Bumper Crop

By Tara Seals

THE BUZZ AROUND THE smartphone/PDA segment is in full bloom, fed partly by the frenzy of devices that were unveiled a few weeks ago at what is the breadbasket of the wireless world, 3GSM World Congress. The close to 51,000 people who descended on Barcelona, Spain, for wireless biggest event of the year were treated to sneak previews of prototype technologies and a range of cool new form factors, many including new HSDPA technology. It all set the stage for an overarching theme: There is a market shift in the device arena that is making the enablement of a robust mobile content and services market the No. 1 priority.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE HANDSET

When Apple Inc.s iPhone appeared on the scene in January, it set off a veritable rumbling and rustling of whispers throughout the wireless device industry, the equivalent of Marie Antoinette arriving at Versailles. One could almost hear the gossiping and the comments: Well, I heard it will soon be HSDPAenabled, and Why didnt we think of a touchtone screen?

Fast-forward to now, and the iPhone effect is in full force. Suddenly, indicators point to dealers soon having a far more interesting mix of consumer electronics-ish devices to offer customers, purposely built to enable business apps and multimedia.

One product that should be filed under the heading of Wow! is Polymer Visions Readius eBook device, which features a flexible, roll-up screen. It scrolls up when not in use, but when you need to take a closer look at PowerPoint presentations or other files, or if you want to watch video, you can pull the flexible screen out for better viewing. It bumps up the usability factor for smart devices, delivering users from the constraints of the three-inch screen. Backers say the uptake of multimedia productivity apps (videoconferencing, anyone?) cant be far behind. The Readius will become available commercially this year in Italy, and the company is in talks with service providers globally.

Another cool gadget that will be making its way to the market soon is the Possio GRETA, which is a fax machine, printer, scanner and copier, all with tri-band GSM connectivity. Billed as the real mobile office enabler thanks to its ability to handle paper, the device will be hitting the streets later this year. No word yet on operator partners.

Meanwhile Nvidia, the graphics card specialist, debuted a prototype device called the Quark that could only be described as an iPhone competitor, with a touchscreen display and an intuitive, graphics-heavy navigation interface. The only moving knob or button on the device is the on-off switch. The Quark also features phone capability, a 3-megapixel camera and can support enterprise applications, music and video, all thanks to the embedded Nvidia GoForce 6100 chip which has more horsepower than most laptops. The company said the Quark was merely an example of the kinds of devices that should be expected for businesses going forward as Nvidia delves further into the device game going forward.

Meanwhile, DataWind Net Access Corp. has launched a new version of the PocketSurfer device, optimized for the wireless Web. The ultrathin, accessagnostic device downloads Web pages at the speedy rate of seven to nine seconds per page, and is able to render Web pages in their original layout, with full graphic functionality. It doesnt provide voice functionality, however, but the company says it will remain true to making data delivery the best that it can be.

Analysts say 2007 will be the year of third-party content offerings, and will see the continued blurring between home and work devices. To that end, Nokia has made available the N77 multimedia computer. Ostensibly designed to accelerate DVB-H mobile TV uptake, it features a wide 2.4-inch screen, stereo sound, alerts when programs are starting, a guide to view program information and the ability to browse TV channels and purchase new channels. But it also can be used for corporate training and messaging and other enterprise applications.

To add steam to the launch, the company also unveiled the Nokia Video Center and announced YouTube and Reuters as content partners. The Video Center service will allow users to combine branded video services, Internet videos and sideloaded videos from the PC in a single library. Its to be pre-installed first in the Nokia N95 multimedia computer and then available for download to other Nseries multimedia computers.

OLD GUARD STILL FERTILE

For all the talk of hipness and hotness, workhorse smart devices are still the core of the market, and the first part of the year has seen no shortage of launches.

Research in Motion has introduced the BlackBerry 8800 for Cingular Wireless (now AT&T Inc.), with a QWERTY keyboard, trackball navigation, built-in GPS, a media player, a microSD expandable memory slot and a stereo headset jack. The quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE-enabled phone has a sleek dark blue finish and new push-to-talk capabilities.

