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Have Sony Ericsson finally taken the lead in global mobile phone solutions? |
max_wedge
Joined: Aug 29, 2004
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From: Australia
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I don't like nokia's much (it's just a personal taste thing), and I don't think any of the smartphones are where I want them to be yet, so I'm sticking with regular all-in-one 'set and forget' phones like the K700.
I'm really waiting for regular candybar pocket pc or uiq phones the size of Kseries phones, with proper touch screens and just a little more oomph.
India is leading the world in take up of mobile phones at the moment, which means that smartphones WILL become a big deal worldwide.
In about 1-2 years smartphones will start to replace regular handsets worldwide in a big way.
My prediction is that the new SE smartphone will be a touch screen uiq phone about 5-10 percent larger in volume than the kseries, and 3G enabled. They may also (less likely in my view) bring out a non-touchscreen lower spec smartphone for the line up.
I believe edge is on it's way out, and so do SE. Mr Hakan Eriksson, the Chief Technology Officer of Ericsson, "3G as a technology is more advanced and more efficient". (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/08/stories/2005030800980500.htm).
The good news is 3G will be even cheaper, and the better news is that Indian mobile phone users will finally be able to fully embrace SE technology for mobile internet use. 
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scotsboyuk
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
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@max
Smartphone adoption by the masses will happen, but not until smartphones are made relevant to ordinary people. Until people feel that smartphones can do something for them in their lives and do it very easily, they will be disinterested.
3G will certainly help smartphones as it will allow consumer friendly applications to be launched and at speeds that don't leave people frustrated waiting on them.
"I may be drunk my dear woman, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly." WSC |
whizkidd
Joined: May 14, 2004
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From: India
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Yes 3G is the next big thing, but i don't think it will be cheap enough for the normal guys like me to afford it any soon. and most of the guys who currently use EDGE and GPRS are like me. What they will be looking for is a smartphone, with EDGE. Whichever brand supplies them with these is gonna get a quantum boost in sales! Nokia has taken a step in the right direction atleast in Indian context. :-D Just think about it, Theres not a single SE EDGE handset in a country where EDGE is a rage!!
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scotsboyuk
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
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@dave
You are bang on the dot when you say that neither EDGE nor PTT are major factors, certainly not in Europe at any rate.
EDGE isn't widely supported by SE because its core market (Europe) has little in the way of support for EDGE.
PTT is relatively popular in America I believe, but it just hasn't caught on in Europe to any great degree. The PTT we have here is apparently not the same as the service they have in America, our PTT is more akin to a rapid MMS voice messages so I'm told.
"I may be drunk my dear woman, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly." WSC |
whizkidd
Joined: May 14, 2004
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From: India
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Se should realise that, theres a world outside Europe.
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max_wedge
Joined: Aug 29, 2004
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@scotsboyuk, absolutley mate, I agree completely. That's what I'm saying actually. The time is not right yet for the smartphone market, which is why it can still be said that SE are leading the market even though they don't have a strong smartphone line up at the moment.
as you say, "3G will certainly help smartphones as it will allow consumer friendly applications to be launched and at speeds that don't leave people frustrated waiting on them."
This is going to develop very quickly in the next few years as operators roll out 3G. They see dollar signs in their eyes from the potential for online content in the mobile arena. They will eventually give away internet access to entice you onto their content networks.
I believe it is the operators and not the consumer behind the 3G drive. Smartphone is just a strategy used by OEM's to provide phones the operators need to deliver services. The smartphone strategy may win out, especially if the whole world embraces them the way Indian consumers have, or operators may decide to use dedicated os's fully capable of Multimedia, but locked down the way reglular phones are, and more at the mercy of operator branding type tactics.
I think it will fall in favour of smartphones myself, but we've a little way to go yet, before anyone can say for certain. Either way, I believe SE will be up there with better handsets overall than the other OEMs. |
max_wedge
Joined: Aug 29, 2004
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From: Australia
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except in India! I do agree it's a bit rough, atleast one decent edge jobbie as a bridging model..... |
scotsboyuk
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
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On 2005-03-22 12:42:50, whizkidd wrote:
Se should realise that, theres a world outside Europe.
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I'm sure they do, but realistically who is more likely to buy a £300 mobile phone? SE are only now really starting to expand their portfolio to any great degree. When they have secured their position more then they are likely to release more products suitable for the Indian market.
"I may be drunk my dear woman, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly." WSC |
dave_uk
Joined: Mar 06, 2003
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From: London, UK
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On 2005-03-22 12:38:12, scotsboyuk wrote:
@dave
You are bang on the dot when you say that neither EDGE nor PTT are major factors, certainly not in Europe at any rate.
EDGE isn't widely supported by SE because its core market (Europe) has little in the way of support for EDGE.
PTT is relatively popular in America I believe, but it just hasn't caught on in Europe to any great degree. The PTT we have here is apparently not the same as the service they have in America, our PTT is more akin to a rapid MMS voice messages so I'm told.
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Hmmm.... I'm not really sure what our supposed PTT is, but the point I was making is that the mobile equivalent of Voice over IP (Voice over HSPDA??) will be massive - changing the mobile industry as we know it, and that is not an overstatement, as it will bring voice revenues to a virtual standstill. Push-To-Talk seems to me to be a lame, ill-conceived attempt at this (in fact, describing it as bridging a gap was probably generous!).
On a different note, it is interesting that points of view on this issue seem to be largely contingent on which continent one inhabits.
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scotsboyuk
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
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@dave
Data revenue is most definitely the future and I think that for once the networks are actually on the ball with regards to this. We are now seeing a huge upsurge in data services and products and the networks are very keen on pushing these as a source of revenue.
