Taipei Times: As Taiwan's mobile phone market is nearly saturated, what strategies does Motorola have to persuade customers to buy a new phone?
Bill Chen (陳勝裕): A comprehensive product portfolio is very important in a very mature market. We offer a product collection that targets all the segments, from high to low tiers. Motorola has four major segments, Moto Life, Moto Chic, Moto Media and Moto Tech.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The first segment is for users who only need handsets for basic communication. The second segment is for consumers looking for fashion and style. In this category, handsets are not only a communication tool but also a symbol of social status. Therefore, those users are looking for handsets that can suit them as good accessories and status symbols.
For customers in the Moto Media group, handsets can be used as a device to transfer multimedia information, and that's why they are moving towards color displays and embedded digital cameras. We are delivering a device that allows consumers who are looking for fun to enjoy a multimedia experience.
The last segment is Moto Tech, which targets tech savvy consumers who are always looking for the latest and greatest technologies and something cool.
TT: As the majority of users fall into the Moto Life category, who only use handsets to meet their basic voice-communication needs, does this mean that the handsets being bought as replacements need to have multimedia or advanced functions?
Chen: Not really, because no service operator will stop luring consumers. Actually they have continued to promote value-added services such as multimedia messaging service to raise people's interest. Therefore, the replacement market is coming from all segments, though there are more technology and multimedia savvy users looking for new value-added services.
From the operators' point of view, they are working very hard to reduce their churn rate, therefore we are working very closely with operators to bring out attractive retention programs, for instance handset subsidy packages.
TT: Within the next two years, what kinds of services and handset features are expected to dominate the mobile phone market?
Chen: Voice will still be dominating services for the cellular market, because voice communication is the basic need. The uptake of wireless data has become much more important, because service operators want to improve their average revenue per user and the revenue coming from voice is declining.
At the end of 2002, data only accounted for some 5 percent of operators' total revenue in Taiwan, and this year local operators are aiming to increase that number to some 10 percent.
Therefore, handsets companies have to work very hard with operators to come out with new value-added services. Consequently features such as color displays and embedded digital cameras are becoming the basic requirements for new mobile phones. In order to make those features work, to provide a total solution to catch consumer interest, the development in content and applications is also very important.
Motorola's strategy has changed a little bit as well because of these needs and because of the new wireless data era. In the past, we used to sell things we always called boxes, the voice devices, and operators were only selling voice and short-messaging ser-vices. But today, operators are pushing value-added services. Therefore, Motorola's strategy is to provide an end-to-end solution to work with operators to offer a total package for that need.
TT: Can you tell us about Motorola Taiwan's target for this year in terms of the number of handsets or market share?
Chen: The number of handsets is very sensitive and I can't disclose it. But in terms of market share at the end of last year we had 33 or 34 percent of the local handset market and became No. 1 in Taiwan. This year we are still targeting maintaining our No. 1 position in the market.
For the first half of this year, we also had a similar result, or 30 to 32 percent market share. We are hoping that we can still keep the No. 1 position in Taiwan, but of course the competition from local brands, from Japanese and [South] Korean handset companies is very fierce. Motorola Taiwan is very proud to say we are still able to maintain the No. 1 position and we have a bunch of new products coming up, so we are pretty confident of being able to maintain that position.
TT: We know globally Nokia Oyj is still the No. 1 mobile phone company, so why is Motorola gaining more acceptance in Taiwan and many Asian countries than Nokia?
Chen: The reason we can be No. 1 in China and Taiwan as well as in North America and several Latin American countries is because we are not only trying to deliver a comprehensive product portfolio to meet the requirements of all segments, but also we have localized marketing strategies.
Handset design is one of the fundamental factors, which is why I say Motorola has very comprehensive product roadmaps to meet different needs. For example, we have clam-shell handsets, candy bar handsets, and some models can offer touch screen PDA functions. In terms of pricing, we have phones targeting pretty much all price-tiers.
TT: Motorola has several local partners such as BenQ Corp (明基電通), Compal Communications Inc (華寶通訊) and Chi Mei Communication Systems Inc (奇美通訊) to manufacture handsets on a contract basis. Does Motorola plan to gradually place more orders with local handset producers?
Chen: I can't answer that question directly, but Motorola will continuously leverage our partnership with our original design manufacturing (ODM) partners to deliver a solution to meet Motorola's global strategy. Whether or not Motorola will release more orders to those companies, I cannot tell at this point. The value of Taiwanese makers is their excellence in design and manufacturing, so all I can say is we will continue to leverage that strength to provide better products and more cost-
effective solutions.
TT: Will Motorola maintain its strategy of producing premium handsets by itself and release low-tier product orders to ODM partners?
Chen: Yes and no. Insofar as Motorola can buy the product we want at better prices, we wouldn't just limit the ODM to low-tier products, and we will be seeing some high-end handsets coming out from our partners as well.
TT: But some of your partners such as BenQ have their own brand products, and therefore you have to compete with each other in the same market. Is this a problem for your partnership?
Chen: I would like to skip this question; it's a sensitive question.
TT: One third-generation operator in Taiwan, Asia Pacific Broadband Wireless Communication Inc (APBW, 亞太行動寬頻), launched the nation's first 3G service in late July. What are Motorola's strategies for 3G business?
Chen: In order to take the leadership in this industry, Motorola has invested heavily in 3G technologies. There are two major technologies under 3G -- Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) -- and Motorola aims to be the market leader in both sectors.
We cooperated with Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (黃浦和記) to launch the world's first dual-mode 3G handset at the end of last year and we continue to introduce more new models with Hutch-ison as well as many other 3G pioneer operators to roll out handsets.
For the Taiwan market, of course, APBW has already launched CDMA2000 services and we will work with them to offer Motorola 3G handsets as well.
In the next couple of weeks, Motorola is expected to start offering 3G handsets to APBW. Now I can not disclose details because we've signed an agreement with APBW, but I am sure Motorola's first 3G handset in Taiwan will be top-of-the-line compared with pretty much all handsets currently available in the market.
The launching price has not been decided yet, because we have to discuss it with the APBW.
As for UMTS, in addition to Japan, Hong Kong and Australia, Taiwan will probably be the next country in Asia to deliver UMTS services.
TT: Will you have any collaboration project with local 3G service providers?
Chen: Motorola aims to be the first in Taiwan's market to deliver 3G phones, therefore, we are working very closely with all operators. Most market incumbents such as Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大), Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) are expected to start delivering 3G services early next year, and now Motorola has 3G handsets testing with all of them.
Actually there are only a couple of dual-mode 3G handsets currently available in the market, so Motorola definitely has the most mature handsets ready for use.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
RSS