SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES ITS NEXT GENERATION PORTABLE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

Ultimate Portable Entertainment System Makes Its Debut This Year,
Further Expanding the PlayStation® Business in the Portable Gaming Market

Tokyo – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) announced its next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP), which delivers the ultimate portable entertainment experience. NGP will make its debut at the end of the year 2011.

NGP is designed to offer unparalleled interactive entertainment that is only possible on PlayStation®. This new system offers a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context, made possible by leveraging SCE's experience from both PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®3 (PS3®) entertainment systems.

Deep and immersive gaming is at the core of PlayStation's DNA, and NGP is the latest embodiment of this vision. By having both Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity, together with various applications, NGP will enable infinite possibilities for users to "encounter," "connect," "discover," "share" and "play" with friends wherever they are. Within the device are a range of features that provide a genuinely cutting-edge, next generation ultimate portable entertainment experience.
・Stunning OLED and Revolutionary User Interface

NGP incorporates a beautiful multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display. A high-performance CPU / GPU combined with OLED enables rich, visually striking graphics never seen before on a portable entertainment system, for both games and other digital entertainment content. The new system also incorporates a unique multi-touch pad on the rear, and together with the front touch display, NGP offers new game play allowing users to interact directly with games in three dimension-like motion, through "touch, grab, trace, push and pull" moves of the fingers.
・Super Oval Design and Dual Analog Sticks

While succeeding the basic design philosophy of PSP, NGP adopts the Super Oval Design form factor, created to fit comfortably in users' hands. For the first time, a portable entertainment system will feature two analog sticks, which enable a wider range of game genres to be brought into the portable experience.
・LiveArea™

Every game title for NGP will be provided with a space called "LiveArea™" where users can share the fun and excitement with other players. Users will have access to the latest information of games provided from SCE and 3rd party developers and publishers through PlayStation®Network. Additionally, NGP users will be able to view an "Activity" log that is constantly updated with accomplishments from users who are playing the same game, which in turn can trigger active real-time communication among users.
・Near

SCE will also provide location-based services on NGP as part of the basic features utilizing PlayStation Network. The new application called "Near," developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system to let users find out what their friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Users can meet their friends and new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.
・New Game Medium

NGP adopts a new game medium, a small flash memory based card, dedicated for NGP software titles. Taking advantage of the flash memory feature, this innovative card can store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card. By adopting flash memory based card, SCE will be able to provide game cards with higher capacity in the future, allowing developers to store more game data to deliver rich and immersive games.

NGP will also come equipped with two cameras on its front and rear, as well as three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass, all of which are designed to enable users to enjoy the world of entertainment that is linked with real life experiences.

PlayStation®Suite (PS Suite), announced today, will also closely coordinate with NGP. The newly developed and released game content for Android™ based portable devices can also be enjoyed on NGP. As a result, users will have access to not only the most leading-edge content, but also some of the more casual experiences that typify the mobile market place.

SCE will vigorously promote NGP towards the launch as the next generation portable entertainment platform and deploy various measures to further expand the portable gaming market.

Crocodile Eats Mobile Phone, Now Not Eating

A crocodile at a Ukraine zoo snaps up a mobile phone after a visitor drops it while trying to get a picture. Now, doctors say the croc is not eating and seems sluggish. If it does not get better, they may have to operate. (Jan. 21)

Common chargers are on the way

You may well have seen news
emerge of a new standard for a Common Charger for mobile phones with which major players in the phone manufacturing business have agreed to make their new devices compliant. That includes Nokia, of course. If it isn’t already obvious, click through to find out why this is good news for you, the industry and the environment.

Following the recent publication of charging standards, the new chargers will use the micro-USB connector – already in use for the data connection in many smartphones.

The majority of current Nokia devices already support micro USB based charging, going forward this will be the industry standard. In addition Nokia’s standard 2mm charger will continue to be supported, so standard Nokia chargers will still be useable as well.

This is good news in three ways:

- It makes life easier. You won’t need to buy a new charger for your new device, hunt through your drawer of old chargers or hope that someone in the office has the same brand of phone when you need a top-up away from home.

- The waste and environmental impact created by old, discarded chargers that no longer work when you change manufacturer for your new device, will be eliminated.

- Environmental impact may be reduced by the ability to sell phones without chargers (a development currently being piloted by Nokia to gauge customer reaction).

Do not forget, old unneeded chargers can be brought to one of the 50,000 Nokia Recycling Points – where they can be completely recycled to make new components.

This is all good news, of course, and eminently sensible. What’s your view?

There’s a video introducing the initiative here. Update: Since we published this post, the European Commission has launched an entire website about the development. Head over to OneChargerforAll.eu for more information.

Footnote;
A memorandum of understanding – indicating their intention to adopt the new standard – was signed by Nokia was in June 2009 and to date 13 other companies including Apple, Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies, LGE, Motorola, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion (RIM), Samsung, SonyEricsson, TCT Mobile (ALCATEL mobile phones), Texas Instruments and Atmel.

50 Mobile Youth Facts 2011 by mobileYouth.org

50 Mobile Youth Facts You Need to Know 2011. Download the Ebook of these stats head http://www.mobileYouth.org/download

What Entertains Kids On Mobile

The majority of mobile entertainment devices used by parents and kids host less than 20 apps geared toward children, but about 7% host more than 60 apps for a child, according to The NPD Group Kids' Mobile Entertainment & Apps study released Monday.

Gaming is the most popular type of app downloaded, with the average mobile device used by a child containing approximately 10 game-related apps. Music ranked No. 2.

When it comes to overall downloads, however, music dominates and games moves to the No. 2 spot. Video steps in at No. 3.

Music makes up more than half of all downloads and about 61% of all child-related downloads to a mobile entertainment device. The remaining types of downloads, including ringtones, TV shows and movies, comprise less than 10% of all downloading activity.

Three top themes emerged in the study that keep kids coming back for more, and parents agreeing to allow the kids to download, listen to music and play games. Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group, says these themes include the love of music, laughter to keep kids entertained, and fun and addicting applications. "Parents are more willing to pay for apps when they think their kids will use them a lot," she says.

Connecting with friends through social elements also attracts kids. "We all know you're supposed to be 13 and over to use Facebook, but all of us know plenty of kids under that age with Facebook accounts," she says. "The social aspects are appealing to many kids."

The ability to download content or listen to music at no charge continues to entice consumers, especially kids. Seventy-five percent of respondents say free is the highest motivating factor driving app downloads. Other motivators include recommendations by family and friends, the request from the child for the app, and the app's affiliation with a character or personality.

About 82% of all apps downloaded for children are free. Those who purchase apps for children say they're willing to spend almost twice as much as they do. And the willingness to spend more rises as the child increases in age.

Despite some prevailing notions that many apps are used once and then deleted or forgotten, most kids will reuse the same app many times. Only about 1% reported abandoning apps after one use. A child might spend on average slightly more than 20 minutes at a time, but this varies by gender and age, Frazier says.

Most kids use the app multiple times, rather than just once, or only a few times, Frazier says. "Parents told us their kids are using the apps 'over and over,'" she says.

Frazier says the study didn't measure whether the parent became a motivating factor to the child downloading and using the app, but NPD found that apps downloaded to devices owned by the child created more motivation compared with those downloaded to parent-owned devices.

"For devices owned by the parent, but that the child uses, 'it's educational' became a much more motivating factor" when trying to sell the kid on the application, Frazier says. Friends and family recommendations also help to motivate the child into using the application.

Final data includes 1,043 completed surveys from parents who have kids 0 to age 14 using either iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry or another smartphone. The survey was conducted between June 18 and July 28, 2010.

50 Mobile Youth Facts 2011 by mobileYouth.org

50 Mobile Youth Facts You Need to Know 2011. Download the Ebook of these stats head http://www.mobileYouth.org/download

WHILE THE MAJORITY OF MOBILE DEVICES USED BY PARENTS AND KIDS HAVE FEWER THAN 20 APPS FOR CHILDREN, CLOSE TO 10 PERCENT HAVE MORE THAN 60

For Kids, Gaming Apps Dominate, Followed by Music.

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK - According to Kids' Mobile Entertainment & Apps, the latest report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, the majority of mobile entertainment devices used by parents and kids have fewer than 20 apps that have been downloaded specifically for a child, with seven percent having more than 60 apps for a child.

While these devices have many features that appeal to consumers of all ages, for kids, games apps dominates usage, followed by music. Gaming is the most popular type of app downloaded, with the average device used by a child containing approximately 10 gaming-related apps.

Despite the popularity of games apps, music dominates when it comes to overall downloading, with games coming in at a distant second place, and video falling in third place. More than half of all downloads are music related, commanding 61 percent of all child-related downloads to a mobile entertainment device. The remaining types of downloads, which include ringtones, TV shows and movies, make up less than 10 percent of all downloading activity.

Paid vs. Free

According to the report, 82 percent of all apps downloaded for children were free. However, those who have purchased an app for their child are willing to spend almost twice as much as they are currently spending, with the willingness to pay for an app among device users increasing with the age of the child.

Free and inexpensive apps are big motivators for downloads, with 75 percent of respondents saying the free nature of many apps is the single highest motivating factor driving app acquisition. Other motivators include recommendations by family and friends, the childs' request/desire for the app, and the apps' affiliation with a character or personality.

"Free is key," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "The most common place for kids to use these devices is in their own home and I do believe free content is cannibalizing sales in many entertainment related industries. While these type of gaming experiences aren't as immersive as those available for console or portable systems, they are competing for time and dollars spent among the much broader casual gaming audience, and for time spent involved in other categories of entertainment."

Despite some prevailing notions that many apps are used once and then deleted or forgotten, most kids will reuse the same app many times. Only about 1 percent reported abandoning apps after 1 use.

Methodology

An online survey was fielded to members of NPD's Online panel. The survey was sent to a pre-identified sample of parents who own the measured devices (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, other Smartphone), as well as a pre-identified sample of households with kids who use one of the measured devices. Respondents were qualified for device ownership and for having a child age 0 to 14 who uses one of these devices. All surveys were conducted from June 18 through July 28, 2010. Final data includes 1043 completed surveys from kids that use one of the measured devices.

World's Scariest Job

World's Scariest Job

Core Silicon Semiconductor Market Set for Record Growth in 2010

Revenue increase to $103 billion is biggest rise since 2004.

Annual revenue for core silicon, the largest segment in the semiconductor industry, is set for unprecedented growth in 2010, wiping out the decline of the last year, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.

At no time in the past decade has the core silicon industry enjoyed anything like the growth forecasted for 2010, with global revenue expected to hit $102.7 billion, up an outsized 21.2 percent from $84.8 billion in 2009. Revenue will continue to increase until the end of the forecast period in 2014, when the industry will be worth $127.2 billion, but growth rates will not exceed 8 percent after 2010.

Core silicon refers to the semiconductors that implement specific, individual functionality in an electronic system—for instance, the integrated circuit that makes a DVD player what it is and not some other type of system, such as a washing machine.

Growth projected this year for core silicon eclipses the previous high of 17.9 percent in 2004, and it also more than erases the contraction in 2009, iSuppli’s semiconductor market research shows. Moreover, revenue this year will exceed the $100 billion mark—previously thought to be unattainable until 2013 or 2014.

The strength of the industry was apparent right from the start of the year. While the first quarter of each year is usually the slowest period for the core silicon market, the first quarter of 2010 proved to be an exception to the usual semiconductor trend. And even though the first quarter grew by only the thinnest of margins—at 0.1 percent—when compared to the fourth quarter of 2009, the expansion, in bucking the historical pattern, was a telling indicator of the market’s surprising vigor.

PLD, ASSP and ASIC: Weighing Core Silicon’s Three Major Segments
Among the three major core silicon segments, Programmable Logic devices (PLD) will grow the fastest, finishing the year at $4.7 billion, up 43.0 percent from 2009 levels. Wired communications and industrial market applications will drive PLD sales, iSuppli’s semiconductor forecasts indicate.

Manufactured for no specific customer or application, and with users able to directly configure the generic part of the device for applications, PLDs are less vulnerable to the ups and downs of any single semiconductor market. By the same token, however, PLDs are unable to cash in on the tidal wave of growth that accompanies a blockbuster, next-big-thing type of application.

Unlike PLDs, Application-Specific Standard Products (ASSP) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)—the two other core silicon segments—are designed for specific applications in mind, as their names suggest. ASICs are sold to individual customers, however, while ASSPs are intended for sale to multiple customers.

ASSPs will not share the booming growth of PLDs. Just the same, projected ASSP revenue for 2010, at $79.7 billion, is still 23.1 percent greater than 2009 levels and substantially higher than any year in history. ASSPs will be powered in the market by chips going to desktop and notebook PCs, mobile handsets, flat-panel TVs and set-top boxes.

ASICs will continue to lag behind the other devices, as they have done so for most of the past decade. Although the devices will grow 9.8 percent to $17.0 billion in 2010, anything less than a 20 percent increase must be considered sub-par growth, according to iSuppli’s semiconductor industry analysis. ASICs will be the only core silicon segment not to stage a full recovery from the economic slump, and an upturn is not expected until 2013 or 2014

Discrete Component Pricing Set to Decline in First Half 2011

But lead times will remain elongated.

The good news for buyers of discrete components is that prices—which have increased sequentially during every quarter for more than one year—will begin an inevitable decline beginning in the first quarter of 2011 as demand softens during the seasonally slow period. The bad news is that lead times for these discretes will continue to extend well beyond normal parameters, maybe by as much as 20 weeks or more in some cases, according to semiconductor market research firm iSuppli Corp.

Across the board, discrete components—including bipolar power, power MOSFETS, small signal and rectifiers—are forecasted to decline in price during the first quarter of 2011. While such drops—amounting to less than 1 percent for all discretes—won’t come close to offsetting the gradual increases that have happened since October 2009, the contractions at the very least will give buyers some relief from demand outpacing supply.

Additional bad news could come, however, for the remainder of 2010: Average Selling Prices (ASPs) for all discretes are expected to continue to move upward until supply can come into balance and realign with the heavy demand situation.

Discrete Component Pricing

Feeling Bipolar
The makers and buyers of bipolar power components are probably feeling a bit bipolar themselves after suffering through major sales declines in 2009—only to see demand go through the roof in 2010 as the products came more into vogue, in line with the macroeconomic recovery.

Prices for such parts have increased during the past 12 months—a trend that should continue through the remainder of 2010—and then level off for the first half of 2011.

Perhaps more of a concern, however, is that lead times will continue to extend into the third and fourth quarters of 2010, with some suppliers quoting as much as 26 weeks or more. While iSuppli predicts these lead times will fall in the first half of 2011, they remain bloated at about the 18-week range.

No Relief for MOSFETS in 2010
Mounting pressure from both the front and back ends of the supply chain is also continuing to stress the power MOSFET market, causing lead time extensions and the allocation of certain devices from a number of suppliers, including On Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, Infineon Technologies and International Rectifier.

While the need for more power MOSFETs began in the first quarter of 2010, demand has since grown quickly to outpace supply—a situation that iSuppli expects to continue throughout the current year. Altogether, such developments have had a noticeable effect on pricing, demonstrated by increases during the last 12 months.

And while pricing is expected to stabilize at some point in the first half of 2011, given the elevated prices and the state of high demand, one can expect to continue seeing bottlenecks in the power MOSFET market despite demand-driven production expansion efforts.

Small Gains
Much like other discrete components, small signal transistors and rectifiers will continue their price uptick for the remainder of 2010, with prices then falling early in 2011. And again, much like other components, small signal transistors are also experiencing larger-than-normal lead times with no relief in sight. Even in the first quarter of 2011, iSuppli sees small signal transistor lead times at levels 20 weeks or longer.

Rectifying 2009 Price Drops
For rectifiers, prices had come down hard in 2009, falling by as much as 20 percent due to a drop in demand. Since that time, however, the ASP has inched back up while also experiencing a 12-month sequential rise. For the first half of 2010, ASPs increased in the face of insufficient supply as well as continued demand for parts.

As iSuppli forecasted earlier, rectifier prices were expected to trend upward through the first half, with perhaps some relief in sight to come in the second. That isn’t happening, as iSuppli now forecasts prices to continue increasing for the remainder of 2010 until the first quarter of 2011. By then, prices will contract following the stabilization of supply and demand.

Lead times for rectifiers will continue to be unusually extended—lasting as much as 20 weeks or longer— owing to an increase in demand and to capacity constraints. Much like the rest of the discrete market, lead times at these levels will reamin an issue even after 2010.

China Shipments of LED-Backlit LCD-TVs Soar in 2010

But short supplies and slow price declines cause some consumers to postpone purchases.

Chinese consumers are aggressively adopting LCD-TVs that use Light Emitting Diode (LED) backlighting, causing domestic shipments in 2010 to surge by a factor of nearly 14, according to the display market research firm iSuppli Corp.

Shipments of LED-backlit LCD-TVs in China are set to rise to 5.5 million units in 2010, up from just 406,000 in 2009.

China LCD-TV Forecast

With sales being driven by a government stimulus plan designed to promote LCD-TVs, demand in China is so robust that availability of LED-backlit sets has become constrained, causing some consumers to delay their purchases.

Nonetheless, China’s LED-backlit LCD-TV sales continue to pick up steam as the year progresses. Shipments amounted to 953,000 units in the second quarter of 2010 and then are forecasted to climb to a whopping 1.6 million units in the third quarter—a penetration rate of more than 18 percent of the entire LCD-TV market.

Penetration rates are expected to deepen to 23 percent in the fourth quarter, or even to more than 30 percent for premium brands such as Hisense, Skyworth and Samsung.

And this is only the beginning.

iSuppli predicts 40.1 million LED-TV units will be sold in China in 2014—a figure that translates into a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 150.6 percent when measured from 2009 to 2014.

Revenue growth likewise will be staggering, jumping to $24.8 billion by 2014, up from a mere $777 million in 2009. With revenue CAGR of 100 percent for the forecast period, it is no mystery why local and foreign OEMs are ramping up support for LED-TVs.

Just the same, given the short supply of LED-TVs in China, and with prices taking longer than expected to fall, consumers have become more cautious in their buying decisions, with some going as far as postponing an LCD-TV purchase until an LED-backlit set becomes available. Consumers, which previously bought whatever TV set could be found on the market regardless of technology trend or features, now have developed decidedly more discriminating tastes in their television purchases.

Other Advanced TV Features Off to a Slow Start
While LED technology is in high demand in China, other new features, such as Internet capability and 3-D, have met with less enthusiasm.

For its part, the Chinese government’s own policies are serving to inhibit the growth of Internet-Enabled Televisions (IETVs). A government crackdown on what content consumers can view is a bitter pill to swallow for some consumers, who can’t justify paying for an extra feature that cannot be used to full potential.

Still, the volume shipments of LCD IETVs China will continue to rise as local OEMs strive to make Internet connectivity in televisions a standard feature in their high-end products. Without abundant and attractive content support, IETV as a feature will not be one that fuels the China market, iSuppli believes.

In the case of 3-D LCD-TVs, such sets are still far from common, with consumers appearing to evince little interest. As a result, 3-D will do little to help boost overall LCD-TV shipments in this year, even though the feature has good potential and will become more popular when prices decrease and content becomes available.

Plasma Infusion
Overall, the slow retreat of LCD-TV prices in China during the second quarter made feature-rich plasma TVs more attractive than similarly sized LCD-TVs in the country, accounting for a rise in the shipments of plasma panel displays during the period.

