Portable Multimedia adds real time trade and wholesale phone pricing

Ever wondered how much your smartphone actually cost, rather than the subsidy price? The Portable Multimedia has added a widget to show the current trade and wholesale price of the top four handsets on the market (scroll down for the widget). You can  also click through on this to get the latest prices on the tablets such as Apple iPad. Thanks to gsmexchange.com and phonelot.com for this.

Poll: Grip of Death

Poll: Grip of Death

EW poll on whether the antenna problem is a design fault or not - so far 58% say it is!

iPhone4 teardown shows highly integrated RF front end

Bill of Materials of $187.51 says iSuppli  with breakdown of suppliers

By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

The break down of the iPhone 4 shows that this generation has the same cost of components as previous devices, according to iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis service. The 16Gbyte version of the iPhone 4 carries a BOM of $187.51, based on a preliminary cost estimate derived from a physical teardown of the product.

“Just as it did with the iPad, Apple has thrown away the electronics playbook with the iPhone 4, reaching new heights in terms of industrial design, electronics integration and user interface,” said Kevin Keller, principal analyst, teardown services, for iSuppli. “However, the BOM of the fourth-generation model closely aligns with those of previous iPhones. With the iPhone maintaining its existing pricing, Apple will be able to maintain the prodigious margins that have allowed it to build up a colossal cash reserve—one whose size is exceeded only by Microsoft.”

iSuppli estimated the BOM of the 3GS in 2009 at $170.80; the 3G in 2008 at $166.31 and the first iPhone in 2007 at $217.73.

The attached figure presents the results of iSuppli’s preliminary teardown estimate. Please note that the BOM accounts only for hardware costs and does not include other expenses such as manufacturing, software, marketing, distribution and royalties and licensing fees.

Housing complex

One of the most apparent examples of the iPhone 4’s design innovation is its completely redesigned housing. Unlike the unibody housing of previous models, the iPhone 4’s enclosure is composed of multiple pieces, allowing it to accommodate a considerably larger battery as well as the much-discussed integrated antenna.

“The metal housing of the outer enclosure serves as a physical antenna, a tough task to design and manufacture because antennae pieces have to be insulated from other parts, and yet be rigid around the perimeter,” Keller said. “This adds more complexity and cost, but elegantly uses every possible cubic millimeter of the iPhone for function, and not just form. The tight intertwining of form and function is an area where Apple has always excelled.”

Less is more in wireless

The wireless subsection of the iPhone 4 is far smaller than in previous members of the line because of greatly increased integration of the Radio Frequency (RF) functionality into the core chipset components, despite the presence of an additional air standard: High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), which allows the uploading of bandwidth-intensive HD video.

“Out of the nearly 300 cell phones torn down by iSuppli, the iPhone comes the closest to integrating the entire wireless interface—including all the supporting Radio Frequency (RF) modules—on a single chip,” Keller said. “This further enhances the iPhone 4’s space efficiency and serves as yet another testament to the advanced state of Apple’s design.”

Design winners

The LCD display represents the single most expensive component in the iPhone 4, costing $28.50 and accounting for 15.2 percent of the product’s total BOM. The 3.5-inch display uses advanced Low-Temperature Polysilicon (LTPS) and In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology, and features a 960 by 630 resolution—four times that of the iPhone 3GS.

While the display is not labeled, iSuppli believes the most likely supplier is LG Display. Toshiba Mobile Display (TMD) also could serve as a source for the part.

The next most expensive single component is the NAND-type flash memory. In the 16Gbyte version of the iPhone 4, the NAND costs $27 and accounts for 14.4 percent of the BOM. In the individual iPhone 4 torn down by iSuppli, the NAND flash was supplied by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., although Apple could be employing other sources as well.

Samsung also supplies the next costliest part, the 4Gbits of mobile Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM, priced at $13.80, or 7.4 percent of the BOM.

Following on the value ranking is the baseband Integrated Circuit (IC), at $11.72, or 6.3 percent of the BOM. Infineon Technologies is the supplier of this part, iSuppli’s teardown reveals.

Next on the component cost countdown is the A4 applications processor, manufactured by Samsung but using Apple’s Intellectual Property (IP). iSuppli estimates the cost of the A4 at $10.75, or 5.7 percent of the iPhone 4’s BOM.

Other parts and suppliers

Subsequent on the cost list is the capacitive touch screen with reinforced glass, at $10.00, or 5.3 percent of the BOM. While the supplier of the touch screen is not labeled and thus cannot be determined through a teardown analysis, iSuppli believes the source is TPK and/or Balda.

The main camera on the iPhone, a 5-megapixel autofocus device, costs $9.75, and accounts for 5.2 percent of the BOM. Like the touch screen, the camera cannot be identified from a teardown.

The Wi-Fi Bluetooth controller IC, priced at $7.80 and representing 4.2 percent of the BOM, is supplied by Broadcom.

Other parts in the iPhone 4 include:

·          The $5.80 battery, with an unknown supplier

·          NOR flash, supplied by Intel/Numonyx; and Double Data Rate (DDR) mobile DRAM, provided by Elpida Memory, at a combined cost of $2.70.

·          A $2.60 Microelectromechanical (MEMS) gyroscope, supplied by STMicroelectronics

·          Infineon’s $2.33 quad-band GSM/Edge transceiver

·          The $2.03 main power-management IC from Dialog Semiconductor.

·          A Global Positioning System (GPS) chip from Broadcom, costing $1.75

·          Texas Instruments' touch screen controller IC, at $1.23

·          Cirrus Logic’s $1.15 audio codec

·          An e-compass from AKM Semiconductor Inc., at 70 cents

·          The accelerometer, provided by STMicroelectronics, and costing 65 cents

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• Analysts say Apple's iPhone 4 parts cost $187.51 (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Teardown puts iPhone 4 hardware cost at $187 (v3.co.uk)
• iPhone 4 components cost $187.51 say iSuppli (slashgear.com)
• Apple IPhone 4 Parts Cost About $188 (businessweek.com)
• Analysts say Apple's iPhone 4 parts cost $187.51 (sfgate.com)
• Report: iPhone 4 is like an iPad Nano (news.cnet.com)
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Skype finally moves to 3G on the iPhone

3G calling free for 2010 with wideband audio

Skype has finally launched a version of its iPhone application that uses the 3G network and is addressing he audio quality issue with wideband processing.
“Using Skype on 3G has been the number one request among our iPhone customers. This new version is a great step towards enabling our customers to take and use Skype everywhere they go”, said Russ Shaw General Manager for Mobile, Skype. “Using Skype on iPhone without being restricted to the availability of a WiFi network will open up new ways for Skype customers to stay connected and make free or low-cost calls whenever they want, wherever they are in the world.” Skype-to-Skype calls on 3G will be free for a trial period which will run until the end of 2010. Details of pricing will be announced in the coming months and will be in line with Skype's commitment to providing customers with great value. Skype-to-Skype calls over WiFi will still remain free.

“We have a group of young tennis players that are constantly travelling inside Spain and around the world. One of them is my daughter, she travels a lot and we use Skype to communicate because it’s easier, faster and cheaper. The change of having Skype on the mobile phone has been crucial for us. Before we had to look for a computer in the tennis clubs and hotels and it was a real problem because it was very difficult to find one,” said Alexei Starkov, the physical/fitness coach of the Federación de Tenis de Madrid. “Tennis is an individual sport and when you travel by yourself at times you feel very lonely. Now with Skype for iPhone also allowing for calls over 3G you can call anytime and anywhere without having to find a WiFi spot.”
Additional new features of the Skype for iPhone application include:

• Near CD-quality sound for Skype-to-Skype calls using wideband audio on iPhone 3GS or 2nd generation iPod touch and onwards.
• Enhanced call quality indicator, which will help customers choose the best moment to call.
• Improved start-up time
• Rapid access to the dial pad from the home screen

The new version is compatible with the iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch and iPad. Skype requires iPhone OS version 3.0 and above.

The Skype for iPhone application is available to download for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch, or at www.skype.com/go/iphone

Related articles

• Skype 2.0 for iPhone FINALLY works over 3G! (for a fee) (Seth Weintraub/9 to 5 Mac) (techmeme.com)
• Skype Finally Enables iPhone Calls Over 3G (geardiary.com)
• New Skype 2.0 app for the iPhone allows voice calls over 3G (engadget.com)
• Skype for Apple iPhone OS4 (skypejournal.com)

Casing turns iPhone into a Mobile Contactless Payment terminal

Protective case holds microSD card and turns iPhone into a Visa mobile payment device

 

By Nick Flaherty, www.flaherty.co.uk

 
Not strictly multimedia but a way to purchase that multimedia content, and without having to rely on contactless technology being integrated into a handset.


