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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Biddle who wrote (30957)	1/9/2003 11:06:34 PM
From: John Biddle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197703

Slick Japanese cell phones return to U.S. after long hiatus The Associated Press 1/9/03 4:57 PM nola.com LAS VEGAS (AP) -- For American cell phone users, the past few years have been ones of deprivation. While folks in Japan and Europe chatted on slick cell phones made by Sony, Panasonic, NEC and others, Americans had to make do with models that sported fewer features. Japanese makers had largely fled the American market because it was cluttered with competing networks. But now, the Japanese handset makers are coming back -- a trend that figures to help keep prices down and speed the rollout of new cell phone applications. Japan began its U.S. comeback in 2001, when Sony and Sweden's Ericsson started selling high-tech phones under a joint venture. Panasonic and Sanyo sell a few models for AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS, respectively. None makes a dent in the market domination of the top three: Finland's Nokia, Illinois-based Motorola and South Korea's Samsung. But in October, Hitachi launched a camera phone that uses Sprint PCS's CDMA network. Hitachi and Sprint also plan to sell a personal digital assistant/phone in the spring that runs a Microsoft operating system. NEC, another big vendor in Asia and Europe, hopes to tempt U.S. consumers this spring with its model 515 phone, a folding handset with a 2.2-inch color screen. It operates on the four GSM bands used in North America and Europe and is the first in a new line being readied for the U.S. market. And Panasonic is bringing a high-end camera phone to the United States in the spring, having launched it in Europe in October. Its GU-87 will operate on AT&T Wireless' GSM network. In a demonstration at the International Consumer Electronics Show, a Panasonic representative used the phone to connect to the Internet, then retrieve pictures from a wireless webcam perched on a pole inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. The camera could've been anywhere in the world, said Panasonic's Jim Reilly. "If it's in your refrigerator, you can check it on your way home to see if you need milk," Reilly said. Getting back into the U.S. market won't be easy, but Japanese manufacturers have a few advantages. First, the companies have already proven their technologies can sell in Japan, the world's most advanced market. Second, Japanese manufacturers have long been the world's leaders in cramming goodies into tiny packages. In this case, the phones are loaded with cameras, fine color screens, Internet browsing and e-mail capabilities. Third, the Japanese no longer have to manufacture separate phones just for the United States. American carriers -- like many of their counterparts overseas -- have almost completely converged on two wireless standards, GSM and CDMA, and now agree where the country's future generation standards are headed. With three carriers -- Cingular, AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile -- offering GSM in the United States, Panasonic and Sony Ericsson can simply sell their European phones here. Others, like NEC, plan U.S.-centric models that require little modification. "Now that the U.S. consumer market is embracing new technologies, NEC is poised to bring our years of experience in the Japanese market to the U.S," said Noboru Sakata, general manager of NEC America's wireless division. Hitachi also believes U.S. consumers and networks are finally ready for fancy Japanese phones. Both of its U.S. models handle e-mail, Web browsing and can take and send pictures like their Japanese counterparts. "People want more features. They want a smaller package," said Gerard Corbett, vice president of Hitachi America. What sells in Japan may not sell here, however. Americans, who are more likely to have computers at home, may have less use for Internet, e-mail, games and cameras on their cell phones. Japanese and Europeans also commute more on trains and buses -- where they can check e-mail or play games. American commuters, typically stuck behind the wheel, are more interested in just talking.

To: John Biddle who wrote (30957)	1/10/2003 6:06:38 AM
From: rkral	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197703

"KDDI attracted 775,900 3G subscribers in December, bringing its 3G subscriber base to 4.674 million." 775,900 -- that's the best month so far (not percentage, of course) 4.674 million -- that's during 9 months Very impressive numbers .. probably close to 10% of QCOM's chipset sales in Jan thru Sep period. (90 day delay between chipset shipment and handset activation is a WAG .. but data only available quarterly anyway.) During those 9 months, KDDI's PDC subscriber count declined 1.235 million, and cdmaOne subscriber count declined 2.185 million. Even after discounting both of those, because they're "easy" or "forced" conversions to 1x, KDDI was able to attract 1.254 million NEW subscribers to 1x. Compare that to Docomo's 0.152 million "WCDMA" subs during 15 months. Ron P.S. KDDI