End-user electronics industry in early stages of recovery

STAMFORD, USA: The recovery is under way for the electronic equipment industry; however, much uncertainty continues to rest on the macroeconomic recovery and the effectiveness of government stimulus packages, especially when that stimulus runs out, according to Gartner Inc.

As a result, Gartner does not expect a sustainable recovery pattern until 2010, and associated semiconductor sales are not expected to regain 2007 peak levels until 2012.

“Almost all sectors of the electronic equipment market have now hit bottom and await signs of ‘first growth’ in comparison with the same quarter last year,” said Klaus Rinnen, managing vice president at Gartner’s semiconductor manufacturing group. “The first signs of growth will be led by seasonal buying patterns in the PC market during the third quarter of 2009, although other major sectors will not begin to show first growth, year-on-year, until 2010.”

“Electronics vendors and their suppliers must give careful attention to the expected recovery pattern of each sector, and a separate response must be planned for each,” said Jim Tully, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “In particular, new product introductions should be synchronized with the expected sequence of the recovery.”

Gartner has recently revisited its expectations for recovery in the electronic equipment industry, providing details by sector:

PCs
Gartner has found that there is little change in the PC sector recovery. Having bottomed in the first quarter of 2009, a sustainable recovery is pegged for the third quarter of 2010. The outlook for a PC recovery is influenced by depressed enterprise demand and the fact that IT spending is not expected to return until 2010.

In contrast, home PC demand has held up better than expected, reflecting the way that consumers now value and use PCs, even in difficult times. The overall PC forecast has been revised up, especially for the United States and China, in light of this continued strength of the home PC market and the improving outlook for the global economy.

Mobile phones
Originally anticipated to reach bottom in the third quarter of 2009, mobile phone production reached its low point in the first quarter of 2009. This market is now predicted to be the first sector to show sustainable recovery, starting in the first quarter of 2010.

Improving fundamentals in the mobile phone market was a key driver in the upward revision, and Gartner now expects mobile phone unit production to decline only 8 percent in 2009 which is 4 percentage points less than the May 2009 forecast. The rebound has largely come from the demand for basic phones targeted at emerging markets, particularly China, and for smartphones, which continue to perform well as competition increases and prices come down.

Wired communications
The wired communications market outlook has benefited from China’s infrastructure spending and an earlier than expected onset of recovery in the developed nations, causing Gartner to move forward the timing of the bottom and first growth by two quarters.

However, growth will be relatively weak until 2011, meaning that the period between first-growth and sustainable growth markers could be better described as a period of stability rather than a rapid return to historical growth levels.

Consumer electronics
Despite reasonable growth in LCD TVs and Blu-ray DVD players in 2009, many other categories have shown either flat sales with little or no growth, or declining revenue and unit shipments between the first and the third quarters. The consumer electronics market appears to be in a state of "limbo" and Gartner has pushed out first growth indicators to the second quarter of 2010.

From the second quarter of 2010 onward, Gartner predicts greater stability but anticipates few signs of a return to prerecession growth rates occurring until the first quarter of 2011.

Automotive Electronics
The auto industry is still performing in line with Gartner’s expectations since the beginning of the year. Gartner predicts that semiconductor vendors will likely see improved demand for semiconductors from Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, which will be reacting to increasing demand and new car purchase orders early in the first quarter of 2010. However, more evidence of recovery in the economy in general is needed before any strong growth trends can emerge for the automotive sector.

“Although the first signs of recovery are starting to appear for the electronics industry, the damage from the current industry recession will be felt for a long time,” said Mr. Rinnen. “This is seen in our current five-year semiconductor revenue forecast, which does not show recovery to 2007 levels until 2012. Vendors must prepare for significant changes in consumer buying behavior, technology demand patterns and a changed supplier landscape.”

Samsung develops world's first single chip for North American mobile digital TV standard

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd has successfully developed the world’'s first single chip compatible with the newly approved North American mobile digital TV broadcasting standard.

Samsung’'s latest chip innovation combines the radio frequency (RF) and digital chip components into one single 65 nanometer (nm)-scale chip. Compared to traditional multiple-chip sets, the single chip provides makers of various mobile devices including mobile phones, car-mounted televisions and portable media players an optimal solution that is more compact, uses less power, and is more affordable.

The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has been working towards standardizing mobile digital TV broadcasting utilizing the existing digital TV broadcasting spectrum and facilities since May 2007. After a membership vote that concluded yesterday, ATSC Mobile DTV was officially adopted as an ATSC standard.

“Prior to Samsung’s technical demonstration at the 2006 NAB Show, industry experts believed that the compatibility of mobile TV broadcasting technology with the existing ATSC broadcasting system was not possible. In early 2005, Samsung Electronics decided to apply significant resources to ATSC standardization,” said Byung Duck Cho, executive vice president of the Digital Media and Communications R&D Center of Samsung Electronics.

“Samsung succeeded in ATSC Mobile DTV standardization through its dedication and support in cooperation with the ATSC, broadcasters, and other electronics manufacturers. Through this collaborative accomplishment, Samsung Electronics aims to advance its leadership in the North American mobile market with mobile TV.”

Over 70 broadcast stations have announced their support of this initiative and have agreed to broadcast on a trial basis across North America by the end of 2009. The goal is to prepare for formal broadcasting tests to North American consumers beginning in early 2010.

ATSC Mobile DTV makes live mobile broadcast TV possible by installing minimal additional equipment at existing TV transmitters while utilizing the same frequencies as current terrestrial digital TV broadcasting. ATSC Mobile DTV does not influence current DTV receivers even when operating in the same channels making it in-band compatible.

