Sony Ericsson

ONCE UPON A TIME, in the deep past-about six months ago, say-the global handset business started looking fairly predictable. Nokia Corp. had steadily amassed dominant market share while maintaining relatively steady if sometimes unspectacular revenue and profits. Motorola Inc. made …

Motorola Inc. announced it will use technology from Red Bend Software in its phones in order to remotely update the software in the devices. Red Bend’s software will be available in “select” Motorola phones starting later this year.“Great software is …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Compete’s Miro …

Despite a recent cooling off in subscriber growth, Brazil represents an increasingly attractive market for outsourced manufacturing in consumer electronics in general and mobile phones in particular. Brazil’s embrace of free markets, a regional free-trade agreement and the long-term growth …

When a company wants to reinvigorate a business, heads often roll. A glance at the world’s top handset vendors-bedeviled by the market’s vagaries and slowing growth-reflects the pervasiveness of this perennial corporate option. Nokia Corp. last week announced that Mark …

Nokia Corp. said it deployed a software update application that will allow its customers to update the software on their Nokia phones on their own. The company said its Nokia Software Updater has already been used by more than 750 …

Sierra Wireless Inc. announced that it will acquire M2M vendor AirLink Communications Inc. for $10 million in cash and 1.3 million in shares. Under the agreement, AirLink shareholders will end up with around 4.8 percent of the combined company.The deal …

“Consolidation” is a well-worn phrase in business circles because it politely masks the fact that someone probably is going to get it in the neck.Typically, that means workers get hurt, though the game of executive heave-ho remains popular, particularly after …

ED ZANDER, MOTOROLA INC.’S CEO, is under pressure. And it shows. The first statement is a widely recognized fact and the second is an impression-but both were palpable during Zander’s appearance via an audio Webcast last Thursday at Goldman Sachs’ …

The squeeze is on as the mobile handset business matures, growth slows and the pace of consolidation picks up.One sign of the increasing pressures, even at the world’s largest handset vendors, is the shuffle of executives leading the charge. While …

Three of the top six handset vendors in the world lost market share last year, as did the “other” category that captures the multitude of second-tier vendors determined to swim upstream against a strong current. That current is generated by …

The search for hotties never ends.Hot wireless markets, that is, with potential growth in first-time subscribers and prospects for high volumes of relatively low-cost handset sales, market share and, possibly, profits.A couple of currently hot markets will remain in contention-think …

At the 3GSM World Congress, as at other major industry confabs, there are gadgets galore. And then there are the market-based strategies and financial plans behind them. Attempting to translate one into the other-reading the gadgets’ features for clues to …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. touted a handful of high- to mid-tier handsets at the outset of the 3GSM World Congress and duly gained attention for its technical prowess. Tucked away on the vendor’s 3GSM-dedicated Web site was more: four tri-band …

Texas Instruments Inc., established in 1930 to develop oil exploration technology, has grown into a predominantly wireless-based powerhouse with $14.3 billion in annual revenue last year. Its main customer for its digital signal processors is Nokia Corp., the world’s largest …

It’s all about messages and audiences these days. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. sent forth multiple messages in the past two weeks, all emphasizing that the Japanese-Swedish joint venture is on the move in the wake of an impressive performance …

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. announced eight new handsets in three basic categories, expanding its lines of Walkman and Cybershot handsets and offering four new phones for entry-tier markets around the world.Among the models announced, Sony Ericsson global spokesperson, Aldo …

Motorola Inc.’s recent, sobering earnings report came with a number of explanations of how the American vendor would turn things around. Motorola executives mentioned, among several factors, their portfolio mix-and the role of 3G in a higher-average selling price, higher-margin …

FOR THOSE WHO WATCH Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P., sifting for signs that the Japanese-Swedish partnership will accelerate efforts to gain market share, last week’s news on the vendor’s plans in India was tantalizing.The Sony Ericsson-generated news release provided few …

L.M. Ericsson announced that it brought in a net income of $1.4 billion in the most recent quarter, representing a 14-percent rise over the same quarter a year ago. Despite the Swedish company’s success as the largest maker of mobile-phone …

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P., the world’s fastest-growing mobile handset maker, announced it will work with Flextronics International Ltd. and Foxconn to make 10 million handsets in India within two years.The news of Sony Ericsson’s ardent pursuit of market share-in …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. customers who have push-to-talk phones now have the ability to use the service on an a la carte basis for 15 cents per minute. The carrier said nine of its PTT handsets can immediately begin accessing the …

The late chess grandmaster Edward Schuyler Jackson used to regale anyone who would listen with stories, stories with a point. One featured a Wall Street tycoon berating a young business school graduate trying to make an impression. Impatient with the …

Big opportunities come with big risks, particularly in chasing the future of the cellphone business.One opportunity, pursued by the market’s two giants and their challengers, is to deliver ultra low-cost handsets into the hands of low-income subscribers in developing markets. …

Nokia Corp.’s earnings report last week may well have drawn sighs of relief from many in the industry. The Finnish handset vendor established that winning strategies are possible even as the handset industry is driven by emerging markets, where average …