Plasma’s advantage won’t last long, however: The continuing decline of LCD-TV prices in the third quarter is expected to squeeze shipments of plasma units, which once again will feel the pressure from their more popular rival technology.

Read More > TV Purchases Temporarily Impacted by Economic Conditions
iSuppli’s market intelligence helps technology companies achieve market leadership. iSuppli's compelling TV research, 3-D TV forecasts, touch screen displays analysis, etc can be used as essential tools for strategic planning and success in the electronic display market. Contact us on +1.310.524.4007 for more details.

One Cell Phone Subscription for Each Indian Predicted by 2014

Saturation will reach 97 percent in a country of nearly 1.3 billion.

Almost every person in India will own a mobile phone in 2014, with wireless subscriptions during that year expected to amount to more than 97 percent of the country’s population of 1.26 billion, according to the market research firm iSuppli Corp.

With about 19 million new subscribers added each month during the first four months of 2010 alone, India’s wireless subscription rate is going at a rapid clip. By the end of this year, total wireless subscriptions are projected to reach 766.0 million—45.9 percent higher than the 525.1 million subscribers counted at the end of 2009, iSuppli mobile industry forecasts show.

The pace of growth for the future shows little sign of slackening. Subscriber numbers will continue to increase during the next four years, topping the 1 billion mark by 2012. By 2014, mobile teledensity—a measure of cell phone availability—likely will reach 97.4 percent per 100 persons. Such a high level of mobile teledensity means that almost everyone—except children and the abjectly poor—will have a cell phone in India, with those having multiple mobiles counted as such and boosting total subscription rates. compensating for those without.

India Wireless Subscribers

All told, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for mobile handset subscribers in the world’s second most populous country after China will reach 18.6 percent from 2009 to 2014.

Driving the overall growth of wireless subscribers is the expansion of the rural Indian market, where entry-level handsets are most popular. A key trend in 2009 was the shift in focus of service providers and handset manufacturers toward the countryside, which continues to offer significant and untapped market opportunity.

In comparison, the urban market—which accounts for only 30 percent of the country’s population but represents almost 70 percent of telecom subscribers—is close to saturation.

Accompanying the surge in wireless subscriber numbers is an equal burst of activity in the country’s wireless infrastructure equipment market. With telecom operators upgrading and expanding existing networks, spending on India’s wireless infrastructure equipment market in 2010 will reach $10.8 billion, up 29.7 percent from $8.3 billion last year

By 2011, network infrastructure spend will rise to more than $11 billion, thanks to the rollout of WiMAX and 3G mobile technology services. The launch of 3G technology in the fourth quarter of 2010 is also expected to significantly boost the sales of smart phones in the country, iSuppli’s India telecom market research shows.

Not surprisingly, a supply chain for telecom manufacturing is emerging, with manufacturers establising local plants to save on importing costs. Local production capabilities will provide manufacturers with a distinct advantage in the price-sensitive rural Indian market, and various players already have announced their plans to further invest in the expansion of manufacturing and R&D facilities.

Read More > Wireless Communications Flourish in India despite Down Economy
iSuppli’s market intelligence helps technology companies achieve market leadership. After the macroeconomic events of 2009, mobile market research is more important than ever. The players in the mobile handset segment are challenged. iSuppli provides a clearer picture of the mobile industry, which is changing faster than ever with the advent of smart phones, 4G technology, and changes happening in the Asia Pacific market every day. Contact us on +1.310.524.4007 for more details.

Automotive Application Users to Reach 28 Million by 2015

The global number of automotive application users will grow from just under 1.4 million in 2010 to more than 28 million in 2015, according to a new Research Brief published by ABI Research.

ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte comments: “Automotive telematics and infotainment applications are quickly gaining momentum, with major automotive players such as Ford and Continental having announced open platforms and application stores. At the same time Nokia’s Terminal Mode and Apple’s iPod Out initiatives aim at integrating smartphones into the car environment. Features include remote control (engine start, door unlock, and alarm), diagnostics, driving behavior monitoring, roadside assistance and multimedia and content streaming.”

The need to monitor, control, and manage the charging of the batteries in electric vehicles is expected to become a strong driver for the uptake of smartphone applications such as the one made available by GM for the Chevrolet Volt.

Solutions based on a connection with the OBD (Onboard Diagnostics)-II vehicle port are also starting to appear, from companies such as Garmin, Devtoaster, Palmer Performance Engineering, Motolingo, and Viper. GPS data are combined with vehicle speed, RPM, fuel consumption, engine coolant temperature, and fuel pressure to simulate dashboards or monitor vehicle performance. A Bluetooth or WLAN OBD-II connector module is required.

PNDs Remains the Navigation Form-factor of Choice but Survey Finds Regional Differences Exist

ABI Research’s most recent navigation survey revealed significant differences in navigation form factor usage. While Personal Navigation Devices remain most popular in all the surveyed countries (France, Germany, the UK and US), the use of other form factors varies widely:

· 39% of German respondents reported the use of built-in in-dash navigation systems
· 45% of respondents in France use mobile phones with navigation software
· In the US 85% of respondents use PNDs, a significantly higher percent compared to the other 3 countries.

Telematics practice director Dominique Bonte comments: “French drivers’ preference for phone-based navigation can be explained by French carriers having offered navigation solutions for many years, some of which are available free. The higher preference for in-dash navigation in Germany is due to a higher percentage of luxury cars sold.”

Other notable findings from the survey include:


* Text-to-speech is more commonly used in Germany and the US
* Traffic information is used by 51% of respondents in Germany
* Garmin is the leading PND brand in the US, used by 57%, followed by TomTom and Magellan.
* In Europe, TomTom is the leader among PND brands.
o In Germany, Navigon and Medion are the #2 and #3
o In France, Garmin and Mio follow TomTom in terms of usage
o In the UK, Garmin, followed distantly by Navman are other PND brands
* About half of all PND users in the US, Germany, and the UK report that they paid between $100 and $200 for their PND
* Significantly higher percentages of those in the European countries (50%+) have updated their maps, compared to only 42% of those in the US
* 55% of those in the US who plan to replace their devices intend to purchase a PND, while 25% are looking to obtain a built-in in-dash navigation system.

Aftermarket Mobile Phone Accessories to Surpass $50 Billion in 2015

Aftermarket mobile phone accessories – those purchased in addition to any included in the phone’s box – produced worldwide revenue of $26.5 billion last year. According to latest forecasts from ABI Research, that volume is expected to increase to slightly more than $50 billion in 2015. That represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4% over the measured timeframe.
“Market growth in the aftermarket accessories segment is being driven by the explosive growth in smartphone sales,” says senior analyst Michael Morgan. “Smartphones are generally higher-value products than feature phones, so consumers are willing to spend more on the accessories for them. There is also a shift to higher-quality accessories, replacing the cheap, white-label products that characterized the market until recently.”

Retailers don’t see high margins on the phones or their associated plans, so accessories are powerful generators of revenue for them.
The most popular categories include carrying and protective cases for smartphones. Their popularity started with the iPhone 3G and 3GS: upwards of 70% of those phones have aftermarket cases. Now the fashion has also spread to high-end feature-phones such as some in the Samsung product line.

Scratch protectors are popular as well, stimulated by the proliferation of large-screen and touch-screen devices.

Bluetooth headsets have historically sold well; the research shows that attach rates for mid-low-end ($29-79) models are now dropping somewhat. However, higher-end headsets are still performing well, getting a lift from their association with smartphones.

Still popular are memory cards, but a shift in demand is also evident here: because wholesale prices are now so low, and handset makers are adding greater memory capabilities to handsets, they are including cards of 500MB to 2 GB in the box. The capacities of these included cards are rising fast. This is starting to suck oxygen out of the aftermarket memory card market, though shifting usage patterns will still help sustain moderate growth for some time.

Wired stereo headsets also doing well, driven by the more media-centric, music-capable phones.