DeviceFidelity, makers of In2Pay for the iPhone, have developed a casing that tuens an iPhone into a contactless payment terminal. This allows iPhone users to make contactless transactions, such as Visa mobile payments, by simply waving the iPhone in front of a contactless payment terminal. The solution combines DeviceFidelity’s In2Pay microSD technology with a specially designed, patent-pending protective case that adds mobile contactless capability and works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. By placing a removable In2Pay microSD into the protective case, iPhone users can take advantage of In2Pay's secure contactless capabilities where contactless transactions are offered. They range from buying goods in retail stores and at unattended kiosks, to transit ticketing, and even securely accessing buildings and computers networks. Trials are scheduled to start during the second quarter of 2010.
"The more than 200,000 apps on the App Store are an integral part of iPhone users' lives,” said Amitaabh Malhotra, COO at DeviceFidelity. "With In2Pay, we want to give both iPhone users and app developers the power to do even more, by putting the convenience of interactive secure mobile transactions, right at their fingertips, anywhere they are."
DeviceFidelity and Visa collaborated to combine Visa’s contactless payment technology, Visa payWave, and In2Pay technology to transform a mobile phone with a microSD memory slot into a mobile contactless payment device. Today’s announcement extends this functionality to iPhone and has the potential to accelerate the adoption of mobile contactless payments globally, especially in geographies where merchants have already upgraded payment terminals to accept contactless transactions.
"Visa is working to bring the security and convenience of digital currency to mobile users around the world," said Dave Wentker, Head of Mobile Contactless Payments at Visa Inc. “Our collaboration with DeviceFidelity can extend the reach of Visa mobile payments to millions of iPhone users.”
The In2Pay solution gives iPhone users the ability to add greater convenience, flexibility and functionality. The In2Pay solution is designed to stay attached to iPhone and provides a micro USB slot for users to sync and charge their devices. DeviceFidelity’s In2Pay microSD provides secure, convenient one-click access to contactless transactions. Compatible with smart card industry standards, the microSD can be issued and personalized like traditional smart cards or in the future through a secure download of the account information via a mobile network.
DeviceFidelity has multiple patents pending in the USA and several international countries for microSD and handset case based plug-and-play technology and recently launched a partnership program allowing application and Trusted Service Manager system developers to upgrade their NFC solutions by adding support for the In2Pay microSD. The In2Pay microSD can be inserted securely and easily into the In2Pay Case for iPhone.

Related article

• Visa and DeviceFidelity working to bring mobile payment functionality to iPhone (engadget.com)
• Coming soon: Paying for stuff on Visa by waving your iPhone (tuaw.com)
• Visa to Launch Contactless Mobile Payments for iPhone (readwriteweb.com)
• Visa wants to turn your iPhone into a credit card (mobilecrunch.com)
• Visa To Test Mobile Payments Using PayWave Enabled iPhone Cases (textually.org)
• Visa and DeviceFidelity Collaborate to Accelerate Adoption of Mobile Contactless Payments (eon.businesswire.com)

Shipments of Cell Phone Motion Sensors to Rise Fivefold by 2014

Unit shipments up but ASPs fall

Global shipments of motion sensors for cell phones are expected to quintuple by 2014 as smart phones and their operating systems increasingly support motion command and navigation applications that require these parts, say market researchers iSuppli.
Shipments of cell phone motion sensors — accelerometers, compasses, gyroscopes and pressure sensors — will rise to 2.2 billion units in 2014, up from 435.9 million in 2009. Revenue will amount to slightly more than $1 billion in 2014, up from $316 million in 2009.
Motion sensors such as accelerometers and compasses already play a key role in the functionality of smart phones like the iPhone or Google phones. Accelerometers detect when a phone with a large touch screen has been turned on its side, allowing the device to switch from portrait to landscape view. They also play a key role in gaming and navigation functions, and increasingly in augmented reality and context-awareness applications.
The expanding presence of accelerometers in cell phones also can be seen in the hundreds of Independent Design Houses (IDHs) in China adopting motion sensors in 2009. Nearly 20 percent of the global shipments of accelerometers for cell phones went to China in 2009, iSuppli estimates, with the vast majority used in the Chinese gray handset market.

