Nokia Oyj aims to regain the top position in the NT$40 billion (US$1.25 billion) Taiwanese market next year by rolling out more models and strengthening partnerships with local telecoms operators, an executive said in Taipei yesterday.
This is seen as part of the Finnish mobile phone vendor's broader plans to recoup lost ground around the world, analysts said.
"Our goal for next year is to regain Nokia's top position [in Taiwan] ? We want to do more integration with operators," Loren Shuster, manager of Nokia Tai-wan, told reporters yesterday.
Third-generation (3G) handsets will be one of the key factors in boosting Nokia's cellphone sales next year after Taiwan's mobile phone operators open the high-speed mobile service in or around the second quarter, Shuster said.
In an operator-driven market like Taiwan's, low-priced models will be another factor boosting sales, as these models are popular among operators when offering premium handsets for new subscribers, Shuster said.
Nokia, which ranks second after Motorola Inc in Taiwan, plans to unveil as many as 40 handsets in a full range in the Taiwanese market next year, she said.
This will be twice the number of handsets Nokia launched in Taiwan this year.
The company has pitched 12 models in the local market this year, and it is expected to unveil three or four more next month, including the fashion-styled 7280, which resembles a tube of lipstick.
"It won't be easy for Nokia to catch up, as it still lags behind Motorola by 5 percent in terms of market share," said Marty Kung (龔俊光), an analyst with Market Intelligence Center (MIC, 市場情報中心).
To overtake its US rival, Nokia has to capture a market share of at least 20 percent, Kung said.
"The arrival of the 3G era may be a chance for Nokia to win back market share," he said.
Kung added that Nokia was right about cementing cooperation with operators, because service providers would rely heavily on their suppliers to make phones tailored to certain special services or functions.
But Motorola can do just as good a job as the Stockholm-based phone maker, he said.
Staunch support from users is Nokia's main advantage in the neck-to-neck race in the 3G market, despite the drawback of smaller screens found in most of its existing models, Kung said.
He predicted that Taiwan's cellphone sales will remain almost flat at around 6.6 million units next year, slightly up from his estimate of 6.5 million for this year, as the market is reaching saturation.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS