RF and microwave news

Nokia remains on top

The Finnish cell-phone giant, Nokia, remains once again the No. 1 leader in the smart-phone segment, according to iSuppli. The company actually finished with an operating profit of 12.3%, compared to an average of 0.7% for all the wireless handset brands (see table ).

Source: iSupply Corp., February

Table: Top-5 Mobile Handset Brand Ranking in 2009 (Ranking by Unit Shipments in Millions)

“Facing severe competition from slick rivals including the iPhone and Google Android-based models, Nokia’s leadership position in the global smart-phone market began to erode starting in the second quarter of 2008,” said iSuppli’s analyst, Tina Teng. “By the third quarter of 2009, Nokia’s share of shipments had declined to 34.5%, down from a recent high of 44.2% in the first quarter of 2008. However, by the fourth quarter of 2009, Nokia’s share of smart phone shipments recovered to nearly 40%, at 39.5%.”

Nokia’s end-of-year comeback was due to its newest models, which featured cool touchscreen displays and QWERTY keyboards. The company’s annual shipment in 2009 was down only 7.8% from 2008 just a bit worse that the 6.7% decline for the overall handset market.

NEC shows smallest LTE base station at MWC2010

NEC Corporation showcased the world’s smallest 420 x 230 x 130 mm all-in-one compact LTE base station at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2010 last week. This base station is 3GPP (Partnership Project) mobile communications standards-compliant and integrates REC (radio equipment controller) control functions and RE (radio equipment) transmission functions. With the removal of cooling fans, this base station consumes 75% less power compared to NEC’s existing W-CDMA product range.

Christina Nickolas