroelectronics. These are part of the 1,700 jobs being cut out of ST-Ericsson. We don’t know the exact number but Carlo Ferro, chief operating officer, said the application processor group represented several hundred jobs but by no means the majority of the 1,700 jobs being axed.
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… it seems inconceivable that STMicroelectronics shareholders could think it a good deal to carry ST-Ericsson for the next two years.
Perhaps what we will see is the movement of certain technology development operations out of ST-Ericsson to create licensing opportunities, thereby allowing the remaining ModApp company to be sold off. But to have any value it has to continue to get design wins, must continue to lay off engineers and must continue to drive down cost.
Q1 2012 Earnings Conference Call Remarks [STMicroelectronics, April 24, 2012]
… The savings specifically related to the partnership will be achieved in two steps: 1) a transitional cost sharing model for the current generation of application processor; and 2) synergies related to a common ecosystem, which for us is ARMbased. In addition, royalties will be paid by ST-Ericsson to ST to integrate the next generation application processor into their ModAp platforms.
Overall, this initiative is an important, first step in ST-Ericsson’s move towards leadership and improved financial returns.
We will see measurable progress in reducing the quarterly operating losses at STEricsson in the second half of this year leading to a significant reduction in losses as we exit the year.
Now let me give you additional details on the partnership announced with STEricsson for application processors which is part of our plans to advance our multimedia convergence strategy. It is very clear that delivering a similar experience across multiple screens is what service and content providers are looking for. So what might seem to be individual markets are actually very related markets as consumers expect their smart TV, car, smartphones and tablets to offer them the same experience.
ST is building a unique and competitive advantage by unifying its application processor platforms. As we outlined yesterday in our press release, we are adding the wireless application processor know-how within ST-Ericsson to the extensive multimedia capabilities ST has already developed within its Digital Sector for Set top Boxes and TV.
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With respect to Wireless, total revenues, as expected, decreased significantly due to a drop in sales of new products at one of ST-Ericsson’s largest customers, in addition to the usual seasonal effect and to the continued decline of ST-Ericsson’s legacy products. In the first quarter, however, ST-Ericsson reached a milestone on the new product sales side as the NovaThorTM U8500 ModAp systems started to successfully ramp at Samsung and Sonywith smartphones from both now available on the market.
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STMicroelectronics’ CEO Discusses Q1 2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript – Q&A part [Seeking Alpha, April 24, 2012]
… the partnership with ST is based of course on a transfer of the application team from ST-Ericsson team to ST … also it’s based on the fact that we see now that the real opportunity to extract synergies from merging these two teams. So if the question is why not before, our consumer business was based on a proprietary microprocessor and today is based on the ARM platform. The ST-Ericsson application processor is also based on the ARM platform, as you know. So merging these two teams, we have the potential and we have the plan to extract significant synergies from the merging of the two activities.
… of course, we also hope and we are confident that the ST-Ericsson can expand the customer base. I am very happy to see this new Galaxy phone from Samsung. It’s a great phone. Initially it was for the emerging market. Now, I understand it’s for all the markets. I saw phone in Europe now also. And of course, we also plan to fill these fabs with the new wireless customers. …
… What ST transferred to the joint venture was a device that was called Mont-Blanc, that is now called U8500, and this device is exactly the same device that is now ramping in high volume production in one of the topline in Samsung. This was our contribution to the joint venture, and I think it was an important contribution. It is the fundamental part of the joint venture today. …
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In terms of the synergies, that we will exploit there is some positive synergies, sales opportunities and some synergies related to avoiding to do twice the similar things by unifying the resources, the teams between ST-Ericsson and ST, inside ST. We will avoid duplications, we will avoid doing things twice and will be a lot more efficient and clearly we’ll be able to save cost, internal cost inside ST, R&D cost but also cost of third-parties because if we have to do only one software boarding of the given platform, it saves a lot of money rather than to do it twice. So that’s pretty obvious and of course we will extract cost synergies.
Now on the topline synergies, I want to say something which is the application processor market is estimated to be more than 2 billion units per year by 2015 and smartphones it’s already half of that bucket. So there is of course a great opportunity in smartphone base and to working together with ST-Ericsson of course will capture as much as we can in that particular half of the market.
But the other half is where ST is strong, it’s consumer, its automotive, it’s industrials, it’s medical, there is a lot of applications for application processors and with this combination, we do intent to explore also topline opportunities. So that’s also part of our strategy and that’s a very important reason why we are unifying our single platforms in all the market, not on wireless, not only set top boxes, but across all segments.
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STMicroelectronics Reports 2012 First Quarter Financial Results [STMicroelectronics press release, April 23, 2012]
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Q1 2012 – Product and Technology Highlights
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ST-Ericsson
- Products
- Announced at Mobile World Congress, the new NovaThor™ L8540 is an LTE/HSPA+/TD-HSPA-enabled integrated smartphone platform with the powerful application processor and modem integrated on a single die, and is scheduled to sample to customers in the second half 2012.
- Unveiled the CG2905, the industry’s first connectivity platform solution with simultaneous support for GPS and GLONASS technology, Bluetooth and FM Radio all integrated on a single 40nm device.
- Introduced first fully integrated wireless charger for mobile phones with the PM2020.
- Customers
- Samsung is now a customer of the ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ platform. The new Samsung GALAXY S Advance Android-powered smartphone uses the ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ U8500system.
- Xperia™ P, Xperia™ U, and Xperia™ sola are the first three smartphones by Sony Mobile Communications to use the NovaThor U8500 ModApsystem, combining application processing, modem and connectivity.
- Thor™ M5780 HSPA+ modem powers the next-generation Panasonic Elugasmartphone.
- Ontim WP8500 tablet to be the first commercially available Android-based tablet using the NovaThor U8500 system.
- Partners/technology
- Selected fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology for use in future mobile platforms, leveraging ST technology based on Soitec SOI, which will enable enhanced performance from the ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ platform at much lower battery usage – as much as 35 percent lower power consumption at maximum performance.
- Continued cooperation with metaio, reaching another milestone in supporting metaio’s new 3D object tracking technology.
- Joined the W3C Core Mobile Web Platform Community Group kicked off by Facebook.
- SRS Labs has made their TruMedia audio processing technology available on the ST-Ericsson Snowball development platform.
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ST-Ericsson Complete LTE Platform & Technical Demos – MWC2012 [ARMflix, March 2, 2012]
Source: ST-Ericsson Analyst & Media Briefing (Barcelona, February 28, 2012)
[20:56] But what is also clear which segments of those markets we intend to grab. This chart is illustrating actually the growth that we are projecting between 2012 and 2014 in terms of units for the smartphone market. … dividing into four segments from the entry to the premium. The largest segments are the high-end and mid market, and that is clearly where we want to focus, without exiting fully the entry market. But clearly our mainstream focus will be on the high and the mid. If we can tactically address the premium we will do but it will not be the basis of our mainstream strategy. If we can tactically address the entry we will do but it will not be the basis of our strategy. Our strategy will be focused on the mid and the high-end.
Why and how we will do that? We will do that via one initiative which is our unique capability, I will show that later on, to integrate the two critical silicon engines, software engines that are powering smartphone and tablet applications. The application processor and the modems. Our critical value add, our differentiating factor is our unique capability to integrate those functions into one chip. This is exactly what we want to do. [22:37]
Source: ST-Ericsson Analyst & Media Briefing (Barcelona, February 28, 2012)
[28:02] … that is what has been shown already before – the focus. The U8500 is clearly our battle horse for the coming months and weeks, and quarters. Shipping in volume, with some products, at key customers. The first product that we would like to announce is this one today: U8520 which is in fact an extension of U8500. It is a lower cost, optimized version. Basically we are reusing all the software and legacy of the U8500. …
What we would like to announce today which is brand new: the first ModAp from the joint venture [L8540]. The first piece of silicon and the first software package built out of those two platforms: the A9540 application processor and the M7400 LTE modem. … this is the first ModAp the JV is going to bring on the market before the end of the year [also using 28nm FD-SOI]. …
[From the press release (see much further below): The NovaThor L8540 integrates a dual-core 1.85GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, a powerful Imagination PowerVR™ SGX544 GPU running at 500Mhz and an LTE/HSPA+/TD-HSPA modem on a single 28nm die. Thanks to its ultra-low voltage operating mode the NovaThor L8540 extends battery life for typical smartphone usage by up to 30% compared to platforms in the market today. … scheduled to sample to customers in Q3 2012.]
This product will be also complemented by two different flavors:
– one, which is a low-cost version of this one to address the lower tier of the market, and to address lower price point phones; and
– another one, which is a boosted version in [using 28nm FD-SOI] terms of performance and power consumption.So the strategy is really to simplify our roadmap. To develop not too many products, to develop extensively and efficiently one platform and to try to refine it, and to extend our range of products by different flavors to it. [30:20]
[33:21] As I said before:
– we will derive one version of this product, which we are not announcing today (we will announce it later on), which will be a low cost, streamed down version, simple technology to address the lower part of the market; and in parallel
– we will also try to boost the performance of this platform with a new technology feature called FD-SOI … in order to address a different segment of the market, which is the highest performance area of the market, or the lower power consumption part of the market. [34:00]
Source: ST-Ericsson Analyst & Media Briefing (Barcelona, February 28, 2012)
[34:15] Our know-how is not only to be able to bring to the market high-performance application processor, not only to be able to bring to the market high-performance modems, but also—essentially—to bring them together. In another form of what we call ModAps, integrated solution of modem and application processor. Why we do that? To save cost. For example we have put here, on this chart what our integrated platform brings to the customer, to the product. In terms of power saving, in terms of size saving, compared to a dual chip solution.
It is bringing 10% power improvement, 15% size saving (which obviously in smartphone is something you want to do), 20% less components (so it means 20% less BOM). Of course that is exactly what our customers want, and by definition less workers.
Why do I insist on that? Because I believe there is only two companies in the industry today which are capable to bring these kind of technology on the market, and we are one of the two. [35:33]
Important note: With ModAp as one of the key differentiators the premium and somewhat even the high performance markets will be served with matching of the ST-Ericsson’s leading edge modem chips to the leading edge products of the application processor vendors as seen on the following slide of the briefing presentation.
Now see first the information related to the Thor M7400 modem:
“Our high-speed Thor™ modem revenue grew more than 20 percent sequentially as new HSPA+ phones continued to ramp in the market. Also in the quarter [i.e. in Q2 CY2011] we delivered first samples of our Thor M7400 LTE modem …
From: ST-ERICSSON REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2011 FINANCIAL RESULTS [July 20, 2011]
Source: ST-Ericsson Analyst & Media Briefing (Barcelona, February 28, 2012)
[36:20] … you need the bricks that are extremely performing, extremely high-level. We are proud to have today probably the most brilliant product on the market. We need to bring it to the market now. This will be done this year, before the end of the year. We’ve got already an award at CES for this product.
This is our latest LTE M7400 modem. With revolutionary architecture, meaning that we’ve decided years ago to start from a blank piece of paper and to rewrite totally what it takes to do a modem capable to have a global coverage up to 8 bands. So we are going to be ready to go forward for the next 10 years with this type of technology. Those are the critical elements that are going to be the characteristics of this product.
Just to give you one information. And again, coming from a different industry you will understand why I am insisting on that.
This modem is less than 50 mm2, very small. 7 mm by 7 mm piece of silicon. It contains 10 million lines of code. Why do I mention the use of this number? I will compare this number to another number which for me was before this astonishing.
The largest supercomputer in Europe, #5 in the world, designed to manage in parallel 100 thousand processors, delivering the most powerful engine to the market in Europe 2 years ago, was powered by a middleware that comprised 1 million lines of code. This piece of silicion, 7 [mm] by 7 [mm] contains 10 millions.
Just to calibrate you. Just to make you understand why you need incredible R&D power, incredible innovation capabilities, but incredible sense of delivery also to bring this type of performance to the market. We will do that. Takes a bit of time, takes a lot of energy, sometimes it takes some delays unfortunately, but we will bring it to the market. We are committed to do so. [39:14]
THOR™ M7400 LTE AND HSPA+ [ST-Ericsson, excerpted on March 12, 2012]
Paves the way for global LTE devices
The Thor™ M7400 is a new generation of multimode mobile broadband modem. It supports the latest LTE, HSPA+ Dual Carrier and TD technologies. The small form factor and high power efficiency of the M7400 enable slim form factor smartphones, tablets and other mobile broadband enabled devices. The advanced multimode RF design offers new level of flexibility to support regional LTE FDD/TDD/HSPA bands in Asia, Europe and North America in combination with global HSPA/EDGE.
A breakthrough in modem architecture delivers an optimum combination of hardware acceleration, for lowest power consumption, and flexible execution in software allowing feature and performance enhancements in existing hardware.
Equipped with the latest communication interfaces it enables efficient integration between application processor and modem, including memory-less modem design when combining with an application processor.
HIGHLIGHTS
Truly global
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LTE FDD/TDD, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE
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Radio supporting up to 8 LTE/WCDMA/GSM bands.
A streamlined modem
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Smallest two-chip thinmodem solution
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Power efficient architecture
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Highly integrated radio solution
For all devices
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Interfaces for data devices and smartphone application processors
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Memory-less modem design possible when combined with an application processor
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Complete and pre-tested reference design
FD-SOI: A process booster for http://blog.stericsson.com/blog/2012/04/st-ericsson-general/fd-soi-a-process-booster-for-st-ericssons-next-generation-novathor-part-1/ST-Ericsson’s next generation NovaThor, Part 1 [ST-Ericsson Technology Blog, April 17, 2012]
With the recent evolution in smartphone capabilities consumer expectations are rising fast. Ultra-fast multicore Gigahertz processors, stunning 3D graphics, full HD multimedia and high-speed broadband connectivity have become the norm for high-end devices. Consumers expect these features to be delivered in a device that is slim, light and can last for at least as long as their previous phones did. For our customers, the product designers, this translates into requirements for delivering high performance at low power in a cost effective manner. Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator – or FD-SOI – is a technology that addresses exactly these requirements.
At Mobile World Congress, our CEO Didier Lamouche confirmed during his speech that our next generation NovaThor platform L8540 will be using 28nm FD-SOI technology.
FD-SOI is a technology that is available for design today and will allow existing designs in 28nm to benefit today already from significant improvements in performance and power. FD-SOI solves – with less process complexity – scaling, leakage and variability issues to further shrink CMOS technology beyond 28nm.
FD-SOI, like FinFET, is a technology that was initially planned for 20nm nodes and below to overcome traditional bulk CMOS scaling limitations such as high leakage and device variability. However, unlike FinFET, FD-SOI process remains a low-complexity planar process very similar to the traditional CMOS bulk. This allows for a faster process development and ramp-up and an easier design porting for existing designs. The strong collaboration between ST-Ericsson, STMicroelectronics, Leti and Soitec allows us to already benefit in 28nm from the added value of FD-SOI. The three key benefits realized are leading performance, competitive speed/leakage trade-offs, and optimized power efficiency. This post looks at the performance aspectsand a later post will look at the other two benefits.
Leading-edge performance across a wide voltage range
The graph below compares the maximum frequency achievable for a particular critical path of an ARM Cortex™-A9 CPU core implementation, versus the supply voltage Vdd, for a slow corner process (SS) and a worst case temperature.
Each curve represents a specific 28nm process offer.
- 28HP-LVT is a mobile high performance bulk CMOSprocess. Targeting high CPU performance mobile applications , these processes are derived from fast process flavors with very thin gate oxide and therefore have a limited Vdd overdrive capability (~1.0V) for reliability reasons
- 28LP-LVT is a low power bulk CMOSprocess. Traditionally used for low power mobile applications, LP processes are based on thicker transistor gate oxide supporting a higher voltage overdrive (up to 1.3V).
- 28FDSOI-LVT is the 28nm FD-SOI process developed by STMicroelectronics. FD-SOI uses a similar gate structure as 28LP, it can also sustain a 1.3V overdrive.
In all process, only low voltage threshold (LVT) transistors are considered. These are the one giving the highest speed performance.
Performance comparison of 28nm technologies
- First observation is that FD-SOI at nominal voltages (0.9V for HP, 1.0V for both LP and FD-SOI) gives similar peak performance to HP processes and more than 35% performance improvement compared to LP at same Vdd.
- Furthermore, higher Vdd tolerance allows for an extra performance boost in FD-SOI that is not possible with HP processes, resulting in better overall peak performance
- At low operating voltages such as Vdd=0.6V, the LP process is either not functional or gives low performance. FD-SOI is equivalent or better than the HP process – but with a much lower leakage and dynamic power consumptionas we will see in a later post.
- Thanks to lower process variability than any bulk CMOS process, FD-SOI allows even lower operating voltages (down to 0.5V) at frequencies that are useful for non-CPU intensive processes (200MHz-300MHz) e.g. Hardware accelerated audio or video playback.
So, over a large Vdd range (from 0.5V up to 1.3V), FD-SOI comprehensively outperforms existing bulk CMOS processes dedicated to mobile applications. This extra performance gain can be used either to increase peak performance or to operate at a lower Vdd for the same performance, saving dynamic power.
More technical information: Planar fully depleted silicon technology to design competitive SOC at 28nm and beyond [STMicroelectronics FD-SOI whitepaper, Feb 23, 2012]
ABSTRACT
This document considers the challenges to obtain competitive silicon technology for the upcoming generation of System-On-Chip ICs. It suggests planar fully depleted technology deserves serious interest. After outlining some implementation choices, a number of circuit-level benchmark results as well as some important design aspects are presented. It is found that this technology combines high performance, power efficiency and cost-effectiveness, which makes it a very attractive candidate to serve the needs of mobile and consumer multimedia SOCs starting at the 28nm node and scalable down to 14nm.…
6. Perspectives
6.1. 28nm
With the 28nm planar FD technology, on top of preparing the work for 20nm where the kind of power/performance tradeoff enabled by planar FD will be key, we are already able to demonstrate very attractive results. We expect to sign-off designs breaking the 2GHz barrier under worst-case conditions, in a power-efficient and cost-efficient way. For lower
performance targets, there is also the opportunity to design ultra-low-power chips that can fulfill their functional specifications using a very low Vdd, for example in the 0.6-0.8V range.The Process Design Kit (PDK) is available, targeting the technology to be open for risk production by mid-2012.
6.2. 20nm
We intend to scale our planar FD technology to 20nm, introducing a number of improvements to continue pushing the performance and retain a low power consumption. The objective is to bring up a solution that will improve on what mobile-optimized planar bulk CMOS will achieve, and will be extremely competitive vs. potential FinFET-based approaches
for SOC – while keeping a simple and cost-efficient approach. The design rules will be compatible with 20nm bulk CMOS. This technology will bridge the gap to 14nm and provide an interesting alternative to the cost and complexity of introducing Extreme-UV and FinFET structures.Evaluation SPICE models are available, and full PDK is scheduled by end of 2012, with risk production for 13Q3.
6.3. 14nm
Based on the assessments we have performed, we are confident that the planar FD technology is shrinkable to 14nm. Silicon and buried oxide thickness will need to be reduced to within limits that wafer manufacturers and CMOS process technology can handle.
7. CONCLUSION
The findings exposed in this document indicate planar FD is a promising technology for modern mobile and consumer multimedia chips. It combines high performance and low power consumption, complemented by an excellent responsiveness to power management design techniques. The fabrication process is comparatively simple and is a low-risk evolution from conventional planar bulk CMOS – and there is little disruption at design level, too.At 28nm, we find that planar FD more than matches the peak performance of “G”-type technology, at the cost and complexity of a low-power type technology, with better power efficiency across use cases than any of the conventional bulk CMOS flavor.
Looking further, for 20nm and 14nm, we believe planar FD will be extremely competitive with respect to alternative approaches in terms of performance and power, while being both simpler and more suited to low-power design techniques. In short, a better choice for the type of SOC we offer.
Interview With ST-Ericsson’s Chief Chip Architect: SOCs on 28nm FD-SOI – When, Why and How [ASN #19 – FD-SOI INDUSTRIALIZATION (ST, ST-ERICSSON, SOITEC, LETI, UC BERKELEY), April 6, 2012]
ST-Ericsson’s Chief Chip Architect Louis Tannyeres talks with ASN about the move to 28nm FD-SOI for smartphones and tablet SOCs.
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FD-SOI is a technology that is available for design today and will allow existing designs in 28nm to benefit today already from significant improvements in performance and power. FD-SOI solves – with less process complexity – scaling, leakage and variability issues to further shrink CMOS technology beyond 28nm.
True market disruptions are only understood after the fact. We believe FD-SOI is such a disruption and a truely differentiated solution. There is a real opportunity for a FD-SOI 28nm solution and then 20nm as a key technology differentiator. Our customers have reacted favorably to hearing that we will be enabling FD-SOI technology in our next generation of products. And since we are enabling this technology in STMicroelectronics’ foundries, we have also minimized our risk with respect to market adoption trends.
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28nm planar FD manufacturing technology has a lot of commonalities with traditional 28nm Low-Power CMOS technology and STMicroelectronics’ strategy has been to reuse as much as possible the 28nm low-power bulk CMOS process. The Back-End part of the process is a direct copy of the 28nm bulk technology. The Front-End part of the process also relies in majority on a direct re-use of equivalent process modules from the bulk technology. Only a few steps have been optimized, added or removed. Overall, the Back-End is 100% identical to the traditional 28nm bulk low-power CMOS process, and the Front-End of Line (FEOL) has 80% in common with that same process.
FD-SOI will be introduced into next generation products from ST-Ericsson. At this time, our first 28nm FD-SOI products are scheduled to tape out in Q3 2012 with production start anticipated in 2013.
See also:
– Important News Comes Out of Recent FD-SOI Workshop [Advanced Substrate News, April 20, 2012]
– The End Of CMOS [SperlingMediaGroup YouTube channel, Dec 10, 2011]
– Soitec: Wafer Roadmap for Fully Depleted Planar and 3D/FinFET [Steve Longoria, Senior VP of Worldwide Business Development at Soitec on the Advanced Substrate News, April 20, 2012], the related Soitec press releases are: Soitec outlines fully depleted product roadmap for advanced planar and three-dimensional transistors [April 16, 2012] and Soitec provides affordable paths to higher performance, lower-power processors for mobile and consumer devices [April 16, 2012]
– Considerations for Bulk CMOS to FD-SOI Design Porting – Key Excerpts [Advanced Substrate News, Dec 5, 2011]
– Archive of 32nm SOI [Advanced Substrate News] for the state-of-the-art in the “classic” (i.e. partially depleted) SOI
– ST: FD-SOI for Competitive SOCs at 28nm and Beyond [Thomas Skotnicki, Advanced Devices Program Director at STMicroelectronics on Advanced Substrate News, Nov 18, 2011]
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In a mobile world, high-performance must go hand-in-hand with low-operation Vdd and low stand-by leakage. That requires different technologies. As we approach the 20/22nm node and beyond, traditional planar-bulk technologies cannot meet these requirements. The choice comes down to either a planar fully-depleted (FD) SOI solution or a FinFET solution. At STMicroelectronics, we call our flavor of planar FD-SOI UTBB, for ultra-thin body & box. As such, it leverages SOI wafers with both ultra-thin top silicon and ultra-thin buried oxide (BOX). Where more practical, we use a hybrid SOI/bulk configuration, wherein certain devices are placed in the bulk silicon that has been exposed by etching back the insulating BOX layer.
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ST has been working on FD-SOI for over 10 years. We have research programs or partnerships on 3 sites: Crolles, Leti, and IBM Albany NanoTech. We have collaborated with Soitec for wafer supply.
The key technology elements for UTBB have been demonstrated.
The move from R&D to an industrial process of 28nm FD-SOI technology is for us (and for our partners) an efficient and straightforward response to the world-wide competition. The extension of FD-SOI towards the 20nm and 14nm nodes is also in preparation with new boosters to further increase the performance growth rate.
UTBB FD-SOI promises to give STMicroelectronics a significant edge in both the near term and for years to come.
Source: ST-Ericsson Analyst & Media Briefing (Barcelona, February 28, 2012)
[39:25] For the 8540 platform we have two ideas. One is to take down the cost, and one is to boost the performance. … to boost the performance in terms of power and speed because we need to get differentiated. The key differentiating factors of this joint venture to me are two: ST and Ericsson. Ericsson is the #1 company in the world when it comes to network technology and ST because it is one of the top 6 semiconductor companies in the world. We absolutely need to exploit that in order to beat the competition. None of our competitors have these abilities. All of our competitors, not most of them, but all of them are standard companies exploiting the same process, coming from the same place, coming from the same vendor. How can you differentiate when you are doing that? We absolutely need to differentiate this time. Which is the capability we have, to exploit the strength of our shareholder. This is one.
We will bring to the market, and we will bring the demonstration before the end of the year an FD-SOI flavor, 8540 FD-SOI version that will demonstrate the following capability.
Why do we want to use FD-SOI?
… FD-SOI means Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator technology. This is a silicon technology which is unique. Silicon on insulator means you use silicon substrates which are actually composed of six substrates (that you will not see here) with a thin layer of oxide and on top of it a thin layer of silicon. What it does, it provides perfect isolation. … Normally with the classical processes from foundries you start only with six layers of silicon. In this case we will start the silicon process with this sandwich. These six layers of silicon, the oxide and then a very thin layer of silicon on top of it on which you are going to build your active element, the transistor. These technologies are running for a while. IBM is using it in the server since very long time for performance reason.
[i.e. partially depleted SOI only: e.g. AMD Bulldozer on 32nm SOI, Microsoft Xbox 360 by IBM etc. for the latest. IBM launched SOI in Fishkill back in 1998. IBM, of course, has its own successful SOI foundry business, and owns the high-end gaming market, fabbing SOI-based chips for the big three: in addition to Microsoft Xbox Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii (and the upcoming Wii U) as well. AMD followed with 130nm SOI out of Dresden in 2001. Singapore – which was first Chartered – started turning out 90nm SOI chips for IBM back in 2004, and adopted AMD’s highly touted Automation Precision Manufacturing (APM) in 2005. GlobalFoundries has been turning out 32nm SOI chips since June ’11 and at GlobalFoundries’ “Fab 8″ in upstate New York, based on IBM’s latest, 32nm SOI chip technology since January’12.]
This is known. It has not been used yet in the mobile space for one reason, cost and complexity of the technology.
Why can’t we use it today?
Because of those two letters: FD. FD means fully depleted. It means we have been able with our partner ST, and their partners, to come to such a thin layer of active silicon on top of the thin layer of oxide that it provides us two things:
- Because of this layer is so thin you can much more easily isolate the transistor one from each other. The process is much simpler which removes the cost of SOI.
- Because this layer is so thin the transistor you create is naturally pinched, closed. When you put the metal gates on top of the silicon the transistor is closed. No current is flowing between the two. What that means is that you don’t need to impose an electrical signal on the gates to close the transistor. So it means you save power. In a sleep mode zero consumption at all.
This is one of the first time in my life that I see that all ingredients as put together result only in benefits and not in penalty. Cost-wise we have about the same cost as the normal process. Process-wise simpler. Performance-wise this is what you get [see the above slide]. At 0.6V twice the performance. 35% less power dissipation. [on the same node]
And finally: why we want to use that?
Because the world needs to go fully depleted. … The target solution is extremely complex in terms of cost. It is not fitting for the mobile space. It is not fitting for devices that you want to sell below 10 or 20 dollars. Absolutely not. This solution is fitting … We are the only one to have this one thanks to FD technology and as soon as we ramp up the volume and will have a proprietary foundry [ST-Ericsson has a 300mm foundry which is just down the road from the special wafer – called FD-2D – supplier Soitec in Grenoble] to fullfill the volume requirements we are going to demonstrate that. We already have silicon on test vehicle. We are going to demonstrate that before the end of the year, on the base of the 8540 product. …
What does it give to a telco?
4 hours more high-speed browsing, 2.5 hours more HD video playback, 2 hours more HD video recording, and of course less power dissipation, longer battery etc. … We are the only one to have this technology today. We are at least 2 years before anybody else. And we can compete with the companies I told you before which have not yet demonstrated that 3D fully depleted technology that they want to put up the market, [put already] for PC and server market, [but] fitting the mobility market [an obvious reference to Intel]. … [46:10]
Source: ST-Ericsson Analyst & Media Briefing (Barcelona, February 28, 2012)
… stabilization means stop bleeding …
So from the application processor point of view the company is abandoning the premium/high segment of the market which had been the kind of flagship for the future before, as well as the entry segment which had also been figuring quite high on their priority list during the second half of 2011:
Will ST-Ericsson’s New Product Programme Do The Trick? [July 28, 2011]
Currently ST-Ericsson is moving its product line onto 45nm and is sampling three 45nm products – its 8500 platform for smartphones, its 4500 platform which is the lower-end version of the 8500, and its CG2900Bluetooth/GPS/FM combo modem.
“We shipped the 8500 in pre-production quantities in Q2 and it will be ramping up at a number of customers this year,” Gerard Cronin, STE’s head of marketing, told me yesterday, “we have engagements on the 8500 with five out of the top ten handset manufacturers.”
Before the end of this year, ST-Ericsson intends to sample its first 32nm device, the A9540 application processor based on Cortex A-9 which is the upgrade of the 8500 with 50% higher speed.
Early in 2012 it intends to sample its first 28nm device – the A9600 based on the Cortex A-15.
…
Asked from which foundry ST-Ericsson hopes to get 28nm from, Cronin said ST-Ericsson is part of the Globalfoundries alliance.
However, according to Mike Bryant, CTO of Future Horizons, talking at IFS 2011 earlier this month, GloFo’s 28nm process in Dresden is running with almost zero yield.
ST Ericsson plants center in Silicon Valley [Sept 13, 2011]
ST Ericsson announced it has opened a small technical office in Silicon Valley as it scrambles to get ahead of the curve in the hyper competitive market for smartphone and tablet chips. It demoed its current HSPA+ products running Android here and talked about plans for LTE chips and support for Windows Phone software in the coming year.
…
At the launch, ST Ericsson demoed its U8500 integrated applications processor and HSPA+ baseband running on a new board geared for software developers. The chip supported stereo 3-D graphics, 1080-progressive video playback, games with motion sensors and a browser supporting augmented reality.
The processor uses a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 with Mali 400 graphics. In demos it supported Symbian and the Gingerbread and Honeycomb versions of Android.
The company does not have demo-ready versions of its next-generation discrete LTE baseband [the M7400] and application processor [the A9540] announced in February and slated for production in mid-2012. The schedule is behind that of rival Qualcomm which is expected to supply the first LTE handsets. However, the ST Ericsson chip will support eight LTE spectrum bands on a single RF transceiver.
ST Ericsson has taped out a dual-core ARM Cortex A-15 set to ship in 2012 [the A9600]. It will outgun rivals including the Omap 5 from Texas Instruments because the STE chip uses the Imagination Rogue graphics core, said Gilles Delfassy, chief executive of ST Ericsson and former head of TI’s wireless business unit. Due to use of a new vector-processing architecture, the chip should also have smaller size, cost and power consumption than its rivals, he added.
In software, ST Ericsson is playing catch up with the shift by Nokia, a lead customer, from Symbian to Windows Phone. It does not expect to support Nokia’s first Windows Phone 7 handsets, but it has put a team in place to support Windows Phone 8 on its chips.
…
“We have a road map which is very aggressive, but the key question is will we deliver on it on time,” Delfassy said.
International Data Corp. analyst Mario Morales said smartphone makers want alternatives to integrated chips from Qualcomm, and are waiting on ST Ericsson to execute on its road map.
To that end, Delfassy said he has replaced some engineers in ST Ericsson and brought on two executives with strength in product execution. One is a senior vice president from the former Infineon wireless group who worked closely with Apple; another is a former Sony Ericsson executive who has supervised groups of more than a thousand engineers.
ST Ericsson has also simplified its product portfolio, pruning five modem technologies down to just one [the Thor M7400 modem]. It was the first company to deliver a 21 Mbit/second HSPA+ modem [the Thor M5780 modem], Delfassy said.
So far ST Ericsson is not planning any quad-core products despite the fact rivals Nvidia and Qualcomm have announced plans for such parts. “We aim to be leaders in apps processors, but there is a big debate whether quad core is a case of diminishing returns,” Delfassy said.
More information on this past strategy is available in my post:
ST-Ericsson NovaThor SoCs for future Windows Phones from Nokia [Nov 3, 2011]
In fact what remains out of that is the following:
ST-Ericsson NovaThor U9500 (Nova A9500) |
45nm |
2 x ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.2GHz |
ARM Mali-400 MP1 |
1 x 32-bit LPDDR2 |
Now
|
ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 |
45nm |
2 x ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.0GHz |
ARM Mali-400 MP1 |
1 x 32-bit LPDDR2 |
Now (pre-production quantities in Q2 2011) |
while the real changes were happening in the planned SoCs for the higher end of the market, and ST-Microelectronics is to take now the decision about the timing:
ST-Ericsson NovaThor LP9600 (Nova A9600) |
28nm |
2 x ARM Cortex-A15 @ 2.5GHz |
IMG PowerVR Series 6 (Rogue) |
Dual Memory |
(Nova A9600:
|
ST-Ericsson NovaThor L9540 (Nova A9540) |
32nm |
2 x ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.85GHz |
IMG PowerVR Series 5 |
2 x 32-bit LPDDR2 |
(Nova A9540:
|
ST-Ericson L9540 1.85Ghz ARM Cortex-A9 [Charbax YouTube channel, March 1, 2012]
Important note: With the last two application processors still on the company’s roadmap the product availabilities are unknown now, especially that of the flagship A9600 which should be repositioned (at least in time) in lieu of the announced change of moving away from the premium segment of the smartphone market as per the below announcement.
What the company announced on MWC 2012 instead is a new part, the Novathor L8540 AP+Modem integrated SoC on a single die with the following specification:
NOVATHOR™ L8540 [ST-Ericsson, excerpted on March 12, 2012]
The NovaThor™ L8540 builds on the NovaThor L9540 to combine a state of the art application processor with an LTE/HSPA+/TD-SCDMA multimode modem in a single die. The platform incorporates a dual-core CPU with a powerful graphics engine, an LTE multimode modem and a full suite of connectivity in a high-performance, low-power and size and cost-optimized solution. With a small footprint, very low bill of materials and support for up to eight bands in a flexible radio solution the NovaThor L8540 further enables widespread global adoption of LTE multimode smartphones.
FEATURES
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TELECOM
TECHNOLOGY
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BLOCK DIAGRAM
Such an announcement when nothing has been announced regarding the product availability of the NovaThor L9540 two-chip SoC solution (announced a year ago) while already a single die solution based on that, the NovaThor L8540 has been announced, is quite remarkable.
Let’s take first a look at the announcement text for some clues explaining that:
ST-ERICSSON ANNOUNCES NEW HIGHLY INTEGRATED LTE NOVATHOR PLATFORM [ST-Ericsson press release, Feb 28, 2012]
NovaThor L8540 integrates Thor LTE technology with powerful dual-core application processor to deliver extraordinary multimedia performance
Barcelona, February 28, 2012 – ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, announced today the latest addition to its integrated smartphone and tablet platform portfolio. The NovaThor™ L8540 is an LTE/HSPA+/TD-HSPA-enabled integrated smartphone platform with the powerful application processor and modem integrated on a single die.
“By adding the new NovaThor L8540 platform to our portfolio of highly integrated smartphone and tablet solutions, the L8540 takes integration of LTE platforms to the next level,” said Marc Cetto, senior vice president of smartphone and tablet solutions for ST-Ericsson. “By integrating the powerful dual-core application processor with our industry-leading LTE multimode modem we bring further size, bill of materials and power consumption savings to our customers. Consumers of next generation smartphones powered by the NovaThor L8540 will benefit from compact, power efficient devices that deliver an amazing multimedia experience.”
The NovaThor L8540 integrates a dual-core 1.85GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, a powerful Imagination PowerVR™ SGX544 GPU running at 500Mhz and an LTE/HSPA+/TD-HSPA modem on a single 28nm die. Thanks to its ultra-low voltage operating mode the NovaThor L8540 extends battery life for typical smartphone usage by up to 30% compared to platforms in the market today.
The NovaThor L8540 will provide extraordinary multimedia performance in an integrated solution, supporting 1080p video encoding and playback at up to 60 frames per second, 1080p 3D camcorder functionality, support for displays up to WUXGA (1920×1200) at 60 frames per second and support for cameras up to 20 megapixels.
The complete platform includes pre-integrated connectivity with support for Bluetooth, GNSS (GPS+ GLONASS), FM, WLAN, WiFi Direct and NFC. With the recently released ST-Ericsson connectivity solutions, CG2905 and CW1250, the platform comes optimized for wireless radio co-existence and low power consumption.
With support for up to eight LTE/HSPA/TD-SCDMA/GSM bands in a flexible and compact radio solution, the NovaThor L8540 addresses the need for a cost effective solution for widespread global adoption of LTE multimode smartphones.
The NovaThor L9540 is being demonstrated by ST-Ericsson at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The NovaThor L8540 is scheduled to sample to customers in Q3 2012.
Note to Editors
The NovaThor family combines advanced application processing, a high speed mobile broadband modem and a full connectivity suite in a complete platform. The NovaThor L8540 builds on the NovaThor L9540 platform, which combines the Nova™ A9540 application processor and the Thor™ M7400 LTE multimode modem, and which has been sampling to lead customers since Q4 2011. The Nova A9540 is ST-Ericsson’s second generation application processor following the Nova A9500 which is in production since Q3 2011.
With an extremely high level of software and hardware compatibilitybetween the generations, our customers will be able to quickly bring NovaThor L9540 and L8540-based devices to market.
That is by the new focused portfolio approach ST-Ericsson so far has declared a fairly strong direction of aiming at the mainstream market of 2013-2014 by providing the most cost-effective, fully integrated and single die solution on the market. Moreover, due to “extremely high level of software and hardware compatibilitybetween … NovaThor L9540 and L8540” the leading smartphone vendors with a long-term view of the market could already launch their respective strategic products in 2012.
So, what to expect in a month or so, and from which vendors?
ST-Ericsson readies revamp, soon a takeover target (Reuters, March 14, 2012)
ST-Ericsson is preparing to unveil a major operations revamp within two weeks, placing the troubled mobile chip venture on track for a takeover by a peer or competitor that would create a formidable rival to Qualcomm Inc.
ST-Ericsson, a 50-50 joint venture of Sweden’s Ericsson and France’s STMicroelectronics, is seen as a “strategic asset” for potential buyers. Those could include Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Nvidia Corp, Intel Corp and Texas Instruments Inc, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
“It is the only answer to Qualcomm,” one of the sources said. “On the patent side, they are the one company that you go, ‘That makes sense.'”
Potential suitors will likely drag out their courtship over a year or two, waiting for ST-Ericsson to first show signs of a turnaround under new Chief Executive Didier Lamouche, a restructuring expert hired late last year.
Lamouche is due to unveil by the end of March a restructuring planthat is set to include site closures around the world and major layoffs to lower costs. The new strategy could also include seeking a partner for application processors.
…
ST-Ericsson NovaThor chipsets offer one of the few integrated alternatives to Qualcomm’s market-leading Snapdragon.
“The holy grail is to sell an integrated modem with an application processor into mainstream smartphones,” said analyst John Jackson from research firm CCS Insight.
…
The current structure of ST-Ericsson would pose several challenges for a potential buyer, the sources said. For example, the business is tightly linked to STMicro’s products, particularly for its upcoming “FD-SOI” technology, which analysts expect to be a game-changer at the market’s top end.
The technology, which brings significant power savings, has been seen as too expensive for phones, but last month ST-Ericsson promised to deliver FD-SOI chipsets — using STMicro technology in partnership with Soitec SA — for manufacturing clients to try out in smartphones this year.
And Ericsson holds most of the venture’s telecom patents and would be a tough deal negotiator, one of the sources said.
When Ericsson exited from a similar 50-50 cellphone venture, Sony Ericsson, the deal gave Sony Corp access to Ericsson patents; but only a few patents were sold to Sony as part of the deal. Also, loss-making Sony Ericsson was valued at roughly $3 billion in the deal. It had 2011 sales of $5.2 billion.
ST-Ericsson has lost a total of $2 billion in its three years of operation as revenues from key clients Nokia and Sony Ericsson shrank over 70 percent during the same period.
… Revenues in 2011 dropped to just $1.65 billion from pro forma level of $3.6 billion in 2008. …
One of the online marketing flagships of the leading global business media conglomerate UBM plc, EE Times responded to the Reuters report by a quite different view which – due to the specific business community nature of UBM segments, particularly that of the Online Marketing Services – might reflect a better understanding of what is going on behind the scene(note that EE Times received the 2010 Folio Eddie Award for Best website in B2B Energy/Utilities/Engineering):
Update: Why ST should sell ST-Ericsson to China [by Peter Clark on EE Times, March 15, 2012]
Europe’s largest chip company STMicroelectronics NV should persuade Ericsson AB that they sell off their mobile chip joint venture ST-Ericsson, but probably to some aspiring Chinese company. That is likely to produce the quickest and most profitable – or least loss-making – exit for the two parent companies from what has become a failed project.
…
A spokesperson for ST-Ericsson said the company has no comment on the Reuters report but added that STMicroelectronics and Ericsson remain committed to the joint venture and that it is a fundamental part of ST’s digital convergence strategy. It is interesting to note that ST-Ericsson is almost exactly three years old and that it may be Ericsson that wants to disengage from the joint venture and had expected ST to buy out its 50 percent.
I don’t think ST-Ericsson or ST have that much more time. In a note in the most recent financial results ST-Ericsson said “Our shareholders will continue to support funding our transitional financial needs.” This of course begs the question of “transition to what?” and “how long will that transition take?” The fact is that ST-Ericsson is a three-year old joint venture that has acted like a boat-anchor on the progress of STMicroelectronics.
It is true that ST-Ericsson wrapped up a lot of the previous problems of ST, specifically an overdependence on faltering Nokia as a customer, but pushing the problem into a joint-venture along with other European wireless chip business units belonging to NXP and Ericsson, was clearly not the solution.
Compare ST’s plight with that of Infineon, which got out of communications through the spin-off of its wired chips into Lantiq Deutschland GmbH and the sale of its wireless business unit to Intel. In the later part of the last decade Infineon’s CEO Peter Bauer decided to focus on some of the less glamorous but higher margin parts of the chip industry: power, automotive, industrial and security. How smart does that look now?
NXP has a similarly focused strategy with CEO Rick Clemmer taking the company out of a number of consumer markets and now pursuing similar markets to Infineon with high-performance mixed-signal ICs. NXP of course got out of mobile wireless by selling its business to create the joint venture.
…
While it is possible that a western company might want to acquire ST-Ericsson and access to patents I think greater interest might come from further east. I don’t think Texas Instruments wants to get back into the world of razor-thin margins in smartphones and the while the likes of AMD or Intel may have the appetite but are they going to sit on the sidelines too long waiting for the cuts have their effect.
Nvidia Corp. defnitely want to compete in this area but it has its own line of ARM-based Tegra application processors and is pursuing a modem strategy based on its purchase of Icera Inc. (Bristol England) for nearly $400 million in May 2011. Surely any deal for ST-Ericsson would undermine the value of what Nvidia has already paid.
The other question to ask is who has the means to make something of ST-Ericsson. I think that some companies from greater China do and perhaps Apple, which has been going through a process of re-integration to give itself the ability to develop and own chips during the roll out of its mobile device strategy.
…
Apple does not need all the baggage that would come with ST-Ericsson, or the ability to address multiple customers. Which is why a sale to a company such as HiSiliconTechnologies Co. Ltd. (Shenzhen, China) backed by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Shenzhen, China) might extract the highest value in the shortest time for ST and Ericsson.
Other Chinese companies that might have an interest in ST-Ericsson could include Rockchip, Xincomm, Leadcore Technology, Nufront and Spreadtrum. Of these HiSilicon with its links with Huawei and Leadcore, aligned with Datang, would appear more likely. In Taiwan MediatekInc. (Hsinchu, Taiwan) is also a likely candidate.
…
However, the geopolitical nature of any such sale of ST-Ericsson should not be underestimated. It would be a loss of face for Europe and for the west and behind the scenes moves may be made to try and keep control of the technology and jobs in the west. But what can Europe do? It is a continent of many bankrupt nations and few successful ones.The 27-nation European Union could try to lean on the likes of Apple and Intel to have them step in and save ST-Ericsson. Apple and Intel want to be good European citizens because of the size of the consumer market the European Union represents.
Of course, such is the power of Apple in the mobile device market these days that one design win with Apple could make many of ST-Ericsson’s problems go away – at least until they are designed out again.
Regarding the other parent’s position, i.e. that of the STMicroelectronics we have the following which is quite contradicting to both of Reuter’s and EE Times’ positions:
STMicroelectronics’ Management Presents at UBS European Technology Conference (Presentation Transcript) [Seeking Alpha, March 13, 2012]
STMicroelectronics NV (STM) UBS European Technology Conference Call March 8, 2012 3:45 AM ET
Philippe Lambinet
[Corporate Strategy Officer, Executive Vice President and General Manager of STMicroelectronics’ Digital Sector since January 2012; from February 2012 also responsible for Investor Relations and External Communications. Before that General Manager of the Home Entertainment & Displays Group for 5 years]…
The other side of the company, in the area of Multimedia Convergence, clearly the focus is going to be on turning around the ST-Ericsson business and of course it is very important for us to maintain our leadership in the area of digital consumer applications.
… [elaboration of the ST-Ericsson’s performance over the last three years in financial terms] … So you see a $1.7 billion improvement over three years, so those three years actually included two crises, so not so bad performance considering how difficult 2009 was in our industry and how difficult the second half of 2011 was. So we are not unhappy of this situation and this is despite the cash consumption of the joint venture, ST-Ericsson joint venture which has been consuming quite a lot of cash as you all know.
…
During 2012 I think the top three priorities are fixing ST-Ericsson, fixing ST-Ericsson and fixing ST-Ericsson. This is really top on our agenda and this will be the plan [for STMicroelectronics itself !]. The plan will be published by ST-Ericsson as you will know imminently. ST-E’s CEO, Didier Lamouche in Barcelona committed to deliver a plan to get back to sustainable profitability around the end of March, beginning of April. So it’s coming in few days now.
…
STMicroelectronics’ Management Presents at UBS European Technology Conference (Question-and-Answer Session Transcript) [Seeking Alpha, March 13, 2012]
…
Unidentified Analyst
Thanks a lot. You mentioned the restructuring of your operations into one digital unit this year and you also mentioned how less famous Set Top Box business, you are seeing new entrants like Qualcomm and you also said your top priority is ST-Ericsson, ST-Ericsson, ST-Ericsson. Can you help us understand the possible synergies between ST-Ericsson and your digital business? Thanks,
Philippe Lambinet
Okay. I will do it conceptuality. This is in no way to be understood as an announcement or anything like that. But conceptually the world is moving to, and this is a message, I remember passing in every year in Las Vegas consumer electronic show. I do a speech about the trends in consumer electronics and already three years ago, I was talking about the evolution of the set top box moving to more and more open systems, internet open systems. So moving from proprietary operating system, like the CDI or NDS or open TV or like (inaudible), you know, proprietary operating systems, in to more open operating systems, such as Android and this is a fundamental trend.
Now as this happens, in set-top box, as this happens in TV, some TV manufacturers in China, 100% of their connected TVs are developed based on Android today. It’s not 10%. It’s 100%. Some of the major TV makers in China are basing all their connected TV strategy on Android. So, we’re talking about pretty heavy change here and as these things happen and you know, the story of Android and smartphone. Isn’t that pretty obvious that there are things that we should share more and things we could do together more. I think it’s very obvious.
So first, we do it in ST because you know, we see set-top box TV, car navigation and so we’re moving to very similar platforms, very, very similar. And I think, the obvious concept is that at some point, to be defined, there would be synergies exploited between what we’re doing in ST what we’re doing in ST-Ericsson. They are already by the way quite logical, which is not seeing because the products are different but you know, it’s pretty obvious, that’s a trend, which we will continue over the next years and that makes a lot of sense also for our customers and that makes a lot of sense for the ecosystem and because you know people — we have seen for example the set-top box business and the TV business of some of our customers being merge into one. That has happened to Samsung, now it’s under one organization, which used to be under two or three or four organization, now it’s the same boss has the TV and set-top boxes businesses in Samsung. And we see it across the market.
So as our customers are doing it, you know we have no choice, but to do it as well so that’s what these all new organization meansand by the way, we also see some of our more traditional ASIC business for example which we’re doing for communication infrastructure, at the end of the day ASIC used to be, just give a few cells to customers and they do the design themselves; now the kind of cell you have to provide is a full as part of the system here, with the dual 8 or 9 with the 3D graphics with the video processing and that’s the base for various it design.
So the world of ASIC is also changing; it is also aligning towards this kind of application process and platform, so that’s also why our ASIC business has been included inside the digital sectorbecause that’s side of the business also.
Now when I mention Qualcomm entering the TV business, I didn’t mention them entering the set-top business, so I just want to back on your point. The set-top box business has certain characteristics in terms of fragmentation, in terms of security which are very particular and not everybody can enter that market and you know that’s one area of difficulty for the Taiwanese, but also for some of our American competitors like Marvell or Qualcomm who would love to enter set-top box. Broadcom and us have some particular security technologies which are extremely tough to master and which are very important for content protection and are essential.
Now we believe by the way, security technologies will become important in many other businesses which content protection is very important. So actually that’s why I went very fast in some of my slides, but clearly data protection, security is an area for ST of traditional strength and we intend to leverage that strength in many other businesses. It’s very clear that the hackers, terrorists and industrial spies are driving a need for higher security levels in every system that’s true for a TV and set-top box, but that’s also true for a smartphone, for a router and for any devices. So it’s very important for us to use that competitive advantage in many marketsand again here we are in advance compared to many of our competitors.
…
From that I will conclude that neither Ericsson (as per their spokesman response to EE Times) nor ST (as per their EVP and CSO views presented above) will sell its investment in ST-Ericsson. For me the much more logical likelihood is that large industrial investors will join the joint venture thus providing the needed additional capital.
Anyway when the new CEO will deliver the new restructuring plan by the end of March we will probably know everything about the new investors from the semiconductor sector who will back that plan. The crucial question now is the customer support, i.e. which smartphone vendors in what way could back the restructuring plan by their NovaThor platform commitments. Here are certain clues:
NOKIA SELECTS ST-ERICSSON AS SUPPLIER FOR FUTURE WINDOWS PHONE DEVICES [ST-Ericsson press release, Nov 2, 2011]
NovaThor™ platform to enable Nokia to extend Windows Phone devices to new price points and geographies
Geneva, Switzerland, November 2, 2011 – Nokia has selected ST-Ericsson as a supplier for future devices it plans to introduce based on the Windows Phone mobile platform.
“We are pleased to have been selected by Nokia as a key partner for Windows smartphones, in line with our goal to be present in all segments and major operating systems,” said Gilles Delfassy, president and CEO of ST-Ericsson. “Our NovaThor platforms continue to gain traction as they enable customers to bring great smartphones to the market.”
which goes back to a year earlier agreement as well:
ST-ERICSSON AND NOKIA JOIN FORCES TO DRIVE TD-LTE IN CHINA [Nov 10, 2010]
ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, and Nokia, the world’s leading provider of mobile devices and solutions are developing pioneering TD-LTE demonstration devices for China Mobile.
At the Shanghai Expo, Nokia and ST-Ericsson demonstrated video streaming and other multimedia services on a TD-LTE Nokia Booklet containing ST-Ericsson’s M700 TD-LTE modem. ST-Ericsson’s LTE modems, which can download data at speeds of up to 100 Mbps, enable mobile subscribers to enjoy high-definition video streaming, video conferencing, online gaming, rapid file transfers and other demanding multimedia services.
China Mobile is trialing TD-LTE. Globally the technology is referred to as LTE TDD, which has a wide interest from operators around the world.
“Although LTE is still in its infancy, this sophisticated technology has the potential to bring a raft of compelling high-speed multimedia services to hundreds of millions of consumers all over the world,” said Heikki Koivu, Vice President, TD-SCDMA Business Team, Nokia. “Our co-operation with ST-Ericsson will enable us to demonstrate LTE capable devices and experiences as TD-LTE is developing towards commercial maturity”
“After driving development of both LTE and TD-based mobile technology for several years we are now ready to supply market-leading TD-LTE solutions,” said Pascal Langlois, Senior Vice President, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of ST-Ericsson. “Our co-operation with Nokia, the world’s number one mobile phone supplier, will strengthen our ability to support mobile operators deploying LTE.”
Notes to Editors
Nokia and ST-Ericsson announced a partnership in late 2009 in the TD-SCDMA market, which has since resulted in the launch of several devices in China.
From all that Nokia is clearly one of those absolutely committed vendors to the NovaThor platform! (And please note as well that the new CEO starting the Nokia restructuring was already at the helm during that announcement!)
Stephen Elop: Nokia Lumia coming to China on March 28th [engadget, March 12, 2012]
China recently greeted its first Windows Phone (on pre-order, anyway), but if Stephen Elop has his way, Nokia will be hot on HTC’s heels. The company’s CEO has revealed that Nokia will unleash its Lumia handsets upon the People’s Republic on March 28th. While Elop offered no clues to suggest which models will be available, recent regulatory approvals hint that the Lumia 800 and 710 are both top candidates — though personally, we’d be shocked if the Lumia 610 didn’t rear its head sooner rather than later. Both China Telecom and China Unicom are said to be partners with Nokia, which is undoubtedly eager to offer something other than Symbianto its Chinese fan base.
China Mobile to Launch TD-SCDMA Windows Phone [Marbridge Daily, March 9, 2012]
Pan Zhiyong, general manager of China Mobile’s (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) Guangzhou branch, disclosed in a recent interview that China Mobile will soon release a TD-SCDMA Windows Phone. As to the question of whether the phone will be a Nokia Lumia series or an HTC brand Windows phone, Pan would not provide further comment.
China market: Nokia to launch Windows Phone 7.5 smartphones [DigiTimes, March 16, 2012]
Nokia will launch Windows Phone 7.5 (Tango) Lumia series smartphones in the China market on March 28 through cooperation with China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile. WCDMA, CDMA and TD-SCDMA versions will all be available matching the specifications of each carrier’s network, according to industry sources.
Windows Phone “Tango” officially launches in China on March 21 [liveside.net, March 14, 2012]
Microsoft China has recently sent out invitations to media outlets for their Windows Phone 7.5 launch event. This will mark the official entrance of Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system into the mainland Chinese market. The event is set to be held in Beijing on March 21st, check out the invitation below:
While the launch event is set to be in a week’s time, HTC had went ahead to become the first OEM to launch the HTC TITAN(called HTC Triumph in China) in the Chinese market. The device was released yesterday, March 14th, and is said to come pre-loaded with Windows Phone “Tango”.
Following the launch event, Nokia’s CEO and President Stephen Elop is also set to hold an official launch event on March 28. Elop had announced that Nokia will be launching their Lumia range of devices for the mainland Chinese market during the event. Nokia is expected to launch 3 Lumia devices during the event, however the exact devices are still currently unknown. Rumors have been floating around that Nokia will be launching the Lumia 610S, Lumia 719C, and the Lumia 800C with China Telecom, and the devices are expected to be able to run on the carrier’s CDMA2000 network. As at Q4 2011, Nokia owns 16.1% of the Chinese mobile phone market, placing them second just behind Samsung.
Microsoft opened app submissions to Chinese developers back in October 2011, and has recently put up the mainland Chinese version of the Windows Phone marketplace website. However the marketplace itself has not yet opened to Chinese customers on their Windows Phone devices. It is expected that the marketplace will open soon after the launch.
Other vendors with ST-Ericsson NovaThor platform:
ST-Ericsson U8500, now in a range of Smartphones on the market [Charbax blog, March 6, 2012]
ST-Ericsson demonstrates the range of some of the devices announced that use the ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 that includes ST-Ericsson HSPA+ connectivity. They also announced the U8520 and the U9540 L8540 LTE platforms. [The U8520 is a lower power, higher frequency and lower BOM cost version of the U8500. As such it is the life extender for the U8500. The frequency and the node on which it will be produced (instead of the 45nm of U8500) are not yet announced. U8520 is sampling now and will be in production in H2 2012.]
http://www.stericsson.com/press/STER-027ChinesePressBackgrounder_English_2011.pdf
[2010. okt. 25. or 2011. febr. 7.]
… By combining ST-Ericsson Nova™ A9500 dual core application processor with the ST-Ericsson Thor™ M6718 TD-HSPA thin modem, ST-Ericsson customers in China can develop an advanced smartphone compatible with China Mobile’s 3G network, enabling consumers to enjoy immersive 3D graphics, fast web browsing, high-definition multimedia as well as other innovative and advanced applications with exceptional performance and battery life. …
POWERFUL NEW ST-ERICSSON PLATFORM MAKES DEBUT IN HTC SENSATION Z710T [ST-Ericsson press release, Sept 26, 2011]
China Mobile’s latest TD smartphone based on state-of-the-art NovaThor™ platform
China Mobile and HTC have launched the first smartphone to be based on ST-Ericsson’s powerful new NovaThor platform. The Sensation Z710t offers consumers immersive 3D graphics, fast web browsing, high-definition multimedia and the ability to run several advanced Androidapplications simultaneously with exceptional performance and battery life.
Underneath the hood of the HTC Sensation Z710t are ST-Ericsson’s Nova™ A9500 dual-core application processor, running at 1GHz, and ST-Ericsson’s Thor™ M6718modem, which can connect to China Mobile’s extensive TD-SCDMA network, enabling consumers to get online at broadband speeds across much of China. The HTC Sensation Z710t also sports an eight megapixel camera and a 4.3 inch display.
“ST-Ericsson’s new NovaThor platform has enabled us to develop a world-class Android smartphone for China Mobile’s TD network,” said Matthew Costello, Chief Operating Officer of HTC. “Consumers are going to be captivated by the fast and responsive multimedia experience delivered by the HTC Sensation Z710t.”
“The launch of this exceptional HTC smartphone highlights both the capabilities of our NovaThor platform family and our wholehearted support for China Mobile’s drive to bring world-leading smartphones onto its TD network,” said Pascal Langlois, senior vice president, chief sales and marketing officer of ST-Ericsson. “Consumers and Android application developers alike will relish the raw power and 3D graphical capabilities of the HTC Sensation Z710t.”
Notes to editors
ST-Ericsson has been developing platforms for the Chinese 3G technology TD-SCDMA since 2003.ST-Ericsson NovaThor smartphone platforms combine dual-core application processors with high-speed modems.
Source: ST-Ericsson Analyst & Media Briefing (Barcelona, February 28, 2012)
ST-ERICSSON THOR M5780 HSPA+ MODEM POWERS NEW PANASONIC SMARTPHONE [ST-Ericsson press release, Feb 28, 2012]
ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, announced today that Panasonic selected the power-efficient Thor™ M5780 thin modem for their newest ultra slim smartphone.
The ST-Ericsson Thor M5780 is a very compact smartphone-optimized modem configuration which inherits the proven HSPA+ modem technology from its predecessors. The small modem size helped Panasonic deliver an ultra slim smartphone equipped with a 4.3-inch screen.
“The Thor M5780 represents a further improvement of 21Mbps thin modems for smartphones in terms of size, thermal performance and cost structure which is why we believe Panasonic selected our modem to power their newest smartphone,” said Staffan Iveberg, senior vice president, thin modem solutions division for ST-Ericsson. “The success of innovation has led to a 35% size reduction of M5780 compared to our first generation HSPA+ modem. The modem is capable of delivering 21Mbps downstream and 5.76Mbps upstream simultaneously and needs no separate flash memory. With all of these features, Panasonic had everything they needed to make a great high speed broadband-enabled smartphone.”
ST-Ericsson announces that Panasonic smartphone will be first to use Thor M5780 HSPA+ modem [by Magnus Karlberg on ST-Ericsson blog, Feb 29, 2012]
ST-Ericsson was a pioneer with its Thor™ modems on the HSPA+ 21 market. I’m very pleased to see that the market has taken off quickly and that many networks support this high speed mobile broadband.