Nokia for its part has launched the E61i e-mailer device, the E65 slider and the Nokia 6110 Navigator, scheduled for release in the second quarter. The Navigator is a GPS-enabled mobile phone with integrated maps and turn-by-turn directions with voice guidance and turn arrows pointing users in the appropriate direction. It also offers users access to traffic information, weather services and travel guides.

Motorola Inc.s new qQ gsm takes the popular Moto Q global for the first time, with quad-band GSM and EDGE connectivity. Based on Windows Mobile 6.0, it has a 2- megapixel camera and a video recorder.

And a preponderance of new devices this year have been HSDPA-enabled. Highspeed downlink packet access theoretically can support 1.8mbps, 3.6mbps, 7.2mbps or 14.4mbps in downlink, and further speed upgrades to 28.8mbps and beyond are planned. HSDPA is available in 49 countries and 64 networks, according to the GSM Association, including on Cingulars network in the United States. But to make the most of all that speed requires appropriate devices, and handset manufacturers are beginning to embrace the technology lest device availability become a gating factor.

For instance, 3GSM World Congress saw the launch of the new Nokia E90 Communicator, which is HSDPAenabled with 3mbps download speeds. Motorola launched a second new Q, the q9, which features HSDPA and download speeds of 3.6mbps. Motorola also has launched the MOTORIZR Z8 slider phone, based on the Symbian OS. The phone features a banana-shaped form, which fits the curvature of the face, in theory. It also comes with built-in HSDPA for 3mbps downloads, video playback at 30fps and a 4GB hard drive.

TRENDS TO WATCH

Whether gadgets or more traditional form factors, smart mobile devices will continue to be a sweet spot in the wireless market going forward. In fact, smartphones represent about 10 percent of the wireless phone market today, and In-Stat expects that to grow to 25 percent of the overall global market over the next five years. The pairing of a smartphone and a suite of productivity-enhancing work-home life applications will be the new face of the wireless device sale.

Thats because mobile handset and network technology has now evolved to a point where a quality mobile Web experience is possible, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. This improvement is sparking a growing market for mobile entertainment, usergenerated content and social networking (which will be worth $13.17 billion by 2011), m-commerce and new vertical market or business applications. Advanced mobile content and services have been slow to take off, but this should not be confused with the deepening relationship that we have with our mobile phones, says Daniel Winterbottom, senior analyst with Informa. We may not be buying as many games, full-track downloads or multimedia messages as operators would like, but we are spending a huge amount of time sending and reading text messages and organizing our lives using the phones address book, clock, alarm and calendar functions. Over time, users will warm to other data services as well.

This is all being helped along by the availability of dual-mode phones and dualmode smartphones, for that matter. Nearly 100 Wi-Fi phones have been certified since testing began, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced at the 3GSM World Congress. ABI Research forecasts that in 2011, more than 325 million dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular phones and 15 million singlemode Wi-Fi phones will be shipped, with the drive led by smartphones.

After considering interoperability, security protocols and power conservation, the wireless access body has certified 82 dual-mode and 10 single-mode handsets and expects strong growth to continue throughout 2007. The growth in certification reflects the momentum in the market for devices with combined cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity, and manufacturers and carriers enthusiasm for the unique voice and data capabilities Wi-Fi adds to a handset, says Wi-Fi Alliance Managing Director Frank Hanzlik.

3G For All

Amid the smartphone hubbub, the question remains: are these snazzy phones for business or pleasure? Increasingly, wireless devices are being positioned as lifestyle accessories, suitable for work and home. Its a trend that only will snowball as fixed-mobile convergence and dual-mode devices begin to roll out. With this in mind, the GSM Association has begun the 3G for All campaign, officially unveiled at 3GSM World Congress, with the goal of making high-speed services more available to the population at large.

Because a big gating factor to 3G uptake has been the cost of handsets, which can run anywhere from $99 with a Web discount to upward of $600, the GSMA hosted a design contest for handset manufacturers to develop a low-cost 3G-enabled phone. LG Electronics was the winner.

