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MOTOROLA 'WHITE BOX' ANNOUNCEMENT SHOWS SHIFT IN WIRELESS BALANCE OF POWER
URL(s): www.insignia.com
Motorola's recent announcement that it will build customized phones for
major wireless operators is part of a larger trend that will see
traditional
handset manufacturers marginalized, as software becomes the key wireless
market differentiator. Squeezed by a combination of commoditization,
operator price-pressure and consumer brands like Sony entering the
market,
traditional handset manufacturers will have to address this "white-box"
approach to survive. This is the view of Insignia Solutions, whose
Secure System Provisioning (SSP) and Java handset software enables wireless
operators to update phones remotely and offer new services to consumers
such as instant news, e-mail or the ability to send and receive colour photos
and
movies.
While still the second largest mobile phone company in the world,
Motorola
has signed deals with Verizon Wireless, Cingular, AT&T Wireless,
VoiceStream
and Vodafone to produce low-end customised handsets with the same basic
'skeleton' but with different shapes, colors and finishes to fit in with
each wireless operator's brand image. The software inside each phone
will be
customized so they will have different games, ring tones, icons and wake
up
screens. By reusing the same skeleton the c330 line of mobile phones
will be
available to customers at a cost in the $100 range.
"Motorola's announcements show that the balance of power is shifting
away
from 'traditional' handset manufacturers, toward the wireless operators
and
software companies. The handset production value chain is changing
-phones
themselves are becoming a commodity and it is the software that controls
them that's key," commented Peter Baldwin, EVP operations, Insignia
Solutions. "It's the same as the PC business in 1990s, people no longer
care
about the hardware components inside the phone - they want something
that
can be adapted to meet their individual lifestyle needs. Why do I care
who
makes my cell phone if it offers me the services I want like wireless
instant messaging?
"In the past wireless operators had to sell fixed-function mobile
phones,
making them prisoners of hardware - now the operators can continuously
introduce unique services and applications, transforming cell phones
into
completely dynamic, flexible devices that instantly incorporate the
exact
features demanded by customers."
Software such as Insignia's enables operators to sell a bare-bones phone
and
then customise it after the point of sale by deploying new services
wirelessly. As Insignia's software uses the universal Java software
language, operators can update phones irrespective of make or model,
enabling them to access new revenue streams quickly and cheaply.
Insignia
has partnerships with leading mobile players such as Sun, ARM, Intel and
Texas Instruments that support its strategy to be at the center of the
mobile services market.
About Insignia Solutions
Insignia Solutions' provisioning-infrastructure software enables
wireless
carriers and mobile device manufacturers to fully capitalize on the
mobile
service opportunity. Founded in 1986, Insignia is a market-share leading
supplier of Java(tm) virtual machine software solutions for high-growth
markets including mobile, digital TV, telematics, and embedded systems.
More
than 40 million units of Insignia's JVM(tm) technology are licensed by
major
partners including Samsung, Compaq, BSQUARE, Wind River, Fujitsu, NEC,
Toshiba, Motorola and Siemens AG. Insignia Solutions is traded on NASDAQ
under the symbol INSG. The company is headquartered in Fremont,
California
with R&D and European operations based in the United Kingdom, and its
Asian
HQ in Japan. For additional information about Insignia or its products
please visit http://www.insignia.com.
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