Category: Smart Tech

Samsung’s biggest fear? Becoming ‘too full’ of itself

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Samsung has blazed a trail with its highly popular lineup of Android smartphones, reportedly overtaking rival Apple as the world`s most profitable handset vendor in the second quarter. But the boss of the company`s electronics division says his biggest fear is to become complacent.

“My biggest worry is that we might get too full of ourselves for what we have achieved. About 20 of Samsung`s products are number one in their respective category around the world. It`s very important to remain humble,” Boo-keun Yoon, CEO, Consumer Electronics Division at Samsung Electronics told CNBC.

“We need to continue to innovate and strive to be the best with the goal of producing top-notch products for the consumer,” he added.

In the second quarter, the maker of the Galaxy smartphone shipped over three times the number of mobile phones compared to Apple. Profits at Samsung`s handset division also surpassed that of its rival`s for the first time in that period , according to Strategy Analytics.

And, the South Korean electronics giant isn`t backing down any time soon. The company is expected to launch its Galaxy Gear smartwatch – a smartphone device worn on the wrist – as early as next week to rival Apple`s rumored iWatch, which could be unveiled in the next couple of weeks.

“There`s been a lot of media discussion over a wearable device. There`s no doubt that such a device will be out on the market. The issue at hand is how comfortable the device will be for the consumer – so much so that the wearer won`t even realize he or she is wearing it,” he said.

“If we can develop a product that`s like this, then it will be a great success,” he added.

Yoon said the conglomerate – which manufactures products ranging from consumer electronics, to telecom equipment and semiconductors – is continuing to “break new ground” in technology thanks to synergies between its businesses.

“We are continuing to break new ground in technology thanks to the in-house collaboration. The three units share and exchange their new technologies and apply them in their products,” he said.

The vertically integrated nature of Samsung`s business is regarded as an important edge over its US rival, making it less exposed to hurdles such as component shortages, for example.

-By CNBC`s Ansuya Harjani; Follow her on Twitter @Ansuya_H

Copyright 2011 cnbc.com

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Messaging apps hit gold as ’emojis’ head west

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Stickers used in messaging applications are delivering healthy revenues for Asian technology firms, and as the craze starts to sweep the Western world, more companies are looking for a slice of the cash.

The stickers, otherwise known as emojis are more advanced siblings of emoticons and have been a firm part of Japanese tech culture for the last ten years. After spreading first to the rest of Asia, they are now reaching the Western world, boosted by Apple’s inclusion of them in its iOS5 software.

Stickers can be anything from simple smileys to dancing pandas, and can express a range of emotions. Their global acceptance was underlined last week with the release of pop star Katy Perry’s latest music video, which heavily featured the colorful images.But behind the cuteness lies cash. Japanese company Line, credited as one of the first companies to monetize the trend, announced core revenue of 9.77 billion yen (USD 100 million) in its second quarter. Sticker purchases made up 27 percent (USD 27 million) of revenue, and the company hopes to have 300 million subscribers by the end of the year.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Line revealed there have been over 7 billion messages and 1 billion stickers sent as of August 2013, according to industry blog SD Japan.
Korean rival, Kakao Talk, is having a similar boom. Its mobile games service generated 348 billion Won (USD 311 million) in revenue during the first half of 2013.

“You can see how many tens of millions they are doing every quarter, it’s very profitable,” Riku Salminen, CEO of Jongla, a Finnish messaging app provider, told CNBC.

Jongla launched its first messaging app last year, after the company was established in 2009. Salminen has instituted the “Jongla Way” at the firm, using local content from local illustrators around the globe, who create graphics suited to separate cultures.

The firm’s instant messaging app is free to download, and 50 percent of the stickers are free. But the 50 percent that aren’t free drive nearly all of the company’s revenues, despite selling for less than two dollars per pack.

Fledgling US startup Messageme has also jumped on the bandwagon, as too has Facebook, which has started offering an array of free emojis and has integrated a “sticker store”.

Tessa Mansfield, senior vice president at research firm Stylus, said that from a marketing perspective, the stickers were best used in promotions and merchandising, linked in with a new movie release or pop song.

“The rise of stickers and emoticons is absolutely rooted in the ubiquity of the modern smartphone, and the emergence of a tech-literate generation of teenagers,” she told CNBC.

“This fun, quirky communication method has developed as a kind of ‘digital slang’ for young teens, delivering the rapid, image-led messaging mirrored in apps such as Snapchat.

It also appeals to the desire to collect and accumulate – allowing teens to curate individual collections of special edition and celebrity-led stickers to personalize their digital conversations.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Goodbye Apple iPhone? Wearable tech is coming

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Your smartphone may be on its way out as tech companies aim to put the power of a smartphone into wearable accessories.