Accelerometers speed ahead In 2014, accelerometers will account for 44 percent of total motion sensor revenue for cell phones. By that time, 65 percent of all phones will incorporate accelerometers, up from 2 percent in 2007 and 28 percent in 2009.
Falling prices for 3-axis parts will promote the growth of accelerometer sales. Prices for low-end, 6-bit 3-axis accelerometers are set to decline to 34 cents by 2014, down from 90 cents in 2008. The share of higher-end 12-to-14 bit accelerometers will increase because these are essential for more sophisticated hand gesture recognition and navigation applications.

Compasses point up “Shipments of compasses for cell phones exploded in the second half of 2009,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) for iSuppli. “In 2009, 19 percent of GPS phones used a compass, up from 4 percent in 2008.”
Compasses support navigation, enabling auto rotation of maps to match the direction a user is facing. Augmented reality applications that combine the compass, GPS signal and camera are also a big driver in Android phones and in the iPhone 3Gs.
“These attributes are so compelling to consumers that competing smart phone platforms, including Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Mobile Windows 7, are promoting or even mandating support for these features. This will cause shipments of compasses for mobile phones to boom during the coming years.”

Gyroscopes spin up Mobile handset makers showed little interest in gyroscopes until early 2009. That changed, however. in mid 2009 following the success of the Nintendo Wii Motion Plus and the advent of a cascade of new gyroscopes with 2 and 3 axes from InvenSense and STMicroelectronics.
Gyroscopes are expected to enter the first smart phones this summer. The main applications in 2010 and 2011 will comprise a user interface utilizing a gyroscope in combination with an accelerometer, followed by image stabilization and dead-reckoning for in-vehicle navigation. From 2012, gyroscopes will start to be used for in-door navigation in combination with an accelerometer, compass and pressure sensor for floor accuracy. By 2014, the market for gyroscopes in cell phones is expected to amount to $190 million.

Semi opportunity With the anticipated upsurge of motion sensor shipments in the years to come, additional opportunities along the supply chain will be created for semiconductor companies, affording participation to the manufacturers of processors, microcontrollers and navigation chipsets, iSuppli believes. At present, new architectures are being explored that can offload the application processor, optimize power consumption at the system level and improve response time.

Related motion sensor articles

• Qualtre raises $8M for motion sensor chips for consumer electronics (games.venturebeat.com)
• iSuppli Ranks InvenSense as Top MEMS Company and Consumer Gyroscope Supplier for 2009 (eon.businesswire.com)
• InvenSense Unveils Next Generation MotionProcessing Solutions for Mobile Handsets at CTIA (prweb.com)
• Augmented Reality on iPhone Applications (slideshare.net)
• Next-Gen Accelerometers Will Have Temperature Sensor Amongst Other Cool Functions [Accelerometers] (gizmodo.com)

iPad turns multimedia design on its head

Shakes up Electronics Supply Chain with 20m units in 2012

As I've said many times in this blog, it's the User-Interface (UI) of the Apple iPad that has a major impact on the electronics supply chain and on how electronic products are designed. 
 

“Electronic products have always been designed the same way, with a motherboard-oriented approach starting with the circuits and semiconductors on a central Printed Circuit Board (PCB)  and then wrapping UI-focused elements like the keyboard and display around it,” said Derek Lidow, president and chief executive officer at maret researchers iSuppli. “The iPad is not designed that way. It doesn’t have a traditional motherboard. Rather, it is designed with the UI as the starting point: Apple started by designing the screen, the touch pad and the battery, and lastly focused on the semiconductors and where to put them. This design is what gives the product a unique feel and functionality.”

Shipments of Apple’s iPad are set to rise to 20.1 million in 2012, up from 7.1 million in 2010. “Anyone that wants to compete with Apple is going to have to consider the design of the iPad, as well as its huge implications on the electronics design and value chain,” said Lidow. “This unleashes an extremely interesting dynamic. The question of which companies in the supply chain will capture the profits from this UI-based approach will be of major importance in the coming years.”

Display and touch screen patent issues

Obvious beneficiaries of the UI-centric design philosophy are the suppliers of the display, touch screen assembly and related electronics. The display module in the iPad, supplied by LG Display, is the single most expensive component in the product. The display employs advanced, wide-viewing-angle LCD technology. The actual technology reportedly is either In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology or Advanced-Fringe Field Switching (AFFS) technology. LG Display holds the patent for IPS, while Hydis Technology Co.—a subsidiary of Prime View International—holds the patent on the AFFS technology. Japan’s Epson is also providing panels, while Samsung Electronics is a potential future supplier.

