Feature-Rich Phones Will Drive 2.5G and 3G Data Network Revenue

The Yankee Group report, "Finding a Clear Path to Wireless Data Revenue with Downloadable Applications," finds that while critical pieces of the wireless data value chain continue to fall into place, the market remains immature and fragmented. But wireless applications and services delivery platforms for the consumer and enterprise markets have gained significant momentum and are a powerful catalyst for jump-starting the nascent wireless data industry.

Inset is the Sagem mx-6, a typical feature rich phone. See more of this PHONE here.

"Two noteworthy platforms--Sun's J2ME and QUALCOMM's BREW--have emerged as the best options for distributing applications on the next generation of mid-tier handsets. Operators that have committed to delivering BREW and J2ME already cover about one third of global subscribers," says John Jackson, Yankee Group Wireless/Mobile Technologies analyst.

Wireless operators, handset OEMs, and developers are aligning themselves with J2ME or BREW--and in limited cases (e.g., KDDI, China Unicom), with both. In the GSM world, J2ME will emerge the winner. BREW will leverage its strength among CDMA network operators. But a number of factors will limit its market penetration, including broad global delays or indefinite postponements of 3G network migration, and operators' preference for a more open business model.

"Both BREW and J2ME offer excellent environments for advanced consumer and enterprise-oriented applications on resource-constrained devices," Jackson says. "Despite the fragmented nature of J2ME implementations and the limited deployment of BREW, implementations of both technologies will continue, with J2ME far outpacing BREW. Both technologies will continue to offer progressively robust environments for application execution."

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TODAY'S PRESS RELEASES

Leading European analyst firm Canalys expects shipments of smart phones to exceed those of handhelds in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region for the first time in 2003, according to its new report - EMEA Mobile Device Trends 2003.

Nortel has helped Brazilian Operator Vesper to launch 3G CDMA2000 1xEV-DO initially in the Sao Paulo area.

Demonstrating its leadership in RF integrated circuit technology, National Semiconductor announced the world's first family of integrated circuits that combine PLL and VCO functions in a single chip optimized for CDMA mobile handsets.

Cramer Systems announced that its industry leading inventory management and provisioning automation software has been deployed into production at Monet Mobile Networks, a Seattle-based wireless broadband Internet service provider.

Motorola revealed two new additions to the company’s growing 2003 mobile experience portfolio -- the Motorola E310 and V810. The new handsets deliver the latest technological advances in intelligent design, situational lighting, customizable music and interactive gaming – all brought together in full color.

Mobile Commerce and Orange UK have reached an agreement designed to give Orange customers access to an expanded range of approved third party applications.

Fen Technology announced the successful delivery of a demonstration platform showcasing WACOM’s new mobile phone sized 2.2" pen-sensing technology which is targeted at the emerging smart phone market.

European consumers will soon be able to experience the latest smart phones launched by SAMSUNG Electronics, the giant mobile manufacture, which includes the Palm OS based SGH-i500, the Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 based SGH-i700 and the SGH-D700, based on the Symbian OS.

The GPRS Class 10 watch phone, offers one and a half hours of continuous talk time and 80 hours of stand-by time at the flick of a wrist. The handset also supports voice activated dialling and includes a built-in phone book and 40 different polyphonic ring tones.

Mr. John Koo also caught the attention of participants by showing a demonstration of the state-of-the art mobile phones featuring exquisite design and enhanced digital camera functionality. The synchronous IMT-2000 handset with a built-in camera and a 270-degree-rotating LCD screen was also shown.

Racal Instruments launched its 6113 EDGE BTS test system at the CTIA Show, the first test system of its kind. EGPRS (EDGE) technology is an attractive option for mobile phone vendors since it triples conventional GPRS data rates without needing high levels of infrastructure investment.

Togabi Technologies and Samsung Telecommunications announced that Togabi's standards-based PacketCHAT client technology is being integrated into a new generation of mobile terminals built by Samsung.

The 6401 Air Interface Test System is a multi-standard instrument designed for the test and verification of 3G mobiles and terminals known as User Equipment (UE).

Usha Communications Technology (UshaComm) and The Management Network Group
(TMNG) are pleased to announce that UshaComm's Unicorn Release 5, an advanced billing solution, will be showcased in a combined Wi-Fi 802.11 and CDMA 1xRTT demonstration of next generation wireless services at CTIA.

IBM Japan Ltd., Itochu Techno-science Corporation (CTC), and PictureIQ Japan K.K. announced today that the three companies will join to provide rich media capabilities based on PictureIQ TransForce® for real-time content delivery to any Internet or mobile networked device. These capabilities will improve both the performance and accessibility of mobile device content being offered by carriers and enterprises.