Siemens AG of Germany yesterday unveiled its first 1.3-megapixel camera phone in an attempt to nearly triple its share of the local market, as phones equipped with better-resolution cameras catch on fast in Taiwan, a company executive said.
Siemens isn't the only cellphone company to utilize the high-end, megapixel models to create new demand in a market reaching saturation.
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB last week introduced a high-end 1.3-megapixel camera phone, the S700i, to Taiwan consumers while Nokia Oyj is scheduled to roll out another megapixel camera phone next month.
"Aggressive efforts by mobile-phone vendors to launch new high-end models, priced at above NT$11,000 per unit, are expected to create new demand for this segment," said Edward Wang (王麒賀), a director at Siemens' Taiwan division, Siemens Tele-communication System Ltd.
Wang forecast the market share of this high-end segment will increase to around 10 percent from 8 percent by the end of the year. Overall, he forecast that total sales of mobile phones in Taiwan will grow 15 percent in the fourth quarter from 1.6 million units a year ago.
"With more models to roll out, including the 1.3-megapixel S65, we hope to also increase our market share to around 7 or 8 percent by the end of the year," Wang said.
That will put Siemens in direct competition with Sony Ericsson for the fourth-strongest position in the market. The Japanese-Swedish company's local market share rose to around 7 percent in July.
Siemens currently owns about 3 percent of Taiwan's handset market of over 6 million units, Wang said.
Currently, there are 7 megapixel or 8 megapixel models on the market for consumers to select from, including the newly launched S700 by BenQ Corp (
But, industry watchers are not pinning hope on the aggressive launches of megapixel phones to spur the market demand.
“The efforts will not whet up fresh appetite for new mobile phones, said Bruce Chiu (邱致忠), a vice president of Taiwan’s No.2 cell phone retail chain Senao International Co (神腦國際).
“Those megapixsel camera phones are still too expensive to stimulate demand. Besides, the bulky size has made them unwieldy,” Chiu said.
A Sony Ericsson S700i is selling at a high price tag of NT$2,1900. A Siemens S65 is relatively affordable compared those in that class, but will still cost NT$1,3800 each for consumers.
As a result, handset sales in the October-December quarter will remain flat at about 1.7 million units versus the same period last year, Chiu projected.
Marty Kung (龔俊光), an analyst with Market Intelligence Center(資訊市場情報中心), expressed a similar view with Chiu.
“The stimulus from those high-end camera phones will be weak as merely replacement demand from tech pioneers will be spurred,” Kung said.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS