#TBT: PDAs gain market share; Siemens establishes US unit; Device syncing gets smarter … this week in 2004

Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!

PDAs gain global market share

Aggressive tactics from some device manufacturers and conservative moves by others are causing a shift in global handset market share, according to new research from IDC. According to IDC, Nokia Corp.’s market share has dropped to 27.7 percent, having shipped 45.4 million units last quarter. Second-place Motorola Inc. has a 14.7-percent market share, having shipped 24.1 million units, with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. trailing closely with a 13.9-percent market share and 22.7 million units shipped. Fourth place is now almost too close to call with Siemens AG and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications each totaling 10.4 million unit shipments and 6.4-percent market shares, and LG creeping up with 9.94 million units shipped totaling 6.1-percent market share. Other manufacturers accounted for 40.8 million units, or 24.9 percent of the market, bringing the overall industry total units shipped to 164.7 million units. “During the second quarter of 2004, Samsung and LG demonstrated an ability to execute on a clear plan to improve their market share by injecting creativity into their mid-range products. Conversely, Nokia and Siemens continued to pursue conservative strategies formulated prior to today’s increasingly competitive environment,” said David Linsalata, analyst at IDC. “In the face of aggressive competition for market share, these vendors must closely monitor consumer demand and prove their commitment by delivering the technologies and features in demand by mass-market consumers.” Meanwhile, Gartner Inc. said personal digital assistants (PDAs) are finally gaining market share, appearing to not yet be threatened by smart-phone sales. … Read more

Companies that use mobile are more efficient

BOSTON-Companies that use mobile communications to manage in-the-field personnel are retaining more customers and operating more efficiently than competing firms, according to a report from the Aberdeen Group. According to “The Field Service Optimization Benchmark Report,” nearly half of the companies that use mobile devices to enable on-demand work status, tracking, transaction and communications are retaining 85 percent or more of their customers. Only about one-fourth of firms that rely on spreadsheets for such services see that level of customer retention, the report found. … Read more

Siemens establishes US business unit

Siemens AG announced an organizational change following its quarterly financial results Thursday. The German-based supplier set up of a new business in the United States called Siemens Communications, which will combine wireless and wireline infrastructure, devices and Internet Protocol convergence applications. The new business’s CEO and president will be Andy Mattes, who has been leading the vendor’s U.S. networking activity. “We have created Siemens Communications to address the revolution in communications brought about by the explosion of mobile communications devices and solutions and the exciting possibilities of IP converged solutions,” said Mattes. This is the biggest U.S. announcement by Siemens since it joined the New York Stock Exchange a few years back to underline the value of its business in the country. … Read more

Qwest rolls out a regional MVNO service

Qwest Communications International Inc. unveiled nationwide wireless voice services to residential and small-business customers in eight Oregon cities as part of its mobile virtual network operator agreement signed last year with Sprint PCS. The agreement allows Qwest to offer wireless service in markets where it also provides wireline-based services. Qwest will roll out the MVNO services in Bend, Grants Pass, Hermiston, Klamath Falls, Medford, Pendleton, Roseburg and St. Helens, Ore. The new plans begin at $35 per month for 500 anytime calling minutes when customers bundle their wireless services with any other Qwest service on one bill. In addition, Qwest said it would offer free long-distance on select plans, one-number service for both wireline and wireless phones, a voicemail link integrating both wireless and wireline voicemail boxes, and data services including Sprint PCS Vision service. … Read more

Yahoo lets users post photos from their phones

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Yahoo! Inc. late last week expanded its play in the mobile space, with a new service that allows consumers to post photos to their Yahoo Photo online accounts directly from their cell phones. The service is free to any registered Yahoo user that is a Sprint Corp., AT&T Wireless Services Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc., Cingular Wireless or Verizon Wireless subscriber. Earlier this year, Yahoo launched a $3-per-month download service that allows AT&T Wireless and Sprint subscribers to download photos from Yahoo Photo online accounts to their camera phones. … Read more

Cross-device synchronization improves as wireless devices get smarter

Wireless devices are outgrowing the cradles once used to transmit personal information like datebook reminders and contact lists from portable PDAs to desktop computers. Last week, Verizon Wireless launched PalmOne Inc.’s Treo 600 smart phone, including integrated always-on wireless synchronization capabilities that enable constant, real-time updates between the handset and the desktop without a cradle or cables. Along with the launch of the Treo device, Verizon announced it will use Intellisync Corp.’s Mobile Suite technology, under the Wireless Sync brand name, as its e-mail and synchronization platform for the Treo 600. The technology allows a wireless device to become an actual extension of the desktop PC, explained Rip Gerber, chief marketing officer at Intellisync, in that it enables real-time over-the-air synchronization with users’ groupware-based e-mail and applications including Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes. Verizon also will implement Wireless Sync for the Kyocera 7135, Samsung i600 and Samsung i700 devices. To enable the two-way synchronization capabilities, in which data is pushed between the computers, users are required to install a client onto their PC. To use the feature, a user clicks a synchronization icon on a desktop computer or a button on their device, then approves changes, and data is wirelessly transferred between the devices via over-the-air technology. In addition, the device automatically synchs each time it is powered down. The software allows users “to connect with any device to any data source and eventually to any carrier network,” explained Gerber. … Read more

Sprint offers Wi-Fi/1x access

Just over a year after launching its Wi-Fi initiative, Sprint Corp. reported that it will enable customers to access both its CDMA2000 1x-based wide area network as well as its Wi-Fi Zones local area network using a single client interface. Sprint said it will include Sprint PCS Connection Manager Software with Wi-Fi on its Novatel Wireless Inc.-supplied Merlin C201 PC Cards. Sprint added that customers accessing its Wi-Fi Zones service would need to use either third-party Wi-Fi cards or laptop computers embedded with Wi-Fi technology. Sprint explained that the NDIS drivers now bundled with the $180 Novatel card automatically establish a connection with the network once the device is powered up or following a suspend-and-resume session. The software, which was originally available with the Airprime PC3200 PC Card that the carrier offered when it first launched its Wi-Fi initiative, is also available as a free upgrade to older C201 PC cards from either Sprint’s or Novatel’s Web sites. … Read more

Motorola tests OFDM

ROSEMENT, Ill.-Motorola Inc. said its field tests and research have proved that its Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing technology can provide future all-Internet Protocol mobile networks with user experience “previously thought to be unattainable” with peak downlink speeds of up to 300 megabits per second. The field tests of Motorola Labs’ mobile OFDM system, which were conducted in the greater Chicago area in both urban and suburban environments, validated that a 20 MHz mobile OFDM channel can support peak uncoded channel rates of that speed, the carrier said. “The promise of faster wireless networks that can meet the demand for mobile broadband that supports multimedia applications has a great appeal to operators,” said the company. … Read more

Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.