Interesting Wireless Week article from Jeff on AOL. This part regarding Qualcomm and Nokia caught my attention.
>>>>>>>
Nokia also is hoping to make further inroads into CDMA, a market that has always been troublesome for Nokia. According to Ollila, CDMA makes up about 20 percent of the handset market, and Nokia currently has about 10 percent of that share. "We are making progress, but it's been slower than expected," Ollila says. In the United States, Nokia recently announced new deals with Sprint PCS and MetroPCS.>>>>> In addition, the company has licensed Qualcomm's BREW software, <<<<<<which may increase the likelihood it will secure new deals with other CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Alltel.
The company also plans to increase its market share to the 40 percent range in the coming years. The company believes that with industry consolidation and its inroads into the CDMA market and China, it will be able to snatch that additional share away from the other players.
But don't expect Nokia to necessarily purchase another vendor to help boost its market share. Ambrosio says Nokia could help boost its entry into the CDMA market by purchasing a competitor; however, he doesn't believe the company will go that route. "In the short-term, if the equities market improves, Nokia may buy a branded CDMA player to boost their share," Ambrosio says. However, he adds, because Nokia doesn't want to use Qualcomm's chipset to make its CDMA phones, the purchase of another CDMA player seems unlikely. "They have put $1 billion into CDMA and they are making some headway. I'm convinced they will do it on their own."
Handsets: Catching Customers With Color
Handset makers look to repeat buyers to drive sales growth but positive outlook doesn't stop speculation of vendor consolidation.
wirelessweek.com |