The next most expensive component is the capacitive touch screen assembly. The supplier of the assembly is Wintek while other makers of such assemblies include Sintek Photronic, TPK Solutions, Touch International and Young Fast Optoelectronics, but none of those companies currently supply to the iPad, iSuppli believes.

On the support electronics side are the touch screen microcontroller and multitouch controller Integrated Circuits (ICs) from Broadcom and the touch screen driver from Texas Instruments. Other suppliers for touch screen controllers not specific to the iPad include Synaptics, Cypress Semiconductor, and Atmel.

Interestingly, the fact that three separate ICs are used to support the touch screen display indicates that the design is in its early stages, and suggests that future integration into a single device is possible and desirable. Future versions of the iPad are likely to use a single-chip solution for supporting the touch screen functionality, creating opportunities for suppliers that can offer such products.

“The iPad brings a new competitive dynamic that focuses on which companies will supply and control the value of the UI—and which firms will become commoditized in the relentless push to drive down prices,” Lidow said. “Display companies could shift their R&D priorities to develop touch and UI intelligence into their products, grabbing value from other UI components and protecting them from being commoditized. Intellectual-Property-savvy semiconductor suppliers could do the same.  During the next five years this will become one of the most important battlegrounds in the electronics value chain.”

Battery charge

While the battery is not usually considered part of the UI, in the iPad it plays a critical role in supporting the user experience. With the iPad heavily focused on mobility, a long battery life is critical, as iPhone users know.

“The weakest link in the iPhone is the battery life,” said Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst, teardown services manager, for iSuppli. “With the iPad, Apple has rethought design priorities to ensure long battery life and serviceability. The bulk of the iPad is designed to accommodate the battery pack, which was also designed to be easily removed and replaced, although not by consumers.”

The thickness of the iPad is largely determined by the size of the display module and battery packs combined, Rassweiler noted. The battery, priced at $23.75, represents more than 9 percent of the iPad’s total bill-of-materials cost. In the iPad torn down by iSuppli, the battery cells were supplied by Amperex Technology and the pack provided by Dynapack.iSuppli expects other suppliers of tablet-type products to emulate the iPad’s battery-centric approach.

Processor concerns

In the UI-focused, content-consumption-oriented iPad, the microprocessor plays a lesser role than it does in conventional notebook PCs. However, the iPad’s design demands a highly integrated microprocessor that emphasizes lower power consumption and small space usage.

The microprocessor, combining an A4 processor core and a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), was designed by P.A. Semi—which was acquired by Apple in 2008—and carries an estimated cost of $19.50.

“The processor in the iPad is not a PC microprocessor,” Rassweiler said. “This is, as we understand it, an ARM-core based processor that is different from—and not trying to compete with—for example, Intel’s Atom microprocessor. This is a totally different architecture that comes as more of an extension of the iPhone/iPod line, rather than as an extension of Apple’s computer line-up, which is entirely Intel-based at this point.”

While the A4 lacks a custom development tailor-designed by, and made only for, Apple, it provides a much smaller physical footprint than Atom architecture does.

Know-how in integrated silicon for mobile platforms is now in hot demand because of the iPad’s design and may be behind several developments in the news lately.

These developments include Google’s recent announcement of its acquisition of Agnilux, a start-up founded by P.A. Semi professionals who left when that fabless chip designer was acquired by Apple in 2008. Agnilux Intellectual Property (IP) could find its way into a pending Google tablet PC. Apple this week also reportedly purchased Intrinsity, a privately owned ARM chip design firm.

Some competitors of the iPad are likely to also adopt ARM-Core based designs, such as the TEGRA chip line by Nvidia, or the OMAP processors by TI.

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• IPad Cost Estimate Boosted, Thanks to Display (blogs.wsj.com)
• iPad costs more to make than first thought, says iSuppli (sfgate.com)

Adobe Gives Up on Flash Apps for the iPhone - PCWorld

Adobe Gives Up on Flash Apps for the iPhone - PCWorld

Saying that Apple "wants to tie developers down," an Adobe product manager yesterday said his company would toss in the towel on a tool that lets programmers port Flash applications to the iPhone and iPad.

