Samsung is entering the South Korean e-book market with the introduction of the SNE-50K. This 5-inch e-book reader adds to the traditional book reading functions with the ability to write notes with a stylus.

 

 

Interestingly, indications have the screen being a touchscreen, with no confirmation about whether it uses e-Ink technology for the display.

The SNE-50K is launching in South Korea initially, with other countries possibly next year. The size of the reader makes it smaller than other e-book readers, thus making it more portable. Samsung is partnering the SNE-50K with the biggest bookseller in South Korea, Kyobo Bookstore. It has become standard practice for booksellers to introduce electronic readers of late.

The Samsung reader features no wireless capability, unlike Amazon’s Kindle.

 

Source : Mostreviews.com 

These are the results of a marketresearch conducted by MZA Consultants.

 

Having shown consistent yearly growth over recent years, the total global consumer cordless phone market declined last year. Growing market saturation in more developed markets, continued competition from mobile services and the global economic downturn impacted consumer spending in this area. Total base station sales fell by 11% to 105 million units and total handset sales declined by 13% to 159 million units.

DECT technology continued to dominate the market and increased its share of total base unit sales from 49% in 2007 to 61% in 2008. The market for 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz other digital technologies more than halved impacted by the fact that in many territories vendors are focussing more on DECT than these technologies. Analogue volumes also declined but at a much slower rate as these cost effective models still attract a large volume of customers in many world regions.

The greatest decline in volume was seen in North America where, despite strong growth in DECT volumes and DECT market share, the overall market declined by 20%.
The greatest declines in volume in North America were seen in the digital 2.4GHz and digital 5.8GHz sectors as many suppliers active in this sector focussed more heavily on DECT technology. Analogue declines were less pronounced as these models at competitive price points continued to attract cost conscious customers.

In EMEA a 6% decline was witnessed as growth in the Middle East and Africa outweighed declines in both Western and Eastern Europe. The market in APAC was flat whereas Latin America witnessed a 5% decline.

In what is a highly price competitive market many suppliers have had to re-assess their strategies of maintaining or increasing ASP through selling higher featured models. In reality, brand, aesthetics and price remain key factors in the consumer buying decision.

Supplier Brand Share
At a global level Panasonic (http://panasonic.net/pcc/tel) maintained their number one position in respect of total sales volume of all technologies with strong sales in all world regions contributing to their success (19% global share of base unit sales). VTECH (www.vtech.com) took number 2 position (11% global share of base unit sales), followed by Gigaset Communications (www.gigaset.com) in number 3 position (10% global share of base unit sales). These three suppliers are closely followed by Uniden (www.uniden.com) and Thomson/GE/Alcatel (www.home-electronics.net).

In respect of DECT technology market share Panasonic also took number 1 position followed by Gigaset Communications, with these two vendors accounting for almost 40% of total sales. Analogue technology units, although volumes are declining, still make up a significant proportion of total market sales with a share of 27%. In respect of analogue base units, VTECH lead the pack followed by Uniden.

The “other digital” segment (comprising primarily 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz) has seen a rapid decline in volumes, accounting for just 12% of total market sales in 2008. In this segment, Panasonic hold a commanding share of almost 40% followed by their nearest competitor, Uniden.
The market is increasingly fragmented with many localised players being significant in their own country or sub region, but lacking Global wide presence. Several ODM and OEM providers also achieve significant share of total sales through their provision of cordless telephones to many of the major brands, incumbent service providers and retail chains, these companies include VTECH, SGW Europe, Gigaset Communications, Uniden and CCT (partial list).

 

About this Release
The information contained in this Research Release forms an extract from MZA’s 2009 ompetitive Environment Module “The Global Consumer Cordless Telephony Market”. The full eport provides analysis of market volume and competitor market share trends for 50 ountries worldwide. The Forecast editions show trends for installed base, price points, arket volume and market value to 2014.

Panasonic is currently promoting its range of in-home communications solutions. After a very successful first quarter (April-June 2009), driven by impressive Mother’s Day sales, the focus is now on the end-of-year months leading into Christmas.

In an interview with Current.com.au today, Panasonic category marketing manager, mobile AV, Alistair Robins, talked about the ongoing shift towards DECT cordless phone technology. The DECT frequency band is 1.8GHz, whereas the DSS frequency bands are 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz.

Robins said that of the major frequencies for cordless phones, DECT is proving the most popular in overseas markets, with over 70 per cent of United States models now using that format. Second in the US is DSS, at just under 20 per cent.

Robins expects this trend to appear in the Australian market over the longer term, and is positioning Panasonic’s product offering to reflect that view.

Source: Current.com.au

Gigaset Communications, manufacturers of cordless telephones under the Siemens Gigaset brand in Europe, entered the U.S. telephony market this morning with a portfolio of DECT 6.0 phone products.

Topping the line is the company's new Gigaset One, which merges home and mobile Bluetooth phone systems by allowing users to make and receive mobile calls on any corded or cordless phone with or without a landline.

Gigaset One allows users to connect up to three Bluetooth cellphones with one-time, one-touch setup. Each connected phone will then have a unique ringtone. The device also helps eliminate poor audio quality and cellular dead zones, the company said.

"We know that most consumers value the reliability, performance and quality of a landline phone but want the option to merge their home and cellular phones. We are introducing Gigaset One today to provide consumers with the convergence solution they want from Siemens Gigaset, a brand they can trust," said Rod Keller, CEO of Siemens Gigaset, North America.

The Gigaset One will retail for $99.99 and is expected to be available next month in Staples and OfficeMax stores. It will then be rolled out to Best Buy and RadioShack as well as Verizon carrier stores, Keller told TWICE in a briefing.

Among the company's first DECT 6.0 phone systems for the U.S. market, the flagship Siemens Gigaset SL785 features a sleek, ultra-modern metal frame and full-duplex hands-free, Bluetooth and USB interfaces.

These cordless systems can be personalized with sounds and images with included QuickSync 4.0 software.

Users can load photos and ringtones from a PC to the phone. Different colors can also be assigned to callers or caller groups to enable quick visual recognition. The SL785, engineered in Germany, will retail for $189.

The step-down Gigaset S790 and S795 feature high-tolerance metal keypads and can be extended to up to six handsets. A 1.8-inch color display boasts an icon-structured menu, much like a cellphone's.

Designed for the home consumer and professional users, both systems offer a 500-entry address book and mini-USB interface for easy data synchronization. Both models will retail from $139 and be available in the third quarter.

Sales for the three months ended June 30, 2009 were $197.2 million compared to $205.8 million for the same quarter in 2008, a decrease of 4.2%. The Company's sales results for the second quarter of last year include two months of revenue from the acquisition of the Ericsson Enterprise Communications Business which closed on April 30, 2008.  On a sequential basis, sales decreased by 10.1% from sales of $219.3 million in the first quarter of this year as a result of the weak economic conditions experienced in several markets.

Gross margin was 45.6% of sales in the quarter compared to 42.5% of sales in the same period in 2008 and 48.0% of sales in the first quarter of 2009. Research and development expenses in the second quarter were $21.8 million or 11.1% of sales, compared to $26.8 million or 13.0% of sales in the same quarter of 2008.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $56.0 million or 28.4% of sales in the second quarter compared to $53.2 million or 25.8% of sales in the second quarter of 2008.  As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses increased over the same period last year as operating costs could not be reduced as quickly as the decline in sales that was experienced during the quarter.

Amortization expense recorded in operating expenses was $5.6 million in the second quarter compared to $6.2 million in the same period last year.  The Company recorded interest expense of $0.2 million in the second quarter this year compared to $0.6 million in the second quarter of 2008 as a result of both lower interest rates and a lower long-term debt balance. Losses from foreign exchange were $0.3 million in the second quarter of 2009 compared to a foreign exchange gain of $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2008, due to the strengthening of the Canadian dollar compared to the Euro and U.S. dollar during the second quarter this year.

Investment income totaled $0.7 million in second quarter compared to $0.8 million in the same quarter of 2008. While the investment income earned on excess cash in the quarter has decreased sharply compared to last year, the Company earned a higher amount of financing income on its leasing business.  Income tax expense was $1.2 million or 18.2% of pre-tax income compared to $0.4 million or 15.5% of pre-tax income in the same period last year.  

As a result, net income for the second quarter was $5.5 million or $0.40 diluted earnings per share compared to $2.1 million or $0.13 diluted earnings per share in the same period last year.

VTech Communications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of VTech Holdings Ltd. announced availability of the LS6245 -- the first system of its kind capable of connecting landline and cellular phone calls simultaneously that can also be paired with up to eight Bluetooth -enabled devices.

Based on DECT 6.0 technology for secure and interference-free calls, the stylish VTech LS6245 cordless phone and digital answering system combines advanced Bluetooth features with the best call clarity and sound quality, for $79.95. As a result, consumers have an affordable, advanced and sleek home communications solution to avoid the traditional problems of using cellular phones in the home -- dropped calls and poor call clarity and range.

Working as a virtual two-line phone system, the LS6245 allows users to be on a landline call on one handset or base unit speakerphone, while using another handset for a cellular call at the same time. Users also can connect two cellular phones to the LS6245 simultaneously, and the first cellular phone call to come in will be routed to the cordless phone.

The LS6245 base unit also can be paired with up to eight separate Bluetooth devices, giving users multiple options for making and answering calls from Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices. For hands-free landline conversations, LS6245 users can make and receive traditional landline calls on the LS6245 using a Bluetooth headset or the handset and base station speakerphones.

Fashionably Functional Along with advanced functionality to handle cellular and landline calls, VTech designed the LS6245 to add a high-end touch to any room. The sleek LS6245 is button-free, featuring touch-sensitive technology on the handset and base unit keypads. The high-gloss, metallic black handset also offers a reverse color LCD display and a luminous, white backlit keypad for easy viewing.

VTech's LS6245 phone system is expandable with up to 12 handsets (using the LS6204 accessory handset, sold separately), requiring only a single phone jack at the base station. With more handsets throughout the home, users can easily take or make cellular or landline calls from any room in the house.

"The LS6245 smoothly combines mobile communication with the benefits of a landline home phone system," said Matt Ramage, senior vice president, product management, VTech Communications, Inc. "This system is an excellent solution for consumers who use their cell phones for primary communication, but don't enjoy dropped calls or keeping their cell phones on them while in the house. With its advanced capabilities and sophisticated design elements, the LS6245 marks a new generation in sophisticated home communication -- all at a budget-friendly price." Product Availability The VTech LS6245 is available now at http://www.vtechphones.com/ and Best Buy retail stores nationwide. To improve the customer experience on vtechphones.com, the latest site enhancements include new tools to help consumers choose the right phones to fit their lifestyles and interactive demos to virtually experience each product before purchase.

Sonos today launched the state of the art in music control for the home, the Sonos Controller 200 (CR200).  The new full-color Sonos Controller features an ultra-responsive touch screen display making it easy to quickly find and play all the music you want, in any room of the house, all with the touch of a finger.

The Sonos Controller 200 is 100% dedicated to providing a great music experience throughout your home so everything — from the hardware and industrial design to the software — works together to make controlling the Sonos system fast, easy and fun.  The Sonos CR200 features a 3.5” full-color VGA display (640x480 pixels) and comes with a capacitive touch screen for accurate and responsive operation.  The convenient touch screen keyboard enables rapid search of the world of music, including multi-million song jukeboxes (Napster® and Rhapsody®), more than 25,000 radio stations and podcasts, SIRIUS® Internet Radio, the creation of custom radio stations from services like Last.fm and Pandora®, and of course, your own personal music library.  The quick intuitive interface provides rich graphics that showcase what music is playing and in what room all while making it a pleasure to view artist information, cover art and more.  Styled with an anodized precision machined extruded aluminum case and soft durable rubber backing that fits comfortably in your hand, the CR200 ships with the Sonos Charging Cradle 200 so it’s always easy to find and charge your Controller.

Other Sonos Controller 200 features include:

• Easy set up – A few simple steps are all that’s needed to get Sonos up and running using the new Controller.
• Instant on – Pick up the Controller or touch the screen and it’s instantly ready to play music. 
• Dedicated buttons — Mute, Volume and Zones buttons provide shortcuts to the most often used functions.
• Quick, Intuitive Search – Instantly find the artist, song, radio station, or radio show you want to listen to by typing on the on-screen keyboard. Suggestions are provided as you type.
• Superior wireless performance - The CR200 works on SonosNet (Sonos’ proprietary mesh network) ensuring that you get the best wireless performance of any wireless music product on the market with no interference. 
• Easy zone management – Take music with you as you move through the house by linking rooms with ease (and without interrupting music playback). 
• Multi-room volume control – Change the volume in a single room, or in several rooms, all from the same screen.
• Great for using outdoors – The CR200 features a transflective screen, making it easy to use while listening to music outdoors on a sunny day. 
• Long-life and replaceable battery – Replaceable high capacity lithium ion battery.  Get about five days of usage between charges and replace the battery with ease.
• Compatible – The CR200 is compatible with all existing and previously purchased Sonos Multi-Room Music System hardware.  
  

Also today, Sonos Software 3.0, a one-button software update, was made available to all Sonos customers.  Sonos 3.0 brings new music discovery tools to the Sonos Multi-Room music experience when using the Sonos CR200 or Sonos Controller for iPhone – Info View.  The new feature provides one-touch access to rich music information, like artist bios, album reviews, concert listings, and lists of similar artists. Info View is available on Last.fm and Rhapsody and can be accessed using the Sonos CR200 or Sonos Controller for iPhone.  The new Sonos Controller for iPhone 3.0 is expected to be available via the iTunes App Store after receiving approval from Apple Computer.

In addition to enabling the new features of the CR200, Sonos 3.0 allows the CR200 to work seamlessly with any existing Sonos Controllers, including the CR100, Sonos Controller for iPhone and Sonos Controller for Mac or PC.  Sonos 3.0 also provides Controller support for the latest Operating Systems.   Sonos now supports Mac OS 10.4 and above (including 10.6), Windows XP and above (including Windows 7) and iPhone OS 3.0.  

Pricing & Availability
The Sonos Controller 200, which includes the Sonos Charging Cradle 200, has a suggested retail price of $349 in the United States and is available worldwide beginning today at authorized Sonos dealers and at www.sonos.com.  Also, the CR200 is available today as part of the new Sonos Bundle 250 ($999 suggested retail) which also includes a Sonos ZonePlayer 90 and a Sonos ZonePlayer 120.  The Sonos CR200 replaces the Sonos Controller 100, which has been discontinued.  

This strategic research report from Berg Insight provides you with over 160 pages of unique business intelligence, including 5-year industry forecasts, expert commentary and real-life case studies on which to base your business decisions.

Highlights from the sixth edition of the report:

• Case studies of smart metering projects by the leading energy groups in Europe.
• In-depth market profiles of fourteen countries in Western Europe.
• Status updates on the development of smart grid and communication technology.
• Updated profiles of the key players in the metering industry.
• Revised market forecasts lasting until 2014.
• Summary of the latest developments in the European energy industry.
  

This report answers the following questions:

• How are EU energy policies driving the adoption of smart metering?
• Which are the latest countries to announce mandatory requirements for smart meters? 
• What is the UK government's plan for a nationwide rollout? 
• What are the true implications of Germany's new metering regulation? 
• What are the latest market developments in the Nordic countries? 
• Who are the leading suppliers of smart metering solutions for the European market? 
• Which are the main providers of PLC and wireless communication technology for smart meters?
  

Download the brochure here.

Digium and TeleMatrix, a manufacturer of SIP telephone sets, announced an interoperability partnership that provides Asterisk dealers and developers with a wide variety of new SIP and DECT SIP telephone solutions for hotel guestroom applications.

TeleMatrix is an ISO 9001 and RoHS-certified manufacturer of SIP corded, DECT SIP cordless, analog and digital Centrex telephones for hotel, education, healthcare and general business applications. Through the 2006 merger of TeleMatrix and Scitec, the combined companies have deployed seven million telephones at 30,000 commercial customer locations worldwide. Hotel customers include Accor, Best Western, Choice Hotels International, Hilton, Hyatt, International Hotels Group, Marriott, Starwood, Swissotel and Wyndham.

Digium created, owns and is the force behind Asterisk, an open source telephony software and the alternative to proprietary communication software. Digium offers Asterisk free to the open source community and offers Asterisk Business Edition and Switchvox IP PBX software to power a broad family of products for small, medium and large businesses. The company's product line includes a wide range of hardware and software to enable resellers and customers to implement turnkey VoIP phone systems or to design their own custom telephony solutions.

"From basic SIP trimlines to stylish 3300IP corded and 9600IP DECT SIP cordless, TeleMatrix SIP telephones and Digium business phone solutions such as Switchvox are setting the bar in world-class IP telephony," said Jose Quiros, chief operating officer, TeleMatrix / Scitec. "Next-generation communications deserves bold design, and TeleMatrix has met the challenge with SIP telephones that are internationally designed for form and function, including colored handset inserts to enhance and complement guestroom and office decor on selected models."

"The Digium and TeleMatrix interoperability partnership opens new opportunities for Asterisk channel partners and integrators to compete in the emerging global transition of hotel guestroom telephony from analog to SIP," said Digium's Bill Miller, vice president of product management. "The TeleMatrix global footprint and commitment to SIP telephony excellence create exciting sales opportunities for our Asterisk dealer and developer teams."

Annual shipments of televisions with wireless Web connectivity will jump at least fivefold over the next two years as technological advances shrink the cost of adding the feature, according to a report released today.

Television manufacturers will ship about 20 million wireless-networked TVs globally in 2011, ABI Research said today. That year, wireless-networked TVs will account for about 11% of total flat-screen shipments, up from about 2% this year, said Michael Inouye, industry analyst with ABI.

The expected jump in Web-connected home-entertainment components reflects both falling TV prices as well as an expanding amount of television and film content available for either downloading or video-streaming from companies such as Netflix, Blockbuster and Amazon.com. Last month, Boston-based research firm Yankee Group estimated that annual sales of Web-connected TVs would surge to about 50 million in 2013 from about 6 million this year, with next year's Super Bowl being a key demand catalyst.

"There are a wide range of expectations for this facet of the market, and most consider the 2009 holiday season into 2010 as the critical period to gauge its potential," said Inouye, adding that manufacturers have spent little to promote wireless-networked TVs.

Although the cost of making a television network-accessible is "relatively low," adding the software necessary for wi-fi connectivity could add as much as $100 in costs per television, according to Inouye.

Consumers will spend about $2.9 billion on video content that's streamed from the Internet to TVs in 2013, up from about $600 million this year, research firm In-Stat said in a report in May. By that year, about 24 million broadband-connected households will regularly watch online videos on their TVs, up from about 2.5 million this year, according to In-Stat.

 

Source; Video Business