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Yahoo says mobile search service reaches 600 mln

Autor admin | 17.06.2008 | Category Mobile & Wireless, Yahoo

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Internet media firm Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday that its mobile search service will be offered by six more telecom companies in Asia.
 
It now has 60 such partnerships worldwide, including with Mahanagar Telephon Nigam (MTNL) in India, Hong CSL Limited, Smart Communications and Digital Mobile Phlis (Sun Cellular) in the Philippines and Vibo Telecom in Taiwan. “We are now able to reach 600 million subscribers,” David Ko, Asia managing director and vice president of Yahoo’s mobile division, told reporters at a media briefing.

“This creates the scale to make mobile advertising attractive.”

He said the mobile advertising market is expected to rise to $16.2 billion in 2011 up from $1.5 billion in 2006 and that Yahoo “would obviously love to take a large chunk of that pie.”

Yahoo!

Adobe opens up Flash on mobiles

Autor admin | 03.05.2008 | Category Mobile & Wireless, Software

Adobe has announced a plan to try to get its Flash player installed on more mobile devices and set-top boxes.

Dubbed Open Screen the initiative lifts restrictions on how its multimedia handling software can be used.

Adobe will stop charging licencing fees for mobile versions of Flash and plans to publish information about the inner workings of the code.

In taking this step Adobe hopes to repeat on mobiles the success its Flash technology has enjoyed on the web.

Video deal

Adobe estimates that its Flash player is installed on more than 98% of net-connected desktop computers.

The Open Screen plan will build on Flash Lite - Adobe’s version of its multimedia player designed for mobile gadgets - that is already on millions of handhelds.

The ultimate aim of Open Screen is to make it much easier for TV and film makers to send their content to mobiles and on other devices such as set-top boxes.

It aims to do this by creating one flexible player technology that can run on any small-form device but only demands that developers write code once for it.

At the moment trying to get games or video on to different devices can be frustrating because of the plethora of hardware and software quirks on each gadget.

Adobe’s four-step plan involves ending license fees; removing restrictions on the use of files in SWF and FLV format; publishing detailed information about the program interfaces for its Flash player and opening up information about its Flash streaming technology.

The move is the latest in a series that are aiming to open up Flash and get more devleopers working with it.

It is also part of the larger plan for Adobe Air - an overarching code development system that aims to bridge the gap between web and desktop applications.

Adobe said it was working with Arm, SonyEricsson, Nokia, LG and other gadget makers on the Open Screen initiative as well as content partners such as the BBC, MTV and NBC.

Adobe faces competition from Microsoft which is trying to get Silverlight - its answer to Air - on to mobiles too.

BBC

O2 and Carphone cut iPhone price in Britain

Autor admin | 16.04.2008 | Category Mobile & Wireless

LONDON (Reuters) - Mobile phone groups O2 and Carphone Warehouse (CPW.L: Quote, Profile, Research) have cut the price for the most basic version of Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPhone in Britain by 100 pounds ($197) ahead of the expected launch of a new model.

The two groups said the 8 gigabyte phone would be available for 169 pounds until June 1, while the 16GB phone will remain priced at 329 pounds.

O2 said the offer would be available on the original iPhone tariffs which start at 35 pounds per month and the operator expects it to create additional momentum for O2’s fastest selling device.

Some analysts have questioned whether sales could soften at the high end of the handset market, but Carphone’s Finance Director Roger Taylor told Reuters on Tuesday the company had not seen any signs of this.

While sales of the iPhone may have slowed since the initial launch, the announcement on the price cut is more likely to be linked to Apple’s expected launch later this quarter of a third-generation high-speed version of the iPhone.

Apple declined to comment on this. T-Mobile reduced the price for the smaller iPhone in Germany earlier this month.

"More and more this is starting to look like they want to clear stock of an older model, with a looming revision to the iPhone which will likely include 3G," CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood told Reuters.

"But also we think the iPhone has slowed down during the first quarter and we think this (a 3G launch) should give sales a bit of a lift."

Mobile operator O2, which is owned by Telefonica (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), and retailer Carphone Warehouse secured the deal to sell the iPhone in Britain last year.

Continued…

Nokia launches new phone with electronic wallet

Autor admin | 15.04.2008 | Category Mobile & Wireless

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s top cellphone maker, said on Tuesday it would start selling a new handset, the 6212 Classic, with integrated Near Field Communication (NFC).

NFC allows users to share content by connecting two phones which can receive audio files and other downloads from service providers simultaneously. The phone can also be used for payments.

The 6212 Classic, which includes a camera and a music player, is expected to launch in the third quarter for about 200 euros ($316) before subsidies and taxes, Nokia said.

(Reporting by Sakari Suoninen; Editing by David Cowell)

reuters

Motorola hits redial on handset biz

Autor admin | 26.03.2008 | Category Mobile & Wireless, Motorola

Motorola is hoping two is better than one.

On Wednesday, the company, whose cell phone business has been in a death spiral for several quarters, announced that after a two-month formal analysis, it has decided to split the company into two publicly traded entities.

One will handle handsets and accessories while the other will continue to concentrate on wireless broadband and enterprise communication products.

"Creating two industry-leading companies will provide improved flexibility, more tailored capital structures, and increased management focus–as well as more targeted investment opportunities for our shareholders," CEO Greg Brown said in a release.

The Mobile Devices business will handle the designs, manufacturing, and sales of mobile handsets and accessories, and will license a portfolio of intellectual property. The Broadband & Mobility Solutions business will handle service voice and data communication solutions and wireless broadband networks for enterprises and governments. It will also handle IP video, cellular, and high-speed broadband network infrastructure, and cable set-top receivers.

