Emerging devices 'the next big thing'
By Zhu Shenshen |
September 7, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE proliferation of digital gadgetry made possible by higher-speed networks and more-powerful chips is proving a gold mine for companies like chip designer Qualcomm, telecommunications giant AT&T and device maker HTC.
The booming emerging devices market includes e-book readers, portable navigation devices, in-car telematics, digital photo frames, smart meters and game devices.
After the mobile phone, "it's the next big thing," said David Haight, vice president of AT&T's emerging devices business development division.
By 2014, more than 84 million WiFi or 3G-connected devices will be sold in the United States, up from 6 million units in 2008, according to estimates from Strategy Analytics, a US-based research firm.
Haight's industry outlook is shared by Bill Davidson, senior vice president of San Diego-based chip designer Qualcomm. The company is working on a range of emerging devices products, from chip design and portable satellite TV services to next-generation displays for e-book readers and application stores.
"Every consumer electronics device and car will be connected," Davidson said during an Editor's Day conference last month held by Qualcomm.
San Diego-based Qualcomm held the conference to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
"Devices will be able to receive the Internet and tell drivers where they are," Davidson said.
In the realm of design, Qualcomm has developed a chipset family coded Snapdragon. The latest Snapdragon, expected in the fourth quarter, features a clock speed of 1 gigahertz and 1.5 gigahertz - close to that of an entry-level laptop.
The Snapdragon is designed to power a new generation of devices, including advanced smart phones, smart books that feature a computer function just slightly bigger than a handset in size, and connected consumer electronics, according to Qualcomm.
Some emerging devices, such as Amazon's Kindle, Dell's Streak, Huawei's S7 Tablet and wireless health care devices with chips and wearable wireless sensors, run on chips manufactured by Qualcomm.
Qualcomm's next-stage marketing strategy is to put Snapdragon logos on devices, said Wang Jing, the company's executive vice president.
The new FLO TV device, made by Taiwan-based HTC, is a centerpiece of emerging devices.
The broadcast TV service, with complementary 3G network support, allows users to watch customized TV channels from any location. The device can be slipped easily into a pocket.
The service charges users fees starting from US$10 to US$15 monthly.
It is especially popular during events such as the World Cup, according to service operator MediaFLO Technologies.
The company is in talks with other possible services partners, such as PCCW in Hong Kong.
"Clearly, mobility and data are universal needs," said Martin Fichter, HTC's vice president of product management and planning.
HTC, which launched its own brand in the Chinese mainland for the first time last month to replace Dopod, will develop more new devices, said Fichter.
"This is the year of data," said AT&T's Haight.
AT&T aims to cash in by providing WiFi and 3G services enabling devices to access the Internet and application downloads, according to Haight.
In the realm of e-book readers, for example, AT&T has set up business models to address the needs of varying user bases of readers, according to data traffic.
The models include wholesales data packages for Amazon's Kindle and prepaid data for Apple's iPad.
The rapidly growing e-book market will bring carriers a unique opportunity because users want to "be connected," said Cong Sen, an editor of ZOL, a professional IT Website in China. "It's a nice idea, and Chinese carriers should learn something from it."
Chinese carriers have cooperated with e-book reader vendors like Hanwang and Shanda, but high data-traffic fees have discouraged users.
Meanwhile, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom have all opened mobile application stores, not only on phones but also on emerging devices.
In the first half of this year, the mobile application market reached US$2.2 billion, surpassing US$1.7 billion for the whole of 2009, according to Research2guidance, a US-based IT research firm.
Qualcomm has also developed a platform called Brew Mobile Platform, which provides both an operating system and an online application store.
"We are not just talking about opportunities in the tens of millions but rather in the hundreds of millions of devices," said Jason Kenagy, Qualcomm's vice president of Brew.
The booming emerging devices market includes e-book readers, portable navigation devices, in-car telematics, digital photo frames, smart meters and game devices.
After the mobile phone, "it's the next big thing," said David Haight, vice president of AT&T's emerging devices business development division.
By 2014, more than 84 million WiFi or 3G-connected devices will be sold in the United States, up from 6 million units in 2008, according to estimates from Strategy Analytics, a US-based research firm.
Haight's industry outlook is shared by Bill Davidson, senior vice president of San Diego-based chip designer Qualcomm. The company is working on a range of emerging devices products, from chip design and portable satellite TV services to next-generation displays for e-book readers and application stores.
"Every consumer electronics device and car will be connected," Davidson said during an Editor's Day conference last month held by Qualcomm.
San Diego-based Qualcomm held the conference to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
"Devices will be able to receive the Internet and tell drivers where they are," Davidson said.
In the realm of design, Qualcomm has developed a chipset family coded Snapdragon. The latest Snapdragon, expected in the fourth quarter, features a clock speed of 1 gigahertz and 1.5 gigahertz - close to that of an entry-level laptop.
The Snapdragon is designed to power a new generation of devices, including advanced smart phones, smart books that feature a computer function just slightly bigger than a handset in size, and connected consumer electronics, according to Qualcomm.
Some emerging devices, such as Amazon's Kindle, Dell's Streak, Huawei's S7 Tablet and wireless health care devices with chips and wearable wireless sensors, run on chips manufactured by Qualcomm.
Qualcomm's next-stage marketing strategy is to put Snapdragon logos on devices, said Wang Jing, the company's executive vice president.
The new FLO TV device, made by Taiwan-based HTC, is a centerpiece of emerging devices.
The broadcast TV service, with complementary 3G network support, allows users to watch customized TV channels from any location. The device can be slipped easily into a pocket.
The service charges users fees starting from US$10 to US$15 monthly.
It is especially popular during events such as the World Cup, according to service operator MediaFLO Technologies.
The company is in talks with other possible services partners, such as PCCW in Hong Kong.
"Clearly, mobility and data are universal needs," said Martin Fichter, HTC's vice president of product management and planning.
HTC, which launched its own brand in the Chinese mainland for the first time last month to replace Dopod, will develop more new devices, said Fichter.
"This is the year of data," said AT&T's Haight.
AT&T aims to cash in by providing WiFi and 3G services enabling devices to access the Internet and application downloads, according to Haight.
In the realm of e-book readers, for example, AT&T has set up business models to address the needs of varying user bases of readers, according to data traffic.
The models include wholesales data packages for Amazon's Kindle and prepaid data for Apple's iPad.
The rapidly growing e-book market will bring carriers a unique opportunity because users want to "be connected," said Cong Sen, an editor of ZOL, a professional IT Website in China. "It's a nice idea, and Chinese carriers should learn something from it."
Chinese carriers have cooperated with e-book reader vendors like Hanwang and Shanda, but high data-traffic fees have discouraged users.
Meanwhile, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom have all opened mobile application stores, not only on phones but also on emerging devices.
In the first half of this year, the mobile application market reached US$2.2 billion, surpassing US$1.7 billion for the whole of 2009, according to Research2guidance, a US-based IT research firm.
Qualcomm has also developed a platform called Brew Mobile Platform, which provides both an operating system and an online application store.
"We are not just talking about opportunities in the tens of millions but rather in the hundreds of millions of devices," said Jason Kenagy, Qualcomm's vice president of Brew.
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