Samsung presented new compact MP3 of [pleery]

The South Korean company Of samsung Of electronics announced two new compact models MP3 of [pleerov]: YP-Q3 and YP-U6. [Pleer] YP-Q3 will replace with itself this model as YP-Q2, where design will be renovated, the number of color formulation of housing will be added, and also will become accessible the technology of working the volumetric sound Of soundAlive.

Housings of both novelties are prepared from aluminum, and besides the reproduction of music they have a function “of [fitness]”, whose destination consists in the calculation of the consumed and burnt calories by the owners of [pleerov]. Basic difference YP-U6 from YP-Q3 is in the absence color picture screen and more compact sizes. Furthermore, YP-Q3 has the sensory keys for control with the tactile return.

LBS - new possibilities of automobile navigation SHTURMANN

Company “[Kontent] master”, the producer GPS of the navigators OF SHTURMANN, presented Location-based of service (LBS) within the framework of the business program of Moscow international automobile salon 2010.

In the first version of navigation client SHTURMANN were realized three base LBS of the service: information against the overloading of roads, the search for objects on the remote servers and the possibility of mapping friends on the map.

At present, among the new possibilities of navigation SHTURMANN are included on the following:

* Updating of dynamic information POI in the regime of on-line (price of the gasoline and others)
* Photographs POI
* Maps of the CIS, Baltic States and Scandinavia in the base assembly with the map of Russia = 9 countries
* Automatic renovation of navigation on GPRS

Canon developed the largest in the world CMOS - complementary metal oxide semiconductor sensor with the superhigh photosensitivity

The Japanese company Of canon reported the development of the largest in the world CMOS - complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) of the sensor with the sizes of 202 X of 205 mm. producer notes that because of its large sizes, the new sensor enlarges the range of photosensitivity because of the higher concentration of the luminous flux. This sensor, from the words of company, will find its use in the professional specular cameras, for example, during the photographing of night sky and the night observation of animals.

Novelty (to the left on the photo) in the comparison with 35 mm [polnokadrovym] CMOS - complementary metal oxide semiconductor by the sensor

Producer especially emphasizes that its new sensor, in spite of its large sizes (earlier, an increase with the size of sensors it compulsorily conducted also to an increase in the time, spent on processing of signals), it possesses high productivity, because of the firm circuit design, used with the development of sensor.

Classical books for the buyers of iriver Of story

The producer of the portable of [multimedia] of the devices of iriver declares about the beginning of deliveries into two large retail networks of Russia devices for reading of the electronic books of iriver Of story in the complete set with the works of the classicists of Russian and world literature.

Since August 2010 all [ridery] of iriver Of story, sold in the retail stores “white wind OF DIGITAL” and “[M].[Video]”, are completed by CDs with the works of the renowned prosaists and poets. Into the collectors entered the work of such “pillars” of literature as Mikhail Bulgakov, Fedor Dostoyevsky, Alexander Kuprin, Edgar Allan [po], Jules [Vern] and many others. The collection of the authors and works is individual for each of the networks.

Let us recall that the device for reading of the electronic books of iriver Of story, which left for the Russian market in November 2009, supports the majority of the popular sizes of files. It is equipped with the valuable keyboard, with the aid of which it is especially convenient to work with [organayzerom], to leave notes, and also to search for and to edit texts. Among the additional functions of iriver Of story it is possible to note [audiopleer] and dictophone.

New radiotelephone of teXet TX-D4800[A]

The model row of the DECT- telephones of the model of teXet was supplemented by the radiotelephone of teXet TX-D4800[A]. The stylish design of model is executed in the black gloss. Black of glass- inverse display in one plane with the front surface of tube. Velvety by feel the touch, the rubberized buttons on their form repeat the correct geometry of tube and base block. In the center of keyboard - round button of the navigation of silvery color.

Simple logical menu - in the Russian language, notebook to 50 names also in the Russian language. Among other possibilities - [AON] of Russian standard, [spikerfon], hours, alarm clock, polyphonic melodies. The recommended retail price DECT of teXet TX-D4800[A] is 1299 rubles.