Of course we haven’t stopped our development on our HSPA+ portfolio since the early days, the success of innovation has led to even smaller and more power efficient modems. Today, I can share the exciting news that we power a new Panasonic smartphone device for this market with our latest HSPA+ 21Mbps modem – the M5780.
The Thor M5780 represents a further improvement of 21Mbps thin modems for smartphones in terms of size, thermal performance and cost structure which is why we believe Panasonic selected our modem to power their newest smartphone. The Thor M5780 is actually 35% smaller compared to our first generation HSPA+ modem.
I really like the design of the new Panasonic device, it’s an ultraslim smartphone with 4’3 screen powered with excellent mobile broadband capabilities!
Related to the current HSPA+ only single die U8500 NovaThor platform:
“Our high-speed Thor™ modem revenue grew more than 20 percent sequentially as new HSPA+ phones continued to ramp in the market. Also in the quarter [i.e. in Q2 CY2011] we … conducted field trials on our NovaThor™ U8500 platform with several customers. We are very pleased with our increasing progress on the NovaThor U8500, although initial volumes will be somewhat lower due to reduced demand at certain customers.
From: ST-ERICSSON REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2011 FINANCIAL RESULTS [July 20, 2011]
NOVATHOR U8500 [ST-Ericsson, excerpted on March 12, 2012]
The best smartphone platform
The NovaThor™ U8500 is the first integrated smartphone platform to offer the latest SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) dual core technology in a high-performance, low-power and cost-optimized solution for multiple operating systems. The U8500 is the first mobile platform with full High-Definition 1080p progressive-scan camcorder capabilities. With its combination of a dual-core SMP processor and a high-end 3D graphics accelerator, the U8500 enables a full web-browsing experience for next-generation smartphones.
FEATURES
|
TECHNOLOGY
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U8500 BLOCK DIAGRAM
ST-ERICSSON NOVATHOR U8500 POWERS NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY S ADVANCE [ST-Ericsson press release, Feb 28, 2012]
New Samsung Android-powered smartphone is first from company to use ST-Ericsson NovaThor platform
Today at Mobile World Congress, ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, announced that Samsung is now a customer of the ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ platform. The new Samsung GALAXY S Advance Android-powered smartphone, announced last month, selected the ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ U8500.
“The U8500 platform’s high level of integration enables handset manufacturers to produce small, slim yet powerful smartphones – like the Samsung GALAXY S Advance,” said Marc Cetto, senior vice president of smartphone and tablet solutions for ST-Ericsson. “Samsung is known for their powerful smartphones, strong design aesthetics, and solid user experiences and we could not be more pleased that they selected ST-Ericsson as a partner.”
The NovaThor U8500 smartphone platform offers dual core technology in a low-power but high-performance solution and integrates a state of the art HSPA+ modem and application processor featuring dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A9. Using the U8500, the Samsung GALAXY S Advance smartphone features 1GHz processor speed, HSPA 14.4 connectivity, a 5-megapixel camera and a 4.0-inch Super AMOLED display.
The Samsung GALAXY S Advance is expected to be available in March in parts of Europe, Asia, China and Latin America.
Samsung offers style and power with GALAXY S Advance [Samsung Mobile press release, Jan 30, 2012]
Latest addition to Android-powered GALAXY portfolio delivers sleek curved design with Dual Core performance
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the launch of the Samsung GALAXY S Advance. Designed for those who define themselves by the phone they carry, the GALAXY S Advance strikes a balance of style, power and performance. It will be available in Russia starting from February, and then be gradually rolled out in CIS, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Latin America and China.
“The GALAXY S Advance adds to the successful track record of the GALAXY smartphone range with a phone that combines power and style with all the versatility of Samsung’s Hub services,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.
Dual Core performance, curved design and Super AMOLED display
Powered by a dual core 1.0 GHz processor and HSPA 14.4 Mbps connectivity, the GALAXY S Advance has been built with power and connectivity in mind, delivering great versatility and a highly responsive user interface for easy multitasking. Application start-ups are faster with virtually no lag time, and the user experience is boosted with smoother screen transitions, faster image processing, and enhanced Web download and browsing performance.
The GALAXY S Advance’s curved glass design enhances handling of the phone and fits the user’s facial form easily and naturally. Its 4.0” Super AMOLED display provides the stunning visuals users have come to expect of Samsung GALAXY smartphones, offering unparalleled color reproduction and ensuring that photos and videos captured with the device’s 5MP camera can be enjoyed with vivid clarity.
The Samsung user experience
Running on Android Gingerbread and featuring Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, the GALAXY S Advance enables users to stay connected through the Samsung Hubs and ChatON services. Music Hub offers a full music store experience with access to over 11 million tracks and the ability to fully personalize users’ own music catalogues. Readers Hub offers access to over 2.3 million e-books, 3,500 magazine and 200 newspaper titles; while the hugely popular Game Hub offers access to thousands of catalogued games supplemented by gamer news feeds and news.
Samsung’s cross platform communication service, ChatON connects all phone users into a single community using phone numbers instead of usernames and passwords, provides aneasy instant messaging, group chatting and sharing of content in multiple formats—images, video, voice, contacts, calendar—to make messaging simpler and more intuitive than ever.
The GALAXY S Advance also features Find My Mobile, a unique lost-phone management system that ensures secure phone data encryption in case of phone loss, and that enables users to trace their lost phone directly via the Web or even delete the device’s data remotely.
For multimedia content and more detailed information, please visit www.samsungmobilepress.com
Samsung Galaxy S Advance Product Specifications:
Network
HSPA 14.4 Mbps 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
EDGE / GPRS 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
Processor
1 GHz Dual-Core Processor
Display
4.0” WVGA (480×800) Super AMOLED display
OS
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Camera
Main (Rear) : 5 Megapixel Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash
Sub (Front) : 1.3 Megapixel Camera
Video
Codec : MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivX, VC-1
Recording / Playback : 720@30 fps
Audio
Codec : MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, AC3
Music Player with SoundAlive
3.5 mm Ear Jack, Stereo FM Radio with RDS
Value-added
Features
– Samsung TouchWiz / Samsung L!ve Panel UX
– Samsung Apps
– Samsung Kies 2.0 / Samsung Kies air / AllShare
ChatON (Downloadable via Samsung Apps)
Readers Hub (Downloadable via Samsung Apps)
Music Hub
Game Hub
*Service availability differs by region
GoogleTMMobile Services
– Android Market™, Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Maps™,
Syncing with Google Calendar™
– Polaris Office
– Find My Mobile
– A-GPS
Connectivity
Bluetooth® technology v 3.0 High Speed
USB 2.0
Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n
Sensor
Proximity, Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Light, Gyroscope
Memory
8 / 16 GB User memory + 768 MB (RAM)
MicroSD (up to 32 GB)
Size
123.2 x 63 x 9.69 mm, 120 g
Battery
Standard battery, Li-ion 1.500 mAh
TWO NEW XPERIA SMARTPHONES FROM SONY MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS POWERED BY ST-ERICSSON NOVATHOR PLATFORM [ST-Ericsson press release, Feb 26, 2012]
Xperia P and Xperia U join growing list of smartphones that have NovaThor U8500 inside
ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, announced today that two new phones from Sony Mobile Communications will be leveraging the ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ U8500 platform. The Xperia™ P and Xperia™ U are the first two smartphones by Sony Mobile Communications to use the NovaThor complete mobile platform solution, combining application processing, modem and connectivity.
“We have added Sony Mobile Communications to the growing list of smartphone manufacturers that have selected our NovaThor U8500 platformto power their newest smartphones,” said Marc Cetto, senior vice president of smartphone and tablet solutions for ST-Ericsson. “With its combination of a dual-core SMP processor and a high-end 3D graphics accelerator, the NovaThor U8500 enables a fast and smooth mobile web-browsing experience together with high definition multimedia creation and consumption on powerful next-generation smartphones like Xperia P and Xperia U from Sony.”
Key features for Xperia P
- 4” Reality Display with WhiteMagic technology powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine for an ultra-bright and power efficient viewing experience.
- 1 GHzdual-core processor for super fast performance with 16GB flash storage.
- 8MP camera with unique fast capture and HD recording.
- NFC enabled with easy HDMI and DLNA connectivity to share content.
- Launches on Android platform 2.3 (Gingerbread), upgrade to Android platform 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) during the second quarter of 2012.
Key features for Xperia U
- 3.5” Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine.
- 1 GHzdual-core processor for super fast performance.
- 5MP camera with unique fast capture and HD recording.
- Crisp and loud listening with xLoud™ and 3D surround sound audio technology.
- Launches on Android platform 2.3 (Gingerbread), upgrade to Android platform 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) during the second quarter of 2012.
Xperia P and Xperia U will launch during the second quarter.
Notes to Editors
The NovaThor family combines advanced application processing, a high speed mobile broadband modem and a full connectivity suite in a complete platform. The NovaThor U8500 integrates a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor, an ARM Mali-400 GPU and a HSPA+ modem in a single die.
Another Sony smartphone powered by the NovaThor U8500 [ST Ericsson technology blog, March 15, 2012]
The new Xperia™ sola, announced by Sony Mobile Communications this week, is the latest addition to its portfolio of Android powered Xperia smartphones – and the latest smartphone to be powered by the ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ U8500 platform.
With its combination of a dual-core SMP processor and a high-end 3D graphics accelerator, the NovaThor U8500 enables a fast and smooth mobile web-browsing experience together with high definition multimedia creation and consumption on powerful next-generation smartphones.
The Xperia sola also features a new amazing technology called floating touch, giving people the ability to control the smartphone without even touching it. Check out the video below to check out the phone and for a brief demonstration of floating touch technology.
Sony Xperia sola is the latest Xperia smartphone, featuring the brand new amazing technology called floating touch. Floating touch gives you the ability to control the smartphone with out even touching it. Get a full browser experience where you can hover above links in your Xperia sola with floating touch, and check out the magic live wall paper reacting to floating touch.The new Xperia sola joins growing list of smartphones that have the NovaThor U8500 inside. And just last month at Mobile World Congress, we announced that the Xperia P and Xperia U also use the NovaThor U8500platform.
The Xperia sola will be available to consumers globally in black, white and red in the second quarter.
Zenithink ST-Ericsson U8500 based 3G 1024×600 Tablet [Charbax YouTube channel, March 14, 2012]
ST-ERICSSON NOVATHOR U8500 POWERS NEW TABLET FROM ONTIM [ST-Ericsson press release, Feb 27, 2012]
ST-Ericsson, a world leader in wireless platforms and semiconductors, announced today at Mobile World Congress that Ontim has selected the NovaThor U8500 platform for its newest tablet. This tablet will be the first to be commercially available based on the NovaThor U8500 platform.
“Ontim has selected the NovaThor U8500to power their newest Android-based tablet,” said Marc Cetto, senior vice president of smartphone and tablet solutions for ST-Ericsson. “ST-Ericsson’s U8500 platform integrates a state of the art HSPA+ modem and application processor featuring dual-core ARM® Cortex™ A9. As a result, the U8500 can easily power the Ontim tablet five-megapixel built-in camera and high-definition digital camcorder as well as enable a full web-browsing experience.”
“The new Ontim WP8500 tablet is the first seven-inch handheld tablet delivering an outstanding user experience and performance thanks to the NovaThor U8500,” said Bob Huo, CEO of Ontim. “We were able to bring this tablet to market quickly by working closely with ST-Ericsson engineering and the maturity of the solution.”
In addition to the U8500, the Ontim WP8500 tablet also leverages the ST-Ericsson CG2900 and CW1100 connectivity solutions.
The seven-inch Ontim WP8500 will launch with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The Ontim WP8500 tablet is expected to be available in March.
http://www.advancedsubstratenews.com/2012/03/important-news-comes-out-of-recent-fd-soi-workshop/
http://semimd.com/blog/2012/03/12/st-ericsson-adopts-fd-soi-for-mobile-products/
The low priced, Android based smartphones of China will change the global market
During the 12 months or so China took over the overall leading market role for smartphones from the key markets considered to be in the lead: US, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain (GB), Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
An even more dramatic change was that while on the old, combined lead market of the above countries high/moderate margin products were the dominating ones, on the new lead market of China average retail prices went down in the second quarter of 2012 to 1560 yuan (i.e. US$246) for the #1 Android with a whopping 82.8% market share, and to 1320 yuan (i.e. US$208) for the #2 Symbian now having only 6% share of the market.
It is notable as well that in China Apple had only a 6% market share vs. 23.7% in the combined old lead markets. According to a recent Reuters video report from Hong Kong we are witnessing (you can also watch this report in this post, as embedded well below in the following elaboration of details):
… commoditization of smartphones … hardware specifications for the handsets have already peaked…
A race to the bottom therefore will present a major challenge for Apple and Samsung who put together have dominated the industry in the last couple of years. If the China trends spread globally the shift to cheaper handsets will mean tighter margins and slower growth for this industry powerhouses and new opportunities for little known upstarts like Xiaomi.
Given my previous trend tracking posts the change will even be more dramatic as:
- The best smartphone based on the MediaTek MT6577 both technically and in terms of price is the MT6577-based JiaYu G3 with IPS Gorilla glass 2 sreen of 4.5” etc. for $154 (factory direct) in China and $183 [Sept 13, 2012], which is also the best example of the low priced, Android based smartphones of China will change the global market.
- – Lowest H2’12 device cost SoCs from Spreadtrum will redefine the entry level smartphone and feature phone markets [July 26 – Aug 16, 2012]
– Boosting the MediaTek MT6575 success story with the MT6577 announcement – UPDATED with MT6588/83 comingearly 2013in Q42012 and 8-core MT6599 in 2013 [June 27, July 27, Sept 11-13, Sept 26, Oct 2, 2012]
– Smartphone-like Asha Touch from Nokia: targeting the next billion users with superior UX created for ultra low-cost and full touch S40 devices [July 20 – Aug 12, 2012]
– MediaTek’s ‘smart-feature phone’ effort with likely Nokia tie-up[Aug 15-31, 2012] - Update: China to ship 300 mil. smartphones in ’13: MediaTek head [The China Post, Sept 26, 2012]: … overall shipments in China may reach 200 million in 2012. …
- Update: China market: Dual-core CPUs, 4-inch displays become standards for entry-level smartphones [DIGITIMES, Sept 17, 2012]:
Local brands in China have made upgrades to the specifications of their entry-level smartphones for the CNY1,000-1,500 (US$158-237) segment making dual-core 1GHz processors and 4-inch displays the industry standards, according to industry sources.
Prices of the previous mainstream models with single-core CPUs and displays below 4-inch sizes for the CNY1,000 segment in the first half of 2012 are now expected to drop to CNY500-800, the sources added.
China Unicom has led the purchase of the upgraded dual-core, 4-inch display smartphones recently, and its suppliers are all China-based vendors including Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Lenovo, Coolpad, TCL, Hisense, K-Touch and Wanlida, the sources revealed, adding that those makers will source chipset solutions from Qualcomm or MediaTek.
First-tier international players did not participate in China Unicom’s procurement on concerns of pricing and hardware specifications, the source asserted.
However, the pace of hardware upgrading may start slowing down as telecom companies in China are mulling reducing their subsidies to smartphone subscribers, while smartphone makers are also trying to maintain their profit margins, commented the sources.
The next round of competition will shift from hardware to software including product design, user’s interface and also smart audio recognition, the sources noted.
Neither Apple nor Samsung reacted to these challenges yet. Nokia was also playing safe with its recent announcement:
– Unique differentiators of Nokia Lumia 920/820 innovated for high-volume superphone markets of North America, Europe and elsewhere [Sept 6, 2012]
We may expect a fundamental reorganisation of the market in the next two quarters.
Meanwhile read through the details included below and make your own, hopefully more fine-tuned conclusions and predictions:
See: Kantar: Windows Phone has overtaken RIM Market Share in USA, “Key 8 Countries”
[WMPoweruser, Sept 3, 2012]
Note that in terms of mobile data traffic the market share is quite different. For North America (U.S. and Canada) Chitika Insights, the independent research arm of online ad network Chitika, released the following web usage market share report [Sept 5, 2012]:
Remark: iPads and other tablets are included here as well!
Relative to all that China is a quite different story:
3G phones months shipments reach 21.64 million, domestic mobile share over 70% – 3G手机月出货量达2164万部 国产手机份额超七成 [Sohu IT – 搜狐IT, Sept 10, 2012]
According to data published by the Telecommunications Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology …
根据工业和信息化部电信研究院公布的数据 …[the data in the translated Chinese text I’ve compiled into the below table:]
China sees soaring smartphone market in Q2 [Xinhua, Sept 3, 2012]
Beijing: China’s smartphone market saw its sales volume soar to 38.19 million units in the second quarter, according to a report released Monday by market researcher Analysys International.
The figure represented a 22.5-per cent increase compared with that of the previous quarter and a sharp rise of 127.1 per cent over the corresponding period in 2011, said the report.
Nearly 67 million mobile phones were sold in China in the second quarter, the report said, representing a 1-per cent decrease from the previous quarter and a 2-per cent decrease from the corresponding period in 2011.
Stellar growth sees China take 27% of global smart phone shipments, powered by domestic vendors [Canalys press release, Aug 2, 2012] – Android is the clear platform of choice, accounting for 81% of Chinese shipments
Shanghai, Palo Alto, Singapore and Reading – Canalys published its final Q2 2012 country-level shipment estimates to clients yesterday. Results show that China saw phenomenal growth of 199% year-on-year and 32% over the previous quarter. In total, more than 42 million smart phones were shipped into the channel in China in Q2 2012, representing the second consecutive quarter of record breaking volumes in a single country market. China accounted for 27% of the 158 million global smart phone shipments, compared to 16% for the United States.
Notably, growth in China was heavily driven by domestic vendors, while international vendors struggled to keep pace.
While Samsung maintained its overall leadership position in China with a 17% market share, this reduced sequentially as volumes were flat and as several local vendors closed the gap. ZTE, Lenovo and Huawei were the second-, third- and fourth-placed vendors, ahead of Apple, making up a third of the market. They achieved growth of 171%, 2,665% and 252% year-on-year respectively. Collectively, domestic Chinese vendors shipped 25.6 million units, representing a growth of 518% and 60% of the market. By comparison, international vendors grew by a more modest 67% to 16.7 million units. Apple fell to fifth place in China. While its shipments were up 102% year-on-year, they were down 37% compared to Q1 2012.
‘The rise of the domestic tier-one brands has been aided by a number of factors. Their reactiveness to market demands and deep understanding of local consumer behavior and preferences have been key in helping them surpass international peers in the fast-evolving Chinese market. Local tier-one vendors have worked hard in recent quarters to greatly improve their brand resonance among consumers and to expand and enhance their relationships and influence within operators,’ said Canalys Research Director for China, Nicole Peng. ‘But the tier-two vendors — the likes of Oppo, K-Touch and Gionee — have also stamped their mark, boosting smart phone shipments into tier-three and tier-four cities, predominantly through the open channels. As feature phone vendors, they already have established partnerships and strong brand awareness. These domestic vendors are making significant progress transitioning their portfolios and customer bases to be more focused on smart phones.’
Nokia and Motorola both lost significant ground in China, with Nokia’s volumes down 47% on Q2 2011. ‘Among the international vendors, only HTC managed an outstanding performance in mainland China. Its shipments grew 389% year-on-year to reach 1.8 million units for the quarter,’ said Jessica Kwee, Canalys Research Analyst. ‘Its success this quarter is heavily based on the strong performance of Desire V series devices, designed with the local China market in mind, underscoring the importance of tailoring propositions to local consumer preferences.’
Android has become a major growth driver in China, running on 81% of the smart phones shipped in China in Q2 2012.
On a global basis, Android continued to grow in significance, surpassing 100 million quarterly smart phone shipments for the first time and reaching two-thirds share of the market. ‘Growth in Android volumes of 110% far outpaced growth in the overall market of 47% year-on-year, heavily driven by Samsung, which saw Android volumes of over 45 million, contributed to by a full and broad portfolio of products, from its high-end flagship Galaxy S III down to its aggressively priced Galaxy Y and Galaxy Mini. Its sponsorship of the London Olympics and subsequent product placements are sure to attract new customers to ensure that Q3 delivers a strong performance,’ commented Pete Cunningham, Canalys Principal Analyst.
Samsung retained its gold medal position in the global smart phone market with a 31% share, followed by Apple and Nokia once again. Huawei and ZTE were unable to push in on the global top five with shipments of their own branded devices. HTC moved up to fourth place, though, just ahead of RIM, which shipped 8.5 million units in the calendar quarter.
Analyst contacts
To speak with any analyst quoted in this release, please contact the appropriate Canalys office: Nicole Peng, Jessica Kwee (Canalys APAC), Pete Cunningham (Canalys EMEA). Alternatively, you can speak with other members of Canalys’ global team of mobile analysts: Chris Jones (Canalys Americas), Rachel Lashford (Canalys APAC), Tim Shepherd (Canalys EMEA).
About Canalys
Canalys is an independent analyst firm that strives to guide clients on the future of the technology industry and to think beyond the business models of the past. We deliver smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world. Our customer-driven analysis and consulting services empower businesses to make informed decisions and generate sales. We stake our reputation on the quality of our data, our innovative use of technology, and our high level of customer service.
Smart phone and pad forecasts show varying OS fortunes [Canalys press release, Sept 10, 2012] – China and Android influence smart phone landscape, the US and Apple dominate pads
Shanghai, Palo Alto, Singapore and Reading – The latest product announcements by leading smart phone and pad vendors will help drive consumer demand to new heights, according to Canalys. It forecasts that in 2016, global annual smart phone shipments will be around 1.2 billion units, meaning a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 19.5%. It predicts pad shipments in the same year will hit 207 million – a CAGR of 26.8%.
Apple’s latest unveiling is attracting extraordinary interest and competitors have also made several major announcements in the past week, including Windows 8 devices from Nokia and Samsung; new Android smart phones from Sony, Motorola and Samsung; and Amazon’s enhanced Kindle Fire pads. With these big vendors attracting the headlines, Canalys has issued a timely reminder that the trends across pads and smart phones in various countries will be markedly different.
In smart phones, Canalys expects Asia Pacific to remain the largest region by volume, with annual shipments reaching 594 million by 2016. China will account for almost half of all shipments in the region and nearly a quarter of the world’s smart phones in 2016. This equates to only 10 million less than is forecast to ship in the whole of the Americas in that year.
Canalys managing director for Mobile and APAC, Rachel Lashford, said, ‘The latest, in-depth research for our dedicated Smart Phone Analysis China service reveals there will be a substantial increase in the number of first-time smart phone users in China over the next 12 months, while feature phone shipments will continue to decline. Smart phone sales will move beyond tier-one and tier-two cities.’
China’s domestic feature phone vendors are rapidly moving their businesses to smart phones, supported by low-cost solutions from chipset providers, such as MediaTek, Spreadtrum and Qualcomm’s QRD.
‘We anticipate strong demand from local Chinese vendors selling in both operator and open channels,’ said Nicole Peng, Canalys Research Director for China. ‘Chipset vendors are reporting growing momentum in 2.5G (EDGE) smart phone solutions. For less developed areas where 3G coverage is limited, 2.5G smart phones have advantages in cost and battery life. They are becoming popular with consumers, especially where prices are already close to those of feature phones (around RMB500, US$78). The tier-three and tier-four cities are feature phone vendors’ traditional strongholds. Local vendors will use their long-standing relationships with open channels and their established infrastructure to distribute smart phones, with or without operator subsidies, over the next few years.’
In terms of percentage growth, Canalys expects Latin America to move fastest, with a CAGR to 2016 of 27.3%. It forecasts good double-digit growth in all countries, but Brazil and Mexico will account for more than half of all shipments in the region.
Globally, Canalys expects Android to remain dominant, with 57% of the smart phones shipped in 2016 running the OS (up from 49% in 2011). It expects Apple’s share of this much larger market to remain similar to today, at around 18%. Microsoft is expected to make inroads over the coming years.
In the pad market, however, the OS picture will be quite different. Canalys expects Apple to take a little under half of the market in 2016. The plethora of Windows 8 pads that will be introduced over the next few years are predicted to bring Microsoft’s share to around 17%. Competitively priced Android pads, such as Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire models will have an impact in terms of volumes, but Android’s share is forecast to remain relatively stable at 35%, unless vendors make radical improvements to the overall user experience. In contrast to smart phone market trends, the US is expected to dominate pad shipments, with the volume more than doubling to 88 million units in 2016. China is expected to be the second largest country market, with shipments of around 20 million.
‘Pads are the fastest growing consumer electronics products in history and are forecast to represent 29% of total PC shipments in 2016. But the market remains dominated by a single vendor. Other PC and smart phone vendors are currently finding it hard to weaken Apple’s position,’ said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. ‘The only product that most would consider a big hit is the Kindle Fire, brought to market by Amazon – an Internet retailer. Tight integration of hardware, software and services is a prerequisite for competing in the pad market, even at low price points, and fragmentation among other pad vendors’ offers helps Apple maintain its position.’
Analyst contacts
To speak with any analyst quoted in this release, please contact the appropriate Canalys office: Rachel Lashford, Nicole Peng (Canalys APAC), Tim Coulling (Canalys EMEA). Or contact another member of Canalys’ global analyst team: Chris Jones (Canalys Americas), Jessica Kwee, Pin-Chen Tang (Canalys APAC), Pete Cunningham, Tim Shepherd, Tom Evans (Canalys EMEA).
Analysys data: 2012Q2 China Android Smartphone market 82.8% [Analysys International release, Sept 5, 2012] as translated by Bing:
Easy views network hearing” easy views international: according to EnfoDesk easy views intellectual library industry database recently publishing of 2012 2nd quarter China phone terminal market monitoring report under displayed, 2 quarter, China smart phone terminal (does not containing parallel and cottage machine) market in the, Android Department sales accounted for than from Shang last quarter of 76.7% upgrade to this quarter of 82.8%, net 6.1%. While the Symbian sales percentage has continued to free fall to the ground from the parent 11.8% to 6%. In addition, iOS small callback to 6%.
2012Q2 OS smartphone market penetration in China (not including parallel and cottage)
2 quarter pick-up systems from Smartphone ( encyclopedia of Analysys : smartphones ) [average smartphone] price changes, Android from 1670 [yuan i.e. US$263] last quarter, continuing down to the quarter of 1560 [yuan i.e. US$246]; 1320 [yuan i.e. US$208] of Symbian from last quarter down to 1170 dollars [yuan i.e. US$185] this quarter.
2012Q2 China Android and Symbian Smartphone price
(not including parallel and cottage)Information about the mobile Internet more relevant data, please visit
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Analysys data: 2012Q1 China Android Smartphone market share increased from 76.7% [Analysys International release, June 6, 2012] as translated by Bing:
“Analysys Web video” Analysys: at present, according to EnfoDesk Analysys think-tank on traditional retail markets of mobile phones (of the last quarter of 2012 quarterly monitoring mobile terminal market) data monitor display: Chinese smartphone market, Android system’s market share in handset sales rising 5 consecutive quarters.
Vulnerability analysis:
In the last quarter of 2012 China Mobile end-markets quarterly monitoring data show end of 2012 Q1, carrying Android in the Smartphone market system’s market share in the Smartphone Terminal 76.7%, 10% average quarterly market share gain. At the same time, as the Smartphone market continues to mature, carrying Android system average Smartphone prices are also way down to 1670 [yuan i.e. US$263 from 2300 yuan i.e. US$363 a year earlier].
Combined with traditional mobile phone sales channels under the line status, EnfoDesk Analysys Research think-tank believes that mobile phone sales market share of Android system continue to enhance, benefit from its open source nature attract numerous manufacturers to participate in, and China in the past two years in the Smartphone market and 3G business increment. Through the performance of manufacturers on the market today as well as the impact of EnfoDesk Analysys think tank study says
1. Is now dominated by application of the formation of eco-systems, as well as the Android open source, attracting new industry participants, such as Internet companies to enter product prices are depressed, make the increasingly intense market competition environment, product prices are driven down, threats to traditional enterprise bargaining power in the channel.
2012Q1 China smartphone sales share
2. Fragmentation trends exacerbate the Android system. Traditional manufacturing enterprises to overcome the effects of homogenization of products of intelligent systems, secondary development on the Android system, causes the application to version adjusted accordingly, application developer development costs gradually increased.
Smartphone price quarterly changes of 2011Q1-2012Q1 Android system
3. Sales in this period dominated by domestic brands in the low-end products, intelligent products of these enterprises continue to 3G input costs on the production line. But at the same time, while veteran international brand market share continues to decline, it would shorten the product line, focusing its research and development production 4G products research and development. With the advent of 4G era, will reshuffle the mobile terminal market. (Analysys International)
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2011Q2 China’s massive increase in Android share Symbian tumble
Is sun setting on smartphone profit miracle? [ReutersVideo YouTube channel, Aug 16, 2012]
… in 2 years the low-end has blown up …
China smartphone sales by price tier Q1 – 2010 Q1 – 2012 <1,500 yuan [<US$ 237] 17.7% 60% 1,500-3,000 yuan [US$ 237-473] 51.5% 24% >3,000 yuan [>US$ 473] 30.8% 16% Source: Jefferies Research
Cynthia Meng, China/HK TMT Equity Research, Jefferies Hong Kong:
[00:49] Next year it’s going to be about who is going to provide the best value for my money from a consumer point of view, from a telco point of view, because we think that hardware specifications for the handsets have already peaked. [01:03]Narrator, xxx Gordon in Hong Kong:
In other words the oversized screen and quadcore processors of your precious Samsung [Galaxy] S III will soon be standard and achieved in handsets in China. [01:13]… commoditization of smartphones …
[02:11] A race to the bottom will present a major challenge for Apple and Samsung who put together have dominated the industry in the last couple of years. [02:19] If the China trends spread globally the shift to cheaper handsets will mean tighter margins and slower growth for this industry powerhouses and new opportunities for little known upstarts like Xiaomi. [02:26]
The Chinese View: VIDEO: STUDIO INTERVIEW: CHINA’S SMARTPHONE MARKET [CCTV News – CNTV English, Sept 3, 2012]
iPhone Ranked Seventh in China’s Smartphone Market — Watch Out, ZTE [AllThingsD.com, Aug 24, 2012]
Apple’s iPhone has been gaining a lot of traction in China recently. As Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, greater China accounted for two-thirds of Apple’s revenue in the Asia-Pacific region during the period.
“In terms of iPhones in general in mainland China, we were incredibly pleased with our results,” Cook said. “We were up over 100 percent, year over year.”
That’s an impressive achievement. But Apple still has a lot of work to do in China before the iPhone claims the same levels of market penetration it enjoys in the U.S. In China, the iPhone has captured about 7.5 percent of the smartphone market, compared to rival Samsung, which has claimed more than 20 percent, according to IHS iSuppli. Despite its popularity in the country, the iPhone is still ranked seventh in the Chinese smartphone market.
Why? Two reasons. First, Apple doesn’t yet offer a truly low-end smartphone that appeals to price-conscious Chinese consumers. (To be clear, China Telecom is offering the iPhone fully subsidized, but it requires subscribers to sign a contract that ties them to a two-year $62 per month plan.) Second, and more importantly, the iPhone doesn’t yet support Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), China’s homegrown wireless standard. And until it does, China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless carrier, can’t offer it to its 688 million or so subscribers.
“Among all the international smartphone brands competing in China, Apple is the only one not offering a product that complies with the domestic TD-SCDMA air standard,” IHS iSuppli’s Kevin Wang said in a statement. “For Apple, this is a huge disadvantage, as TD-SCDMA represents the fastest-growing major air standard for smartphones in China, with shipments of compliant phones expected to rise by a factor of 10 from 2011 to 2016.”
In other words, if Apple wants access to the massive addressable market that China Mobile has to offer, it’s going to have to offer a lower-end iPhone variant designed specifically for TD-SCDMA, something it has been loath to do in the past, and hasn’t given any indication that it’s willing to do in the future. As Cook said during Apple’s last earnings call, the company feels that its business is strongest when it focuses on making the best products it can, not the most inexpensive ones.
“I firmly believe that people in the emerging markets want great products, like they do in developed markets,” Cook said. “And so we’re going to stick to our knitting and make the best products. And we think that if we do that, we’ve got a very, very good business ahead of us. So that’s what we are doing.”
Breakingviews: Apple v. Samsung [ReutersVideo YouTube channel, Aug 27, 2012]
Apple Should Take The $199 Chinese Smartphone Seriously [Seeking Alpha, Sept 6, 2012]
At a time when China is set to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest smartphone market, little-known Chinese firms are prepared to battle it out for market dominance with the maker of the game-changing iPhone, Apple (AAPL). As per the predictions of IDC and Gartner, China’s smartphone shipments could hit 140 million this year, exceeding those in the United States.
There are a number of Chinese brands offering similar capabilities, nominally, as the iPhone at half the price, most of them using a forked version of Google’s (GOOG) Android. The names include ZTE Corp., Lenovo Group, and other small private firms like Xiaomi, Gionee, and Meizu Technology. Even cheaper smartphones are offered by Alibaba Group, Shanda Interactive, and Baidu (BIDU) for fewer than ¥1,000 (~$150 U.S.).
Xiaomi Technology, founded just two years ago, has emerged as a serious potential threat to the likes of Apple and Samsung in smartphone arena. According to its CEO, the company sold more than 3 million phones with revenues close to $1 billion for the first half of 2012. Its latest offering, a successor to its popular MiOne (MI) smartphone, the MI2, costs less than half the price of iPhone 4S, but exceeds its specifications. Xiaomi not only tries to mimic the iPhone’s specifications, but has also been able to charge fans ¥199 (~$31) to attend the Beijing launch of the phone, the same way as Apple followers would pay to see Steve Jobs showcasing new products. The Xiaomi conference was attended by more than 1,000 people, with the proceeds going to charity. The MI2, which is expected to hit the markets in October, will have quad-core Qualcomm (QCOM) S4 Pro SoC, an 8 mega-pixel camera, and a voice-assistant similar to Apple’s Siri, and is priced at ¥1,999 ($310). This is no cheap knock-off, but rather a serious piece of hardware packed with the latest technology.
The fascinating part of Android’s rise here is that Microsoft (MSFT) will likely see more profit from many of these phones than Google will due to the licensing agreements many of them have made to avoid patent issues with Redmond. Reports are spotty, but Microsoft collects anywhere from $5 to $15 per Android license and has deals with at least half of the phones sold. Moreover, it is very possible it makes more money than Google does.
In the coming years it is expected that Apple’s market share may flatten out or even dip, as it has this year, but market share is not Apple’s goal; it has always been about margins — selling a premium product at extremely high margins to those with the resources to not care about the upfront cost. Estimates from IDC place the sub-$200 smartphone at 40% of the shipments, while devices costing more than $700 made up 11% of the market, which is where Apple plays and why it still controls most of the profits generated by the industry. China and India make up 40% of new smartphone activations.
This huge difference in shipments is mainly due to the limited purchasing power of an average Chinese person, which is around ¥800-¥1,500 ($130-$240). By contrast, the iPhone comes with a price tag of around $800, the equivalent of two months of earnings of an urban Chinese person (in an area that has around 670 million people).
According to a report from Gartner, Apple’s market share by volume has been sliding and iOS‘ share of the mobile operating system space is expected to slip to third place by 2016 below Android and Windows Phone. The Gartner report is, however, very controversial as Windows Phone has not proven anything to this point, although Nokia’s (NOK) sales of its Lumia 610 and Asha line of proto-smartphones are keeping its brand alive while it searches for the killer phone. Even in its second-largest market, iPhone sales slipped for the April-June quarter due to inventory adjustments after the huge launch of the iPhone 4S.
Apart from these estimates, Apple also suffers on various fronts in China. The iPhone is backed by China Telecom and China Unicom, but the country’s and the world’s leading telco China Mobile (with about 655 million subscribers) has still not supported it. Apple and China Mobile are still working on the details of China Mobile’s implementation of CDMA, which requires Apple to build a specific phone for its network.
Responding to the competition and the difference between the iPhone and the local offerings, Apple recently slashed the price of the iPhone 3GS below $200. While an entry-level Apple phone is something that the market will absorb, part of Apple’s appeal is the status it confers and a 3GS simply not a strong enough status symbol to drive sales. Mix in that with Chinese preferences for buying from Chinese companies and this market becomes a whole lot harder for Apple to maintain not its sales per se — it can manipulate prices to maintain sales — but its extreme margins. The latest earnings call highlighted this as it sold a lot of lower-end iPads and iPhones in Asia, which pushed its results and future guidance under 40% net margins.
Companies like Lenovo, ZTE, and Huawei are gaining because they are Chinese and are providing good products at reasonable prices. Lenovo, in particular, is pushing its smartphone and PC strategy both up and down the value chain, similar to Samsung’s approach. It is working very well for Lenovo, whose revenues were up 40% in the second quarter when everyone else was complaining of softening business.
Apple’s problems are the standard problems for a company on top of the world; everyone will nibble away at it in various little ways. How it responds to this is key.
The recent lawsuit victory over Samsung and its pressing of the legal attack smacks of a company that is frightened. Why should it fear Samsung? And if it doesn’t, why did it go after Samsung and restrict consumer choice, a clear breach of its branding compact with its fans? Is it trying to push Samsung into Windows 8 Phone’s arms? All of these things point to further margin erosion for Apple and a slowing of its titanic growth without a new market to push into. As things stand now, staking a new position in Apple requires believing none of these issues matter.
It points to Apple becoming a value trap at some point in the future. Not every country, especially China, will grant Apple an injunction against knockoff competition; quite the opposite is true. Many investors are sitting on capital gains so large they can’t sell, and the dividend will pay them well enough to stay in even if the price goes nowhere. But new investors should be very careful in light of the market dynamics.
Microsoft adding staff, R&D in China mobile push [Associated Press, Sept 6, 2012]
BEIJING (AP) — Microsoft Corp. will hire more than 1,000 additional employees in China this year and boost research and development spending by 15 percent as it tries to catch up with Apple and Google in the fast-growing mobile Internet market, executives said Thursday.
The announcement adds to intensifying competition in wireless Internet in China, where nearly 400 million people surf the Web using mobile phones and other devices. Microsoft is promoting its Windows 8 mobile operating system but came late to the market and trails Apple Inc. and Google Inc., whose Android system is widely used in China.
“We respect that we have two players in the market which have a strong role, and we feel ready to attack and have different offers to basically change the game plan on that one,” said Microsoft’s CEO for China, Ralph Haupter, at a news conference.
The new employees will be in addition to Microsoft’s workforce of 4,500 in China and will be spread across research and development, marketing and customer service, Haupter said.
Research spending in China will rise by 15 percent over last year’s $500 million, according to another executive, Ya-Qin Zhang, Microsoft’s Asia-Pacific chairman for research and development. He said the current research staff of 3,000 would be expanded by about 15 percent.
Global technology companies and local rivals are spending heavily to gain a foothold in mobile Internet in the world’s most populous online market as Chinese users shift quickly to the new technology.
This week, Chinese search engine Baidu Inc. released its own new mobile browser to compete with Google and Apple and announced it will open a cloud computing center.
China had 538 million people online at the end of July, up 11 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Internet Network Information Center, an industry group. The share that uses wireless devices grew twice as fast, rising 22 percent to 388 million, or 70 percent of the total.
Android dominates the Chinese smartphone market, used on 76.7 percent of phones in the
secondfirst quarter of this year, according to Analysys International, a research firm. Apple’s iPhone dominates the higher end of the market.Microsoft plans to recruit more local partners to develop mobile applications specifically for China, said Haupter. He said the company believes it has an advantage in doing that because developers can draw on their experience working on other Microsoft products.
Zhang said Microsoft’s six development centers in China that now spend about 80 percent of their time working on products for global markets will focus more on creating offerings tailored to Chinese customers.
Microsoft also plans to expand its cloud computing business in China, the executives said. Zhang said about 100,000 commercial customers now use its private cloud computing service and a service for use by the public is being developed.
Microsoft Names New Leaders in Key International Markets [Microsoft press release, April 13, 2012]
… Ralph Haupter, currently serving as area vice president (AVP) for Microsoft Germany, has been promoted to corporate vice president and named CEO for Microsoft GCR. Haupter is replacing Simon Leung who has decided to leave Microsoft for personal and family reasons. Gordon Frazer, currently serving as managing director (MD) for Microsoft U.K., has been named chief operating officer (COO) for Microsoft GCR. He is replacing Michel van der Bel, who will assume the role of MD for Microsoft U.K. Haupter and van der Bel will report to Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, and Frazer will report to Haupter. …
…
Haupter is a seven-year veteran of Microsoft, having delivered excellent and sustainable results in growth and profitability and repeatedly proving his ability to build and grow high-performing, diverse organizations. He previously served as head of the partner division for Europe, Middle East and Africa and general manager (GM) of Microsoft’s Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Group for Western Europe, both based in Paris, and served as COO for Microsoft Germany before becoming the German AVP. Before that, he worked for IBM both in Germany and internationally.
Frazer is a 16-year veteran of Microsoft, having served as the GM for Microsoft South Africa for four years and most recently as the Microsoft U.K. MD for the past six years. He brings a tremendous amount of operational expertise to the Microsoft GCR team from his various roles across both developed and emerging markets. His leadership in managing the full breadth and depth of Microsoft’s business in the U.K. will serve as a strong asset in helping take Microsoft China’s operations to the next level of efficiency and growth.
…
Leading the New Era, Winning the Future—Microsoft Announces Development Strategy in China [Microsoft China press release, Sept 6, 2012]
Partnering for an Innovative, Competitive, and Talented China
New leadership team in Greater China
(third from left is the COO Gordon Frazer and the fourth is the CEO Ralph Haupter)September 6, 2012, Beijing– Microsoft China today announced its new strategy and commitment to partnering with the country for an innovative, competitive and talented China by further enhancing and accelerating investments. In the new fiscal year, Microsoft will recruit more than 1,000 staff in China, 50% of which will be college graduates. Microsoft’s annual R&D investment will exceed $500 million, and the company will explore local markets in more provinces and deepen its engagement in industrial informatization.
Over two decades of growth, Microsoft China has continued to penetrate deeply into increasingly important local markets. Ralph Haupter, Corporate Vice President, Chairman & CEO Microsoft Greater China Region, said: “Since entering China 20 years ago, Microsoft has grown steadily in China and acquired a deeper understanding of the Chinese market. Our new strategy reflects our perception, emphasis and commitment to the China market. In this new era, China and the entire Greater China Region will become the source of global innovations. Through comprehensive devices and services combined with cloud computing, Microsoft is working closely with the Chinese government, partners, customers and the academic world, entering this new era by leveraging our advantages.”
Haupter stressed that this year is a big year for Microsoft, with the introduction of many new products and technologies, and also a year where Microsoft China is making a great effort to further develop the market. “Our new leadership team in Greater China has helped develop a new strategy for customers and partners, deepening cooperation with governments of all levels to strengthen innovation in China. The team will popularize new technologies and explore new markets,” Haupter said.
Through continuous investment of innovation resources and improving the scale of partnerships in China over the years, Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group has become Microsoft’s largest R&D base outside of the United States, with the most complete functions and innovation chain covering basic research, technology incubation, product R&D and industry cooperation. Chinese R&D teams have made great contributions to Microsoft products launched this year, such as Windows Server2012, Windows 8, New Office, SQL Server 2012 and Surface. Ya-Qin Zhang, Corporate Vice President and Chairman of Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group, said: “We are lucky to be in an era where globalization is deepening, the IT revolution is emerging and China is rising. Microsoft’s continuous exploration in natural human-machine interfaces, mobile Internet and cloud computing will help us win the future and contribute to China’s sustainable development.”
Samuel Shen, COO of Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group, said Microsoft’s software outsourcing business was now worth more than $200 million per year. In the future, Microsoft will continue to work closely with local communities through programs such as the Internet of Things, Big Data, cloud computing, cloud-based smart cities and the Microsoft Accelerator for Cloud Computing, accelerating the vision of “Innovation in China, Innovation for the World”
According to Microsoft’s new strategy in China, Microsoft is committed to cooperating with the Chinese government and industry, aligning with China’s priorities and partnering for an Innovative, Competitive, and Talented China. Gordon Frazer, Vice President and COO of Microsoft Greater China Region, said that over the next five years, Microsoft China will expand its footprint in China, deepen cooperation with governments of all levels and partners, improve customer support and foster talents on a broad scale:
Expand Microsoft’s footprint in local markets: Over the next five years, Microsoft will expand its presence in over 20 cities across 15 provinces by expanding local teams, enhancing local management, working closely with local governments, making contributions to local informatization, building cloud-based smart cities, and providing cloud-based solutions for e-government, city management and citizen services.
Accelerate local partner ecosystems and expand service coverage: Microsoft will deepen customer services, deliver joint services and solutions with partners, and engage in further convergence of informatization and industry upgrading to improve the core competency of Chinese enterprises. By the end of this year, Microsoft will set up its second technical support center in China to enhance support for Chinese customers and partners, share best practices and knowledge of supporting global customers to help them accelerate the adoption of new technologies and share with them the experience of providing cloud services to customers in Asia. Microsoft will also drive partners’ development through many forms: system-grade innovation support for OEMs, software engineering assistance for software outsourcing companies and innovative design references for hardware manufacturers.
Foster talents in a large scale: Over the next five years, Microsoft will hire more talent in China to better serve and support its partners in China, foster talents for the Chinese software industry and improve the skills of Chinese youths.
China to Overtake United States in Smartphone Shipments in 2012, According to IDC [IDC press release, Aug 30, 2012]
Top Five Smartphone Markets and Market Share for 2011, 2012, and 2016 (based on shipments)
Country 2011 Market Share 2012 Market Share 2016 Market Share 2011 – 2016 CAGR PRC 18.3% 26.5% 23.0% 26.2% USA 21.3% 17.8% 14.5% 11.6% India 2.2% 2.5% 8.5% 57.5% Brazil 1.8% 2.3% 4.4% 44.0% United Kingdom 5.3% 4.5% 3.6% 11.5% Rest of World 51.1% 46.4% 46.0% 18.1% Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 20.5% Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, 2012 Q2 Forecast Release, August 30 2012
Strong end-user demand and an appetite for lower-priced smartphones will make China (PRC) the largest market for smartphones this year, overtaking the United States as the global leader in smartphone shipments. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, China will account for 26.5% of all smartphone shipments in 2012, compared to 17.8% for the United States.
“Looking ahead, the PRC smartphone market will continue to be lifted by the sub-US$200 Android segment,” said Wong Teck-Zhung, senior market analyst, Client Devices, IDC Asia/Pacific. “Near-term prices in the low-end segment will come down to US$100 and below as competition for market share intensifies among smartphone vendors. Carrier-subsidized and customized handsets from domestic vendors will further support the migration to smartphones and boost shipments. Looking ahead to the later years in the forecast, the move to 4G networks will be another growth catalyst.”
“Regionally, we expect smartphone demand to flow down to lower-tier cities,” added James Yan, senior market analyst for Computing Systems Research at IDC China. “After going through a period of sustained high growth, top-tier cities are likely to see decelerating smartphone growth rates. In contrast, secondary cities are expected to experience accelerated smartphone growth, with strong demand for low-cost models as well as high-end models, which are desired as status symbols.”
“The fact that China will overtake the United States in smartphone shipments does not mean that the U.S. smartphone market is grinding to a halt,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends program. “Now that smartphones represent the majority of mobile phone shipments, growth is expected to continue, but at a slower pace. There is still a market for first-time users as well as thriving upgrade opportunities.”
“In addition to China and the United States, several other countries will emerge as key markets for smartphone shipment volume over the next five years,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program. “High-growth countries such as Brazil and Russia will become some of the most hotly contested markets as vendors seek to capture new customers and market share.”
Top Five Markets for Smartphone Shipments
As it becomes the leading country for smartphone shipments this year, the PRC smartphone market will continue to grow, primarily on demand for lower-cost handsets. While this bodes well from a volume perspective, it also means lower average sales values (ASVs), thinner margins, and increased competition from all players. Over the course of the forecast, China’s share of the global smartphone market will decline somewhat as smartphone adoption accelerates in other emerging markets.
Smartphone shipments into the United States will increase as users upgrade their devices and feature-phone users switch over to smartphones. Furthermore, a combination of lower-priced models, expansion of 4G networks, and the proliferation of shared data plans will encourage continued smartphone adoption. Smartphones are already the device of choice at the major carriers, and regional and prepaid carriers are following suit and competing with alternative service plans.
With smartphone penetration in India currently among the lowest in Asia/Pacific, the market has tremendous untapped growth potential. Low-end smartphones offering dual-SIM capability and local apps and priced around US$100 will rapidly bring this market to life. Although 3G data plans are currently too expensive for the majority of consumers in India, IDC expects the popularization of 3G, and in later years 4G, to drive smartphone uptake as operators roll out more affordable data plans and generous subsidies while expanding offerings to tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The affordability of service plans will be another important key to smartphone adoption in India.
Smartphone growth in Brazil will be bolstered by strategic investments by mobile operators, smartphone vendors, and regulators. Operators’ focus on increasing ARPU will drive greater demand for smartphones while smartphone vendors will look to reap greater profitability from offering such devices. The Brazilian government, meanwhile, will offer tax exemptions for smartphones and protect local manufacturing against foreign vendors. These factors, combined with solid end-user demand, will drive smartphone volumes in the coming years.
The United Kingdom has been one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in Western Europe, driven by the high operator subsidies and long-term post-paid contracts. Over the forecast period, smartphone shipments will continue to increase due to the introduction of LTE and a new range of services that will appeal to heavy smartphone users. In addition, price erosion on HSPA devices will also attract feature phones users. Growth rates will slow in the later years of the forecast as penetration plateaus and operators seek out alternative subsidy models.
Nexus 7: Google wanted it in 4 months for $199/$245, ASUS delivered + Nexus Q (of Google’s own design and manufacturing) added for social streaming from Google Play to speakers and screen in home under Android device control
+ the whole Android-centric story is getting even more interesting when Chrome, Google Drive, Chrome OS and the apps related to that are added. So the latest updates on that are included here as well (in fact from the Day 2 of the Google I/O). Pretty impressive alltogether.
Introducing Nexus 7 [Google Nexus channel on YouTube, June 27, 2012]
Milestones leading to the Nexus 7:
- November 5, 2007: Google launches Android, an Open Mobile Platform
- November 12, 2007: “early look” Android SDK releases (with Android version m3-rc20a)
- August 28, 2008: Android Market announced
- September 23, 2008: Android makes its debut in the T-Mobile (US) G1 smartphone (HTC Dream)with Android 1.0. This came next to UK (in November), as well as to Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands (in Q1 2009).
- This was based on a brand new, 2008 class Qualcomm MSM 7201a SoC (528 MHz single ARM1136EJ-S core of just 1.06 DMIPS/MHz, Adreno 130 GPU, HSPA etc.), had 192MB RAM and 256MB Flash, and came with a 3.2″ 320×480 resolution screen.
- September 23, 2008: Announcing the Android 1.0 SDK, release 1
- October 22, 2008: the Android Market is available for users
- February 13, 2009: Support for priced applications introduced on the Android Market (US and UK developers only)
- April 30, 2009: Android 1.5 (Cupcake), the next version after 1.0, released for Android-powered handsets
(The history of early Android releases upto version 1.6, Donut is provided by Google here.) - January 5, 2010: Nexus One (HTC Passion), the newest Android-powered phone running the latest Android 2.1 (Eclair) software introduced (dogfooding was in Dec 2009)
- This was based on Qualcomm’s next-generation Qualcomm QSD8250 SoC (1 GHz single Scorpion ARM core of 2.1 DMIPS/MHz — essentially of Cortex-A8 class but architectured and designed by Qualcomm, Adreno 200 GPU, HSPA etc.), had 512MB RAM and 512MB ROM, was expandable with a microSD card, and came with a 3.7″ 480×800 resolution AMOLED screen. Note that HTC was working with Qualcomm on that at least since November 2007 when the QSD8250 was announced.
- September 30, 2010: Support for paid application sales expanded to developers in 29 countries + users from 32 countries could buy apps from the Android Market
- December 6, 2010: Google eBookstore launched
- Dec 6, 2010: Introducing Nexus S with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
- It was co-developed with Samsung. The hallmarks here were Samsung’s own 1 GHz Hummingbird processor (used by Apple as well, and later becoming Exynos), 16GB of memory and a 4″ state-of-the-art AMOLED screen. The starting point for this device was the Samsung Galaxy S, released 4 months earlier with Android 2.1 (see also the Galaxy S: A New Era in AMOLED Technology article from Samsung). AT&T had the first announcement of a Galaxy S class device under the name of Samsung Captivate in the summer.
- Detailed information about Hummingbird and the SoCs of that time are provided in the Marvell ARMADA beats Qualcomm Snapdragon, NVIDIA Tegra and Samsung/Apple Hummingbird in the SoC market [again] [Sept 23, 2010 – Jan 17, 2011] post on this blog.
- February 22, 2011: Final Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) Platform and Updated SDK Tools
- The Motorola XOOM tablet device, developed an designed for 3.0, was announced earlier on Jan 5 as a 3G/Wi-Fi-enabled device in Q1 2011 with an upgrade to 4G LTE in Q2.
- Due to closeness of 2.3 and 3.0 releases detailed information about them was provided in the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and 3.0 (Honeycomb) [Dec 30, 2010 – Feb 4, 2011] post on this blog.
- October 18, 2011: Android 4.0, “Ice Cream Sandwich” (ICS) announced
- October 19, 2011: Samsung and Google introduce GALAXY Nexus
- Detailed information about that is provided in the TI’s OMAP4460 in Samsung GALAXY Nexus with Android 4.0 [Oct 21, 2011 – Feb 7, 2012] post on this blog. That will show very meticulously the current SoC state-of-the-art relative to the Qualcomm SoCs used in earlier G1 and Nexus smartphones.
- November 16, 2011: Google Music with a music store introduced
- March 6, 2012: Google Play digital entertainment distribution service in the cloud introduced for Android phones and tablets announced. Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore became part of Google Play. So music, books, magazines, movies, TV shows, apps, and games are all become available from a single destinationon the web.
- April 12, 2012: Czech Republic, Israel, Poland, and Mexico are added to the 29 seller countries in Google Play.
400 million Android activations! [GoogleMobile YouTube channel, June 27, 2012]
2012 Google I/O Keynote – Google Nexus 7 Tablet Announcement (HD, June 27th, 2012) [Hexydes YouTube channel, June 27, 2012]
#1 of Android @ I/O: the playground is open [on Official Google Blog by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content, June 27, 2012]
…
Google Play: more entertainment
Google Play is your digital entertainment destination, with more than 600,000 apps and games plus music, movies and books. It’s entirely cloud-based, which means all of your content is always available across all of your devices. Today our store is expanding to include magazines. We’ve been working with leading publishers Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith and more to offer magazines like House Beautiful, Men’s Health, Shape and WIRED.Now, you can also purchase movies in addition to renting them. And we’re adding television shows on Google Play—in fact, we’re adding thousands of episodes of broadcast and cable TV shows, like “Revenge,” “Parks & Recreation” and “Breaking Bad,” from some of the top studios, like ABC Studios, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures. You can play back movies and TV shows on all your Android devices, through Google Play on the web, and on YouTube, and soon we’ll bring the experience to Google TV devices.
Movie purchases, TV shows and magazines are available today on play.google.com, and will roll out to Google Play on devices over the coming days.
Nexus 7: powerful, portable and designed for Google Play
All of this great Google Play content comes to life on Nexus 7, a powerful new tablet with a vibrant, 7” 1280×800 HD display. The Tegra-3 chipset, with a quad-core CPU and 12-core GPU, makes everything, including games, extremely fast. And best of all, it’s only 340 grams, lighter than most tablets out there. Nexus 7 was built to bring you the best of Google in the palm of your hand. Hang out with up to 10 friends on Google+ using the front-facing camera, browse the web blazingly fast with Chrome and, of course, crank through your emails with Gmail.Nexus 7 comes preloaded with some great entertainment, including the movie “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” the book “The Bourne Dominion,” magazines likeCondé Nast Traveler and Popular Science, and songs from bands like Coldplay and the Rolling Stones. We’ve also included a $25 credit to purchase your favorite movies, books and more from Google Play, for a limited time. Nexus 7 is available for preorder today from Google Play in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia, and starts at $199 in the U.S. It will start shipping mid-July.
…
Google I/O 2012 – Google Play Developers : Live from the Sandbox [GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel, June 27, 2012]
Exclusive: Google’s Andy Rubin and Asus’ Jonney Shih on How They Cooked Up the Nexus 7 [AllThingsD, June 27, 2012]
Building the Nexus 7 tablet was no easy task, says Asus Chairman Jonney Shih.
First off, Google gave the company only four months to build the product. Then there was the task of building a high-end tablet that could sell for just $200. Plus, he said, Google can be kind of demanding.
“Our engineers told me it is like torture,” Shih said
…
Rubin admits that he was upset a year ago that Android tablets just weren’t selling. After looking into some of the reasons, Rubin learned that while hardware really matters on phones, consumers are buying into a content ecosystem with tablets. Or, in Google’s case, not buying into an ecosystem.
…
On the hardware side, Shih and Rubin feel they have something that can serve as a full-fledged tablet computer while competing on price with the Kindle Fire. Despite its bargain-basement price, Shih notes that the device packs a high-end laminated display, quad-core chip and other high-end features.
One way the companies managed that is through razor-thin margins. Google is selling the device through its Google Play store, essentially at cost, and also absorbing the marketing costs associated with the device.
…
Google to unveil Nexus 7 at Google I/O 2012, say sources [DIGITIMES, June 28, 2012]
… Market sources indicate that Google will outsource production of the Nexus 7 to Asustek Computer, and purchase LCD panels for the model from Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT).
The displays will have a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels with CPT serving as the primary supplier, the sources indicated.
Buoyed by the new orders, CPT has ramped up its tablet panels to 700,000-800,000 units a month and may further push output to one million units in the third quarter, the sources estimated.
CPT is currently also shipping 10,000-20,000 panels a month for notebooks, added the sources.
Amazon to start shipping new Kindle Fire in August, sources claim [DIGITIMES, June 28, 2012]
Amazon’s new 7.85-inch Kindle Fire is reported to have an August release date this year at a price of US$199, according to upstream industry sources.
The new Kindle Fire will be thinner than the current version because it adopts full lamination to get rid of the air gap between the LCD and touch panels, the sources said.
But the sources said that as the full lamination process will add an extra US$10 in production cost, it will be a great challenge for the device maker’s cost control if Amazon keeps the new Kindle Fire’s price at US$199.
Amazon hopes to maintain competitive pricing as it has seen major declines in shipments for the Kindle Fire. Market observers have noted that the company shipped only 750,000 units of the tablet in the first quarter this year, down from 4.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Amazon reportedly may drop 7-inch Kindle Fire price to welcome new models [DIGITIMES, June 15, 2012]
As Amazon is said to be considering launching new e-book readers and 7-inch tablet PC products at the beginning of the third quarter, the company is expected to have a chance to reduce its existing 7-inch Kindle Fire pricing to US$149 to help transition to the upcoming new tablet PC products, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
To expand its market share, the sources believe that Amazon has a high chance of adopting a similar product strategy to Apple, in addition to a new iPad product, Apple continues to sell its previous model at a cheaper price to expand market share into the lower-end segment.
Therefore, the sources expect Amazon to release a new 7-inch tablet PC with a screen resolution of 1280 by 800 and a price of US$199, in the third quarter, targeting the higher-end segment, while releasing another 7-inch model with similar specifications as the existing Kindle Fire, featuring a screen resolution of 1024 by 600 and a price of US$149. This model will be mainly pushed into the entry-level segment to expand the company’s market share, noted the sources.
Kindle Fire’s consumer-friendly price and functions allowed Amazon to achieve sales of 4.5-5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011; however, because the device is mainly targeted at the US market, sales quickly dropped to only 700,000-800,000 units in the first quarter of 2012.
In addition to 7-inch tablet PCs, Amazon is also said planning 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch models; however, the latest information shows that the company has already halted the development of the 8.9-inch model with the 10.1-inch set to be released in the fourth quarter of 2012 or the first quarter of 2013.
