Asia's mobile phone makers are mounting an aggressive campaign to build their presence in the region but challenging the dominance of heavyweight Nokia will be tough, analysts said.
Nokia's exact market share in the region is not available but figures from technology research house International Data Corp (IDC) show the Finnish giant far outpaces its Asian rivals on the world market.
In the quarter to June, Nokia maintained its number one position in the global handset market with almost 41 million units sold, or 34.6 percent of total shipments, IDC said.
Its nearest rival, US-based Motorola, was a distant second with 13.4 percent or 15.8 million units and South Korea's Samsung placed third with 10.1 percent or 12 million units.
"I would say Nokia has got a tremendous amount of brand equity ... it's rock solid," said Bryan Ma, IDC's research manager.
Asian mobile phone makers, already major domestic players, are well-placed to make a big push in the region, where the device is increasingly considered a must-have consumer item with high-tech features such as cameras, radios and sharp colour screens the standard.
"There is a fairly dramatic change in the evolution of the handset market," said Manoj Menon, regional director for technology practice at global research house Frost and Sullivan.
"The phone is not just about voice anymore. It's about pictures and consumer applications like camera [functions], ringtones," Menon said.
These industry shifts will boost Asian mobile phone makers' efforts to expand their presence in a Nokia-dominated field as most of them, such as Samsung, are already leaders in consumer electronics, Menon said.
"What the Asian players bring to the market is their expertise in consumer electronics," Menon said. "They have traditionally enjoyed a good understanding of the consumer psyche and they are bringing it to the handset market and playing it to their advantage."
The much-anticipated migration to third generation (3G) mobile networks, which promise enhanced functions such as video links and fast Internet access, will also give an extra boost to Asian efforts to establish a foothold.
South Korean and Japanese handset makers are world leaders in data applications, a key feature of 3G technology, which gives them a headstart.
Asian consumers are already beginning to embrace mobile phones from South Korea and Japan, widely regarded as the most serious challengers to Nokia.
Singapore Telecommunications [SingTel], the island's leading mobile phone service provider, said it has detected a new preference for Asian mobile phone brands at its retail outlets, but declined to give figures.
"We see an increasingly larger proportion of customers buying handsets from the Asian suppliers," said Hui Weng Cheong, SingTel's vice president for consumer products. "I think the Asian suppliers are pretty advanced in the display technology ... very high definition, high color display screens as well as the ergonomics of the user interface and the design."
Nokia executives declined to comment on the Asian challenge but maintained confidence in its strong leading position.
In new growth markets like India and Indonesia where mobile penetration rates are still low, great potential exists for new subscribers, said Robert Andersson, Nokia's regional senior vice president for mobile phones. Tech-savvy mature markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong also offer value-led growth opportunities for the Finnish telecom giant.
"For Nokia, we believe there are opportunities for growth in the mobile phone market and the company expects to see total market volumes grow by about 10 percent versus 405 million in 2002," he told reporters. "Nokia's aim is to be the leader in mobility for the long term. Nokia will grow in both volume and value in the Asia Pacific region."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique