Samsung seems to be following the lead of Nokia as far as targeting a different market segment. Since Nokia shifted towards mass producing low-priced phones, Samsung has set its sights on the same niche amidst the economic downturns to reduce global handsets this year.

Expanding the low-priced phone shipment, Samsung’s Handset average sales price (ASP) will be expected to decrease continuously while its handset ASP in 2008 decreased 10% compared with the previous year.

“In the global handset market, the demand will be polarized with high-end and low-end phones, not mid-tie,” Samsung said. In addition to low-priced phones, Samsung will focus on expanding the smartphone market with double its smartphone lineup to cope with high-end market competition.

(Source) Telecoms Korea

Tags: Business, Cell Phones, handset market, Nokia, Samsung, Samsung

Hyundai seems to be on a tear these days. After having some key moments in the automotive industry, it looks like they are about to invade the mobile phone market as well. And considering that they have gained the tag of being reasonably priced, this alone provides them a glimpse of possibly penetrating the mobile phone market by the end of spring.

If reports are accurate, they are targeting all competing brands and models in the mobile market, including the iPod and the iPhone. This and a lot more are in their list of corporate goals and Hyundai may just be the new kid on the block playing along with the big boys of the mobile solutions industry.

At present, Hyundai has some eight models currently available in Europe and plans to have another 10 to 15 available during the course of 2009. The hope is that can become a serious contender for a market share in the highly lucrative mobile communications business which is currently dominated by the likes of Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

(Source) Mobile Marketing

Tags: Business, Cell Phones, hyundai, iPhone, ipod, mobile communications business, mobile market, mobile marketing, mobile phone market, Nokia, Sony, Sony Ericsson

The much anticipated phone from SP Communications Inc. was officially launched today. The SP-1 speaker phone, specially made for the SOHO (small office and home office) boasts of Tru-Talk patent-pending technology in the speakerphone category.

Among the notable features of the SP-1 include:

1. Tru-Talk Technology
2. Training Mode
3. Line and Echo Cancellation
4. No Compromise Design
5. Universal Handset Support
6. Two-line Business Phone features

You can purchase the SP1 at their website.

(Source) Press

Tags: Business, business phone, echo cancellation, office sp, patent pending technology, soho, speaker phone, speaker phones

A recent study published in the online Journal of the National Cancer Institute concludes that talking on your cell phone does not increase your chances of getting melanoma of the eye.  The study, which compared the cell phone use of 459 melanoma patients with 459 people without melanoma overturned an earlier study which used only 118 patients can came to the opposite conclusion.

Even though no hard evidence has emerged linking the cellular changes that cause cancer to cell phone use, major studies continue to be funded. Many of these studies produce conflicting information. The most recent study adds another check to the ‘safe’ column.  In the article, the researchers write, “In conclusion, we observed no overall increased risk of uveal melanoma among regular mobile phone users or users of radio sets in Germany, where digital mobile phone technology was introduced in the early 1990s.”

Tags: Business, Cancer, Cell Phone Use, Health

Cell phone users attending the Inaugural festivities in Washington D.C. this coming week may be in for an aggravating surprise: Spotty service. Given that most of the 2 million people expected to be in D.C. this week will be carrying a cell phone, if everyone decides to call, text, Twitter, update Facebook pages, watch live video, or send video clips to friends and family at the same time the result could be a service outage.

All the Blackberrys, iPhones, and SmartPhones trying to access 2G and 3G networks at the same time to send data will cause new challenges not present at previous Inaugural events. “We can only bend the laws of physics so much,” said Joe Farren, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA). “If there are 4 million people on the mall streaming video, sending pictures, or calling, there could be congestion.” Farren’s advice is: text, don’t talk. Keep it simple. And make your plans in advance—don’t count on your cell phone for last minute hook-ups.

Tags: Business, Cell phone service, Service issues

According to a newly released report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans now spend more on their cell phones than on land lines services. The typical U.S. consumer spent $1,110 on telephone services in 2007 (the most recent year in which statistics are available), with $608 going for cell phones, $482 for landlines and $20 for other services. The older the user, the more likely that person was to maintain a landline. The younger the user, the more likely that person was not to have a landline at all.

On average, users under 25 spent 75% of their phone service money on cell phones. For people over 65 that figure dropped to 33% of money spent. Since 2003, land lines have been declining in popularity, with more and more people choosing cell phone service or internet phone service as their main mode of communication. In the single year from 2003 to 2004, land line use dropped 60%, with another drop of 53% between 2004 and 2005.

Tags: Business, Cell Phones, charges, Landlines

One thing that Apple has to deal with these days is the temporary (or perhaps permanent depending on his health) departure of CEO genius Steve Jobs. It is no secret that Jobs has been responsible and marked as an advertising icon for Apple computers and his absence is similar to taking out the processor on a PC. Will Apple survive the absence of their prized product endorser?

Jobs’ health problems are serious. In fact, Apple has announced that his illness has become so serious that he had to surrender his duties to COO Tim Cook until the end of June. With that said, you can imagine the rage that the Apple investors got into, seeking better explanations on the inconsistent reports and sudden turn of events made by Apple.

Did Jobs deceive Apple and shareholders regarding his health? No one has uncovered hard evidence that he did. But it sure looks bad, and securities lawyers are sure to exploit the situation given the drop in Apple’s stock in after-hours trading Wednesday and a further drop Thursday.

Apple is a notoriously secretive company. That strategy has allowed Apple to generate hype better than perhaps any company in America, but it could have backfired in a big way Wednesday. So how can Apple respond?

(Source) CNet

Tags: Apple, apple computers, apple investors, Business, explanations, Genius, health problems, steve jobs, tim cook

A bill introduced by Colorado Senator Claire Levy (D-Boulder) and Representative Bob Bacon (D-Fort Collins) on Monday if passed into law will prohibit teens, school bus operators, cab drivers and any other motor vehicle carrier regulated by the Public Utilities Commission from using a wireless phone while in motion. All other drivers would be allowed to use a cell and drive at the same time so long as they did so through a hands-free device like Blue-Tooth or a speaker phone.

The bill would make driving while talking on a cell phone a ‘Class A’ violation punishable by a fine of as much as $100. Several recent studies have shown that drivers who talk on their cell phones while driving are more likely to get into accidents than those who put their full attention on the road. The bill is likely to gain broad support but may die in the house before ever coming to a vote. Either way, this could be a good time to invest in that headset you’ve been wanting.

Tags: Business, Cell Phones, driving, Headsets, law