As for e-book readers, Amazon is currently developing a 6-inch backlight-unit-module-integrated model that is set to launch in the third quarter at the earliest, noted the sources, adding that Amazon will also release e-book readers with other sizes in the second half of the year.
E Ink expected to ship 12 million display panels in 2H12 [DIGITIMES, June 26, 2012]
E Ink Holdings, a Taiwan-based maker of e-paper displays, is expected to ship 12 million display panels in the second half of 2012, decreasing by 14.3-20% from 2011, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
The company declined to comment on the news.
The sources indicated E Ink has obtained orders from Amazon for display panels used in 6.0 million Kindle Fire tablet PCs, with shipments to begin in the second half of 2012. In addition, E Ink has landed orders for FFS (fringe field switching) panels for use in 3.0 million Google tablet PCs expected to be unveiled at the 2012 Google I/O during June 27-29.
E Ink will also start shipments of e-paper displays for use in Amazon and Barnes & Noble e-book readers in the third quarter of 2012, the sources noted.
E Ink’s wholly owned subsidiary maker of TFT-LCD panels and e-paper modules Transcend Optronics has set up several affiliated makers in a self-use industrial park of over 50 hectares (123.6 acres) in land area located in Yangzhou, eastern China, the sources indicated.
Fast & Smooth – Android 4.1, Jelly Bean [GoogleMobile YouTube channel, June 27, 2012]
SCREEN
7” 1280×800 HD display (216 ppi)
Back-lit IPS display
Scratch-resistant Corning glass
1.2MP front-facing camera
WEIGHT
340 grams
MEMORY
8 or 16 GB internal storage
1 GB RAM
BATTERY
4325 mAh (Up to 8 hours of active use)
CPU
Quad-core Tegra 3 processor
SIZE
198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm
WIRELESS
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
USB
Micro USB
OS
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
FEATURES
Microphone
NFC (Android Beam)
Accelerometer
GPS
Magnetometer
Gyroscope
#2 of Android @ I/O: the playground is open [on Official Google Blog by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content, June 27, 2012]
…
Jelly Bean: simple, beautiful and beyond smart
Jelly Bean builds on top of Ice Cream Sandwich. It makes everything smoother, faster and more fluid. For example, notifications are now more dynamic: if you’re late for a meeting or missed a call, you can email or call directly from notifications. The keyboard is smarter and more accurate, and can predict your next word. And voice typing is faster, working even when you don’t have a data connection.We’ve redesigned search from the ground up in Jelly Bean, with a new user interface and faster, more natural Voice Search. You can type your query or simply ask Google a question. Google can speak back to you, delivering a precise answer, powered by the Knowledge Graph, if it knows one, in addition to a list of search results.
Today’s smart devices still rely on you to do pretty much everything—that is, until now. Google Now is a new feature that gets you just the right information at just the right time. It tells you today’s weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, or your favorite team’s score as they’re playing. There’s no digging required: cards appear at the moment you need them most.
Introducing Google Now [GoogleMobile YouTube channel, June 27, 2012]
Google I/O 2012 – What’s New in Android? [GoogleDevelopers YouTube channel, June 27, 2012]
Introducing Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) preview platform, and more [Android Developers blog, June 27, 2012]
At Google I/O today we announced the latest version of the Android platform, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). With Jelly Bean, we’ve made the great things about Android even better with improved system performance and enhanced user features.
Improvements include a smoother and more responsive UI across the system, a home screen that automatically adapts to fit your content, a powerful predictive keyboard, richer and more interactive notifications, larger payload sizes for Android Beam sharing and much more. For a lowdown on what’s new, head over to the Jelly Bean platform highlights.
Of course, Jelly Bean wouldn’t be complete without a healthy serving of new APIs for app developers. Here are some of the new APIs that Jelly Bean introduces:
Expandable notifications
: Android 4.1 brings a major update to the Android notifications framework. Apps can now display larger, richer notifications to users that can be expanded and collapsed with a pinch. Users can now take actions directly from the notification shade, and notifications support new types of content, including photos.
Android Beam
: In Android 4.1, Android Beam makes it easier to share images, videos, or other payloads by leveraging Bluetooth for the data transfer.
Bi-directional text support
: Android 4.1 helps you to reach more users through support for for bi-directional text in TextView and EditText elements.
Gesture mode
: New APIs for accessibility services let you handle gestures and manage accessibility focus. Now you can traverse any element on the screen using gestures, accessories, you name it.
Media codec access
: Provides low-level access to platform hardware and software codecs.
Wi-Fi Direct service discoverability
: New API provides pre-associated service discovery letting apps get more information from nearby devices about the services they support, before they attempt to connect.
Network bandwidth management
: New API provides ability to detect metered networks, including tethering to a mobile hotspot.
For a complete overview of new APIs in Jelly Bean, please read the API highlights document. Note that this is a preview of the Jelly Bean platform. While we’re still finalizing the API implementations we wanted to give developers a look at the new API to begin planning app updates. We’ll be releasing a final platform in a few weeks that you should use to build and publish applications for Android 4.1.
For Android devices with the Google Play, we launched the following at Google I/O today:
Smart app updates
: For Android 2.3, Gingerbread devices and up,
when there is a new version of an app in Google Play, only the parts of the app that changed are downloaded to users’ devices
. On average, a smart app update is a third the size of a full apk update. This means your users save bandwidth and battery and the best part? You don’t have to do a thing. This is automatically enabled for all apps downloaded from Google Play.
App encryption
: From Jelly Bean and forward,
paid apps in Google Play are encrypted with a device-specific key
before they are delivered and stored on the device. We know you work hard building your apps. We work hard to protect your investment.
Google Cloud Messaging for Android
: This is the next version of C2DM and goes back to Froyo. Getting started is easy and has a whole bunch of new APIs than C2DM has to offer. If you sign-up for GCM, you will be able to see C2DM and GCM stats in the Android developer console. Most importantly, the service is free and there are no quotas. [
Learn more.]Starting from today, over 20 Android sessions at Google I/O will deep-dive in many of these areas. Join us in-person or follow us live.
#3 of Android @ I/O: the playground is open [on Official Google Blog by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content, June 27, 2012]
…
Nexus Q: It’s a sphere!
It’s great to be able to take your entertainment with you wherever you go, but sometimes you want to ditch the headphones and enjoy music with friends and family. So we’re introducing Nexus Q, which combines the power of Android and Google Play to easily stream music and video in your home—all controlled by an Android phone or tablet. Designed and engineered by Google [the first such device as mentioned in the Google I/O 2012 – Google Play Developers : Live from the Sandbox video embedded above], Nexus Q is a small sphere that plugs into the best speakers and TV in your house. It’s the first-ever social streaming device—like a cloud-connected jukebox where everyone brings their own music to the party. Available first in the U.S., you can preorder Nexus Q today from Google Play for $299, and it will ship mid-July.
Introducing Nexus Q [Google Nexus channel on YouTube, June 27, 2012]
SIZE
Diameter: 4.6 inches (116mm)
WEIGHT
2 pounds (923 grams)
FINISH
Die-cast, precision machined zinc bottom housing
Injection-molded, interactive balanced top dome with precision bearing and satin touch coating
HARDWARE CONTROLS
Rotating top dome volume control
Capacitive touch sensor for mute
LIGHTING
32 RGB perimeter LEDs
1 RGB LED for mute indicator
CPU SoC
OMAP4460 (dual ARM Cortex-A9 CPUs and SGX540 GPU)
MEMORY
1GB LPDDR RAM
16GB NAND flash memory
OS
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
SUPPORTING APPLICATIONS
Google Play Music
Google Play Movies and TV
YouTube
CONNECTORS AND PORTS
Micro HDMI (Type D)
TOSLink Optical audio (S/PDIF)
10/100BASE-T Ethernet (RJ45)
Micro AB USB (for service and support)
Banana jack speaker outputs
WIRELESS
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n
Bluetooth
NFC
AMPLIFIER
25W class D (12.5 watt per channel)
POWER
Integrated 35W switching power supply
World-ready 50/60Hz 85-265V AC input
Automatic shutdown for audio amp supply when not in use
How Nexus Q Works [Google Nexus channel on YouTube, June 27, 2012]
Google Tries Something Retro: Made in the U.S.A. – Page 2[The New York Times, June 27, 2012]
The Nexus Q, which links a TV or home sound system to the Internet cloud to play video and audio content, contains almost all American-made parts. The engineers who led the effort to build the device, which is based on the same microprocessor used in Android smartphones [see: TI’s OMAP4460 in Samsung GALAXY Nexus with Android 4.0 [this Experiencing the Cloud blog, Oct 21, 2011 – Feb 7, 2012]] and contains seven printed circuit boards, found the maker of the zinc metal base in the Midwest and a supplier for the molded plastic components in Southern California.
Semiconductor chips are more of a challenge. In some cases, the chips are made in the United States and shipped to Asia to be packaged with other electronic components.
Google did not take the easy route and encase the Q in a black box. The dome of the Magic-8-ball-shaped case is the volume control — the user twists it — a feature that required painstaking engineering and a prolonged hunt for just the right bearing, said Matt Hershenson, an engineer who helped design the Q.
At $299, the device costs significantly more than competing systems from companies like Apple and Roku. Google says this is in part because of the higher costs of manufacturing in the United States, but the company expects to bring the price down as it increases volume. The company is hoping that consumers will be willing to pay more, though it is unlikely that the “Made in America” lineage will be part of any marketing campaign.
Google uses a contract manufacturer to make the Q. Last week it was being assembled in a large factory 15 minutes from Google headquarters. The company declined to say how many people were employed at the plant, which can run as many as three shifts each day. However, during a brief tour, made with the understanding that the exact location would not be disclosed, it was clear that hundreds of workers were involved in making the Q.
It is the kind of building that was once common across Silicon Valley during the 1980s and even the 1990s. More recently, former semiconductor fabrication and assembly factories have given way to large office campuses that house the programmers who design software and support Web sites.
Chrome & Apps @ Google I/O: Your web, everywhere [on Official Google Blog by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Chrome & Apps, June 28, 2012]
This morning we kicked off day 2 at I/O to talk about the open web—one of the most amazing platforms we have seen. To put things in perspective, today there are more than 2.3 billion users on the web—a staggering number, but it only represents one-third of the world’s population. There’s still a lot of opportunity for growth.
Chrome, which we built from the ground up as a browser for the modern web, has seen tremendous adoption. Thanks to many of you, Chrome has nearly doubled since last year’s I/O—from 160 million to 310 million active users around the world. As more and more of you live your lives online, we want to to help make it easy for you to live in the cloud…seamlessly.
A better web to your web
One of the most exciting shifts is the explosion of the mobile web. When Chrome first launched, many people were tethered to a single computer. Today most people use multiple computers, smartphones and tablets. With that trend in mind, our goal is to offer you a consistent, personalized web experience across all devices. In February, we released Chrome for Android, which exited beta this week and is the standard browser on Nexus 7, a powerful new tablet.Starting today, Chrome is also available for your iPhone and iPad. That means you can enjoy the same speedy and simple Chrome experience across your devices. Also, by signing in to Chrome, you can easily move from your desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet and have all of your stuff with you.
Sign-in and seamlessly experience your personalized web across desktops, phones, and tablets with Chrome for Mobile.Living in the cloud
A modern browser is just one ingredient of living online seamlessly. We continue to invest in building cloud apps, which many people rely on daily. Gmail, which launched in 2004, has evolved from a simple email service to the primary mode of communication for more than 425 million active users globally. We’ve also built a suite of apps to help users live in the cloud, including Google Documents, Spreadsheets, Calendar and more.At the hub of this cloud experience is Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate and keep all your stuff. Ten weeks ago we launched Drive and in 10 weeks, more than 10 million users have signed up. Today we introduced more capabilities, including offline editing for Google documents and a Drive app for your iPhone and iPad. Drive is also seamlessly integrated into Chrome OS. With Drive available across Mac, Windows, Chrome OS, Android and iOS, it’s even easier to get things done in the cloud from anywhere.
Going Google
With the help of Chrome and and the growth of Google apps, people are discovering new ways to get things done faster, connect with others, and access their information no matter what device they’re using. This is what we call “going Google.” And it’s not just individual people. Schools, government institutions and businesses—big and small—are also “going Google.” Sixty-six of the top 100 universities in the U.S., government institutions in 45 out of 50 U.S. states, and a total of 5 million business are using Google Apps to live and work in the cloud.It’s an exciting time to be living online. To celebrate this ongoing journey, here’s a quick look back at the evolution of Chrome:
Chrome launched in September 2008, and its journey has been filled with inspiring & beautiful achievements of developers using the modern web. We’re just getting started though, and we can’t wait to see where you take things next!
[signing in to Chrome]
Get your personal Chrome experience on all your devices [on Google Chrome blog by Tim Steele, Software Engineer, Dec 13, 2011]
If you’ve used Chrome for awhile, you know that it fits you better and better over time—it just wouldn’t be yourChrome without your favorite bookmarks, apps, extensions, history, and other settings.
Signing in to Chrome lets you take your Chrome stuff with you, so you can always have your personal Chrome experience on all of your devices.
Signing in to Chrome brings your bookmarks, history, and settings to all of your devices. Just go to the Wrench menu and select “Sign in to Chrome.” Learn more at http://www.google.com/chrome/signinginWhen you’re signed in to Chrome, changing something on one device instantly changes it on all your other devices. For example, add a bookmark on your laptop, and it automatically appears on your desktop, so you can always pick up right where you left off.
Signing in to Chrome is also helpful if you only have one computer, because it securely backs up your Chrome stuff online. That way, your Chrome stuff is safe, even if a truck runs over your laptop.
To sign in to Chrome, just go to the Wrench menu and select “Sign in to Chrome.”
But what if you share a computer with other people? You don’t want your bookmarks, apps, and extensions getting mixed up with everyone else’s, and you don’t want your Chrome stuff syncing to all their devices.With today’s Stable channel release, you can now add new users to Chrome. Adding new users lets you each have your own personal Chrome experience, and lets you each sign in to Chrome to sync your stuff. To add a new user to Chrome, go to Options (Preferences on a Mac), click “Personal Stuff,” and click “Add new user.” Check out our latest Beta blog post for a few quick tips.
Keep in mind that adding new users to Chrome isn’t intended to secure your data against other people using your computer, since it just takes a few clicks to switch between users. We’re providing this functionality as a quick and simple user interface convenience for people who are already sharing Chrome on the same computer today. To truly protect your data from being seen by others, please use the built-in user accounts on your operating system of choice.
That wraps up our last Stable channel release for the year. If you haven’t taken Chrome for a spin yet, try it out and see what you think!
Update: You can learn more about signing in to Chrome at google.com/chrome/signingin.
[Google Drive]
Introducing Google Drive… yes, really [on Official Google Blog by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Chrome & Apps, April 24, 2012]
Just like the Loch Ness Monster, you may have heard the rumors about Google Drive. It turns out, one of the two actually does exist.
Today, we’re introducing Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.With Google Drive, you can:
- Create and collaborate. Google Docs is built right into Google Drive, so you can work with others in real time on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Once you choose to share content with others, you can add and reply to comments on anything(PDF, image, video file, etc.) and receive notifications when other people comment on shared items.
- Store everything safely and access it anywhere (especially while on the go). All your stuff is just… there. You can access your stuff from anywhere—on the web, in your home, at the office, while running errands and from all of your devices. You can install Drive on your Mac or PC and can download the Drive appto your Android phone or tablet. We’re also working hard on a Drive app for your iOS devices. And regardless of platform, blind users can access Drive with a screen reader.
- Search everything. Search by keyword and filter by file type, owner and more. Drive can even recognize text in scanned documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Let’s say you upload a scanned image of an old newspaper clipping. You can search for a word from the text of the actual article. We also use image recognition so that if you drag and drop photos from your Grand Canyon trip into Drive, you can later search for [grand canyon] and photos of its gorges should pop up. This technology is still in its early stages, and we expect it to get better over time.
You can get started with 5GB of storage for free—that’s enough to store the high-res photos of your trip to the Mt. Everest, scanned copies of your grandparents’ love letters or a career’s worth of business proposals, and still have space for the novel you’re working on. You can choose to upgrade to 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month. When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB.
Introducing the all-new Google Drive. Now access your files, even the big ones, from wherever you are. Share them with whomever you want, and edit them together in real time. Learn more at http://drive.google.com/startDrive is built to work seamlessly with your overall Google experience. You can attach photos from Drive to posts in Google+, and soon you’ll be able to attach stuff from Drive directly to emails in Gmail. Drive is also an open platform, so we’re working with many third-party developers so you can do things like send faxes, edit videos and create website mockups directly from Drive. To install these apps, visit the Chrome Web Store—and look out for even more useful apps in the future.
This is just the beginning for Google Drive; there’s a lot more to come.
Get started with Drive today at drive.google.com/start—and keep looking for Nessie…
[Today we introduced more capabilities]
Announcing your two most requested features: offline document editing and Drive for iOS [on Google Docs blog by Clay Bavor, Product Management Director, June 28, 2012]
In April, we introduced Google Drive, a place where you can create, share, and keep all your stuff. Today at the Google I/O conference we announced two new ways to get things done in the cloud: offline editing for Google documents and a Drive app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Offline document editing
No internet connection? No big deal. With offline editing, you can create and edit Google documents and leave comments. Any changes you make will be automatically synced when you get back online.You can enable offline editing from the gear icon in Google Drive and find more detailed instructions for getting set up in the Help Center. Note that you’ll need the latest versions ofChrome or ChromeOS to edit offline. We’re also working hard to make offline editing for spreadsheets and presentations available in the future.
Google Drive for iOS
We launched the Drive app for Android phones and tablets a few weeks ago, and starting today, Google Drive is available for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.With the Drive app, you can open PDFs, photos, videos, documents and anything else stored in your Drive while you’re on the go. You can also search all your files, add collaborators to documents, and make files available offline to view them even without an internet connection. For blind and low-vision users, the app also works great in VoiceOver mode. Learn more about what you can do with the app in our Help Center.
Get Drive in the App Store for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 5.0+ and visit the Play Store to get the latest on your Android phone or tablet.
To learn more about Google Drive, visit drive.google.com/start.
[Chrome OS]
Next step in the Chrome OS journey [on Official Google Blog by Linus Upson, Vice President, Engineering and Caesar Sengupta, Director of Product Management, May 29, 2012]
All of you haiku fans (like many of us on the Chrome team) can stop here; the rest can read on for more details.
A year ago we introduced a new model of computing with the launch of Chromebooks. We’ve heard from many of you who’ve enjoyed the speed, simplicity and security of your Chromebooks at home, at school or at work. (Thanks for all the wonderful feedback and stories!) Today, we wanted to share some developments with you—new hardware, a major software update and many more robust apps—as we continue on our journey to make computers much better.
Next-generation devices
Our partner Samsung has just announced a new Chromebook and the industry’s first Chromebox. Like its predecessor, the newest Chromebook is a fast and portable laptop for everyday users. The Chromebox is a compact, powerful and versatile desktop perfect for the home or office.Speed
Speed is integral to the Chrome experience. The new Chromebook and Chromebox, based on Intel Core processors, are nearly three times as fast as the first-generation Chromebooks. And support for hardware-accelerated graphics, a built-from-scratch multi-touch trackpad and an open-source firmware stack provide a much faster and more responsive computing experience. The new Chromebook boots in less than seven seconds and resumes instantly. With the Chromebox, you can be on a video conference while continuing to play your favorite role-playing game on the side.An app-centric user interface
With the new user interface you can easily find and launch apps, and use them alongside your browser or other apps. You can pin commonly-used apps for quick access, display multiple windows side-by-side or experience your favorite apps in full-screen mode without any distractions.Be much more productive…or not
- Get more stuff done, online or offline: With the built-in ability to view Microsoft Office files and dozens of the most common file formats, you can access all your content without the hassle of installing additional software. Google Drive makes it easy to create, store and share with just one click. Drive will be seamlessly integrated with the File Manager and support offline access with the next release of Chrome OS in six weeks. With Google Docs offline support (rolling out over the next few weeks), you can keep working on your documents even when offline and seamlessly sync back up when you re-connect. In addition, there are hundreds of offline-capable web apps in the Chrome Web Store.
- Have more fun: The revamped media player and a built-in photo editor and uploader enable you to easily play and manage your personal media collections. Through the Chrome Web Store, you can access entertainment apps such as Google Play, Netflix, Kindle Cloud Reader and Pandora, and thousands of games including popular games like Angry Birds and console titles such as Bastion.
- Carry your other computers…inside your Chromebook: With Chrome Remote Desktop Beta, you can now securely connect to your PC or Mac from your Chromebook or Chromebox. With the underlying VP8 technology, it’s almost like you’re in front of your other computers in real time.
The (always) new computer
We’ve released eight stable updates over the past year, adding a number of major features and hundreds of improvements to all Chromebooks through our seamless auto-update mechanism. There’s a lot more on the way, so all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the benefits of the (always) new computer.For those who want to try the Chromebook and Chromebox first-hand, we’re expanding the Chrome Zone experience centers. In the U.S., Chromebooks will be available to try out in select Best Buy stores in the coming weeks. In the U.K., they’re now available in a growing list of PC World and Currys stores.
Starting today, you can get the new Chromebook and Chromebox from our online retail partners in the U.S. and U.K., and in other select countries over the coming weeks.
The Chromebook is a new, faster computer that starts in seconds, offers thousands of apps, and keeps getting better and better with free, automatic updates. Learn more at http://www.google.com/chromebook.
[the next release of Chrome OS in six weeks]
Yet another Chrome release [on Google Chrome Blog by Dharani Govindan, Technical Program Manager, June 28, 2012]
We know you’re probably tired of hearing about new Chrome releases every six weeks. Well, the good news is you don’t have to worry about updating—we’ll take care of that with automatic updates. Please enjoy the hundreds of bug fixes we’ve batched up in this release. OK, OK, that’s all. Carry on.
Boosting the MediaTek MT6575 success story with the MT6577 announcement — UPDATED with MT6588/83 coming in Q4 2012 and 8-core MT6599 in 2013
Follow-up: MediaTek MT6589 quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC with HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA is available for Android smartphones and tablets of Q1 delivery [Dec 12, 2012]
The MT6588 was recently renamed MT6589.
Update: Sold 70 million in the first three quarters, MediaTek smart chip dominates China [The Liberty Times, Taiwan, Oct 2, 2012] translated by Google/Bing with additional manual edits of my own 6588
Qualcomm (Qualcomm) last week launched a lower-priced smart phone chip against rival MediaTek (2,454), but according to the the recent shipment situation MediaTek shipped in China more than 70 million smartphone chips in the first three quarters, 10 million more than Qualcomm there, and become a smart-phone chip superpower in China. Merrill Lynch is bullish on MediaTek outlook because for Qualcomm’s “MSM8225Q” to shake up MediaTek’s leadership still will not be easy.
…
Barclays Capital analyst Lu Hang increased MediaTek smartphone chip shipments in the next two years to 180 million and 290 million, respectively.
…
Chinese mobile phone distributors circle recently the hottest topic number the high pass last week, low-cost quad-core mobile phone chip “MSM8225Q/MSM8625Q “, estimated price falls to $ 25, the market worry renewed price war, the impact MediaTek Maori. However, the latest released Merrill Lynch research report pointed out that the dual-core MediaTek chips and the two Qualcomm quad-core chips compared to each other competitively, plus “8225Q” mass production may be in March next year, by about one quarter behind the MediaTek quad-core chip “MT6589″ (formerly known as MT 6588), the cost of which is expected to be cheaper than the dual-core version, meaning MediaTek is still dominant.
…
Update: Taiwan chip designer MediaTek downgraded amid competitive pressure [WantChinaTimes.com, Oct 2, 2012]
… In a report dated Sept. 27, [independent financial services group] CLSA [Asia-Pacific Markets] said the market was optimistic about MediaTek’s gross margin in the second half of 2012 and in 2013 after the company forecasted a gross margin expansion for the third quarter of this year, ending 11 consecutive quarters of contraction.
However, MediaTek’s management told the press on Sept. 25 that the company’s quarterly gross margin growth is likely to remain flat in the fourth quarter of this year and will not expand until the second half of 2013, the report said. …
… One of the reasons investors were optimistic about MediaTek’s 2013 margin was that they thought its new quad-core MT6588 chip had no competition, as Qualcomm made only very high-end quad-core ICs, [CK] Cheng [a Taipei-based analyst at CLSA] said.
But the launch of the MSM8225Q will change that perception, Cheng said, noting that Qualcomm is aiming to release the chip for customer sampling by the end of 2012 and ship in volume in the first quarter of 2013.
Although the Qualcomm chip is scheduled to be launched a month or two later than MediaTek’s, Qualcomm’s price is likely to be 5% cheaper because of lower specifications, he said.
While MediaTek is believed to have superior products and better low-end smartphone ICs than Qualcomm, price does matter to Chinese handset makers, Cheng added.
“This is the main reason why MediaTek has been struggling to lift its average selling price and improve its margin since the third quarter of 2011, although it continues to offer faster processors and multi-core solutions,” he said.
“We don’t think MediaTek’s quad-core solution can reverse this trend,” Cheng said.
As for Chinese competitors, the increased production of RDA Microelectronics’s connectivity combo chip and Spreadtrum Communications’ 2G smartphone ICs will also weigh further on MediaTek’s margins and average selling price, Cheng said.
CLSA raised its forecast for MediaTek’s earnings per share by 3% for 2012 and by 8% for 2013, factoring in the company’s acquisition of its smaller rival MStar Semiconductor, but the brokerage maintained its target price of NT$250 (US$8.53) on the stock.
As of 10:26am Monday, MediaTek shares had dropped 4.62% to NT$310 (US$10.59) in Taipei.
Regarding actual Cortex-A5 and Krait-related information see on this blog the actual:
Core post: Qualcomm decided to compete with the existing Cortex-A5/Krait-based offerings till the end of 2012 [Sept 30, 2012]
Update: Mediatek [联发科] target price by Barclays is [NT$] 395 [Taiwan’s Commercial Times News, Sept 26, 2012] as translated by Google/Bing with additional manual edits of my own
Lu Hang [陆行] [principal analyst of semiconductors for Asia-Pacific at] Barclays Capital Securities [巴克莱资本证券 Taiwan Limited, 11F, 106 Xin-Yi Road, Sec. 5, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. << from] yesterday (25) revealed, that MediaTek 28 nanometer quad-core A7 smartphone chip MTK6588 launch time is expected to advance to the fourth quarter of this year from the first quarter of next year! Because the price is very competitive, only 18 to 20 dollars, not only quadcore smartphone prices in mainland China will immediately fell to less than 150 dollars following that, the company will also have the opportunity to break into [the market of ] first-tier [i.e. global brand] manufacturers such as Samsung.
…
Lu Hang said that Mediatek’s biggest “backer” [in terms of stock market performance] is expected to be the launch of MT6588 (quad-core A7 [with] TD-SCDMA/WCDMA) and MT6599 (8 core of the ARM [with] LTE/TD-SCDMA/WCDMA) smartphone chips in 4th quarter [of this year] and in the next year, respectively.
Lu Hang believes that there are 5 items which will affect the profits of the overall market with MediaTek MT6588:
– First, the quad-core smartphone prices in mainland China can immediately be reduced from the current US$ 320 to US$ 150.
– Second, we will see in the near future more dual-core 1.7Ghz Krait-based MSM8960A [on one hand], and MSM8974 [on the other], which is same but with quad-core, rather than next to the launch of 8225Q.
– Third, in the fourth quarter of next year the estimated proportion of MT6583/MT6588 [shipments] within the total smartphone chip shipments will reach 50%, even the year after the fourth quarter launched MT6599 will also have 50% level, thus raised its shipment forecast value.
– Fourth, MT6588 will help to maintain the overall ASP at a level of more than $ 10, and customers can be [serviced via a] unified system design.
– Fifth, with the help of 13 million pixels CMOS the sensing power amplifier manufacturers will focus on mainland China and other emerging markets.
Important remark from Barclays Hires New Taiwan Investment Banking Head [The Wall Street Journal, Aug 19, 2012]:
Barclays … is … an advisor to chip design firm MediaTek Inc. on its proposed acquisition of a minority stake in MStar Semiconductor Inc. worth around $3.8 billion, announced in June, according to Dealogic.
Update: MediaTek will produce small amounts of MTK6588 in October [MTK mobile phone network, Sept 10, 2012] as translated by Google/Bing
Recently MediaTek message there are two who are more concerned about one thing, according to Taiwan media reports, the fastest possible production of MediaTek quad-core mobile processor chip MTK6588 will start in October this year a small amount, quantity should not be a lot, may be available only to large client proofing purposes. Rumored MediaTek MTK6588 manufacturing cost is even less than dual-core MTK6577. Quad-core MTK6588 is using 28 nm technology process to support tens of millions of pixels of camera, support for TD/WCDMA dual-mode network, support 1080P playback and recording, and is equipped with a PowerVR SGX 544 graphics processor.
According to show learned about MTK6588 before, Quad MT6588 or will before the end of trial production, mass production quantities listed in the first quarter of next year.
Update: Lenovo Selects MediaTek to Power New LePad Android Tablet [MediaTek press release, Sept 13, 2012], note: “The MT6577 is pin-to-pin compatible with the previously released MT6575” source: the MT6577 launch release
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, today announced that Lenovo has selected its highly integrated Android mobile platform for the new LePad A2107, dual-SIM 3G/HSPA tablet, which is shipping to customers globally.
The LePad A2107 provides high-speed cellular data and wireless connectivity and is designed for tablet users who want to be “connected always”. The A2107 uses MediaTek’s proven Android mobile platform consisting of the MT6575 and the MT6620 SoCs. The MediaTek MT6575 incorporates a 1GHz ARM® CortexTM A9 processor, a PowerVR™ Series5 SGX GPU (graphics processing unit) from Imagination Technologies, a 3G/HSPA modem and built‐in support for 3D displays and DTV‐grade multimedia capabilities by leveraging the company’s world‐leading DTV platform technologies. The MT6620 4-in-1 connectivity combo integrates an 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0+HS, GPS, and FM transmitter/receiver into a single chip with the world’s smallest footprint and leading low-power consumption. The MediaTek mobile platform is ideally suited to enable mobile device manufacturers like Lenovo, helping them to address the mid and entry‐level tablet market that demands global connectivity for today and tomorrow.