Investor Carl Icahn has been pressuring the company to separate out its mobile phone business, and has been engaged in a protracted legal struggle with the company regarding its future. Motorola offered up two board seats to Icahn this week, but the activist investor rejected the offer. Brown declined to comment on how this latest news will impact discussions with Icahn’s camp.

In some respects it looks as if Motorola is giving Icahn some of what he originally wanted. The company is splitting off the handset business to increase shareholder value. Details of the transaction, which, if it’s accepted by shareholders, would be complete in 2009, were not discussed during a conference call the company held Wednesday morning with investors and analysts.

Pressure from all quarters

Many experts agree that something had to be done. The company’s iconic cell phone division, which typically makes up more than half its revenue, hasn’t had a hit since the highly popular Razr. As a result, it’s seen its global market share plunge from more than 20 percent a year ago to just 12 percent today. And it’s fallen from second place in the cell phone market to third place, behind Nokia and Samsung Electronics.

To make matters worse, it doesn’t look like things are going to turn around anytime soon. During the company’s fourth-quarter conference call in January, Brown told investors that it would take longer than expected to turn around the troubled cell phone business. The company warned that revenue and market share would likely decline further in the first quarter. A week later, the company announced it was considering spinning off the division.

Over the last two months, Brown has emphasized the company’s commitment to its mobile business. Now the company is moving forward with a plan of action. Wall Street reacted positively Wednesday morning, boosting the company’s shares almost 3.5 percent, to $10.09 per share, over Tuesday’s close of $9.76 per share.

Uncertainties about the likely result–and preserving the brand

But many questions linger. For one, how will spinning off the business unit actually help the company get back on track? And then there is the question of brand. Motorola has an 80-year history as a communications provider. The company practically invented the cell phone industry in the 1980s. So what will it do with a brand it has spent billions of dollars and decades creating?

Brown gave vague answers to these questions during the conference call. He reasoned that splitting Motorola into two separate companies will allow management teams to focus and tailor their financials to the needs of those businesses.

Ellen Daley, an analyst with Forrester Research, agrees that splitting the company could be helpful in this regard.

"Separating (the handset business) into a dedicated unit allows (Motorola) the runway to fix some of its issues in supply chain, innovation," she said in an e-mail. "It is a fundamentally different business than the other half of their growing business, i.e. enterprise mobility, connected home and networks business."

It will also likely allow these other businesses more room to grow on their own, she said.

But even though it’s easy to see how Motorola’s other businesses might benefit from the separation, it’s still a bit unclear what will really be different in the handset division. The company’s problem is that it isn’t making products people want to buy.

The hope is that a separate company might be more nimble. And that, along with better design ideas, better cost structure, and better execution, is what the company really needs. Motorola still seems to be at least one or two design cycles behind its competitors in terms of cool new phones. While its rival Nokia made several handset and service announcements at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, highlighting new features like navigation, Motorola had nothing interesting to show at the conference besides a few refurbished handset designs and a rehashed announcement from the Consumer Electronics Show.

Brown acknowledged that new products are key to turning around the handset business. But he said the division needs to be separated to help attract new, top-level talent to lead the recovery. Brown is currently searching for a new CEO to head up the new company.

"We understand that this will be a product-led recovery. And we are taking steps now to ensure and solidify the recovery," he said. "But I think (this announcement) enables the opportunity for us to pick a world-class CEO."

So what about Motorola’s brand? Without its brand, many experts say, Motorola’s handset division is nothing, simply a collection of has-been and me-too products. Brown recognized the importance of brand and said the company is taking careful steps to figure out what to do next.

"The Motorola brand is strong and trusted and proven," he said. "It’s valuable to mobile devices as well as other assets in parts of the business. We will refine the brand strategy in next several months going forward."

But Forrester’s Daley believes that keeping the brand with the handset division really is the only viable option the company has.

"Good or bad–Motorola’s brand is for mobile devices," she said. "The broadband and mobility solutions unit will have to grow and separate their brand/value from the consumer-device company."

News.com

Justice Department OKs Sirius, XM Satellite Radio Merger

Autor admin | 25.03.2008 | Category Mobile & Wireless

The Justice Department on Monday approved the proposed merger between Sirius and XM satellite radio companies, clearing a major hurdle in the deal struck more than a year ago.

The companies said in a brief statement that the Justice Department informed them that it would not try to block the merger first proposed in February 2007. Stockholders from both companies gave their approval in November.

The deal still has to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, which is unlikely to go against the Justice Department’s decision. The agency, however, could impose restrictions based on objections from opponents of the merger. The FCC is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks.

When first announced, experts had said the merger would face tough scrutiny from regulators, given that the deal would create a satellite radio monopoly. The two companies, however, argued that they faced stiff competition from many types of audio entertainment, including conventional radio, Apple iPods, mobile phones, and other forms of music and radio programming.

Both companies are losing millions of dollars a year, mostly from high fixed costs, such as launching satellites. In addition, the companies have had to enter bidding wars for high-priced entertainment, such as for shock jock Howard Stern and Major League Baseball.

According to the companies, a merger would enable them to cut costs by consolidating music channels and sharing back-office staff. Subscribers would benefit by being able to listen to programming from either company from the same receiver. The latter, however, would require a substantial amount of engineering work, given that one company’s receivers today are incompatible with the other company’s programming.

In addition, subscribers would benefit from tiered pricing, which means they would pay less for accessing a limited number of programs, the companies said. Each service today costs $12.99 a month.

InformationWeek