Specialized Mobile Provider's Challenge website goes live in 20 languages to cater for worldwide public and media interest
Specialized Mobile Provider Webtel.mobi's World First intercontinental crossing by jet-wing, scheduled for 24 and 25 November 2009, is attracting huge public and media interest from all over the globe.
To cater for the huge amount of interest, Webtel.mobi is making a version of its Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge, website live in 20 languages, and will be providing live commentary on its global internet webcast in six languages.
The event is being staged to physically illustrate how Webtel.mobi's unique mobile phone service connects the world in a new and innovative manner, by connecting the African and European Continents in a similarly unique and unconventional manner.
The Challenge will take place on Wednesday 25 November, and a Challenge Rehearsal will be done on Tuesday 24 November - including an actual Helicopter Search & Rescue rehearsal from the North Atlantic Ocean by retired Special Forces Operators.
Both The Challenge flight on 25 November, and the Helicopter Search & Rescue rehearsal on 24 November, will be broadcast live for free and unrestricted pickup and use by any TV stations, and an international live internet webcast will be broadcast over Webtel.mobi's Challenge Viewer on their Challenge website.
Photos and images for free and unrestricted use will be uploaded to the Photos & Images section of The Challenge website on both days, and comprehensive arrangements have been made to assist any media who want to attend this event, or get free TV footage from it.
Full Challenge information, Media Resources, and details of the worldwide webcast can be seen on the Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge website at http://www.challenge.webtel.mobi
Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge website Languages:
English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Korean and Filipino.
Challenge Live Commentary languages:
English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese
About Webtel.mobi:
Webtel.mobi is a Specialized Mobile Provider whose innovative service is available from all web-enabled mobile phones, on all networks, in all countries. It has the largest geographic coverage of any specialized mobile provider in the world. Its call and text rates are up to 80% less than networks' standard costs. Info on the Webtel.mobi product is available at http://www.webtel.mobi/pc and the service is available from any web-enabled mobile phone at http://www.webtel.mobi
Friday, November 20, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Apple passes Nokia as most profitable phone maker
The world's two largest mobile-phone makers, Nokia and Samsung Electronics, unveiled on Tuesday their latest rivals to the iPhone as Apple became the top profit generator in the handset industry.
Apple Inc overtook Nokia in the September quarter as the mobile-phone maker generating the highest total operating profit in the industry, research firm Strategy Analytics said.
Nokia said on Tuesday it had started deliveries of its top-of-the-range N900,while Samsung Electronics Co Ltd announced it would launch its own open mobile platform, bada, in December as it tries to make up for a late start in the smartphone market.
Nokia and Samsung together sell around 60% of all mobile phones globally,but they have lost some ground to Apple and Research In Motion Ltd, maker of the BlackBerry.
The N900 model is the first Nokia phone to run on the Linux Maemo operating system, which analysts see as key for Nokia to regain ground in the coming years.
"The Maemo platform, which powers the N900, reflects Nokia's need to replace its legacy software platforms with something more powerful to compete with Apple and others," said Ben Wood, head of research at British consultancy CCS Insight.
"Samsung's announcement of bada shows it has also identified the same requirement. The big question is, does the mobile phone world need yet another operating system?"
While Nokia has lost ground in the smartphone business, it is still the world's largest smartphone maker by volume.Samsung's volumes are well behind Apple, RIM and HTC Corp.
But measured by profits, Nokia lost in the third quarter against Apple, which entered the mobile-phone market only in mid-2007.
Apple does not break down its profits per business line, but Strategy Analytics estimated Apple's operating profit for its iPhone handset unit stood at $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with Nokia's $1.1 billion.
"With strong volumes, high wholesale prices and tight cost controls, the PC vendor has successfully broken into the mobile phone market in just two years,"said Alex Spektor, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.
Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones during the July-September quarter, generating sales of $4.5 billion. Nokia sold 108.5 million phones in total in the same quarter, generating sales of 6.9 billion, but its profits were hurt by the economic downturn.
Global sales of mobile handsets will snap a four-quarter losing streak in the last three months of the year as the industry is buoyed by economic recovery,a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Tuesday.
Sales are expected to rise 3% in the fourth quarter as the Christmas period brings a brighter end to a year in which sales are forecast to fall 6.9%, the poll of 31 banks, brokerages and research firms showed.
While the broader handset industry has struggled, smartphones sales have boomed and analysts have forecast the smartphone market will grow 20% to 30% this year.
But there are signs that increased competition is starting to put pressure on margins and put some companies on the defensive.
This week, the world's No.4 smartphone brand, HTC, said it expected fourth-quarter revenue to plummet almost 15% from the same period a year earlier, as the intense rivalry forces prices down.
Strategy Analytics said growth in the smartphone market slowed to just 5%in the third quarter from 17% in the second quarter.
"On the supply-side, a weak lineup from Nokia, the industry giant, has helped to keep a cap on growth," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.
"On the demand-side, consumers have been buying huge volumes of highend feature phones with touchscreens from Samsung and LG and many consumers seem happy for now to go without full app-store support," he added.
Apple Inc overtook Nokia in the September quarter as the mobile-phone maker generating the highest total operating profit in the industry, research firm Strategy Analytics said.
Nokia said on Tuesday it had started deliveries of its top-of-the-range N900,while Samsung Electronics Co Ltd announced it would launch its own open mobile platform, bada, in December as it tries to make up for a late start in the smartphone market.
Nokia and Samsung together sell around 60% of all mobile phones globally,but they have lost some ground to Apple and Research In Motion Ltd, maker of the BlackBerry.
The N900 model is the first Nokia phone to run on the Linux Maemo operating system, which analysts see as key for Nokia to regain ground in the coming years.
"The Maemo platform, which powers the N900, reflects Nokia's need to replace its legacy software platforms with something more powerful to compete with Apple and others," said Ben Wood, head of research at British consultancy CCS Insight.
"Samsung's announcement of bada shows it has also identified the same requirement. The big question is, does the mobile phone world need yet another operating system?"
While Nokia has lost ground in the smartphone business, it is still the world's largest smartphone maker by volume.Samsung's volumes are well behind Apple, RIM and HTC Corp.
But measured by profits, Nokia lost in the third quarter against Apple, which entered the mobile-phone market only in mid-2007.
Apple does not break down its profits per business line, but Strategy Analytics estimated Apple's operating profit for its iPhone handset unit stood at $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with Nokia's $1.1 billion.
"With strong volumes, high wholesale prices and tight cost controls, the PC vendor has successfully broken into the mobile phone market in just two years,"said Alex Spektor, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.
Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones during the July-September quarter, generating sales of $4.5 billion. Nokia sold 108.5 million phones in total in the same quarter, generating sales of 6.9 billion, but its profits were hurt by the economic downturn.
Global sales of mobile handsets will snap a four-quarter losing streak in the last three months of the year as the industry is buoyed by economic recovery,a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Tuesday.
Sales are expected to rise 3% in the fourth quarter as the Christmas period brings a brighter end to a year in which sales are forecast to fall 6.9%, the poll of 31 banks, brokerages and research firms showed.
While the broader handset industry has struggled, smartphones sales have boomed and analysts have forecast the smartphone market will grow 20% to 30% this year.
But there are signs that increased competition is starting to put pressure on margins and put some companies on the defensive.
This week, the world's No.4 smartphone brand, HTC, said it expected fourth-quarter revenue to plummet almost 15% from the same period a year earlier, as the intense rivalry forces prices down.
Strategy Analytics said growth in the smartphone market slowed to just 5%in the third quarter from 17% in the second quarter.
"On the supply-side, a weak lineup from Nokia, the industry giant, has helped to keep a cap on growth," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.
"On the demand-side, consumers have been buying huge volumes of highend feature phones with touchscreens from Samsung and LG and many consumers seem happy for now to go without full app-store support," he added.
SAMSUNG, LG KEEN TO PROMOTE SMART PHONES
LG Electronics' chief executive Nam Yong said that LG's main competition was not Nokia but smart-phone makers Apple and Research in Motion.
His remarks last week show how eager the No 3 handset maker is to raise its profile in the smartphone market.
LG suffered falling sales in North America, one of its key markets, in the third quarter because of the expansion of the smart-phone market led by Apple and Reserach in Motion.
Despite their leading positions in the handset industry, LG and it Korean rival Samsung Electronics have a limited profile in the rapidly growing smart phone market.
The two companies hold a combined share of less than 4 per cent in the global smart-phone market, even as their total share in the handset market tops 30 per cent, according to IDC and Shinhan Investment.
Some analysts said their failure to expand into the smart-phone market would limt their growth. The smart-phone market is expected to grow and account for 20 per cent of the handset market next year, from 16 per cent this year, according to Gartner and Shinhan Investment.
Korean handset makers are closely working with operators to boost their weak smart-phone sales and better compete with Nokia, Apple and Research in Motion. They have also launched smart phones powered by various operating systems including Windows Mobile and Android.
"Apple has its own smart-phone business model, which is not welcomed by wireless opeators," said Jay Yoo of Korea Investment & Securities.
"Samsung and LG have no choice but to cooperate with operators ... It is an inevitable choice, but not a bad one."
LG says it will spend heavily to develop competitive smart phones.
"We plan to release about 10 smart phones powered by Windows Mibile next year," an LG spokesperson said, adding that the company has not decided on how many smart phones it will roll out next year.
He said LG had previously focused on the Windows Mobile operating system, but that it is now focusing on both Windows Mobile and Google's Android operating system.
Samsung, the world's No 3 handset maket, also seeks to take on Apple and Research in Motion in the smart-phone market, in which the Korean company holds a 2.7-per-cent share.
Samsung has introduced a series of new Omina smart phones in September, and plans to double the number of its models next year.
His remarks last week show how eager the No 3 handset maker is to raise its profile in the smartphone market.
LG suffered falling sales in North America, one of its key markets, in the third quarter because of the expansion of the smart-phone market led by Apple and Reserach in Motion.
Despite their leading positions in the handset industry, LG and it Korean rival Samsung Electronics have a limited profile in the rapidly growing smart phone market.
The two companies hold a combined share of less than 4 per cent in the global smart-phone market, even as their total share in the handset market tops 30 per cent, according to IDC and Shinhan Investment.
Some analysts said their failure to expand into the smart-phone market would limt their growth. The smart-phone market is expected to grow and account for 20 per cent of the handset market next year, from 16 per cent this year, according to Gartner and Shinhan Investment.
Korean handset makers are closely working with operators to boost their weak smart-phone sales and better compete with Nokia, Apple and Research in Motion. They have also launched smart phones powered by various operating systems including Windows Mobile and Android.
"Apple has its own smart-phone business model, which is not welcomed by wireless opeators," said Jay Yoo of Korea Investment & Securities.
"Samsung and LG have no choice but to cooperate with operators ... It is an inevitable choice, but not a bad one."
LG says it will spend heavily to develop competitive smart phones.
"We plan to release about 10 smart phones powered by Windows Mibile next year," an LG spokesperson said, adding that the company has not decided on how many smart phones it will roll out next year.
He said LG had previously focused on the Windows Mobile operating system, but that it is now focusing on both Windows Mobile and Google's Android operating system.
Samsung, the world's No 3 handset maket, also seeks to take on Apple and Research in Motion in the smart-phone market, in which the Korean company holds a 2.7-per-cent share.
Samsung has introduced a series of new Omina smart phones in September, and plans to double the number of its models next year.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
iPHONE ARRIVES IN CHINA WITHOUT KEY FEATURE
Apple's iPhone is making its long-awaited formal debut in the world's most populous mobile-phone market, without a key feature and at higher prices than widely available black-market models.
Apple's local service provider, China Unicom, hopes the iPhone will give it an edge against giant rival China Mobile, the world's biggest phone company by number of subscribers.
Unicom was to start selling iPhones equipped for third-generation (3G) services last week at 2,000 stores in areas as far-flung as Tibet. Chinese news reports said Unicom hoped to sell 5 million iPhones in three years, but the company declined to confirm that.
Unicom's first iPhones lack WiFi, a possible handicap with sophisticated, demanding Chinese buyers. The technology, a key part of the iPhone's appeal, allows owners in other markets to use wireless networks in cafes and offices to download e-mail and the latest applications, free of charge.
"There's going to be a perception that the phone they have is 'dumbed down' from the one that somebody has in California," said Duncan Clark, the chairman of Beijing-based technology-research firm BDA China.