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ISuppli bullish on iPad Sales despite lack of Flash support

Shipments to Hit 7 Million in 2010 and Triple by 2012

The iPad’s attractive design, compelling applications and multi-touch capability, key components of Apple’s past successes, will help to offset the initial omission of Adobe Flash from the device and send demand soaring in 2010 and beyond, according to a preliminary forecast from iSuppli.

Worldwide iPad sales are expected to amount to 7.1 million units in 2010. Sales will double to 14.4 million in 2011 and nearly triple to 20.1 million in 2012.

Sales in 2010 will be driven by early adopters and others attracted to the iPad’s unique touch-screen-based user interface. In 2011 and 2012, iPad sales will be driven up by a range of factors, including a flood of new applications, improved functionality and declining prices.

iSuppli regards its iPad sales forecast as conservative. Factors that could boost sales beyond iSuppli’s preliminary expectations include swift feature enhancements and the early addition of Flash support.

“Touch is the new standard for user interfaces, providing a naturally intuitive way of operating an electronic device, whether you are two or 92,” said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research for iSuppli. This backs up my comments earlier.

“The tablet form factor is ideally suited to touch. The iPad represents an intriguing mix of two devices that have struggled to gain traction for years: Internet appliances and tablet PCs. In a sharp departure from past tablet implementations, it appears that Apple has both minimized and maximized the capabilities of the devices, limiting it as a creation device but compensating for this shortcoming by offering a wealth of easily consumable applications. The device’s initial limitations are likely to be overlooked if Apple provides enough content to keep users engaged within the product limitations.”

Apple will not have the field to itself for long, however, as competitors around the globe are poised to introduce their own tablet PCs, many of which will have more robust capability than the early iPads.

Nonetheless, being first out of the gate with a low-cost tablet alternative gives Apple a distinct advantage, Alexander said. “2010 sales could potentially climb much higher than the 7 million figure, and that first year success—combined with expected ongoing innovation—will help to keep Apple at the forefront of the tablet market for several years. Key to continuing success will be how quickly Apple responds to issues as they arise and whether the company can align suppliers to meet demand needs.”

No flash in the pad

Chief in realizing this upside potential is Apple’s ability to address the lack of Flash support in the iPad. Some have called the long-term viability of the iPad into question because of its nonsupport of Adobe Flash—the multimedia platform from Adobe Systems Inc.

“Until Apple addresses this issue one way or another, its decision not to support Flash—communicated earlier on by Apple CEO Steve Jobs—will have a limiting effect on the iPad’s sales potential,” said Francis Sideco, principal analyst, wireless communications. “This is because one of the key use cases of the device, as marketed by Apple, relates to web browsing or consumption of online content. Absent Flash, iPad users will not be able to enjoy Flash-driven content, which is used in a considerable amount of websites as well as web-based games and videos.”

Given the tablet’s nonsupport of Flash, consumers could end up being disappointed if what they expect to be a great browsing experience from “a magical and revolutionary product”—which is how Apple describes the iPad on its website—turns out to be less than extraordinary.

Apple’s strategy with the iPad is largely centered on paid content. The company has partnered with major providers, which will sell their content on Apple’s App Store for a fee.

With so much Flash content available for free, Apple may be excluding support for the software in order to encourage users to pay for any content they use on the platform.

Hosting tens of thousands of applications—with a current average price of $3.13 per application—and boasting more than 1 billion downloads since its launch in 2008, the App store is a phenomenal cash cow for Apple, analysts across the board agree.

Despite dire prognostications from some critics about the iPad eventually failing because Flash is missing, Apple has a track record of defying great odds and successfully navigating previously uncharted waters, such as it did with the iPhone. With initial orders falling in line with expectations, Apple is likely to stick with its strategy of not using Flash unless there is a notable impact on sales.

Related article

• Apple Reveals Many Apps for iPad (taragana.com)
• iPad FAQ: Your top 14 questions answered (msnbc.msn.com)
• IPad's video story improves as launch nears (sfgate.com)
• Apple Snubs Adobe on iPad, but Does Adobe Care? (dailyfinance.com)

Fool's Gold At The End Of The iPad Rainbow? Not at all

Techdirt ran a piece today on the The Fool's Gold At The End Of The iPad Rainbow (see below)

The argument is that the 'iPad for Mom' is condescending and there's nothing about the apps that couldn't have been done with CD-ROMs but  hasn't.

