The past week was an exciting one for the mobile sector. Nokia (
NOK
) started the week off by announcing new Asha models
with smartphone-like social features for the emerging
markets to counter the threat from the growing number of cheap
Android smartphones proliferating the market. With its Lumia line
of Windows Phones seeing strong initial demand in many developed
markets, Nokia scored another win this week by winning a patent
dispute with Research In Motion (
RIMM
) and is now seeking either a BlackBerry sales ban or fat
royalties from RIM for the abuse of its patents. Towards the
end of the week, Apple (
AAPL
) received regulatory approvals to launch the iPhone 5 in China,
and could do so before the end of the year.
Nokia unveils new Asha phones
The Lumia may be key to Nokia's (
NOK
) resurgent smartphone hopes, but the handset maker cannot afford
to lose focus on its feature phone business. While Nokia's
smartphone business has been slipping fast amid a slow and painful
transition to Windows Phone, its feature phone sales have held up
relatively well and continue to be profitable despite Android's
rising popularity. It is therefore a good sign that while Nokia has
been marketing the Lumia well in developed markets, it continues to
roll out new S40 feature phone models aimed at its traditional
strongholds in emerging markets.
The Finnish mobile phone manufacturer recently unveiled two new
additions to its growing portfolio of Asha phones, the Asha 205 and
the Asha 206, with smartphone-like social networking features. The
Asha 205 has a dedicated Facebook button while the 206 has access
to Facebook and Twitter from the home screen. Nokia has also
incorporated a feature called Slam, which allows users to share
content almost instantly with nearby friends using Bluetooth
technology. With these features, Nokia hopes to appeal to
first-time users and compete better with cheap Android smartphones
that have been exerting a downward pressure on prices
in emerging markets for quite some time. (see
Nokia Takes On Android In Emerging Markets With
More Asha Phones
)
Nokia-RIM patent clash
After Apple and Samsung took each other on,
it is Nokia's turn to engage in patent wars. Emboldened
by the initial strong demand for the Lumia WP8, a resurgent Nokia
is seeking to delay RIM's comeback by banning BlackBerry sales
in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. This came after a Swedish arbitration
tribunal judged that RIM's phones are in breach of some of Nokia's
WLAN patents and the company can therefore not sell any more
BlackBerry devices without first licensing the patents in question.
The ruling comes at a crucial juncture for both the companies as
they try to negotiate tricky platform transitions at a time when
Apple and Samsung are running away with the smartphone market.
With RIM's hopes of surviving in this hotly contested market
hinging on the new BB10 platform it will be launching on January
30, this development could prove to be highly damaging. The company
will therefore look to resolve its dispute through a royalty
agreement with Nokia and get back to focusing on a glitch-free BB10
launch as soon as possible. Nokia, on the other hand, will be
pleased with the strong reception that the recently launched Lumia
Windows Phone 8 smartphones have seen. However, what is not certain
is if the high demand is a result of a supply crunch or how long
the demand will last, and it won't be until Nokia reveals actual
sales figures. With a lot hanging on the long-term success of the
Windows Phone platform, Nokia's increasing focus on monetizing
its strong patent portfolio could help mitigate the impact of
what could be a long and painful Windows Phone transition process.
(see
Nokia Is Still Worth $4.50 After Socking It To RIM
With Patent Win
)
iPhone 5 launch in China
In line with Apple's plans to make this year's iPhone
launch its fastest roll-out ever, the iPhone 5 has cleared the
final regulatory hurdle and should be launched in China before the
year ends. While it is not yet clear which carrier will be the
first to launch the iPhone 5, both China Telecom (
CHA
) and China Unicom (
CHU
) seem to have received their respective licenses from the
regulatory body. A December launch of the iPhone 5 in China
may not be confirmed news yet, but China Telecom Chairman Wang
Xiaochu had earlier expressed confidence in an early December
launch. It also helps that Apple had taken three months to
launch the 4S in China after the U.S. launch last year, and going
by that time-frame, a December launch does seem very likely.
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