"We've seen before that Chinese consumers don't like to be treated like second-class citizens."
Apple and Unicom could also face competition from an unusual source: unlocked iPhones brought in from abroad that have WiFi.
There are already an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million such phones in China using China Moile's 3G service that allows Internet access and other features.
Unicom's prices range from 4,999-6,999 yuan (Bt24,500 to Bt34,300) for the high-end, 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS. That is 20-per-cent more than the 5,700 yuan charged by merchants at Chinese street markets for a 3GS with WiFi.
The iPhone's awkward, delayed entry into China reflects the regulatory and technical hudles of a fast-changing market where other global technology companies have struggled to establish themselves.
Unicom's iPhones lack WiFi because it was temporarily banned by Beijing, which was promoting a rival Chinese system, BDA said. The ban was relaxed in May after manufacturing had begun.
A Unicom spokesman, YiDifei, said the company hoped to have WiFi in the next batch of phones.
"We are talking with apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year," Yi said.
The iPhone debuted in the United States in June 2007, but its formal arrival in China was delayed as Apple negotiated with service providers. Chinese media said the talks were snagged on disagreements about how revenue should be divided.
China has more than 650 million mobile-phone accounts despite an average annual income of only US$3,000 (Bt100,000) per person. Consumers trade in phones as often as several times a year to obtain the latest models and features.
China Unicom has 143 million modile accounts, which would be an impressive figure in any other market but lags far behind China's Mobile's 508 million accoutns.
Global technology companies that dominate other markets have struggled to obtain a foothold in China. Search engine Google has less than 30 per cent of the market, against more than 60 per cent for local rival Baidu. Yahoo turned over its Chinese operation to a local partner after failing to expand its market share.
China's state-owned phone companies were restructured by the government into three groups last year in hopes of reviving competition after the explosive popularity of mobile services turned China Mobile into a behemoth.
Apple's local service provider, China Unicom, hopes the iPhone will give it an edge against giant rival China Mobile, the world's biggest phone company by number of subscribers.
Unicom was to start selling iPhones equipped for third-generation (3G) services last week at 2,000 stores in areas as far-flung as Tibet. Chinese news reports said Unicom hoped to sell 5 million iPhones in three years, but the company declined to confirm that.
Unicom's first iPhones lack WiFi, a possible handicap with sophisticated, demanding Chinese buyers. The technology, a key part of the iPhone's appeal, allows owners in other markets to use wireless networks in cafes and offices to download e-mail and the latest applications, free of charge.
"There's going to be a perception that the phone they have is 'dumbed down' from the one that somebody has in California," said Duncan Clark, the chairman of Beijing-based technology-research firm BDA China.
"We've seen before that Chinese consumers don't like to be treated like second-class citizens."
Apple and Unicom could also face competition from an unusual source: unlocked iPhones brought in from abroad that have WiFi.
There are already an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million such phones in China using China Moile's 3G service that allows Internet access and other features.
Unicom's prices range from 4,999-6,999 yuan (Bt24,500 to Bt34,300) for the high-end, 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS. That is 20-per-cent more than the 5,700 yuan charged by merchants at Chinese street markets for a 3GS with WiFi.
The iPhone's awkward, delayed entry into China reflects the regulatory and technical hudles of a fast-changing market where other global technology companies have struggled to establish themselves.
Unicom's iPhones lack WiFi because it was temporarily banned by Beijing, which was promoting a rival Chinese system, BDA said. The ban was relaxed in May after manufacturing had begun.
A Unicom spokesman, YiDifei, said the company hoped to have WiFi in the next batch of phones.
"We are talking with apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year," Yi said.
The iPhone debuted in the United States in June 2007, but its formal arrival in China was delayed as Apple negotiated with service providers. Chinese media said the talks were snagged on disagreements about how revenue should be divided.
China has more than 650 million mobile-phone accounts despite an average annual income of only US$3,000 (Bt100,000) per person. Consumers trade in phones as often as several times a year to obtain the latest models and features.
China Unicom has 143 million modile accounts, which would be an impressive figure in any other market but lags far behind China's Mobile's 508 million accoutns.
Global technology companies that dominate other markets have struggled to obtain a foothold in China. Search engine Google has less than 30 per cent of the market, against more than 60 per cent for local rival Baidu. Yahoo turned over its Chinese operation to a local partner after failing to expand its market share.
China's state-owned phone companies were restructured by the government into three groups last year in hopes of reviving competition after the explosive popularity of mobile services turned China Mobile into a behemoth.
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Nokia rebuffs Samsung claim
Nokia has shrugged off claims by Samsung that it is destined to overtake Nokia's long-established leadership in the local mobile handset market this year.
The South Korean manufacturer said recently that it now held 30.5% of the Bangkok market, against 28.7% for the Finnish company, based on a survey by the market research firm GFK. Nationally,Samsung had a 27.5% share compared with 33% for Nokia.
Samsung expressed confidence that it would overtake Nokia nationwide this year with a 35% share.
"The claimed figure is impossible based on the fact of our handset import volume to Thailand," said Shumit Kapoor, general manager of Nokia Thailand.
He said GFK stopped gathering data about mobile phone sales in Thailand in June because the proliferation of Chinese branded handsets in markets outside Bangkok made it harder to get accurate figures.
"We're on an increasing trend in business with a strong market share, and confident of maintaining our leadership this year," Mr Kapoor said.
Performance has been helped by a recent restructuring of its distribution network, he added."We expect to continue the upward trend next year."
Mr Kapoor said overall handset demand in Thailand was expected to grow only 1-2% this year from last year's 9 million units. But market value would be flat as prices are falling.
Worldwide handset sales declined 6%in the second quarter, according to Gartner. But smartphones sales grew 27%year-on-year to 40 million units.
Mr Kapoor said he expected next year would be better locally, building on the improvement seen in the third quarter as the economy began to revive.
He also said the touchscreen-phone market in Thailand had grown rapidly this year, thanks to more affordable prices and mature quality.
Touchscreen-phone sales in Thailand have surged by 400-500% this year, and the increase is set to continue in 2010.
Nokia hopes to capitalise on that demand with its N97 Mini, a spinoff of its flagship high-end N97 smartphone. The mobile computer phone, featuring a touchscreen and keypad board, is priced at 21,100 baht to reach more consumers.
It has a 5-megapixel camera,8 GB of onboard memory plus 16 GB expansion via a micro-SD card slot. It also has new personal and location-aware internet features and access to Nokia's Ovi platform and online social networks.
The South Korean manufacturer said recently that it now held 30.5% of the Bangkok market, against 28.7% for the Finnish company, based on a survey by the market research firm GFK. Nationally,Samsung had a 27.5% share compared with 33% for Nokia.
Samsung expressed confidence that it would overtake Nokia nationwide this year with a 35% share.
"The claimed figure is impossible based on the fact of our handset import volume to Thailand," said Shumit Kapoor, general manager of Nokia Thailand.
He said GFK stopped gathering data about mobile phone sales in Thailand in June because the proliferation of Chinese branded handsets in markets outside Bangkok made it harder to get accurate figures.
"We're on an increasing trend in business with a strong market share, and confident of maintaining our leadership this year," Mr Kapoor said.
Performance has been helped by a recent restructuring of its distribution network, he added."We expect to continue the upward trend next year."
Mr Kapoor said overall handset demand in Thailand was expected to grow only 1-2% this year from last year's 9 million units. But market value would be flat as prices are falling.
Worldwide handset sales declined 6%in the second quarter, according to Gartner. But smartphones sales grew 27%year-on-year to 40 million units.
Mr Kapoor said he expected next year would be better locally, building on the improvement seen in the third quarter as the economy began to revive.
He also said the touchscreen-phone market in Thailand had grown rapidly this year, thanks to more affordable prices and mature quality.
Touchscreen-phone sales in Thailand have surged by 400-500% this year, and the increase is set to continue in 2010.
Nokia hopes to capitalise on that demand with its N97 Mini, a spinoff of its flagship high-end N97 smartphone. The mobile computer phone, featuring a touchscreen and keypad board, is priced at 21,100 baht to reach more consumers.
It has a 5-megapixel camera,8 GB of onboard memory plus 16 GB expansion via a micro-SD card slot. It also has new personal and location-aware internet features and access to Nokia's Ovi platform and online social networks.
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