Twelve mobile operators selected a multimedia phone developed by LG as the winning handset to spearhead the 3G for All campaign, including Cingular Wireless (now AT&T Inc.). The LG-KU250, which is only 15mm thick, was selected from 19 handsets submitted by eight vendors. Containing a chipset supplied by Qualcomm Inc., the handset supports video calls, highspeed Internet access, multitasking and a wide range of other multimedia services.

The phone will be available to 3GSM phone operators during the second quarter, at a wholesale price about 30 percent less than the typical entry-level 3G phone and competitive with second-generation handsets.

The operators that selected the winning handset were AT&T Inc., Globe Telecom, Hutchison 3G UK Ltd., KTF Co., Mobile Telephone Networks, Orange, Smart, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Vodafone.

The operators also highly commended a 3G handset submitted by Nokia. That phone is capable of supporting a range of 3G multimedia services and is built on the Nokia 6151 platform and uses a Texas Instruments chipset.

The 3G for All campaign is the second program designed by the GSMA to create economies of scale for handset makers and their component suppliers. The GSMAs Emerging Market Handset program stimulated the development of low-cost mobile phones aimed at first-time buyers in developing countries.

— David Worford contributed to this report.

Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Tills the OS Field

At 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft Corp. took the wraps off Windows Mobile 6.0, its operating system for smart mobile devices, and trumpeted that it is now a major contender in the battle for mobile OS dominance. More importantly, the positioning of the launch speaks to the form-follows-function mantra that is beginning to dominate the smartphone market, with applications, services and usability coming to the fore and dictating the face of the wireless device.

The vendor is getting the OS into the marketplace with, for the first time, purpose-built devices that showcase the capabilities of the software. HP, HTC, Motorola Inc., Palm Inc., Samsung and others are developing a range of sleek, exclusive devices around Windows Mobile 6.0, many in collaboration with carrier partners such as Orange in Europe and SoftBank in Japan. The devices shown off at 3GSM looked more akin to a personal video player than a smartphone. The difference between the Apple iPhone and these is that we bring the knowledge of how to partner for success, says Peter Knook, senior vice president of the mobile and embedded device division at Microsoft. The iPhone is a nice device but an expensive device.

Windows Mobile 6.0 is the platform that will solidify Microsofts place in the mobile OS pantheon, he adds. This marks a moment in time for us as a product organization, says Knook. One year ago, England was trounced by Scotland in football. Just recently, England trounced Scotland. And just like that, there are turnarounds in this industry too, of which we are one.

Knook is referring to recent uptake for data-ready devices with the Windows Mobile OS, which until recently captured but a mere sliver of the smartphone/PDA market. But Microsoft has seen 90 percent growth year over year since fiscal year 2005.

This release is a culmination of hundreds of hours of usability testing, says John ORourke, general manager of product management at Microsoft, adding that simplicity will spark further user adoption. The new Windows Mobile features a simplification of the user interface, including a reduced number of keystrokes to get to often-used functions, native support for full versions of Microsoft Office applications (making for the ability to launch and view full documents), an improved browser and support for its new search and communications management portal service, Windows Live.

The mobile version of Windows Live is perhaps the biggest change in the OS. It gives users the ability to search the Web directly from the mobile home page and also can consolidate e-mail, instant messaging and other collaborative services. With Live, users can log in, get their mail and have presence functionality, said ORourke. Contacts have pictures and presence status and theres one-click access to IM or calling. Live can support up to five different mailboxes as well, and offers a single button stroke to perform common tasks, like message forward or reply. And it has support for HTML mail, meaning different sizes and colors of fonts, and pictures, are supported.

For management, users can perform alpha-numeric searches of call histories, Outlook histories, the SIM card and MS Live mail and can connect back to search the Microsoft Exchange server. It also has extensive calendaring functionality.

If successful, Microsoft will shake off its status as an underdog in a crowded field. The established smartphone operating systems are Palm, Linux, BlackBerry and Symbian, but by all accounts Windows Mobile is coming on strong. Windows Mobile gained more in 2006 than anyone, says Bill Hughes, an analyst at In-Stat. Theyve been trying to crack the mobile space for 10 years, but they finally hit on all cylinders. United States-based smartphone customers are about evenly split between Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Palm, he says.