Ringing in style, fun and innovation

Ringing in style, fun and innovation

I. Christianto, Contributor, Jakarta

Composing unique, attractive and catchy as well as odd and
embarrassing ring tones on cellular phones has become a fun thing
to do nowadays for people whose lives depend on the wireless
communication gadget.

There is a full list of choices, such as top-forty songs,
national anthems, traditional folk songs, classical chants,
remixed children jingles, which can be downloaded or installed on
the mobile handsets.

The rings of the mobile phones are sometime particularly
disturbing especially when you are still in the middle of a
meeting. In this situation, communicating through SMS can be much
more effective.

Installing an icon, logo or picture has also become another
fun use of cell phones. Cell phone users are now able to put
their photos on the screen and send them to others. Soon, they
will also be able to install, download and exchange video via the
handsets.

The competition in the mobile phone market has become so
fierce nowadays. In order to win the buyers' hearts, manufactures
are not only selling smart or technology laden handsets but also
fun and stylish ones.

Major mobile phone manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung,
Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Siemens regularly introduce new
products with innovative designs and features. They target all
segments, comprising the high, medium and low-end users.

The number of cellular phone users has been steadily
increasing annually. Industry analysts believe the global market
will surge by some 10 percent this year with some 430 million
mobile handsets being sold around the world, driven by increased
availability of phones with GPRS, Bluetooth, color screens and
Multimedia Messaging Service and other internet-based functions.

The number of users in Indonesia has also surged
significantly. The Association of Indonesian Cellular Operators
(ATSI) revealed that at the end of last year the industry served
a total of 6.57 million cell phone users, almost double the 3.67
million users the previous year.

Worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 98.7 million units in the
second quarter of 2002, a 0.8 percent increase from the same
period last year, according to market research company Dataquest.

Gartner Dataquest analysts said there are signs that the
mobile phone industry has reached a point of stability and is
positioned for stronger growth. It said the top three mobile
handset makers, by ranking, is unchanged: Nokia, Motorola and
Samsung.

Analysts in Indonesia predict up to 2 million new
handsets will be sold annually. They say leading brands in
Indonesia include Nokia, Siemens, Samsung, Ericsson and Motorola.

As more people want to access the Internet via their cell
phones, mobile phone makers are also preparing web-enabled
handsets. They are trying to conquer the biggest obstacles
including slow speeds, small screens and tiny keyboards.

Cellular phones are increasingly resembling palm-sized must
have tools, with functions such as data synchronization with PC
applications. Mobile communications devices are set to bring much
more than a telephony experience. Using them will rather be
geared to multimedia communications.

In accordance with the development of the third generation
(3G) technology projected for application in the very near
future, cellular phone producers are preparing terminals with
high-speed access capabilities up to 384kbps, enabling high-end
applications such as voice, data and image transferring, but also
video conferencing via a cellular phone.

The world's leading cellular maker, Nokia of Finland, unveiled
earlier this month, its most hi-tech mobile, the Nokia 3650. It
will be Nokia's second MMS photo messaging phone after the 7650.
Nokia 3650's key feature is that its integrated camera can record
moving as well as still images. These can be sent by
the user as MMS messages to MMS- compatible phones. Video and
images can be stored on the phone.

The 3650 features Java for downloading applications and has an
XHTML web browser. Other features include Bluetooth compatibility
and triband capability so it works across most of the world for
the international traveler, who will be able to access a "wide
range of business applications, including e-mail, calendar,
reminder and agenda. The phone, which weighs 130g and has a
battery life of four hours' talk time or eight days' standby,
will go on sale next year.

Last week, Nokia also launched the 3610, a phone with a
refreshingly new look and design and enhanced local language
features. Created primarily for the youth market, the Nokia 3610
sports a trendy interplay of colors, pop art cover motifs and has
WAP push support.

Consumer trends show a significant growth in the youth market
in Asia over the last two years, indicating also a higher demand
for shorter product cycles for youths who are more trend-
conscious and keen to have the latest and newest devices," he
added.

Also last week, Nokia introduced the 3530 which promises to
add color and bring fun and excitement to the mass consumer
market. It offers high quality color display, MMS and Java
technology in a mobile phone designed for the youth and young at
heart who enjoy fun and richer ways of staying connected. With
a new design and exciting color covers, the Nokia 3530 also
supports polyphonic ringing tones (MIDI), downloadable
applications as well as attractive wallpapers to personalize your
cell phone.

Hasan Aula, the general manager of Nokia Mobile Phones
Indonesia, said the company was targeting all segments in the
country, including the top, middle and lower markets.

Idris Effendi of PT Samsung Electronics Indonesia said the
SGH-N620 is Samsung's most-wanted latest product.

"This model is the first phone in the world with 16-poly ring
tones. In terms of poly ring tones, N-620 is the best among all
poly ring tones phone available in the market now. Meanwhile, the
SGH- T100 True I is the first phone in the world with 4096 TFT
LCD," he said, adding that poly ring tone downloading has become
a new trend in Indonesia.

He said competition was very tough now. Samsung, however,
would continue to maintain its position in the Indonesia market
and our market share keeps increasing, he added.

The way people communicate has taken a very revolutionary
step. The hand-held communications device now combines a phone,
camera, Web browsing, instant messaging and other features in a
package more like a video game than a phone.