Unfortunately this is nonsense in both senses. The key is the user interface, as I said with the iPhone.
Having the touchscreen with apps that make use of it is the key change - many, many people don't like using the mouse - that's the difference. Using a finger to flip through an online magazine or play a game IS a very different experience to using a mouse. That's the difference from the current online and CD ROM approach and it makes all the difference.
Plus there is already the ecosystem of apps that use the hardware, which there hasn't been with previous touchscreen solutions that ported business applications.

These together do make the difference and this is bigger than just the iPad. This is the tipping point for a range of new, touchscreen enabled, app supported devices (and not just with the Apple ecosystem).

As to de-skilling the hardware, yes, it would be good to have a replaceable battery but there have been lots of liability issues with third party and 'illegal' batteries, which I suspect is the key to the decision not to have user-replaceable power - that's a business issue.

Related article

• iPad Apps: The Next Gold Mine or Just Fool's Gold? (mashable.com)
• The Fool's Gold At The End Of The iPad Rainbow (techdirt.com)
• Cool Hunting iPad App (coolhunting.com)
• Apple Working on Gaming Accessories for the iPad, iPhone? (1up.com)
• Gmail Updated for the iPad (readwriteweb.com)
• iPad Gets a Split Screen Browser (readwriteweb.com)
• Before you buy: 10 things to know about the iPad (cnn.com)

The fight for mobile app downloads is only half the story

iPhone users download 2.4x as many apps but lag on location-based tools
The fight for market dominance has heated up as mobile subscribers take to mobile smartphone apps in
rapidly increasing numbers, reports In-Stat. While users are downloading applications at a phenomenal rate, Apple users download 2.4 times more applications than the average smartphone user.  However, downloads is not the only success factor for an application.

“Monitoring mobile application success by downloads alone is like driving your car and only using the rear view mirror; it provides only half of the story,” says Frank Dickson, In-Stat analyst.  “Especially for free applications, usage is what determines success.  Our research indicates that social networking and phone tools and utilities provide better returns for developers as they have above-average usage and below-average deletion rates.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

 - Increased competition and aggressive pricing strategies are  starting to create significant price pressures in the market. Certain price points are emerging for premium applications, developers should
price their products accordingly.
 - Free mapping and directions were the most downloaded apps on most  platforms, but just sixth on Apple.
 - Only 3% of Palm OS users have downloaded free social networking applications, compared to 31% of total respondents.

Related articles

• Study: Mobile apps industry to hit $17.5B by 2012 with 50B in downloads (mobile.venturebeat.com)
• Palm OS on an iPhone - there's an app for that (go.theregister.com)
• iPhone still second-place US smartphone while Android grows (arstechnica.com)
• Mobile apps will bring in $6.2B this year, firm says (seattlepi.com)

Apple Tablet Coming with Two Dock-Connectors

Apple Tablet Coming with Two Dock-Connectors [iPad to be Docked in Portrait & Landscape Mode; Publishers to Fill Tablet with Content?] » TFTS – Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

Posted using ShareThis

Google Nexus One phone

Engadget had the phone a week early and so have come out with the most comprehensive review and there's little to add - a Qualcomm ARM-based chip, designed by TC, running Android, available direct from Google for $530 without contract. Not an iPhone killer.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/nexus-one-review/

See the Youtube video

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OmniVision 5Mpixel iPhone boost

Digitimes reports OmniVision Technologies' orders for the iPhone are expected to rise significantly in 2010.
It expects to see CMOS image sensor orders for the next generation 5Mpixel iPhone grow to 40-45 million units in 2010 from 20-21 million estimated this year, according to industry sources. The 5MP iPhone is expected to ship in the second half of 2010.
OmniVision won 3.2Mpixel CMOS sensor orders for Apple's iPhone 3GS from Aptina Imaging which supplied the 2Mpixel version.
Including orders for iPods, the sources estimated OmniVision's total shipments to Apple at around 65 million units in 2009.

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Winners and losers in the race for the mobile Internet

Morgan Stanley's latest Mobile Internet report is ambitious. It says material wealth creation / destruction should surpass earlier computing cycles and that the mobile Internet cycle, the 5th cycle in 50 years, is just starting. Winners in each cycle often create more market capitalization than in the last. New winners emerge, some incumbents survive – or thrive – while many past winners falter.
Below are the winners, also rans and losers in the race, according to Morgan Stanley, which makes for very interesting reading. Intel and Samsung are winners, Nokia is challenged and Marvell is unclear.

The mobile Internet is also ramping faster than desktop Internet did, and Morgan Stanley believes more users may connect to the Internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs within 5 years.

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iPhone detail breakdown

Found a very interesting pic of the breakdown of th iPhone 3GS from Semiconductor Insights to follow the iSuppli teardown.

iPhone shortage has industry impact

The launch of the iPhone in China is having a significant impact on other parts of the market, particularly the supply of NAND flash memory chips.
Digitimes reports Taiwan-based memory module houses seeing a serious shortage of the chips.
Samsung Electronics has informed Taiwan module makers that it will halve its NAND flash supply to them in September, and Micron Technology has also told some of its downstream customers that no NAND flash chips are available, it says from sources. Toshiba and Hynix Semiconductor are also giving priority to Apple, and are offering limited supply to the spot market, the sources added.
The average spot price of 16Gb multi-level cell (MLC) chips rose 0.85% to close at US$5.17 on September 11, and the 32Gb part was up 0.5% to US$7.13, according to DRAMeXchange. In the contract market, average pricing for 16Gb chips climbed 7.2% to US$4.48 in the first half of September, and 32Gb went up 4.3% to US$6.80.

Smartphone market boost

The arrival of Apple's iPhone in China is expected to help accelerate global shipment growth for smart phones in 2010 and 2011, says iSuppli.
Worldwide factory shipments of smart phones are expected to rise to 235.6 million units in 2010, up 27.9 percent from 184.2 million in 2009. Shipment growth will accelerate to 41.8 percent in 2011 to reach 334.1 million. This follows 2009 when growth is expected to slow to 11.6 percent, down from 20.6 percent in 2008, due to the global economic slowdown.
China will experience the strongest growth in smart-phone unit shipments of all global regions in the coming years, says market researcher iSuppli. Shipments will rise at a 30.6 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to reach 63.6 million units in 2013, up from 16.7 million in 2008.
The way for increased smart phone acceptance in China has been opened up by the deployment of 3G networks in the country.
Another factor contributing to the success of smart phones is the newfound maturity of the product’s supply chain throughout the world.

“The smart-phone market now has moved past the infancy stage and has entered a period that presents enormous growth opportunities for a number of key players, including device manufacturers, operators, semiconductor vendors, and platform providers,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for iSuppli. “There has been broad deployment of 3G networks worldwide, a proliferation of wireless broadband services and the rising availability of various multimedia applications for mobile devices. With all this in place, wireless network operators are expected to offer competitive data service plans and aggressive subsidies to reduce consumer smart phone prices. Furthermore, in encouraging customers to upgrade, wireless operators and handset brands are promoting the value smart phones deliver to consumers, rather than just playing up the hardware.”

iPhone shortage explained

Having spent several weeks trying to get an iPhone 3GS from O2 as an upgrade, I've discovered why, thanks to iSuppli.
China Unicom starts selling the iPhone in Q4, which means October. Which means they are ramping up now. Which means the majority of the production will be heading to China (with 21m units of smartphones shipped this year) rather than Europe.
That also explains why O2 is sanguine about the iPhone not being exclusive in the UK for much longer, as there won't be that many of them anyway for other operators. It also explains bringing on the Palm Pre (exclusively) in Q4.....

Here's what iSuppli is saying:
The arrival of Apple's’s iPhone in China is expected to help accelerate global shipment growth for smart phones in 2010 and 2011.
Although growth in the smart phone market is set to decelerate in 2009 compared to 2008, it still represents a rare bright spot for the troubled cell phone market. Global cell phone shipments are set to decline by 12.3 percent in 2009.

“China Unicom’s move to start selling iPhones in China starting in the fourth quarter will sound the starting gun for China’s smart phone market,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for iSuppli. “The arrival of the iPhone has compelled China Unicom’s competitor China Mobile to introduce its own smart phone products and app store, helping to boost the market.”

Smart phone shipments in China in 2010 will rise by 42.5 percent to reach 30.2 million units, up from 21.2 million in 2009, the fastest growth rate of any country tracked by iSuppli.