“Consumers are increasingly using tablets as a companion device to the PC and mobile phone to access media and information. We forecast that the tablet market will increase from 119 million in 2012 to 494 million by 2016(*),” said Mr. Mark Hung, Research Director at Gartner. “A company that has capabilities and technologies across different multi-screen platforms, from smartphones to DTV, should be well positioned to benefit from participating in the growing tablet market.”
*Source: Forecast: Media Tablets by Operating System, Worldwide, 2010-2016, 2Q12 Update, 4 July 2012, by Gartner
Update: the best smartphone based on the MediaTek MT6577 both technically and in terms of price is the MT6577-based JiaYu G3 with IPS Gorilla glass 2 sreen of 4.5” etc. for $154 (factory direct) in China and $183 [Sept 13, 2012], which is also the best example of The low priced, Android based smartphones of China will change the global market [this same ‘Experiencing the Cloud blog, Sept 10, 2012]
Update: MediaTek MT6577 Performance Review [mediateklab YouTube channel, Sept 3, 2012]
Update: New MediaTek chip efficiency: catching up with iPhone4s [MTK mobile phone network, Sept 6, 2012]
2012 International Semiconductor exhibition yesterday (5) days in Taipei debut, over the years, the first IC design Forum yesterday morning talk show, presenter mediatek Vice President Lu Guohong home 3G smart mobile phone chip specification level, noted that MediaTek MT6577 of the latest dual-core Smartphone chip efficiency, comparable with iPhone4s. By the show’s brief is not difficult to see, MediaTek, engaged global Smartphone chip leader Qualcomm momentum is high.
IPhone4s core processor for Apple A5, the design was based on Cortex-A9 dual core 1GHZ frequency of ARM architecture processors, Lu Guohong comparison list noted that mediatek MT6577 newest 3G Smartphone dual-core chips are used by An Mou with iPhone4s A9 dual core architecture, AP mobile core chips, baseband chip, RF chips and GPU architecture level par with iPhone4s.
Update: MediaTek Launches “Cool 3D”: A Comprehensive Suite of 3D Solutions for Smartphone Platforms [MediaTek press release, Sept 11, 2012]
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions announced today the availability of “Cool 3D”, the world’s most complete 3D suite of solutions, for its smartphone platforms. Consumers continue to look for new features in smartphones, such as 3D capabilities, and a report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc, predicts that the global market for 3D enabled smartphones is projected to register 994 million units in annual shipments by the year 2018. Demand for this innovation will be driven by the increased availability of 3D content, such as games, videos and full length movies.
The “Cool 3D” suite for MediaTek smartphone platforms includes support for stereo 3D cameras and displays, real-time 2D-to-3D conversion and an optimal 3D user interface that is designed to provide consumers with a stunning 3D experience. Two distinguishing features are “3D Cool Shot” and “3D Cool Show”. MediaTek’s “3D Cool Shot” solution supports a cost-effective 5 MP, dual-lens camera, which achieves 1080P, 24 FPS 3D images, giving users a high-definition visual experience. The MediaTek smartphone platforms are the first of their kind in the industry to integrate the functionality of the dual-lens bridge devices into the main smartphone platform, reducing system cost and saving precious board area. The “3D Cool Show” technology substantially improves the stereo 3D effect with anti-fatigue capabilities, and real-time transformation between 2D/3D modes, allowing for convenient switching between the 2D and 3D displays. These solutions, which leverage MediaTek’s established 3D technologies from the DTV and Digital Home markets, are aimed at creating an optimal stereo 3D display with a custom-tailored 3D interface.
“One consequence of the rapid developments in the smartphone market is product homogenization or the ‘all smartphones look alike’ phenomena. Creating product differentiation has become one of the biggest challenges for the mobile phone industry “said Ching-Jiang Hsieh, President of MediaTek. “From Dual-SIM to 3D capabilities, MediaTek has always pushed technological innovation in our platforms, enabling rich and compelling devices and solutions. By working together with our customers, we hope our industry-leading, ”Cool 3D” suite of solutions can lead the wave of 3D smartphone popularity, allowing even more consumers to enjoy an extraordinary 3D experience.”
The “Cool 3D” suite of capabilities is already enabled on MediaTek’s shipping MT6575 single-core and MT6577 dual-core platforms. All future launches of MediaTek smartphone solutions will support these 3D capabilities.
Updates: Shares of MediaTek jump on positive shipment target revision [Focus Taiwan, Aug 1, 2012]
… As of 11:15 a.m., shares of MediaTek had added 6.67 percent to NT$272.00 (US$9.07), off an early high of NT$272.50, with 23.82 million shares changing hands. … MediaTek announced Tuesday at an investor conference that it had raised its target for smartphone chip shipments to 95 million units, from a previous estimate of 75 million units, mainly because of strong demand from China.
In the second quarter, the IC designer shipped 21 million smartphone chips, higher than the 18 million to 20 million previously forecast. The company said it would ship at least 30 million smartphone chips in the third quarter.
… MediaTek said it expects its gross margin will improve to 41-43 percent for the third quarter from 40.8 percent in the second quarter. …
MediaTek hikes 2012 target smartphone chip shipments [DIGITIMES, Aug 1, 2012]
… The company expects its MT6575 and MT6577 chips to account for 60% of total smartphone chips sales in the third quarter and 80% in the fourth. …
MediaTek eyes Q3 double-digit revenue growth [Taipei Times, Aug 1, 2012]
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the nation’s largest handset chip designer, said yesterday revenue in the third quarter of this year is projected to grow between 13 percent and 18 percent from the second quarter, following the launch of new products and strong demand for smartphone chips.
That would mean a quarterly revenue of between NT$26.50 billion (US$883.33 million) and NT$27.70 billion, compared with NT$23.44 billion in the second quarter.
…
MediaTek said second-quarter revenue rose 19.5 percent sequentially and 11.7 percent from the same period last year, primarily driven by the fast-growing smartphone demand in China.
However, gross margin for the quarter was 40.8 percent, down 1.3 percent and 5.1 percentage points from the previous quarter and the same period of last year respectively. The company attributed that fall to fierce price competition in the market.
…
Total smartphone chip shipments are likely to reach 95 million units this year, of which between 50 percent and 60 percent will be 3G chips and the remainder 2G chips …
MediaTek a product roadmap leaked: Quad-core code-named MT6588 [MTK Smartphones Network (MTK手机网), July 27, 2012]
From a recently obtained electronic forum information abroad we see that the MT6585 code communicated earlier for the quad-core MediaTek smartphone chipset is wrong. The true model code is MT6588. It is built on the 28nm process in order achieve higher performance level than the dual-core MT6577 technology.
MT6588 has a 4-core CPU [Cortex-A7 (!), see on the second slide below] clocked at 1GHz [1.XGHz rather, see the included slides below], supports dual-channel at maximum 1066Mbps, has an integrated multimode modem for WCDMA [+ it is delivering HSPA+ WCDMA performance (!) vs just HSPA with MT6577/75, see the first slide below] and TD (!), that is it can support both Unicom [latest upgrade to HSPA+ service, see the news in the original post materials much below] and China Mobile 3G network, supports an up to 13 MP camera and 1080P video playback. It finally has a GPU upgrade with SGX544, doubles the resolution to 1280×800 HD level, and has 32KB L1 cache and 1MB L2 secondary cache.
Along the MT6588 there is a 28nm dual-core version, MT6583 on the MediaTek 2012 product roadmap. From the chipset parameters it is evident that MT6583 is a scaled down version of MT6588. It has 2 cores less, the camera support is 8MP, the video decoder is of 720P level, and the resolution is down to 854×480.
It is understood that MT6588 and MT6583 will be in production in the first quarter of 2013, early next year the fastest.
Note: No search reveals the source for the above information.
MediaTek to launch quad-core smartphone solutions in 1Q13, says paper [DIGITIMES, Aug 6, 2012]
MediaTek is expected to launch its first quad-core smartphone solution, the MT6588, in the first quarter of 2013, according to a Chinese-language Liberty Times report. The MT6588 features a quad-core 1.5GHz or 1.7GHzCortex-A7 CPU, supporting WCDMA and TD-SCDMA technologies.
The MT6588, which features a 13-megapixel camera, also supports 1080p video playback and a display resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels. The chip will be built using a 28nm process, the paper said.
Additionally, MediaTek will also roll out a 28nm dual-core solution, the MT6583, during the same quarter. While the dual-core CPU of the MT6853 will also run at 1.5GHz or 1.7GHz, the chip will support a resolution of 854 by 480 pixels targeting a segment different from that of the MT6588, the paper indicated.
End of updates
The original content:
- About the just four months old MT6575-based market
- MediaTek provided general MT6575 information
- Some history leading to MT6575
- Turmoil on the H1CY12 market in China:
International and local brands, as well as white-box vendors are repositioning for the most lucrative CNY500 (US$79) to CNY1,000 (US$157) smartphone market of H2CY12 and on
Note: the PowerVR SGX Series 5 GPU used for MT6577 is said to be by 3d parties SGX531, See: SoC list on Imagineers blog, or Lenovo (indirect).
Greater China mobile solutions – From silicon to software [DIGITIMES Research, June 8, 2012]
Abstract
The China mobile market has developed rapidly, with smartphone shipments reaching 69 million units in 2011 and tablet shipments soaring from around one million in 2010 to some 10 million in 2011, and potentially exceeding 20 million units in 2012. As consumer spending power increases, local vendors are focusing on more market tiers and makers have begun to make a play for the high-end market.
Updates: China market: Nearly 195 million handsets shipped in 1H12 [DIGITIMES, July 10, 2012]
There were 194.913 million handsets shipped in the China market during the first half of 2012, consisting of 106.874 million (54.83%) 3G handsets in 801 models and 88.039 million (45.17%) 2G handsets in 1,298 models, according to statistics published by the China Academy of Telecommunication Research (CATR) under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Of the shipment volume, 94.855 million or 48.67% were smartphones in 822 models of which 801 models or 97.44% were based on Android. China-based vendors accounted for 75.16% of the half-year shipment volume, and international vendors 24.84%.
The monthly shipment volume of smartphones exceeded that of feature phones for the first time in April 2012, with the corresponding proportion increasing to 56.9% in June.
China market: Breakdown of total handset shipment volume, 1H12 Generation Technology standard
Number of models
Shipment volume (m handsets)
3G WCDMA (China Unicom)
476
53.099
CDMA2000 (China Telecom)
174
28.197
TD-SCDMA (China Mobile)
151
25.578
2G GSM
1,272
81.915
CDMA1x
26
6.076
Source: CATR under MIIT, compiled by Digitimes, July 2012
– China smartphone market 2012: Trends and analysis [DIGITIMES Research, July 3, 2012]
Abstract
The China handset market has exhibited strong growth, with the total number of mobile users in the country reaching 980 million people according to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), an increase of 130 million over the 2010 figure. Digitimes Research estimates that mobile user numbers could top 1.13 billion in 2012.
Digitimes Research estimates that the China handset market reached some 390 million units in 2011, representing 16% growth on 2010; the market is likely to grow to 430 million units in 2012, representing further growth of 9%. Thanks to the expansion of 3G service coverage and further falls in budget smartphone prices, the share of the handset market accounted for by smartphones is likely to reach 32% or around 143 million units, 70% of which will be Android handsets.
Digitimes Research believes that market share rankings for the China smartphone market will change significantly during 2012. Samsung and Apple will take the top two places, while the big four China-based brands – Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and Coolpad – will take third to sixth places, while Nokia will drop to seventh; these seven firms will collectively account for 85% of shipments.
In other words, the many other brands hoping to seize a share of the market will essentially be confined to competing for a potential market of just 15% of overall shipments or around 21 million handsets. Given such a situation, Digitimes Research projects that many of China’s best known smaller brands such as Xiaomi, TCL, Gionee, Tianyu, Oppo and BBK will see shipments of no more than a few million handsets.
End of updates
China-based white-box vendors expected to ship 200 million smartphones [DIGITIMES, April 17, 2012]
China-based white-box vendors, mainly due to the availability of inexpensive new chip solutions, have been increasing the production of smartphones, with the total shipment volume expected to reach 200 million units in 2012, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Taiwan-based MediaTek is offering the makers its MT6575 a chip solution for use in entry-level smartphones in the first quarter of 2012 and will offer the MT6577, a solution for high-level smartphones, in the middle of the third quarter of 2012, the sources indicated. MediaTek will ship 50-70 million chips to China-based white-box vendors to account for nearly 30% of smartphones to be shipped by these vendors in 2012.
In addition, Qualcomm has strengthened its marketing in the China market by offering turn-key solutions to white-box vendors, with prices for a chips lowered to US$6, the sources cited eMedia Asia as indicating.
China-based white-box vendors sell more than 60% of their smartphone output to overseas markets, including 2.5G models for markets where deployment of 3G networks is not mature yet, the sources indicated. White-box vendors are expected to see larger market demand if their production costs for entry-, medium- and high-level smartphones drop to US$60, US$85 and US$130 respectively, the sources pointed out.
Huawei adopts MediaTek dual-core chip for smartphones, says report [DIGITIMES, June 27, 2011]
MediaTek’s new MT6577, which uses a dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex A9 CPU, has been adopted by China-based Huawei for as many as four of its upcoming smartphone devices, according to a Chinese-languageCommercial Timesreport.
The new MediaTek MT6577 solution is scheduled to enter volume production starting July, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN)reported last week (June 22). The chip is built using 40nm process technology.
MediaTek previously upward revised the prediction for its total smartphone-IC shipments in 2012. The firm now expects to ship about 75 million smartphone chips this year, compared to the 50 million estimated initially.
From:
MediaTek Launches Dual-Core MT6577 Smartphone Platform [MediaTek press release, June 27, 2012]
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, today announced the availability of the MT6577, a dual-core platform developed specifically for sub-$200 smartphones, the fastest growing segment of the global smartphone market. The MediaTek MT6577 features a dual 1GHz Cortex™-A9 application processor from ARM, a PowerVR™ Series5 SGX GPU (graphics processing unit) from Imagination Technologies, MediaTek’s proven 3G/HSPA modem, and runs the latest Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” operating system. By integrating a dual-core application processor architecture widely deployed in the majority of today’s premium smartphones, the MT6577 boosts application and browser performance by up to 40% compared to single-core platforms, bringing unprecedented levels of user experience to mid- and entry-level smartphones.
“MediaTek’s existing HSPA smartphone platforms – the MT6573 and MT6575 – have been extremely well-received by customers and consumers worldwide, and are currently shipping with major international brands such as Lenovo, TCL/Alcatel, and other top tier Chinese OEMs,”said Ching-Jiang Hsieh, President of MediaTek. “The MT6577 adds the next level of performance and enhanced user experience to the MediaTek smartphone family, delivering enhanced user interactivity, mobile connectivity and rich multi-media experience previously only available on high-end devices. Consumers everywhere will now benefit from the affordable, high-performance devices enabled by the MT6577. MediaTek is proud to be in the vanguard of companies enabling the democratization of smartphones.”
“Dual-core processors account for over 20% of current smartphone processor shipments, with these devices being mostly in the premium segment and addressed by standalone application processors. MediaTek’s new MT6577, with integrated dual-core processors and 3G/HSPA modem is well suited to bringing similar user experiences to the fast-growing mid and entry smartphone segment which is forecast to grow from under 200 Mu in 2012 to over 500 Mu in 2016” said Stuart Robinson, Director, Handset Component Technologies service at Strategy Analytics.
The MT6577 is designed to deliver rich multimedia experiences, with an 8MP camera, support for up-to high-definition 1080p video playback and the ability to support high-resolution displays up to HD720 (1280×720) resolution. The platform also pre-integrates MediaTek’s leading 4-in-1 connectivity combo that provides support for dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, BT4.0, GPS and FM. The MT6577 is pin-to-pin compatible with the previously released MT6575, allowing handset manufacturers to easily produce multiple tiers of devices leveraging a single PCBA hardware development effort.
The MT6577 dual-core platform is currently being incorporated into smartphone devices by MediaTek’s leading global customers, and the first smartphone models based on this new chipset are expected to ship commercially in Q3 2012.
MediaTek MT6577 [MediaTek100 YouTube channel, July 19, 2012]
MediaTek expects increase in smartphone chip sales [Taipei Times, June 14, 2012]
MediaTek Inc (聯發科) chairman Tsai Ming-kai (蔡明介) said yesterday that he still expects an increase in demand for smartphone chips in the second half of this year, despite a slowing global economy.
…
Last year, faced with competition that was fiercer than ever, MediaTek posted NT$13.62 billion (US$454 million) in net profit, or NT$12.35 earnings per share (EPS), down sharply from the NT$30.94 billion in net profit, or NT$28.44 EPS recorded in 2010.
Tsai said the worst phase was almost over for the IC designer and the company was gearing up to broaden its product portfolio and win orders to strengthen its profitability.
On the back of robust demand for smartphones, MediaTek has forecast smartphone chip shipments in the second quarter would range between 18 million and 20 million units, up sharply from the 10 million recorded in the first quarter.
For all of this year, the IC designer anticipates smartphone chip shipments to touch 75 million units from rising demand from China and other emerging markets.
MediaTek president Hsieh Ching-jiang (謝清江) said at the shareholders’ meeting that the company would not focus just on the Chinese market, but also target global demand, while operating a total of 23 offices worldwide.
About the just four months old MT6575-based market
ZOPO ZP200 3D Movie Playing [AndroidSale YouTube channel, March 22, 2012]
Source: MTK6575 Cpu Andorid >> on fastcardtech.com
Note that even for global wholesale there are much more products of the above kind, as you could see from the table below (the ones which are also on the above diagram are highlighted in yellow). Click here for a PDF version in case you want to click on the links:
There are a couple of recent Chinese startups capitalising on the MT6575 opportunity. The most successfull among them is probably ZOPO Mobile Communications-equipment Ltd. in Shenzhen, China, introducing itself as:
ZOPO Company is founded in 2012, which engages in research, development, produce, marketing and service of mobile intelligent terminal products. The ZOPO ZP200 model as” The China‘s first Glasses-Free 3D dual sim smart mobile phone ” has been a hot Star in China mainland.
Zopo ZP100 MT6575 4.3″ qHD $174 street price [ARMdevices.net YouTube channel, April 9, 2012]
I’m back in Shenzhen! Here getting ICS installed on my Zopo ZP100 MT6575 [ARMdevices.net YouTube channel, April 9, 2012]
The author of the above videos (Nicolas Charbonnier, aka Charbax, see also a recent interview with him about his videoblogging) went through quite a tour about the new MT6575-based entries in the first half of April:
– $158 5″ WVGA MT6575 Cortex-A9 Smartphone presented by www.yooe.com.cn
– Zhenai A900 waterproof MT6575 smartphone
– $79 3.5″ MT6575 Orient Smart Development Ltd
– MT6575 phone shown by Quality Industrial Co Ltd
– $142 Galaxy Nexus clone, runs ICS on MT6575, with 4.65″ LCD
– Hyundai Brilliant H950, 5.2″ MT6575 phone runs Ice Cream Sandwich at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
– $140 5.2″ MT6575 Android phone by Daza Electronics at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
– ICS on 5″ MediaTek MT6575 Dolphin A80 phone [from Yooe] (note that this is represented on both the above diagram and the table)
– Shenzhen Factory Entrance (note that this is also where Yooe is manufacturing, quite likely)
– The Shenzhen Speakers Factory (the same factory was manufacturing speakers during the visit)
Then he returned in the end of May with these video reports:
– Yooe MT6575 phone now selling
– MT6575 Cutepad 5″ phone
He was showing off some of the latest gadgets that he found in Shenzhen in this video as well: Interview with Nicolas Charbonnier at Linaro Connect, Hong Kong [jasonderose YouTube channel, June 4, 2012]
MediaTek provided general MT6575 information
MT6575 [MediaTek product page, March 29, 2012]
Dual-SIM smartphone platform for the mainstream mid and entry level market
MT6575 is MediaTek’s new dual-SIM smartphone platform for the mainstream mid- and entry-level smartphone markets. Enabling browsing, gaming and multimedia features that will delight consumers, support the latest Android releases and the industry’s best dual-SIM performance for voice and data calls, the MT6575 is MediaTek’s most advanced and competitive smartphone platform to date.The MT6575 combines a software and hardware reference design solution to enable dramatically faster time to market at a highly competitive price point. The MT6575 is set to redefine the performance of mainstream smartphones.
Features
- 1GHz ARM CortexTM-A9 CPU allows for outstanding web browsing and application performance
- High-performance 3D gaming and UIfeatures enabled by PowerVRTM SGX Series5 GPU
- High-definition 720p videoplayback and record
- Per-packet Rx antenna diversity
- 8 MP camerawith enhanced image processing capabilities
- Up to high-resolution qHD (960×540) displays
- Supports both portrait and landscape display modes by built-in dedicated HW
- Features stereo 3D video playback and advanced 2D-to-3D image/video conversion
- No lost calls on either SIM – even with active data transmission on either SIM
- Better Power Efficiency – Up to 500 hours of standby and over 8 hours of talk-time on 3G, 45 hours of audio playback and 6 hours of 3D gaming.
MediaTek – MT6575 [a featured product page, July 5, 2012]
Redefining performance of mid/entry smartphones in 2012
Overview
MT6575 is MediaTek’s new dual-SIM smartphone platform for the mainstream mid- and entry-level smartphone markets. Enabling browsing, gaming and multimedia features that will delight consumers, support the latest Android releases and the industry’s best dual-SIM performance for voice and data calls, MT6575 is MediaTek’s most advanced and competitive smartphone platform to date.
Key Features
The MT6575 platform offers a 1GHz ARM® CortexTM-A9 processer for outstanding web browsing and application performance, a proven 3G/HSPA modem and runs the latest “Ice-Cream Sandwich” Android 4.0 release. Other key features include:
♦ Superior CPU, GPU, and System Performance
– High-performance 3D gaming and UI features enabled by PowerVRTM SGX Series5 GPU♦ Richest Multimedia Features
– High-definition 720p video playback and record
– 8 MP camera with enhanced image processing capabilities♦ World-First Integration Of Stereo 3D Display Controller And 3D Video Processing
– Features stereo 3D video playback and advanced 2D-to-3D image/video conversion♦ Best Display Picture Quality
– Brings the same level of LCD-TV picture quality to mobile devices♦ Leading Dual-SIM Features and Performance
– No lost calls on either SIM♦ Lowest BOM costs
– Highly integrated platform includes the world’s smallest 4-in-1 connectivity combo (MT6620) that allows for small size and lower BOM costs♦ Better Power Efficiency
– Up to 500 hours of standby and over 8 hours of talk-time on 3G
– Up to 45 hours of audio playback and 6 hours of 3D gamingThe MT6575 is currently being incorporated into the latest smartphone offerings by many of MediaTek’s leading customers and the first smartphone models based on this new platform have already hit the market in the first quarter of 2012.
MediaTek – MT6620 [a featured product page, Sept 21, 2011]
Highly Integrated 4-in-1 WLAN/Bluetooth/GPS/FM Combo Solution
Overview
MediaTek MT6620 integrates WLAN, Bluetooth, GNSS and FM, to provide the best performance and most convenient single chip. MT6620 implements advanced and sophisticated Radio Coexistence algorithms and hardware mechanisms. MT6620 also supports a single shared antenna (2.4 GHz antenna for Bluetooth and WLAN, 5 GHz for WLAN and 1.575 GHz for GPS).
Enhanced overall quality for simultaneous voice, data and audio/video transmission on mobile phone and tablet PC can be achieved. The small size with low power consumption reduces PCB layout area. The software package “Symphony” comes with many advanced features.
Key Features
Low power, small size and high performance
WLAN/Bluetooth/GPS/FM solution WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band single stream (20/40MHz) with dual band LNA and 2.4GHz PA integration
Bluetooth 3.0+HS and V4.0 Low Energy support with LNA and PA integration
Support GPS/Galileo/QZSS/SBAS with -165dBm tracking sensitivity FM Tx/Rx with RDS/RBDS support
Support Wi-Fi Direct and WAPI hardware encryption
Support FM over Bluetooth
PLC (Packet Loss Concealment) technology for superior audio quality
Advanced AlwaysLocateTM location awareness technology with ultra low power consumption
Flexible host interfaces support include single SDIO interface for all wireless functions
MediaTek Launches MT6575 Android Platform [MediaTek press release, Feb 13, 2012]
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, today announced the availability of the MT6575, its 3rd generation platform for mid and entry‐level Android smartphones. The MT6575 platform offers a 1GHz ARM® CortexTM‐A9 processer, a proven 3G/HSPA modem and runs the latest “Ice‐Cream Sandwich” Android 4.0 release.
“We expect significant growth in entry and mid‐level smartphones, with wholesale prices under US$190, over the coming years. We forecast that this segment will almost triple in size from 191 million shipments in 2012 to 551 million by 2016. At that time, we also expect approximately 75% of those entry and mid‐level smartphones to ship to emerging markets” said Neil Mawston, Executive Director, Global Wireless Practice, at Strategy Analytics. The MediaTek MT6575 platform is ideally suited to cater to a wide range of smartphone devices that target this growing segment in multiple markets around the world.
“Leveraging the energy‐efficient, high‐performance Cortex‐A9 processor in Android smartphone applications is an extremely compelling proposition and a great proof point for the scalability of the ARM architecture. During 2011 the Cortex‐A9 processor has powered many of the most up‐to‐date and highest performance smartphones. The proliferation of Cortex‐A Series processors into lower cost, mainstream mobile devices will deliver a significant uplift in the user experience,” said Laurence Bryant, Director of Mobile, ARM.
For mid‐range smartphones, the MT6575 platform supports 720p high‐definition video playback and recording with an 8MP camera and qHD (960×540) high‐resolution displays via a PowerVRTM SGX Series5 GPU (graphics processing unit) from Imagination Technologies. In industry‐standard benchmark testing, the MT6575 offered over 35% improvement for browser applications and over 20% improvement in graphics capabilities for gaming when compared to competitors’ best offerings in these segments.
Additionally, the MT6575 platform provides built‐in support for advanced features such as integrated capabilities to drive 3D displays and proprietary algorithms for mobile display picture processing. In sum, the MT6575 provides DTV‐grade picture quality on a smartphone by leveraging MediaTek’s proven technology as a world‐leading DTV platform provider.
The MT6575 platform also supports entry‐level smartphones with smaller display sizes, lower resolution, less memory and reduced multimedia requirements. In addition, the MT6575 boasts the world’s lowest power consumption and most comprehensive integration of hot swap dual‐SIM capability compatible with the Android platform. With the MT6575 dual‐SIM solution, consumers will no longer have to worry about dropped calls while active data transfer is happening on either SIM card, and will experience automatic resumption of data exchange once calls on the other SIM card have ended, in addition, with the hot swap feature enabled, the SIM card can be inserted without switching off the mobile.
The 3G/HSPA modem integrated in the MT6575 platform has been qualified at major 3G operators world‐wide.
The MT6575, delivered in 40nm CMOS technology, builds on the proven track record of the 2nd generation MT6573 platform – i.e., the platform that powers the Lenovo A60, China Unicom’s top selling handset in the sub‐RMB 1000 (approx. $160 USD) smartphone category.
“We are very excited by the prospects of the MT6575 platform. It combines MediaTek’s innovative chipset technology with our proven reference design and complete software solution model. We believe this platform is ideally suited to enable our customers to address mid and entry‐level smartphone cost and performance needs on a global basis – today and tomorrow,” said Ching‐Jiang Hsieh, President of MediaTek.
The MT6575 is currently being incorporated into the latest smartphone offerings by many of MediaTek’s leading customers and the first smartphone models based on this new platform will hit the market in the first quarter of 2012.
MediaTek’s Full Line of 3G Platforms Aims to Address Mid to Entry-Level Smartphone Market [MediaTek press release, Feb 27, 2012]
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions today announced the availability of the MT6515, its next generation TD smartphone solution for China sub-RMB 1000 (approx. $160 USD) smartphone market. The MT6515 TD smartphone platform solution integrates a powerful 1GHz ARM CortexTM-A9 processor, 3D hardware, and runs the latest “Ice-Cream Sandwich” Android 4.0 release. MediaTek’s latest foray into the 3G smartphone market enables high system performance with low power consumption and high cost-performance ratio that raises the bar for what consumers will come to expect from a TD-SCDMA smartphone experience.
According to a recent report released by the market research firm, Strategy Analytics, in the 3rd quarter of 2011, China overtook the US as the world’s biggest smartphone market. Sub-RMB 1000 smartphones were one the fastest growing segments of this market, due in large part to multiple purchases of these models by China’s three major operators in response to consumer needs. As a result, China has seen a sharp rise in smartphone sales starting in the beginning of 2011. MediaTek, with its years of experience serving the industry, attention to continuous innovation, and recent investments in the arena of 3G technologies, has been perfectly poised to meet the growing needs of this new market. With its cost effective, yet high performance smartphone platforms, MediaTek, along with industry partners (i.e. mobile device manufactures and operators), has emerged as a leader in the recent explosion of popularity of mid and entry-level smartphones.
As a member of China’s TD Industry Alliance (TDiA), MediaTek has invested heavily in the R&D of TD chipsets following the initial release of the TD-SCDMA standard. MediaTek’s signature high integration, yet low power consumption platforms have been introduced into TD operators’ handset customization strategies, and MediaTek currently offers a TD mobile device platform series uniquely customized to meet the needs of the Chinese market. As such, it is little surprise that among the mobile devices included in China Mobile’s multiple terminal procurement lists, one finds a variety of end user products that run on MediaTek-driven TD platforms.
Today, MediaTek announced the availability of the MT6515, its next generation TD smartphone platform for the sub-RMB 1000 smartphone market. The platform offers a powerful 1GHz ARM CortexTM-A9 processor, 3D hardware, and runs the latest “Ice-Cream Sandwich” Android 4.0 release. Multi-media applications and Internet speed have also been optimized. Additionally, the MT6515 TD-SCDMA offers a complete China Mobile 3G package, thus helping increase the speed in which manufacturers can get their products to end-users.
In the field of WCDMA and 3rd generation wireless standards, MediaTek has continued to build upon its proven track record of offering complete mobile device solutions. Worthy of note is the MT6573, MediaTek’s 3.75G smartphone platform released last year. This platform powered the Lenovo A60, China Unicom’s top selling handset in the sub-RMB 1000 smartphone category, and an important factor in the uptick of popularity in phones within this market segment.
Building on the success of the MT6573, MediaTek has released the MT6575, which is designed to run on the latest Android driven platforms. The MT6575 offers a 1GHz ARM® CortexTM-A9 processor and runs the latest “Ice-Cream Sandwich” Android 4.0 release. The platform supports dual-SIM solutions, and its web performance, power consumption rates, and multimedia features all meet or exceed industry-leading benchmarks, thus guaranteeing that the MT6575 will deliver a significant uplift in the smoothness of user experience. The MT6575 is currently being incorporated into the latest smartphone offerings by many of MediaTek’s leading customers and the first smartphone models based on this new platform will hit the market at the end of this month.
“Using innovative products to help our customers accurately reflect the needs of the market has always been one of MediaTek’s greatest strengths, and we have continued with this tradition of excellence as we expand into the growing smartphone market. MediaTek’s innovative chipset technology, with our proven reference design and complete software solution models, will ensure that our customers find a place in the growing mid and entry-level smartphone market of tomorrow where, along with power and functionality, cost effectiveness has become a must-have feature,” said Ching-Jiang Hsieh, President of MediaTek.
MediaTek Announces World’s Smallest 4-in-1 Combo Chip Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/GPS/FM Solution [press release, July 21, 2011]
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, today announced its most advanced wireless combo chip designed to enrich multimedia experience with small footprint and long battery life for smartphones, tablets and portable devices. The MediaTek MT6620 integrates 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0+HS, GPS, and FM transmitter/receiver on a single chip with superior size and power benefits, making it the best solution for smartphones, tablets, and portable devices.
Bringing connectivity features to mainstream products such as smartphones, tablets, portable media players (PMPs), gaming devices, and personal navigation devices (PNDs), the MediaTek MT6620 integrates Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and FM, to provide superior performance and rich features. The MT6620 implements advanced and sophisticated radio coexistence algorithms and hardware mechanisms to enhanced overall quality for simultaneous voice, data, and audio/video transmissions. Its small size significantly reduces PCB layout area and simplifies design efforts. In addition, the MediaTek Symphony™ software package supports all advanced wireless features on the Android operation system. BlueAngel™ Bluetooth software currently can support up to 15 profiles to fulfill most user scenario and bring customer product differentiation.
The MT6620 supports all the leading standards: dual band 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi with WiFi Direct and Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0+HS for simultaneous dual mode Bluetooth BR/EDR/HS and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) operations, GPS with Galileo/SBAS/QZSS and patent pending AlwaysLocate™ technology, FM radio with both transmitter and receiver, making the MT6620 ideal solution for portable devices that require superior performance and long battery life. The MT6620 passes 802.11n WiFi certificate including WPS2.0, WAPI and Bluetooth 4.0+HS on both the controller and MediaTek BlueAngle™ host software.
SR Tsai, General Manager of the Wireless Connectivity Business Unit at MediaTek said, “MediaTek is one of few in the industry to offer 4-in-1 SoC solution for a wide range of mobile applications. As a result of this attention to mobile device manufacturers’ needs, the MT6620 was designed to meet strict requirements, such as low power modes to conserve battery life, a reduced footprint to fit into small, sleek handset designs, and low cost to enable mass market mobile Wi-Fi enabled handsets. We believe that the MT6620 is optimized for mobile devices at the hardware, firmware, and driver levels to speed time to market of innovative designs.”
The MT6620 has entered mass production and is shipping to lead customers in sizable quantities now.
MT6620 Product Highlights:
– Low power, small size and high performance Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/GPS/FM solution
– Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band single stream (20/40MHz) with dual band LNA and 2.4GHz PA integration
– Bluetooth 4.0+HS support with PA integration
– Supports GPS/Galileo/QZSS/SBAS with -165dBm tracking sensitivity
– FM Tx/Rx with RDS/RBDS support
– Supports Wi-Fi Direct and WAPI hardware encryption
– Supports FM over Bluetooth
– PLC (Packet Loss Concealment) technology for superior audio quality
– Advanced AlwaysLocateTM location awareness technology with ultra-low power consumption
– Flexible host interfaces including single SDIO for all wireless functions
Some history leading to MT6575
Stephen Elop’s (Nokia CEO) “Burning Platform” memo leaked by Engadget [Feb 8, 2011]:
In 2008, MediaTek supplied complete reference designs for phone chipsets, which enabled manufacturers in the Shenzhen region of China to produce phones at an unbelievable pace. By some accounts, this ecosystem now produces more than one third of the phones sold globally – taking share from us in emerging markets.
White-box handset makers gearing up smartphone and 3G handset production, MediaTek to benefit [DIGITIMES, Dec 3, 2010]:
White-box handset makers in China are gearing up their production of in-house designed smartphones and 3G handsets, a trend which will benefit Taiwan-based IC design house MediaTek. China’s white-box handset industry in 2010, has begun to place more emphasis on upgrading specifications and added value to enter the high-end segment, and has allocated more resources on development of intellectual property.
Even the China government has voiced its support for the white-box industry. Yang Xueshan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), recently said that the government will support the white-box business model as long as there is no infringement of IP.
Yang pointed out that from imitation to innovation is a process white-box handset makers have to go through, citing China-based telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies as a success story. Huawei’s foray into the handset sector began with low-cost products and the company now has research and development capability, he said.
Supporting the white-box business model, given that no patents are infringed, is a good way to protect intellectual property rights as well as provide the most cost-effective products to consumers, Yang added.
More information: MediaTek as the catalyst of the white-board ecosystem
section within Be aware of ZTE et al. and white-box (Shanzhai) vendors: Wake up call now for Nokia, soon for Microsoft, Intel, RIM and even Apple! [Experiencing the Cloud, Feb 21, 2011]
Look at the MTK History :MTK6575 Heading Toward 1Ghz smartphone for below $200? [Lady Panda, April 14, 2012]
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Let’s look at the MTK History:
They first created chipsets for general phone such as MT6225, MT6235 based on their own MTK RTOS. MTK RTOS is known for fast, features rich and very customizable interface with most features support such as Dual SIM Dual Standby, Dual Camera(Front/Rear), ,MicroSD-HC up to 16-32GB, WiFi, Bluetooth (A2DP/Stereo and most other profiles), Very good J2ME support, Analog/digital DVB, FM Radio. A lot of features rich and very affordable handsets become to appear on marketfor prices below $100.
Then they were one of the first to create a dual SIM WCDMA chipset MT6268 which had even better J2ME support and also 3g features such as WCDMA data and 3G Video calls support. A lot of Dual SIM 3G handsets started to appear for about $150. They all were fully unlocked by default and without any contracts. It provided handsets with a lot of features for a very low price.
Then back in 2009 they have decided to enter the smartphones market with the new MT6516 chipset which provided a solution for fully featured yet low price Windows Mobile 6.5 and Android 2.2. handset with a price tag of below $150 while maintaing the popular Dual SIM Dual Standby Quad Band GSM feature, TV, FM, Bluetooth,GPS/AGPS, HQ Youtube playback, Capacitive Multi-touch screen, Dual Camera with flashlight,Android Market, Voice Search. This chipset was not a high performance gaming chipset, But it’s performancewas surprisingly well and exceeded even a lot of high end expensive chipsets.
Then in 2011 they have released the new MT6573 chipset. Now the MT6573 Android 2.3.4 phone cost $150-$210 and they still maintain the Dual SIM Dual Standby with Quad Band GSM and WCDMA/HSPA support. This chipset, Which main ArmV6 core is clocked at 600-650Mhz, integrate the PowerVR Series 5 GPU so it can run fluently games like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Asphalt 5 and many more games. Most of them have 5-8MP back camera with HD video shoting and flashlight supported, HD Videos decoding. Still maintain the analog tv, Capacitive Multi-touch screen, FM Radio, 32GB MicroSD Slot,Bluetooth, GPS/AGPS, WiFi, Voice search and a lot of other advanced smartphonefeatures. The performance is very impressive for such a low price.
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Turmoil on the H1CY12 market in China:
International and local brands, as well as white-box vendors are repositioning for the most lucrative CNY500 (US$79) to CNY1,000 (US$157) smartphone market of H2CY12 and on
Digitimes Research: Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and Coolpad to take 40% of China smartphone market in 2012 [June 27, 2012]
The development of China’s smartphone market has drawn much attention, particularly in 2012, during which the local brands Huawei Device and ZTE will make it to the global top-10 smartphone vendor list. Digitimes Research expects two other brands, Lenovo and China Wireless Technologies (Coolpad), to see their smartphone shipments surpass the 10 million mark in 2012.
In the domestic market, Huawei and ZTE both have been trying to expand their share in the mid-range to high-end segments, resulting in a decline in shipments of low-priced models. While smartphone shipments by Huawei and ZTE will continue increasing in 2012, the two vendors are expected to see the ratios of their shipments to total smartphone shipments in China decline to 12% and 9%, respectively in 2012 from 16% and 11% of a year earlier.
Lenovo, which has been maintaining a close relation with chipset solution vendor MediaTek and has been focusing on the entry-level segment, is expected to ship 12 million smartphones in 2012, Digitimes Research estimates.
Coolpad is migrating to the smartphone sector rapidly and is likely to ship 11.1 million smartphones this year, accounting for 70% of its total handset shipments.
Digitimes Research predicts that shipments of smartphones in China will top 140 million units in 2012, with Samsung and Apple accounting for a combined 40% share. Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and Coolpad are expected to together take up another 40%, limiting the development potential of other brands.
Taiwan IC designers looking to orders from China-based white-box smartphone vendors [DIGITIMES, June 20, 2012]
Taiwan-based IC design houses have rekindled their hope that they can cooperate once again with China-based white-box handset makers to make a strong presence in China’s smartphone market thanks to the offering of inexpensive chipset solutions from MediaTek and MStar Semiconductor and the rising popularity of smartphone models priced at around CNY1,000 (US$158), according to industry sources.
The availability of the mature and inexpensive chipset solutions and reference designs has lowered the barriers for white-box makers to also jump into the smartphone segment, the sources indicated.
Taiwan-based IC design houses which made a fortune previously by supplying related 2.5G ICs to the white-box manufacturing sector, have begun building up their inventory to meet anticipated demand from China-based white-box makers, noted the sources.
Given that international handset brands have a tendency to cooperate with a limited number of IC vendors, shipments to white-box handset makers in China will serve as a growth driverfor Taiwan-based IC vendors in the second half of 2012, said the sources.
Taiwan-based LCD driver IC vendors Novatek Microelectronics, ILi Techonology (Ilitek), Sitronix Technology, Orise Technology, and controller IC vendors Elan Microelectronics, Egalax-empia Technology (EETI), as well as analog IC makers Richtek Technology, Global Mixed-code Technology and Anpec Electronics will bebenfit from the re-rise of white-box handset makers, commented the sources.
China market: Small-scale makers and retail channels to stage comeback in smartphone segment [DIGITIMES, June 15, 2012]
Small-scale handset makers as well as retail handset channels in China may stage a comeback in the smartphone segment optimizing the availability of low-priced models, according to industry sources.
Under the aggressive marketing strategy and heavy subsidies launched by telecom carriers, sales of smartphones have been strong in the replacement market, said the sources, but added that the top carriers have been dominating the market with their customized models, affecting sales in retail channels, said the sources.
However, the availability of reference designs for the production of smartphones has enabled a large number of small- and medium-size handset makers in China to also jump into the segment, triggering a sharp decline in prices of smartphones, noted the sources.
Prices of unlocked smartphones are expected to drop to below CNY500 (US$79) soon, making it affordable for consumers to pick up smartphones at retail shops without signing subscription contracts with carriers, the sources commented.
China market: Qualcomm pushing sales of 3G solutions to small- to medium-sized handset makers [DIGITIMES, June 12, 2012]
Qualcomm has geared up efforts to push sales of its smartphone solutions to small- to medium-sized handset makers in China, attracting a number of vendors shifting away from the comparable solutions offered by Taiwan-based MediaTek, according to industry sources.
To counter Qualcomm’s strategy, MediaTek has also stepped up sales of its 3G solutions to first-tier handset makers in Chinainstead of its previous focus on small- and medium-sized vendors, the sources indicated.
In addition to Qualcomm and MediaTek, other chipset vendors including ST-Ericsson, Intel, Spreadtrum Communications and MStar Semiconductor, are exerting all-out efforts to grab the handset solution market in China, said the sources, adding that competition between Qualcomm and MediaTek is the fiercest.
But a large number of branded and white-box handset makers in China still prefer Android- and 3.5G-enabled solutions as well as dual-core solutions from MediaTek, since they have established mature business relationships with MediaTek, the sources commented.
Digitimes Research: Smartphones to take 32% of China handset market in 2012 [June 8, 2012]
Digitimes Research estimates that China handset shipments will grow to 430 million units in 2012, with smartphones likely to take 32% of the market, equivalent to 143 million handsets. Given that China already accounted for 22% of global handset shipments in 2011 and the country’s mobile user base is projected to hit 1.13 billion people in 2012, the potential of the country’s smartphone market is staggering.
The boom in China’s smartphone market that began in 2011 was sparked by the expansion of 3G service coverage and falling budget smartphone prices. Carriers have driven this change in an attempt to bolster flagging ARPUs, which stood at just CNY37 (US$6) per month for 2G users of China Unicom in 2011; the ARPU for the carrier’s 3G subscribers was a much more respectable CNY110, according to an upcoming Digitimes Research Special Report on China’s smartphone market.
Carriers have been able to entice China’s price-conscious consumers to make the 3G switch chiefly by offering extremely cheap smartphones priced at around CNY1,000, a figure which could yet fall as low as CNY599 in 2012. This concentration in the low end of the market is a major contributing factor to the dominance of Android in China.
However, consumers in this sector are not willing to spend heavily on profitable 3G services and ARPU for 3G users is already falling steeply. At the current rate of decline, the 3G ARPU will fall to an estimated CNY82 during 2013. China’s smartphone switchover may therefore not prove to be quite as lucrative as the country’s carriers had hoped.
Android 4.0 in entry-level to mid-range smartphones to rise in 2H12 [DIGITIMES, June 7, 2012]
While Android 2.x versions take up about 90% of Android-based smartphones, Qualcomm and MediaTek have begun to offer Android 4.0 common chip solutionsfor smartphone vendors and therefore version 4.0 is expected to be widely adopted for entry-level to mid-range smartphones in the second half of 2012, according to industry sources.
Because Samsung Electronics, HTC, LG Electronics and other vendors have launched Android 4.0 smartphones, and have offered upgrades for older models in the second quarter of 2012, the penetration rate of Android 4.0 has risen from 2.9% in April to 7.1% currently, the sources indicated.
China market: Entry-level smartphones to feature dual-core CPUs in 2H12 [DIGITIMES, June 5, 2012]
Smartphones featuring dual-core CPUs are expected to begin penetrating into the CNY1,000 (US$157) smartphone segment in China in the second half of 2012 thanks to dual-core reference designs offered by MediaTek and Qualcomm, according to industry sources.
Other chipset solution vendors such as ST-Ericsson are also expected to enter the dual-core segment soon, indicated the sources.
Dual-core smartphones may even become the mainstream white-box models in the second half which will squeeze market share from single-core models, and hence triggering a price war, the sources said.
In addition to pushing the clock speeds of CPUs from 1GHz to 1.2GHz, China-based handset makers will also adopt 4.3-inch displays for mainstream entry-level and mid-range modelsinstead of the prevailing 4-inch screens, added the sources.
Prices of single-core smartphones in China are likely to fall below CNY500 in the second half, which may result in a dumping of entry-level and mid-range smartphones by China-based handset makers in the global market, the source commented.
Qualcomm scores points in promoting QRD in China [DIGITIMES, June 4, 2012]
Qualcomm began to offer Qualcomm Reference Design (QRD), a platform for developing smartphone components including memory, sensors, touch screens, cameras and RD devices as well as application software, for vendors and makers in China two years ago and has made significant achievements in boosting inexpensive smartphones by helping its China-based partners, according to company senior vice president and Greater China president, Wang Xiang.
QRD aims to reduce input of resources in development and time to market for China-based smartphone vendors and makers, Wang said. 28 models of smartphones have been launched by 17 vendors under QRD, and more than 100 models are being developed for launch in 2012, Wang indicated.
Qualcomm has set up four China branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xi’an and two R&D centers in Beijing and Shanghai, according to company senior vice president and QRD director, Jeff Lorbeck.
Qualcomm will focus promotion of QRD in China to reduce component costs in 2012 and plans to help China-based partners tap emerging markets in India, Latin America and Southeast Asia through providing technical support in 2013, Wang said.
Lenovo aims to triple smartphone shipments in 2012 [DIGITIMES, June 4, 2012]
Lenovo plans to launch as many as 40 new models of smartphones in 2012, aiming to ramp up its smartphone shipments to 18 million unitsin the year compared to six million units shipped in 2011, according to the company.
Lenovo aims to roll out a lineup of smartphones with different price tags to meet demand from all segments of customers, the company said. Smartphone models priced below CNY1,000 (US$157) currently account for 30% of smartphones sold in China, models priced at CNY1,000-1,499 take another 30%, and those priced above CNY1,500 make up the remaining 40%, Lenovo indicated.
Lenovo saw its smartphone shipments in China grow 21-fold on year in the first quarter of 2012, enabling the company to take up a 10% share in the quarter compared to just 1% a year earlier. The vendor also captured the fourth-rank position in the smartphone segment in China in Aprilwith a 10.21% share, said China-based Sino Marketing Research.
WCDMA models account for 49% of all smartphones sold by Lenovo currently, followed by CDMA EV-DO models at 26% and TD-SCDMA models at 18%, the company noted.
Lenovo also plans to roll out dual-core models in the second half of 2012, using MediaTek’s MT6577 solutions and Qualcomm’s QRD 8×25 and 8×26 solutions, according to industry sources.
Lenovo’s handset OEM partners, including Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), Compal Communications and Wistron NeWeb, are expected to benefit from increasing shipments by Lenovo, the sources indicated.
China market: China Unicom gearing up for sub-CNY800 WCDMA smartphones [DIGITIMES, June 4, 2012]
China United Network Communications (China Unicom), the only WCDMA mobile telecom carrier in China, will promote sale of WCDMA smartphone models priced at below CNY800 (US$127) to attract 2G subscribers to shift to WCDMAin the China market, according to the company.
Of handsets sold at CNY599 or below in the China market in April 2012, TD-SCDMA models took up 24%, CDMA2000 EV-DO models 15% and WCDMA models 1%, according to China-based Sino Market Research. Of handsets sold at CNY600-799, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000 EV-DO and WCDMA accounted for 20%, 10% and 6% respectively, Sino indicated.
The demand for smartphones in the China market in 2012 is forecast at 200 million units and 44% of which, that is, 88 million units, will be sold at below CNY800, meaning big opportunities for China Unicom, the company said.
In addition to inexpensive smartphones, China Unicom has cooperated with international vendors including LG Electronics, Nokia, HTC, Motorola Mobility as well as China-based vendors K-Touch and Xiaomi Technology to launch mid- to high-level models in the China market for market segmentation, the company noted.
China Unicom has been upgrading HSPA+ service and has deployed 21Mbps HSPA+ networks in 56 cities in China, the company said. While there have been 245 models of HSPA+-enabled terminal devices around the world, China Unicom plans to launch price-competitive models of such devices, the company indicated.
China market: First-tier local brands shifting focus to CNY1,000-1,500 smartphones [DIGITIMES, June 1, 2012]
First-tier local brand handset vendors in China have begun adjusting their strategy to focus on marketing mid-range smartphoneswith prices ranging CNY1,000-1,500 (US$157-236) instead of the previous focus on sub-CNY1,000 models, according to industry sources.
The launch of sub-CNY1,000 smartphones by the top-3 telecom carriers as well as the roll-out of CNY500 models by second-tier handset makersin China has induced top-tier vendors to shift their focus, said the sources.
The second-tier handset makers have been engaged in cut-throat competitionin order to win open bids released by the top-3 telecom service companies, noted the sources, adding that China Mobile has even launched a sub-CNY200 model.
Top-tier vendors, including Coolpad, ZTE, Huawei and Lenovo, are expected to reduce the number of their the sub-CNY1,000 smartphones and will be more active to participate in bidding for CNY1,000-1,500 models, said the sources.
The move by China-based top smartphone brands to the mid-range segment will see them take on some international players including Samsung Electronics, HTC, Nokia, Motorola Mobility which have ventured into the CNY1,000-2,000 segment, the sources commented.
Rumor: China’s Smartphone Prices to Drop to RMB 600 [Marbridge Daily]
Southern Daily, 5/31/12
Industry sources claim that China’s smartphone prices could drop to RMB 600 in H2 2012 due to increasing availability of low-priced smartphone chips. Smartphones featuring Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company MediaTek’s (MTK) MT6573 processor are available on B2C e-commerce sites such as Taobao and Paipai for RMB 800 and below. MediaTek’s MT6575 chipset, released in March, has already appeared in handsets from domestic handset vendors such as Lenovo (0992.HK), Gionee, ZTE (0763.HK; 000063.SZ), and Yulong (Coolpad), as well as foreign brands such as Motorola. The MT6575 is currently available for between RMB 1,000 to RMB 1,500. Taiwanese chipmaker MStar Semiconductor plans to release its first dual-core chipset solution for RMB 1,000 smartphones next week.
According to a source within Lenovo Mobile, ST-Ericsson released its U8500 dual-core chipset platform in Q1 2012, and handset models using the platform are available from overseas brands at prices no higher than RMB 2,000. Domestic brand handset models featuring the chipset are expected to reach the market in Q2 and Q3 priced at approximately RMB 1,500. Chinese internet company Shanda Interactive will soon release its own branded smartphone using the U8500 priced at RMB 1,199. In addition, Qualcomm will launch its MSM7x27A and MSM7x25A low-priced chipset platforms this year, which will feature in a number of RMB 1,000 smartphones from domestic handset manufacturers.
China-based smartphone vendors to compete with big players with ultra-thin models [DIGITIMES, May 29, 2012]
China-based handset vendors have ventured into the production of ultra-thin smartphones, enhancing their strength to compete with international brands in the global market, according to industry sources.
China-based vendor Oppohas highlighted this manufacturing trend in China by releasing the Finder recently. The Android 4.0-based Finder has a thickness of only 6.65mm.
The Finder also features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB ROM, a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front camera, for a suggested retail price of about CNY3,500 (US$555)in China.
Oppo, one of the top-10 local brandsin China, focuses on the production of smartphones priced above CNY2,000 instead of the prevailing sub-CNY1,000 models, the sources noted.
Thickness of ultra-thin models by brands
Vendor
Model
Thickness
OS
Oppo
Finder
6.65mm
Android 4.0
Huawei
Ascend P1 S
6.68mm
Android 4.0
Motorola
Razr XT910
7.1mm
Android 2.3
HTC
HTC One S
7.95mm
Android 4.0
LG Electronics
Prada 3.0
8.5mm
Android 2.3
Samsung
Galaxy S III
8.6mm
Android 4.0
Apple
iPhone 4S
9.3mm
iOS5
ST-Ericsson seeking cooperation with China-based low-cost smartphone vendors, says paper [DIGITIMES, May 28, 2012]
ST-Ericsson has won adoption of its U8500 chip solution by China-based Shanda which will launch a smartphone for sale at about CNY1,000 (US$158) in the China market on June 6, according to China-based 21st Century Business Herald.
ST-Ericsson is seeking adoption of its chip solutions by more China-based vendors looking to launch smartphones priced at CNY1,000-2,000, the paper indicated. Smartphones for sale at CNY1,000-2,000 accounted for about 50% of all smartphones sold in the China market in 2010 and 2011, with ZTE, Huawei, and Coolpad the leading vendors, the paper said.
China market: 4 local vendors amid top-5 in 3G smartphone market in April [DIGITIMES, May 25, 2012]
In the China market, Samsung Electronics recorded the largest market share of 22.75% for 3G smartphones in April 2012, followed by four China-based vendors — Coolpad with 11.17%, Huawei with 10.92%, Lenovo with 10.21% and ZTE with 9.28%, China Economic Netcited China-based Sino Market Research as indicating.
Other international vendors’ market shares were 8.52% for Apple, 4.14% for Motorola Mobility, 3.95% for Nokia and 2.82% for HTC, the report indicated.
The increased market occupation by China-based vendors was mainly due to selling of their entry- to mid-level 3G smartphone models through contract-bundled sales by China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, the report said.
MediaTek lands 2.5G handset solution orders from Nokia, say sources [DIGITIMES, May 21, 2012]
MediaTek reportedly has landed orders for 2.5G handset solutions from Nokia with shipments to begin in the third quarter of 2012, according to industry sources. MediaTek declined to comment.
Given that global demand for 2.5G handset solutions still reaches one billion units a year, there is room for MediaTek to further expand sales in the segment although the company’s sales of 2.5G solutions have been turning weak recently, indicated the sources. MediaTek shipped 550 million 2.5G solutions in 2011.
With a revised goal of shipping 75 million 3G solutions in 2012, mostly to first-tier handset makers in China, MediaTek is expected to post strong revenue growth in the second half of the year, the sources noted.
Smartphone vendors considering other chip sources due to short supply of Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 [May 15, 2012]
Qualcomm has seen supply of its Snapdragon S4 processors fall short of increasing demand and the situation has pushed international smartphone vendors, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, HTC and Sony Mobile Communications, to consider other suppliers, according to Taiwan-based handset supply chain makers.
The short supply of Snapdragon S4 is because Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s 28nm foundry capacity is not sufficient and/or the yield rate of the process is not high enough, the sources pointed out.
MediaTek looks to ship 75 million 3G solutions in 2012 [DIGITIMES, May 9, 2012]
MediaTek is expected to ship 75 million 3G handset solutions in 2012, a 50% increase from 50 million units it projected earlier, according to industry sources.
Insufficient capacity of the 28nm process at Qualcomm has forced China-based Huawei Device and ZTE, in addition to existing client Lenovo, to source 3G solutions from MediaTek, contributing to a sharp increase in orders for the IC design house, indicated the sources.
Huawei’s and ZTE’s 3G smartphones built based on MediaTek’s MT6575 solutions are expected to hit the market at the end of the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2012, said the sources, adding that the new M6575 models from Huawei and ZTE will directly take on Lenovo’s comparable model, the A750, in the China market.
Meanwhile, MediaTek has reported consolidated revenues of NT$7.942 billion (US$269 million) for April, decreasing 3.48% on month but increasing 4.19% on year. For the January-April period of 2012, consolidated revenues amounted to NT$27.557 billion, up 0.25% on year, said MediaTek.
China-based white-box vendors expected to ship 200 million smartphones [DIGITIMES, April 17, 2012]
China-based white-box vendors, mainly due to the availability of inexpensive new chip solutions, have been increasing the production of smartphones, with the total shipment volume expected to reach 200 million units in 2012, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Taiwan-based MediaTek is offering the makers its MT6575 a chip solution for use in entry-level smartphones in the first quarter of 2012 and will offer the MT6577, a solution for high-level smartphones, in the middle of the third quarter of 2012, the sources indicated. MediaTek will ship 50-70 million chips to China-based white-box vendorsto account for nearly 30% of smartphones to be shipped by these vendors in 2012.
In addition, Qualcomm has strengthened its marketing in the China market by offering turn-key solutions to white-box vendors, with prices for a chips lowered to US$6, the sources cited eMedia Asia as indicating.
China-based white-box vendors sell more than 60% of their smartphone output to overseas markets, including 2.5G models for markets where deployment of 3G networks is not mature yet, the sources indicated. White-box vendors are expected to see larger market demand if their production costs for entry-, medium– and high-level smartphones drop to US$60, US$85 and US$130 respectively, the sources pointed out.
China market: Motorola moving into CNY1,000 smartphone segment, says paper [DIGITIMES, April 13, 2012]
Motorola Mobility has ventured into the CNY1,000 (US$159) smartphone segment in China with the launch of its XT390 smartphone in cooperation with China Unicom, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Timesreport.
The XT390 is also the first Android-enabled smartphone rolled out by Motorola using MediaTek’s 6575 chipset solution, indicated the paper.
Motorola has outsourced the production of the XT390 to Arima Communications and may place orders for up to one million smartphones with the Taiwan-based handset ODM in the second quarter of 2012, said the paper.
China market: Top-4 local vendors to keep entry-level smartphone prices around CNY1,000 in 2012 [DIGITIMES, March 30, 2012]
The top-4 China-based branded handset vendors – Huawei Device, ZTE, Lenovo and Coolpad – will continue to develop the CYN1,000 (US$159) smartphone segment in China in 2012 and will prevent their channel operators from engaging in price-cutting competition with white-box vendors, according to industry sources.
More newcomers have entered the smartphone sector in China, propelled by the launch of related reference designs for smartphones by MediaTek, MStar Semiconductor, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum Communications, raising the possibility that prices of the entry-level smartphones may drill downward to a range of CNY400-700 compared to the prevailing prices of around CNY1,000, the sources noted.
Despite increasing pricing competition from white-box handset makers as well as international brands including Nokia and Samsung Electronics, the top-4 local brand vendors are unlikely to lower their prices further until makers in the handset component supply chain are able to reduce their quotes substantially, said the sources.
To maintain competitiveness and brand images, the top-4 vendors are expected to roll out models with higher hardware specifications for the CNY1,000 segment, the sources commented.
Shipments of smartphones in China are expected to grow 40-60% on year in 2012, the sources estimated.
China-based white-box handset players may face bankruptcy [DIGITIMES, March 29, 2012]
China-based white-box handset players are suffering as larger local players ZTE, Lenovo and Huawei are aggressively entering the CNY1,000 (US$159) smartphone segment, while first-tier smartphone brands such as Samsung Electronics and Nokia are also reducing their prices. White-box players are expected to see a 30% drop in their overall sales in 2012 with several hundred expected to go bankrupt, reshuffling China’s handset industry, according to sources from smartphone players.