Three of the biggest tech companies are gearing up for a head-to-head battle that will dictate how we wear — yes, wear — future technology.

Apple, Google and Samsung are all entering the wearable technology space. The companies are reportedly working on a smartwatch. Plus, Google is already pushing to bring its Internet-connected glasses, called Google Glass, to market.

“This is just the start of where wearable technology is going,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst for Gartner. “Eventually, smart fabrics, which will be the clothes you wear, will also come to market. But that’s years away.”

Wearable technology is poised to explode during the next few years, with 485 million wearable devices projected to ship by 2018, according to ABI Research.

Google augmented reality glasses, which are controlled through voice commands, are expected to become available to the mass market as soon as later this year, or during the beginning of 2014, analysts say.

Samsung Smartwatch

While Apple and Google have not officially said they’re working on a smartwatch, Samsung recently revealed that it has been working on a watch for awhile.

“We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them,” Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, said earlier this month, according to a Bloomberg report.

The executive did not, however, reveal any details about what kind of features the watch would have, or when it would go on sale. But ABI Research analyst Josh Flood said he could see Samsung launch a watch before the end of this year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they can do something relatively quickly,” Flood said. “They could easily bring something to market in a short period of time.”

It’s unclear, however, if Samsung would rely on Google’s Android operating system, he said.

Apple Product Watch

An Apple smartwatch — dubbed the iWatch — could also be revealed sooner than some consumers anticipate. “For Apple, it might make sense to unveil a watch between now and October. A summer release might make sense,” Milanesi said.

An iWatch would likely include some of the same functions as a smartphone, as well as additional features — such as near field communication technology, which would enable payments, Milanesi said. She said the device will have a touchscreen, but it will likely be more voice activated.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster recently said in note to clients that Apple is likely to make a product announcement in June. However, this is likely to be the next generation iPhone. More innovative products — possibly an iWatch —won’t be unveiled until the end of the year, he said.

While smartwatches may make an appearance in a big way this year, it will likely be three to four years before the watches completely replace smartphoneS, said Flood of ABI Research. In the interim, the watches will function mostly as an accessory to a user’s smartphone, he said.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Microsoft jumps into music with the XBox

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Microsoft wants to turn XBox into an entertainment brand — one powerful enough to sway consumers picking a phone or video game console. To do that, it’s launching its biggest bet on music yet — XBox Music.

After first announcing that it’s getting into music — with 30 million songs in its global music library — at the E3 video game convention in June, the tech giant is finally revealing details about four different music services.

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What’s most notable, says Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg, is the fact that Microsoft isn’t just offering one service to compete with Apple’s iTunes, but is going all in, with a range of music services to compete with pretty much every digital music offering out there. Not only is Microsoft going broad, but perhaps most important, it’s offering free streaming music of any song in its library on any Windows 8-based device.

The idea, Gartenberg says, is to lure people in with free streaming, and then up-sell them with several paid options: XBox Music Pass is unlimited ad-free songs for USD 9.99 a month. And unlike the free streaming option, which requires an internet connection, users can download music and listen when they’re offline. And of course Microsoft is launching a Music store, selling single downloads or albums, just like Apple’s iTunes, or Amazon or Google’s music store. Plus there’s a fourth service, called ‘Smart DJ”, which creates customized play lists “around the artists you love.” It sounds an awful lot like Pandora. These services are first available on Windows 8 devices and then within the next year will be available as apps on Apple and Android platforms.

Remember the Zune? Microsoft certainly remembers, and it seems has learned from that debacle. Instead of betting on a device, it’s introducing a host of services that will work across devices. And it’s aligning itself with the popular XBox brand, rather than trying to create a brand from scratch.

Microsoft wants to turn XBox into a cross-platform entertainment brand, because the box is increasingly used for things *other than* video games. In fact, just half of the time people spend on XBox, is gaming. The rest of the time they’re watching videos through services like Netflix or listening to music, through apps like Pandora’s. With the video game retail sales continuing to decline, Microsoft wants to capitalize on the shift away from packaged games, and position itself at the center of consumers living rooms.

Can Microsoft succeed? It depends what the measure of success is. No doubt, XBox music is entering an incredibly crowded and competitive marketplace. And it certainly doesn’t help that people already have their music libraries in iTunes and their listening habits already established. But if it’s more important for Microsoft to give consumers more incentive to think seriously about a Microsoft device, than to generate much incremental revenue, this should help.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Why HTC is losing ‘relevance’ in the smartphone war

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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HTC, the world`s No 5 smartphone maker by shipments, is fast losing its “relevance” in a highly competitive market, as cheaper alternatives pose a threat to its growth in China, say technology analysts.

In a report titled “Is HTC Still Relevant,” Dale Gai, Analyst at Barclays Capital writes that the Taiwanese company, which was among the first to sell smartphones powered by Google`s Android operating system, is losing its technological edge, and may soon be overshadowed by smaller players in the field as superior hardware technology becomes more accessible.

“HTC sees China as a major growth driver, but this story may not work,” says Gai.

According to Barclays, Taiwan-based mobile chipmaker MediaTek, will start supplying the Chinese market with mass produced high-tech chips by the third quarter of this year, allowing the smaller unbranded mobile handset makers to offer better features and applications on their phones at cheaper prices.

This, according to Aaron Jeng, Analyst at Nomura, will hurt HTC`s sales in China and threaten the company`s market share.

“MediaTek would be disruptive as it would enable low-end smartphones to provide more features and functions, but with lower retail prices,” Jeng said in a report.

According to Gai, “these (low priced chips) will allow smaller handset makers to compete with HTC in the mainstream market, its key growth area, at under 1,000-2,000 yuan (USD 157-USD 315).”

HTC currently has about 5 percent market share in China, the world`s largest smartphone market, and 10 percent of its earnings last year came from there.

Samsung Closing In

Besides increasing competition from smaller players, HTC is also under pressure from market leaders Apple and Samsung in China as well as in the US

HTC was the top seller of Android-based smartphones in the US in 2010, with a market share of 11.8%, but lost the top spot to Samsung in 2012.

“HTC will likely be Samsung`s main target for further share gains,” says Gai. “Samsung`s greater scale and full range of product mix enhances its cost structure to be very competitive. Samsung has much lower unit costs than HTC for very similar (offerings).”

This year, Gai forecasts HTC will see a 10% decrease in the average selling price of its smartphones compared to 2011, due to fiercer competition.

“The company (could) fall significantly short on earnings in the next 2-3 years. The industry dynamics are becoming increasingly unfavorable to HTC,” he said, adding that, “HTC has good hardware, but it is not strong on the innovation side which is becoming increasingly important.”

Last month HTC reported a 70 % fall in net profit for the first quarter, just below forecasts, as it struggled to regain market share lost to Apple`s iPhones and Samsung`s Galaxy range at the end of 2011.

By CNBC`s Ansuya Harjani

Copyright 2011 cnbc.com

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Smartphones killing demand for cameras, camcorders

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

This year, as I was sorting through pictures for my annual family calendar, I noticed something. A good portion of the pictures I was using were taken not on the brand-new camera we purchased this year, but on my smartphone.

Apparently, I`m not alone. A new study from market researcher NPD confirms that consumers are now taking more than a quarter of their photos and videos on their smartphones.

The percentage of photos taken with a smartphone (Apple’s iPhone or any other smartphone) rose to 27% from 17% last year, while the share of photos taken on any camera dropped from 52% to 44%.

Already this behavior has hurt demand for camcorders and lower-end point-and-shoot cameras. According to NPD`s Retail Tracking Service, the point-and-shoot camera market was down 17% in units and 18% in dollars for the first 11 months of this year.

Sales of pocket camcorders also fell, dropping 13% in units and 27% in dollars while traditional flash camcorder sales declined 8% in units and 10% in dollars, according to NPD.

“There is no doubt that the smartphone is becoming `good enough` much of the time; but thanks to mobile phones, more pictures are being taken than ever before,” said Liz Cutting, executive director and senior imaging analyst at NPD, in a press release.

That`s an observation that`s not likely to surprise many people who have now grown accustomed to seeing people frequently taking pictures of their dinner or documenting every event – big or small – in great detail.

“Consumers who use their mobile phones to take pictures and video were more likely to do so instead of their camera when capturing spontaneous moments, but for important events, single-purpose cameras or camcorders are still largely the device of choice.”

That may explain why there still is some growth in the camera market. Sales of cameras with a detachable lens rose 12% in units and 11% in dollars during the same 11-month period. These high-end cameras cost an average of USD 863.

Also popular were point-and-shoot cameras with optical zooms of 10-times or greater, which grew by 16% in units and 10% in dollars. Cameras in this category cost an average of USD 247.

These types of cameras are likely to continue to have their supporters, as photography is a popular hobby. However, with smartphone cameras getting better and better, consumers will rely on them more and more.

A lot of that has to do with convenience. Smartphones make it easier to share photos with family and friends. A few clicks and the image is posted to Facebook, emailed off to a grandparent, or published in a blog. And smartphone apps like Hipstamatic make it fun and easy to tinker with special effects on the image.

Also, smartphones are always in your pocket, allowing you to snap when the moment is right. Because you never know when you`re going to see a rainbow, stumble on a funny sign or see a FedEx guy drop your package over your fence.

Questions? Comments? Email us at consumernation@cnbc.com. Follow Christina Cheddar Berk on Twitter @ccheddarberk.

Copyright 2011 cnbc.com

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow