Asian phone makers challenging Nokia<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
Asia's mobile phone makers are mounting an aggressive campaign to
\nbuild their presence in the region but challenging the dominance
\nof heavyweight Nokia will be tough, analysts said.<\/p>\n
Nokia's exact market share in the region is not available but
\nfigures from technology research house International Data Corp.
\n(IDC) show the Finnish giant far outpaces its Asian rivals on the
\nworld market.<\/p>\n
In the quarter to June, Nokia maintained its number one
\nposition in the global handset market with almost 41 million
\nunits sold, or 34.6 percent of total shipments, IDC said.<\/p>\n
Its nearest rival, U.S.-based Motorola, was a distant second
\nwith 13.4 percent or 15.8 million units and South Korea's Samsung
\nplaced third with 10.1 percent or 12 million units.<\/p>\n
"I would say Nokia has got a tremendous amount of brand
\nequity... it's rock solid," said Bryan Ma, IDC's research
\nmanager.<\/p>\n
Asian mobile phone makers, already major domestic players, are
\nwell-placed to make a big push in the region, where the device is
\nincreasingly considered a must-have consumer item with high-tech
\nfeatures such as cameras, radios and sharp colour screens the
\nstandard.<\/p>\n
"There is a fairly dramatic change in the evolution of the
\nhandset market," said Manoj Menon, regional director for
\ntechnology practice at global research house Frost and Sullivan.<\/p>\n
"The phone is not just about voice anymore. It's about
\npictures and consumer applications like camera (functions),
\nringtones," Menon said.<\/p>\n
These industry shifts will boost Asian mobile phone makers'
\nefforts to expand their presence in a Nokia-dominated field as
\nmost of them, such as Samsung, are already leaders in consumer
\nelectronics, Menon said.<\/p>\n
"What the Asian players bring to the market is their expertise
\nin consumer electronics," Menon said.<\/p>\n
"They have traditionally enjoyed a good understanding of the
\nconsumer psyche and they are bringing it to the handset market
\nand playing it to their advantage."<\/p>\n
The much-anticipated migration to third generation (3G) mobile
\nnetworks, which promise enhanced functions such as video links
\nand fast Internet access, will also give an extra boost to Asian
\nefforts to establish a foothold.<\/p>\n
South Korean and Japanese handset makers are world leaders in
\ndata applications, a key feature of 3G technology, which gives
\nthem a headstart.<\/p>\n
Asian consumers are already beginning to embrace mobile phones
\nfrom South Korea and Japan, widely regarded as the most serious
\nchallengers to Nokia.<\/p>\n
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), the island's leading
\nmobile phone service provider, said it has detected a new
\npreference for Asian mobile phone brands at its retail outlets,
\nbut declined to give figures.<\/p>\n
"We see an increasingly larger proportion of customers buying
\nhandsets from the Asian suppliers," said Hui Weng Cheong,
\nSingTel's vice president for consumer products.<\/p>\n
"I think the Asian suppliers are pretty advanced in the
\ndisplay technology... very high definition, high colour display
\nscreens as well as the ergonomics of the user interface and the
\ndesign."<\/p>\n
Nokia executives declined to comment on the Asian challenge
\nbut maintained confidence in its strong leading position.<\/p>\n
In new growth markets like India and Indonesia where mobile
\npenetration rates are still low, great potential exists for new
\nsubscribers, said Robert Andersson, Nokia's regional senior vice
\npresident for mobile phones. Tech-savvy mature markets such as
\nSingapore and Hong Kong also offer value-led growth opportunities
\nfor the Finnish telecom giant.<\/p>\n
"For Nokia, we believe there are opportunities for growth in
\nthe mobile phone market and the company expects to see total
\nmarket volumes grow by about 10 percent versus 405 million in
\n2002," he told AFP.<\/p>\n
"Nokia's aim is to be the leader in mobility for the long
\nterm. Nokia will grow in both volume and value in the Asia
\nPacific region."<\/p>",
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