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Posts Tagged ‘Subscriber Base’

ComScore: iPhone overtakes Windows Mobile use for the first time in US

There are plenty of ways to measure smartphone marketshare. IDC measures units shipped from manufacturers whereas Gartner measures units sold to consumers. Then there’s comScore, the research firm that conducts monthly surveys in the US to measure the total number of devices (and thus operating systems) currently in use. Its latest data is summarized above for the three-month period ending in October. See those yellow lines? If our kindergarten skills haven’t failed us, then this data shows iPhone usage surpassing the once mighty Windows Mobile OS for the very first time. Unfortunately for Microsoft, Google’s Android OS is set to accelerate significantly by the time the February 2010 data rolls in as is WebOS just as soon as Palm can bring its fledgling OS to Verizon’s subscriber base. What’s most troubling to Redmond about this report though, is where we found it: on FierceDeveloper, a site for mobile software developers who will presumably use the data to help determine which platforms deserve their focus. Oh Windows Mobile 7, where are you?

ComScore: iPhone overtakes Windows Mobile use for the first time in US originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T sues LG, Samsung, others alleging LCD price-fixing ‘conspiracy’

A cellphone without an LCD isn’t much of a cellphone. Alright, yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, LCDs still rule the industry which makes it a ripe target for nefarious price-fixing schemes to take root — something that LG and Sharp are well-acquainted with coming off a stinging half-billion dollar verdict last year. All the talk of artificially inflated display pricing recently must’ve spooked AT&T, because they’ve gone ahead and filed a lawsuit in San Francisco today alleging that LG, Samsung, Chunghua, AU Optronics, and others all conspired to boost component prices during a period in which the carrier bought some 300 million handsets. That’s a boatload of phones — several times AT&T’s total subscriber base — and we’re guessing the result could be a significant cash outlay if they’re successful with the suit. Does this mean free Mythics for everyone?

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays

AT&T sues LG, Samsung, others alleging LCD price-fixing ‘conspiracy’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Four million gamers celebrate: World of Warcraft back online in China

The paid version of World of Warcraft is now back online in China after more than three months of disrupted service. That should give the massively multiplayer online game’s four million Chinese fans a reason to celebrate. It should also prompt a sigh of relief at Activision Blizzard, which is heavily dependent on the game for its profits.

WoW was offline since June 7, when Activision Blizzard’s Blizzard Entertainment division began what should have been a routine shift from one Chinese operator, the9, to another, NetEase. But the transfer was held up by interference from the Chinese government, which took the opportunity to closely inspect the content of the fantasy role-playing game.

The delay was a big deal since China accounts for such a large part of WoW’s 11 million subscriber base worldwide, and because WoW is one of the most profitable game franchises in the video game industry. A spokesman for Blizzard confirmed today that the paid version of WoW is up. The game had been operational since July 31, but Blizzard was only operating the game for free while it awaited government approval.

A government agency,China’s General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP), was responsible for granting permits for online games before they can launch. When Blizzard Entertainment opted to license WoW to NetEase after the initial license for the9 expired in June, it rendered invalid the GAPP permit required to operate the game. Such permits were nontransferable, Lisa Cosmas Hanson, founder of market researcher Niko Partners, told us earlier. [Update: I'm told that China officially changed the regulator of games last week to the Ministry of Culture, once a game is already online; the GAPP is still responsible for pre-approval of online games that haven't launched yet.]

Getting a new permit should have been easy. But when NetEase applied for a new permit, it was denied based on the game’s “unhealthy content.” WoW’s content has not changed over the years, and neither have the GAPP standards for healthy content, so it’s dubious that this is the real cause of the delay.

While the letter of the GAPP law hadn’t changed, the ministry’s focus on detail did. Previously, the GAPP required Blizzard to change undead characters so they were fully fleshed (In Chinese culture, showing visible human bones is taboo). This time, GAPP also asked Blizzard to change icons that depicted severed heads or bones as well.

Getting a permit from the GAPP is a hurdle, but on top of that, any foreign game company in a legal dispute with a domestic game company will have the content approval of its games suspended until the dispute is resolved. Another policy states that a foreign company may not operate an online game on its own in China; it has to have a Chinese partner and share its revenues with that partner, Cosmas Hanson said. Chinese game companies that operate in the U.S. have no such restriction.

The Chinese online game market will hit revenues of $3.65 billion in 2009, according to market researcher Niko Partners.

Blizzard had planned the transition for some time. When NetEase and Blizzard formed a joint venture in 2008, their strategy included support and services, but the plans did not mean that Blizzard would directly control the online game operation of WoW or other future titles.

Cosmas Hanson said, “The public will probably never know the trigger that allowed NetEase to restart commercial operations of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft in China. Odds are there are political reasons and probably some technical reasons that all magically got fixed just in time for gamers to get back to their game ahead of the Chinese National holiday period in early October. Blizzard and NetEase have had to wait too long for the approval as it is, so at least they will get to generate revenue while gamers have extra time to spend during the holiday week.”

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Verizon CEO doesn’t care about landlines anymore, feels ‘liberated’ by new outlook

Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg isn’t too upbeat on the future of landlines, telling the audience at a Goldman Sachs investor conference today that the company is just not interested in telephones connected with wires. The chief exec of one of the nation’s biggest telecommunications firms continued with his gospel, saying his “thinking has matured” and that trying to predict when the dwindling landline business will plateau is akin to “the dog chasing the bus.” He says the new way of thinking is “liberating,” but of course, endeavors like the Hub technically don’t count as landlines to the company since it’sVoIP, and the coupled with its continued success as the largest cellular provider in terms of subscriber base, yeah, we’re sure it’s not too tough a pill to swallow. So how abut ramping up FiOS installations just a wee bit faster, eh Ivan?

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon CEO doesn’t care about landlines anymore, feels ‘liberated’ by new outlook originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone coming to China Unicom in Q4 — it’s official

This is just hitting the wires but China Unicom has struck a 3-year exclusive deal to finally bring the iPhone (two versions of the 3G) to China’s massive subscriber-base potential. That’s it, short and sweet after what feels like years of rumors. But really, unless you live in China and subscribe to China Unicom what else is there to know?

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone coming to China Unicom in Q4 — it’s official originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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