Voice calls are actually almost a secondary feature on mobiles these days, a feature taken for granted and not given much thought. In my view people rarely question the call quality when choosing a new mobile, they are more interested in its other features.
We can already see the trend towards data revenue with networks like 3. Their massive call allowances force their data products to the foreground as a source of revenue.
"I may be drunk my dear woman, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly." WSC |
max_wedge
Joined: Aug 29, 2004
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From: Australia
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data is the way.
As you say dave, the continent you live on plays a role in your experience with this issue. For example here in Australia, Edge and 3G data is still quite expensive compared to many parts of the world, so I couldn't give a hang about broadband just yet, I'll get by on my (normal) gprs for now and am not concerned personally that SE don't have a choice of edge phones.
I envy India their cheap edge, I must admit, but I don't think it affects the argument that SE are taking a leading role in developing global mobile solutions. India is a growing market, but there are many other strong existing markets, and we are talking globally here not local. |
scotsboyuk
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
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SE have very much focused on Europe over the past few years, realising that it is the single largest market for mid to high-end phones. They have therefore tailored their products accordingly, they are very much designed to appeal to a European cutomer base.
As SE grow and expand and secure their position in the global market, not just the local markets of Europe and Japan, they will start to offer more regional specific products. Both China and India are very important markets for mobile manufacturers and one has to realise that they can't be ignored. However, neither China or India has the the same sort of customer base as Europe or Japan, which means that SE need a different set of products for those markets. This isn't likely to happen until SE are in the position to do so.
"I may be drunk my dear woman, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly." WSC |
mib1800
Joined: Mar 18, 2004
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@scotsboyuk
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Read my post again, it has nothing to do with low to mid-range handsets. I am making reference to a broad sweep of the population as customers for smartphones e.g. not exclusively business executives. Worded differently; can you show that a wide range of people are buying smartphones when the empirical evidence shows that they are not?
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What r you getting at? As I hv said many times, s60 (or other non-nokia smartphone) is basically high-end phones. Why do you even expect a wide range of people will be buying? Just like the S700 which is priced astronomically, you wouldnt expect every Joe blogg who dont really care about camera performance to buy this phone.
to me at least, it is obvious that if a person is looking at K750 or a s60 or other high end product, they will be wanting something more than basic phone features. Note here, "wanting" does not mean buyers need the additional features
I've no concrete proof to how "wide" a spectrum of people r buying smartphone. But neither do you hv concrete evidence to show how "narrow" this spectrum is. But what is very clear is that the 20 million or so buyers who bought a smartphone of any kind last year, many are not your "so-called" business users. imo, i would expect more techie to buy smartphone, the same type of buyer who would consider buying a K700/W800.
sigh. i think i'm repeating again - but this time i can really blame u for leading me on
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scotsboyuk
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
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On 2005-03-22 15:12:16, mib1800 wrote:
What r you getting at? As I hv said many times, s60 (or other non-nokia smartphone) is basically high-end phones. Why do you even expect a wide range of people will be buying? Just like the S700 which is priced astronomically, you wouldnt expect every Joe blogg who dont really care about camera performance to buy this phone.
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I don't expect a wide-range of people to be buying a smartphone, that is precisely what I have been saying for goodness knows how many pages now!
The S700 was aimed at a particular market, a high spending one. The likes of the 6600 are increasingly aimed at a wide ranging market, thus prompting the question of whether people are buying such phones because they actually want their smartphone capabilities or whether they simply want their more base features.
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to me at least, it is obvious that if a person is looking at K750 or a s60 or other high end product, they will be wanting something more than basic phone features. Note here, "wanting" does not mean buyers need the additional features
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Herein lies the flaw in your logic, not equating want with need in the proper context. Customers will buy what they think they need, which is usually determined by the society, in which they live. In the UK, for example, many customers seem to think that they need a cameraphone, even though MMS is relatively unpopular. Many people also believe that they need an mp3 player in their mobile, yet these same people are quite likely to only ever use it to listen to a handful of songs or even go out and buy a dedicated player.
Customers have come to identify such features as being 'necessary', hence they buy mobiles, which have them. An S60 smartphone may have these 'necessary' features, but it also has smartphone features. However, the average customer, as with any purchase, adopts a form of blindness to such things. They simply do not bother to notice the more advanced features in a practical sense.
Of course if one is dealing with a tech savvy customer who knows exactly what he wants then that is a different story. To the average chap who simply wants a flash mobile to impress his chums with such features are irrelevant. They have no interest in anything beyond the discourse that makes up their social group. They shop for a high-end mobile because that is what is expected of them, not because they actually want one, but because they percieve that they need one.
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I've no concrete proof to how "wide" a spectrum of people r buying smartphone. But neither do you hv concrete evidence to show how "narrow" this spectrum is. But what is very clear is that the 20 million or so buyers who bought a smartphone of any kind last year, many are not your "so-called" business users. imo, i would expect more techie to buy smartphone, the same type of buyer who would consider buying a K700/W800.
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Here you are assuming far too much. The proof is in the pudding as the saying goes, simply look around you in a typical high street and actually notice what mobiles people are using. The vast majority are of course no-smartphones. However, what is interesting is in noting the people who do have smartphones. One will immediately see that the majority of these people are business types and students. This is simply to do with necessity of the functions that smartphones give these people. It is a simple enough test to do; I would recommend sitting at a nice cafe with a latte on a nice day and doing it, it makes for a much more pleasant experience.
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sigh. i think i'm repeating again ...
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Welcome to the club ... 
"I may be drunk my dear woman, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly." WSC |
whizkidd
Joined: May 14, 2004
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From: India
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Here we go again!! :-D
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Posted: 2005-03-22 12:11