As consumers in China have increasing demand for Internet connectivity, while their recognition of brand names is also rising, the white-box handset market in China, which is mainly focused on low price and design flexibility, is shrinking rapidly.
Since China-based telecom carriers are aggressively providing subsidies to ZTE, Huawei and Lenovo to allow these players to lower their smartphone prices, while white-box players are losing their advantages in price as they are unable to acquire cheap components due to their shipment scale, it has helped larger smartphone players to narrow the price gap with white-box handsets.
With more brand vendors pushing into the mid-range and entry-level smartphone market, the average price of entry-level smartphones is expected to reach CNY700 (US$100), a level almost the same as cost. In addition, white-box players’ advantages in design flexibility is also no longer attracting consumers as the size of the touch screen has already become the major criteria for consumers.
China market: Chip vendor competition heating up for 1GHz processors used in inexpensive smartphones [DIGITIMES, Jan 17, 2012]
As China Mobile, China Telecom and China United Network Communications will procure large volumes of inexpensive smartphones equipped with 1GHz processors, there is increasing competition among handset chip vendors Qualcomm, Taiwan-based MedaTek, Broadcom and China-based Spreadtrum Communications, according to Taiwan-based handset makers.
While the four vendors and others have offered 1GHz chip solutions supporting 3.5G, Android, multimedia and dual-mode functions, the Qualcomm-developed MSM7227A [Cortex-A5 based @ upto 1GHz]solution has gained the upper hand, followed by MediaTek-developed MT6575, the sources indicated. In contrast, Spreadtrum and Broadcom are competing for orders by virtue of differentiation in function, with the former focusing on TD-SCDMA, a China-developed 3G standard, solutions and the latter’s solutions featuring integration of NFC (near field communication), Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11n and GNSS (global navigation satellite system) functions, the sources pointed out.
In the China market, Nokia, Samsung Electronics, Motorola Mobility, Sony, HTC as well as China-based vendors Huawei Device, ZTE, Lenovo, TCL, Haier and Hisense will launch inexpensive entry-level smartphones equipped with 1GHz processor in 2012, the sources noted. China-based vendors are expected to release ODM or EMS orders to Taiwan-based makers, the sources indicated.
Tech investment banking expertise to strengthen the unique value focus of growing the HTC brand and to achieve high growth again
Updates #2:
– HTC sees revenues down sharply on-year in July [DIGITIMES, Aug 7, 2012]
HTC saw its revenues dip 16.7% on month and 44.5% on year to a five-month low of NT$25 billion (US$834.45 million) in July. For the first seven months of 2012, revenues amounted to NT$183.9 billion, decreasing 32.8% from a year earlier, according to company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).
… With HTC estimating its revenues to reach only NT$70-80 billion in the third quarter [US$2.3-2.7 billion], it is unlikely to see HTC’s revenues rebound to NT$30 billion in August and September, the Chinese-language Commercial Times said on August 7 report.
– HTC sees fall in 3Q12 sales with lower margin [DIGITIMES, Aug 3, 2012] [US$3.5 billion]
HTC reported second-quarter consolidated revenues of NT$91.04 billion (US$3.04 billion), in line with its targeted NT$91 billion, which had been cut from its original target of NT$105 billion [US$3.5 billion]. Gross margin and operating margin for the second quarter came to 27.01% and 9%, respectively.
Second-quarter sales represented a 34.3% increase, but were 26.8% lower than those posted in the second quarter a year ago. Meanwhile, gross margin and operating margin showed improvement from the prior quarter, but decreases compared to the same period of 2011.
HTC generated net profits of NT$7.4 billion, or NT$8.90 a share, in the second quarter of 2012. Profits declined more than 50% from a year earlier, but rose over 60% on quarter.
– HTC adjusts workforce [DIGITIMES, July 25, 2012]
HTC has been adjusting human resources in its production, R&D, and sales teams. Industry sources believe corporate restructuring is necessary as HTC’s sales have been declining.
Sales of the HTC One series have not been picking up due to tough competition in Europe and North America. HTC has been adjusting its global workforce by shutting down the R&D team in North Carolina, US, and offices in Brazil. Some members of the R&D team have been laid-off and there will be no renewals of contracts for 600 workers. The adjustments have impacted close to 1,000 staff.
– Nokia, RIM and HTC to see smartphone shipments continue sliding in 2H12, say sources [DIGITIMES, July 9, 2012]
Nokia, RIM and HTC are expected to see their smartphone shipments, as well as market share, continue declining in the third and fourth quarters of 2012 due to a lag in migration to new platforms and weakening competitiveness of their products, according to industry sources.
Despite efforts initiated by Nokia, RIM and HTC to fend off competition from Apple and Samsung Electronics, RIM and HTC have reported lower than expected shipments for the second quarter of 2012, while Nokia is expected to see its second-quarter smartphone shipments drop below 10 million units, said the sources.
Although HTC managed to post a sequential gain in shipments in the second quarter, its second-quarter smartphone shipments barely reached nine million units, pointed out the sources.
HTC is expected to see its shipments stay flat or drop to eight million units in the third quarter and slip further to seven million in the fourth quarter, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
End of updates #2
Preliminary reading: HTC: the most promising ICT brand in Taiwan [Oct 18, 2010 – July 5, 2011; then with major updates on Feb 7, 2012
Source: HTC, Investor Relations
Updates #1: The MWC introduced HTC One series unveiled (for the first time) a proprietary HTC ImageChip image signal processor (thus not relying on ISPs coming with the Tegra 3 and Qualcomm S4 SoCs) in order to be able to take a shot “in just 0.7 seconds” and to have “a new superfast 0.2-seconds autofocus, continue to take nearly unlimited continuous shots“, as well as “capture a photo and shoot video at the same time” and be “also able to capture a photo frame from a previously recorded video.” (See also a detailed description of that inside of the so called HTC ImageSense feature set.) Such a hardware based differentiation approach will even be greater with HTC’s upcoming products according to the following news:
– HTC plans to develop customized processors [DIGITIMES, April 24, 2012]
In order to have significant product differentiation, HTC plans to cooperate with Qualcomm, Nvidia and ST-Ericsson to develop and produce customized processors with specific functions for its smartphones, according to Taiwan-based handset chip designers.
HTC may develop specific functions for its smartphones and secure supply of customized processors, but it may run the risk of inventories because such processors are unlikely to be adopted by other vendors, the sources commented.
– HTC plans to develop its own processor [China Times, April 23, 2012] with Google translation of the original in Chinese , or the same with Bing translation.The essential content of that was first reported by Unwired as: HTC is developing its own CPU for lower end smartphones with ST-Ericsson
HTC is following in the footsteps of Apple and Samsung, and is now working on its own dedicated applications processor. According to China Times, the Taiwanese smartphone maker has already signed memorandum of cooperation with ST-Ericsson to co-develop the chip.
Contrary to high performance Samsung and Apple CPUs which power their flagships, the new HTC processor will run the lower end smartphones. The devices with new chip will start shipping in volume sometime in 2013.
It seems that HTC is getting increasingly unhappy with Qualcomm, which powered most of HTC devices until this year. They have signaled their unhappiness in early February, and may even consider Qualcomm one of the reasons for the sales problems of the last few months. HTC has already added NVIDIA to its application processor supplier list –quad core Tegra 3 is powering non U.S. version of the new One X flagship. But it has yet to diversify on the lower end.
Turning to ST-Ericsson and co-developing its own, cheaper CPU, may also be a way for HTC to start moving down market with lower priced devices. Up until now – HTC was mostly focused on a premium high-end smartphones, pretty much ignoring the low-end of the market. But as component prices get cheaper, and ever better quality Android devices are released at ever lower price points by Samsung, ZTE and Huawei – Taiwanese vendor has to find a way to respond.
And this move may be one of the responses.
– HTC, Facebook jointly developing smartphone, say sources [DIGITIMES, April 25, 2012]
Given that Google is expected to continue to cooperate with Samsung Electronics for the development of the next-generation Nexus smartphone, HTC reportedly has decided to move forward in its own way and is currently developing a customized smartphone in cooperation with Facebook slated to be launched in the third quarter of 2012 at the earliest, according to industry sources.
HTC had previously joined forces with Google to launch Google’s first own-brand smartphone, the Nexus One. However, Google then shifted to cooperating with Samsung as its primary production partner for the launch of its second and third own-brand smartphones.
Since Samsung has become the top vendor of Android smartphones, Google will continue to have Samsung develop its next-generation Nexus models, leveraging Samsung’s innovation ability with regard to the Android platform, and its ability to control the supply of key components, said sources.
The new Android smartphone being developed by HTC will have a platform exclusive to Facebook to enable and integrate all functions available on the social networking site, the sources indicated. Previously, HTC launched two Facebook-enabled smartphones, the Salsa and Chacha.
Facebook is expected to further expand its investments and sources of income after becoming a public company, and the launch of own-brand smartphones will be part of its development strategy, the sources commented.
End of updates #1
HTC personnel change indicates new value focus: Goldman Sachs [Focus Taiwan, Taiwan’s national news agency, April 17, 2012]
… The 45-year-old Chang, an investment banker and partner at Goldman Sachs before joining HTC, will be responsible for corporate finance and accounting, strategic acquisitions and investment, and investor relations.
“We believe the change in CFO may indicate HTC’s more aggressive attitude toward its finance department in terms of creating value other than just accounting integrity,” Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Yen wrote in a research note.
For example, he said, added value could mean enhancing “the uniqueness and competitiveness of HTC’s smartphone products and services.”
Given HTC’s many acquisitions and strategic investments in content and mobile services in the past and its decent cash position, it could be creating a different value by choosing a CFO with industry and banking background, Yen said. …
HTC Desire V for China Unicom (WCDMA)
Comparison [PDAdb.net]: HTC Desire VC T328d vs. HTC Desire V T328w vs. HTC Desire VT T328t [3]
Note: According to the detailed specifications given above these phones all have SLCD screens (see: Super LCD, Explained [DisplayBlog, Nov 24, 2011]), as on quite a number of higher end HTC smartphones in the last 2 years (since HTC Desire A8181 / HTC Bravo). Otherwise they have been using “transflective TFT LCD” mostly and in very few cases Super AMOLED.
HTC eyes cheaper smartphone market in China [Focus Taiwan, Taiwan’s national news agency, April 17, 2012]
Taiwan’s HTC Corp. launched several smartphones in China priced as low as 1,999 Chinese yuan (US$317) Tuesday in a bid to tap into the emerging mobile market.
The HTC launch in Beijing includes three smartphones in its customized New Desire series, which will go on sale from mid-April through three major Chinese telecom operators, according to a company statement.
The New Desire V, running on China Unicom’s 3G WCDMA network, will start from 1,999 Chinese yuan before subsidies, while the New Desire VC will support China Telecom’s CDMA 2000 frequency, for the same price tag.
Pricing for the New Desire VT, which will run on the country’s home-grown TD-SCDMA network provided by China Mobile, was not disclosed.
“The China market has always been a critical part of HTC’s global strategy. In addition to the HTC One series, we are introducing the New Desire series targeting Chinese consumers,” said Ray Yam, president of HTC’s China division.
“We believe HTC’s future is closely connected with China and that HTC will continue to bring the best experience and the most innovative smartphones to the country as soon as possible,” he added.
All the models in the New Desire series are equipped with a 4-inch display, a 1 GHz processor and a 5-megapixel camera, according to the company.
Separately, HTC said its new “One” family will also hit store shelves in China this month, with price tags ranging from 2,688 to 5,688 yuan.
The Taoyuan-based manufacturer is hoping that the streamlined models and an increased retail presence will help it boost its market share in China, which stood at only about 2 percent last year, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.
…
HTC Desire VC for China Telecom (CDMA2000)
China market: HTC launches One, new Desire lineups [DIGITIMES, April 18, 2012]
… HTC currently accounts for a 10% share of smartphones sold with a price tag over CNY2,000 in China, but has not entered the mainstream sub-CNY1,000 segment, indicated the sources. …
HTC Prepares to Launch Lower-end “Kewang” Smartphones for China [IDG News, April 17, 2012]
… The HTC Kewang V, or Desire in English, will launch on April 23 through mobile operator China Unicom. … HTC’s goal with the Kewang series is to provide smartphones at a low price, but also with high-performance and strong features, said Ethan Qian, an HTC spokesman. The Kewang line is being released only in China, he added. …
HTC Desire VT for China Mobile (TD-SCDMA)
Dual card dual standby for only 1999 yuan HTC desire V officially released [China Tech News, April 17, 2012]
On the afternoon of April 16, China Unicom and HTC jointly held “China Unicom fertile 3G HTC new Desire V listed” conference, officially released the HTC new Desire V. It is customized by China Unicom, has 9.3mm ultra-thin body, support dual card dual standby, using clocked at 1GHz Qualcomm MSM 7227A processor [with Cortex-A5 single core, having 1.57 DMIPS/MHz performance, while Cortex-A8 has 2.0 DMIPS/MHz], 4 inches [Super LCD] screen with a resolution of 480×800 (WVGA). The phone will be powered by the Android 4.0 system, using the HTC Sense 4.0 UI, 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, [512MB RAM] 4GB ROM, integrated Beats audio audio technology, the battery capacity of 1650 mA. Bare metal price of 1999 yuan is also a bright spot.
Super LCD vs Super AMOLED displays (HD) [TheTechTonicdotCom YouTube channel, Dec 11, 2011]
Note: Nokia has a superior technology for better brightness, contrast and outdoor visibility with a significant enhancement of both In-Plane Switching (IPS) type TFT and AMOLED display panels typically used. See: The leading ClearBlack display technology from Nokia [Dec 18, 2011 – Feb 2, 2012], especially for comparison with Super LCD of HTC Mozart (as well as with the Super AMOLED of Samsung Galaxy S II).
Commentary: HTC appoints new CFO, but challenges remain [DIGITIMES, April 17, 2012]
HTC has reshuffled its management team again by appointing former Goldman Sachs Group partner Chia-Lin Chang as its chief financial officer, which is part of the company’s strategy for global deployment.
The new appointment, which took effect on April 16, came after HTC announced earlier a 70% on-year decline in net profits for the first-quarter of 2012.
Perhaps, the new CFO could help the Taiwan-based smartphone vendor secure more acquisitions to strengthen its global deployment, but it remains to be seen whether HTC is able to regain its growth momentum in 2012 as it faces more challenges in integration of its corporate culture as well as increasing competition.
HTC has created or added a number of high-level positions since the second half of 2010, including the appointments of Ron Loukes as chief strategy officer and Kouji Kodera as chief product officer in July 2010, and Matthew Costello as COO in December 2010. HTC also appointed Jason Mackenzie as its president of global sales and marketing in July 2011.
HTC has also brought in Scott Croyle of One & Company and Shashi Fernando of Saffron Digital responsible for design and content, respectively, through acquisitions of the two companies.
It is also the second time in less than two years HTC has changed its CFO. The newly appointed CFO Chia-Lin Chang replaced Winston Yung, who took the post in January 2011.
If the latest management team is unable to bring back the growth momentum in 2012 that HTC enjoyed during the period from 2010-2011, HTC will no longer be able to compete with Samsung Electronics, Apple and even Huawei Device in terms of economies of scale in production.
While the hiring of talent with management and marketing expertise from abroad, and the acquisition of certain companies overseas are indeed necessary for HTC in its thrust to become a global brand, the impact resulting from the integration of corporate culture on HTC is expected to intensify along with such processes.
Given that nearly all top-rank positions with the exception of the CFO post at HTC have been filled with foreign executives, the promotion of local talent will likely become a major issue of concern in the future.
The Quietly Brilliant Story of HTC [HTC YouTube channel, Nov 23, 2011]
HTC replaces CFO after just one year [15 1/2 months] on the job (update) [The Verge, April 17, 2012]
HTC has issued a statement on the transition:
On Monday, HTC announced the appointment of Chia-Lin Chang as Chief Financial Officer with Winston Yung, his predecessor, transitioning to a corporate development role.
“Media speculation that ties this announcement to HTC’s partnership and investment in Beats By Dre is categorically inaccurate,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “HTC and Beats have made impressive progress in innovation and brand awareness and the integration of the Beats brand and technology in the new HTC One series is a clear indication of our commitment to this partnership.”
Amazing camera, authentic sound, iconic design. HTC One has them all. [HTC YouTube channel, Feb 27, 2012]
HTC One series unveiled [from the 2012 HTC press releases or directly on the Canadian site]:
BARCELONA, SPAIN – Mobile World Congress – February 26, 2012 – HTC, a global designer of smartphones, today unveiled its new HTC One series of smartphones that represent its most premium mobile experience with a new level of iconic design and amazing camera and authentic sound experience. …
…
With HTC’s most premium experience, the HTC One series integrates Android 4.0 (ICS) with HTC Sense™ 4, the new version of HTC’s branded user experience that is introducing HTC ImageSense™, a new suite of camera and imaging features that set HTC One apart from other phones. HTC Sense 4 also includes broad enhancements to audio quality and simplifies how people listen to music on their phone.
Amazing Camera
With ImageSense HTC One rivals traditional digital cameras with improvements to every part of the camera, including the lens, the sensor, the software, and even integrating a new custom HTC ImageChip. These enhancements combine to deliver our fastest image capture, best image quality under adverse conditions and easiest interface that enables quick access to capturing stills and videos with side-by-side photo and video capture buttons.
- Superfast Capture – HTC One dramatically reduces the time it takes to capture those key moments. In just 0.7 seconds you’re able to take a shot, and with a new superfast 0.2-seconds autofocus, continue to take nearly unlimited continuous shots simply by holding the shutter button.
- Good photos in adverse conditions – HTC One delivers dramatic enhancements in image capture quality even in adverse conditions such as low light, no light or with bright backlighting. The f/2.0 lens on the HTC One X and HTC One S offers best-in-class performance, capturing 40 percent more light than the f/2.4 lenses available on other high-end phones. HTC One also includes HDR, a market-leading technology, for taking great photos even when there are varying levels of brightness.
- Video Pic (Concurrent Video/Still Capture) – With Video Pic you capture a photo and shoot video at the same time. Now, while you’re shooting HD video, all you have to do is tap the shutter button and it snaps a high-resolution still photo while the video continues to shoot. You are also able to capture a photo frame from a previously recorded video.
… Authentic Sound
With HTC One, Beats By Dr. Dre Audio™ integration is enabled for the first time across the entire experience for richer, more authentic sound whether you’re listening to your favorite music, watching a YouTube™ video or playing a game. … All this makes HTC One the one place to enjoy all your music, wherever you are, with the power of Beats By Dr. Dre Audio and HTC Car.HTC One X
… HTC One X is blazing fast with the new NVIDIA® Tegra 3 Mobile Processor for clear graphics, faster applications and longer battery life. It includes a 1.5GHz Super 4-PLUS-1™ quad-core with an integrated fifth Battery Saver Core and a high-performance 12-Core NVIDIA® GPU. The HTC One X also has an amazing 4.7-inch, 720p HD screen crafted from contoured Corning™ Gorilla Glass. HTC One X will also be available in select 4G LTE markets with a LTE-enabled Qualcomm Snapdragon S4™ processor with up to 1.5GHz dual-core CPU’s.HTC One S
The HTC One S is for people who want a high-end smartphone in a more compact size. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with up to 1.5GHz dual-core CPU’s. It also includes a 4.3-inch screen crafted from contoured Corning™ Gorilla Glass. …HTC One V
Utilizing the classic, award-winning design of the HTC Legend, the HTC One V brings top-end design to a smartphone with broad appeal and a premium experience that delivers an amazing camera and authentic sound. It features a simple, iconic aluminum unibody design that exudes craftsmanship and quality.Global Availability
With unprecedented excitement, the HTC One series will begin shipping in April with broad global availability available beginning in April through more than 140 mobile operators and distributors globally. For more information and to pre-register for HTC One visit www.htc.com.
HTC Rezound™, the only phone with the Beats Audio™ built in [HTC YouTube channel, Nov 3, 2011]
HTC And Beats By Dr. Dre Set To Introduce New Era In Mobile Audio [from the 2011 HTC press releases]:
Strategic HTC investment to result in Beats integrated HTC phones this Fall.
Taoyuan, Taiwan & Santa Monica, CA – August 11, 2011– HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile devices, today announced a strategic partnership and investment with Beats™ Electronics LLC, the company redefining the audio market with its iconic Beats by Dr. Dre™ audio experience. The two fast-growing brands will focus on bringing high performance sound to HTC phones. …
… “Beats has found a unique way to harness popular culture in a manner that is unlike any other brand today,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “It’s an exciting brand that has been built around providing something very special, and we believe our strategic partnership will provide customers with unbeatable sound on HTC phones. We obsess over every detail of a consumer’s mobile experience and audio is a critical part of that experience.”
… Established in 2006, Beats Electronics is the brainchild of legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records Jimmy Iovine, who set out to develop a new type of headphone with the capability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound that musical artists and producers hear in professional recording studios. For more information, please visithttp://beatsbydre.com.
The history of last HTC CFOs:
HTC Appoints Hui-Ming Cheng as CFO [HTC press release, Aug 23, 2006]
… he has served as CFO and Spokesperson for the Fubon Financial Holding Co. in Taipei. From October 2003 to February 2006, Mr. Cheng was VP and CFO of Taiwan Mobile and received the honor of being named as Taiwan’s best CFO by Institutional Investor Magazine in 2003. Prior to his appointment with Taiwan Mobile, Mr. Cheng held various senior-level positions with the Finance Center, Winbond Electronics Corp., China Development Industrial Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Asia Partner Fund.
Mr. Cheng received a BS in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University and an MBA from the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University.
HTC Announces Winston K. S. Yung as Chief Financial Officer [HTC press release, Dec 23, 2010]
… Prior to joining HTC, Yung was the Chief Financial Officer for Shin Kong Financial Holding in Taiwan where he played a key role in the company’s success, and also held key positions at McKinsey & Co in Hong Kong. Yung received a bachelor’s degree in social sciences with an economics major from University of Hong Kong and a MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School.
… HM Cheng, HTC’s current chief financial officer will retire from the company and move into an advisory role to HTC’s board of directors. Cheng joined HTC in September 2006 and successfully established a complete financial system and was a key contributor to HTC’s corporate governance system and HTC’s overall financial success
HTC names Chia-Lin Chang Chief Financial Officer [from the Latest HTC press releases]
Taoyuan, Taiwan – April 16, 2012 – HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced the appointment of Chia-Lin Chang as Chief Financial Officer and spokesperson effective April 16, 2012.
Chia-Lin Chang’s predecessor, Winston Yung, joined HTC in January 2011. Winston will focus on corporate development, helping HTC maintain its competitive edge by strengthening the organization and corporate talent.
Chia-Lin, previously an investment banker and partner at Goldman Sachs, will be responsible for corporate finance and accounting, strategic acquisition and investment, and investor relations. Chang earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. After receiving his Ph.D. degree, Chang served as an engineer at Motorola in the US.
GOLDMAN SACHS ANNOUNCES NEW MANAGING DIRECTORS [Goldmann Sachs press release, Oct 24, 2007] “… it has invited 299 individuals to become Managing Directors as of December 1, 2007, the start of the firm’s fiscal year. … Chia-Lin Chang …”
From: Latest HTC press releases:
HTC releases unaudited results for 1Q 2012
Taoyuan, Taiwan – April 6, 2012 –HTC corporation (TWSE: 2498), a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announces unaudited consolidated results for 1Q 2012. For the first quarter of 2012, total revenues reached NT$67,790 million, a decrease of 34.92% year-on-year. Unaudited operating income was NT$5,099 million, net income before tax was NT$5,551 million, net income after tax was NT$4,464 million, and unaudited earnings per share after tax were NT$5.35 based on 834,256 thousand weighted average number of shares.
2012 First Quarter Unaudited Consolidated Financial Results
(Unit: NT$ million, Except Earnings Per Share)
*Calculation of the after-tax EPS for first quarter 2011 was based on 807,867 thousand weighted average number of shares.
HTC Reports Fourth-quarter And Annual 2011 Results
Taoyuan, Taiwan, February 6, 2012– HTC Corporation (“HTC”, or the “Company”, TWSE: 2498), a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announced consolidated results of the Company and its subsidiaries for the fourth quarter of 2011 and for the year.
4Q Highlights
• After-tax profit was NT$10.94bn, EPS was NT$13.06
• Total revenues were NT$101.42bn
• Gross profit margin and operating margin were 27.12% and 12.71%, respectively
2011 Highlights
• After-tax profit was NT$61.98bn, up 56.77% year-on-year; EPS was NT$73.32
• Total revenue was NT$465.79bn, up 67.09% year-on-year
• Gross profit margin and operating margin was 28.30% and 14.77%, respectively
• ROE was 70.37% compared to 56.33% in 2010
“In 2011 we saw growth in the global strength of our brand, as well as earnings and revenue growth,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC. “While short term performance may not meet the results as expected, we have gained further experience and advancement in the areas of brand management and product innovation. These fundamental strengths and the groundwork we have laid will take us into 2012 with a renewed focus and determination.”
4Q 2011 Results
HTC’s fourth quarter revenue came in-line at NT$101.42bn, resulting in after-tax earnings of NT$10.94bn and EPS of NT$13.06. Gross profit and operating margins came in at 27.12% and 12.71%, respectively. The decline in gross profit margin was mainly a result of product transition.
2011 Results
2011 annual revenue was NT$465.79bn, a 67.09% increase over 2010 annual revenues (NT$278.76bn), resulting in after-tax earnings of NT$61.98bn. Overall gross profits and operating margins were 28.30% and 14.77%, respectively.
In 2011, in addition to solid growth in revenues and profits, HTC’s brand gained significant momentum in the global landscape, being named one of Interbrand’s 100 Best Global Brands.
2012 Outlook
In 2012, HTC will focus on: growing the Company’s brand value; continuing to create competitive advantages through innovation; enhancing the efficiency of marketing campaigns; and further driving down operating costs.
To expand its brand preference and value, HTC will work at a global level to build emotional connections with consumers, putting more of its marketing resources behind fewer products and driving value in those product brands. By building a globalized marketing campaign, HTC aims to optimize its go-to-market strategy with operators, retail distributors, and end-users, and improve the efficiency of its marketing spend. In emerging markets, such as China, HTC will continue to extend its reach to customers by expanding distribution channels.
Despite temporary weakness resulting from product cycle transition, HTC believes it has the ability to create a new wave of momentum through the upcoming product cycle. It will also continue its attention on mass market consumers by driving product differentiation through design and innovation.
1Q Outlook
The Company’s outlook for the first quarter of 2012 is as follows:
• 1Q revenue expected to be around NT$65-70bn
• Gross margin expected to be around 25%
• Operating margin expected to be around 7.5%
These margins are a temporary phenomenon and will normalized when product cycle transition is over.
The 41 MP Nokia 808 PureView meeting the vanishing world challenge
While world renown photographer Dennis Manarchy was building his huge ‘The Eye of America’ camera Nokia have succeeded with their ongoing camera phone inventions to match the requirements of Manarchy and to accompany him on his year long journey of “Vanishing Cultures: An American Portrait” project.
Watch the below video presentation of this unusual still classic camera first (for 12-metre-high portraits):
Then proceed with the following presentation videos of the the truely revolutionary, Nokia 808 PureView camera phone:
More videos on the unique capabilities of Nokia 808 PureView:
– Zoom, zoom and zoom again: Take a picture, then zoom into the image up to three times with no loss of detail. Shoot in Full HD 1080p video and zoom into the action four times, or choose Full HD 360p mode and zoom in 12 times.
– Get the professional touch: Give your photos a sharper perspective or special effect with the PureView’s creative controls. Quickly shoot at optimum settings for close-ups, landscapes or night shots, or play with the creative modes to make your images really stand out.
– Don’t be afraid of the dark: Never miss the real story. The Carl Zeiss lens and 41 megapixel image sensor on a Nokia 808 PureView make the most of the available light so you don’t have to give it a moment’s thought.
– Nokia Rich Recording: Records best in class stereo audio with every detail. Whilst most high end smartphones can only record without distortion to around 110db, the Nokia 808 can comfortably continue to around 140-145 db, which is 4 times louder than the conventional mics can record. Apart from that Nokia Rich Recording can also record very low frequencies also without any distortion. The combination of all of these elements means the Nokia 808 records audio with almost CD like quality. It has to be heard to be believed.
– Technology breakthroughs and benefits explained by Damian Dinning (Head of Imaging Experiences, Nokia Smart Devices): In-house developed sensor, high-performance optics developed in collaboration with Carl-Zeiss for this sensor, and handling one billion pixels per second by software for video. These breakthrougs producing two significant benefits which you have not been able to do in the past. First is incredible image quality: 5 MP images which are only 1 MB in file size, which have significantly more detail than any other camera smartphone you can find on the market. … It is incredible how much detail is in there. The second thing is zoom. … Wanted to change the way the industry thinks about pixels. … Then you realize the true benefits: high-performance images, high-performance video. Even in HD video have four times lossless zoom. … Others: watch the video itself!
Finally see what is the essence of the Vanishing Cultures: An American Portrait project and how Nokia 808 PureView fits into that, through the eyes of the photographer, Dennis Manarchy himself:
More information on that:
– Nokia 808 PureView: The next breakthrough in photography [Nokia microsite, March 27, 2012]
– Why the big number? [Nokia background microsite, Feb 27, 2012]
– Dennis Manarchy: A man on a mission with the world’s largest camera [Nokia Connects, March 28, 2012]
– The photography edition of the Nokia Connects Live podcast [Nokia Connects, March 26, 2012]: “Photography Week” podcast with Damian Dinning (Head of Imaging Experiences, Nokia Smart Devices), John Suler (Professor of Psychology at Rider University) and Dennis Manarchy
– Vanishing Cultures [project site, Jan 17, 2012] and the project brochure
– The devil in the detail [Nokia’s Dennis Manarchy related branding page, March 31, 2012]
– Nokia 808 PureView [Nokia Europe product page, Feb 27, 2012]