It is widely considered as the best solution for mobile broadcast digital television in North America. Through mobile broadcasting, consumers will be able to access free content such as local news, emergency alerts, weather reports and entertainment as well as premium paid services.

LG Electronics salutes ATSC adoption of mobile digital TV standard

WASHINGTON, USA: LG Electronics highlighted the flexibility and power of digital television (DTV) during an "on the go" demonstration of ATSC Mobile DTV. The new standard, just adopted Thursday night by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), is already on the air -- showing how TV stations will entice viewers with new options for over-the-air broadcasting to mobile and handheld receivers.

Co-developer of the technology at the heart of the ATSC Mobile DTV standard, LG Electronics applauded the rapid adoption of the flexible new standard, which promises to expand the reach of digital television to a new generation of viewers. To support the commercial launch of ATSC Mobile DTV receivers, mass production of the LG2160A semiconductor chip that will be used by LG and other manufacturers is underway.

Commemorating the new ATSC Mobile DTV standard here today, prototype LG products, including mobile handsets and a personal DTV equipped with reception capability for mobile DTV broadcasts, were taken on a drive throughout the city streets and highways of the nation's capital, showcasing the robust reception characteristics of the new technology.

Mobile prototypes utilized today included both GSM and CDMA handset models as well as a combination personal digital TV receiver and portable DVD player planned for introduction in 2010 that utilizes the new ATSC Mobile DTV chip from LG. The company is also working with automotive electronics and computer makers to incorporate mobile DTV capability into their products.

Seven Washington-area broadcasters are now transmitting Mobile DTV signals, which are sent in the same spectrum used to transmit crystal-clear high-definition and other digital TV programming.

The ATSC Mobile DTV standard allows broadcasters to use a portion of the existing 19.3 Megabit-per-second DTV channel capacity to transmit data with extremely robust characteristics suitable for mobile, pedestrian and handheld applications. The mobile DTV signal is compatible with 8-VSB DTV, which was also developed by LG's U.S. research and development lab, Zenith.

Featuring an automatic power saving mode to maximize battery life for DTV viewing "on the go," the new LG reception chip provides mobile/handheld demodulating and equalization functions, and outputs IP packet streams to enable audio/video decoding in the receivers compatible with the new ATSC Mobile DTV standard.

ATSC adopts mobile digital TV standard

WASHINGTON, USA: The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) is pleased to announce the approval of A/153 ATSC Mobile DTV Standard. The ballot, tallied at midnight Oct. 15, was approved with overwhelming support by the full ATSC membership.

The ATSC Mobile DTV Standard defines the technical specifications necessary for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld devices using their digital television (DTV) transmissions.

The new services for mobile and handheld devices are carried along with current DTV services without any adverse impact on legacy receiving equipment.

ATSC Mobile DTV was developed to support a variety of services including free (advertiser-supported) television and interactive services delivered in real-time, subscription-based TV, and file-based content download for playback at a later time. The standard can also be used for transmission of new data broadcasting services.

"Development and adoption of the ATSC Mobile DTV Standard is a major milestone in the ongoing evolution of digital television," said ATSC President Mark Richer. "We have been fortunate to have strong and active industry support, including thousands of person-hours of technical volunteers, for this work which enabled us to develop the standard in an efficient manner."

The ATSC Mobile DTV Standard will enable broadcasters to provide new compelling services to consumers utilizing a wide array of wireless receiving devices including mobile phones, small handheld DTVs, laptop computers and in-vehicle entertainment systems.

Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, said, “As a founding ATSC member, CEA congratulates ATSC on achieving this new standard, which will help chipmakers and equipment manufacturers proceed with product development and deployment.

With the successful digital television transition now behind us, the ATSC Mobile DTV standard gives broadcasters an opportunity to provide consumers with the next generation of compelling over-the-air content."

"This milestone ushers in the new era of digital television broadcasting, giving local TV stations and networks new opportunities to reach viewers on the go," said Paul Karpowicz, NAB Television Board Chairman and President of Meredith Broadcast Group.

"This will introduce the power of local broadcasting to a new generation of viewers and provide all-important emergency alert, local news and other programming to consumers across the nation."

ATSC Chairman Glenn Reitmeier added: "On behalf of the ATSC Board of Directors, I would like to congratulate all of the ATSC member companies that contributed to this major achievement. The ATSC Mobile DTV standard is flexible and robust, enabling a range of services business models that create new opportunities for broadcasters, device makers and consumers.

"It is particularly noteworthy that ATSC Mobile utilizes Internet Protocol (IP), which will enable broadcast services to be easily integrated with wireless broadband consumer devices and applications, further reinforcing the significant role of terrestrial television broadcasting in the media landscape for decades to come."

ATSC Mobile DTV is built around a highly robust transmission system based on Vestigial Side Band (VSB) modulation, with enhanced error correction and other techniques to improve robustness and reduce power consumption in portable receivers, coupled with a flexible and extensible Internet Protocol (IP) based transport system, efficient MPEG AVC (ISO/IEC 14496-10 or ITU H.264) video, and HE AAC v2 audio (ISO/IEC 14496-3) coding.

ATSC Mobile DTV services are carried in existing digital broadcast channels along with current DTV services without any adverse impact on legacy receiving equipment.

In addition to live television, the new ATSC Mobile DTV standard provides a flexible application framework to enable new receiver capabilities. Receivers that make use of an optional Internet connection will enable new interactive television services, ranging from audience measurement and simple viewer voting to the integration of Internet-based applications and transactions with television content.

Formal development of the ATSC Mobile DTV system began in May 2007 with the issuance of a request for Proposals (RFP). The new standard document will be available online on the ATSC Standards page.

MindTree intros Bluetooth health device solution on Android platform

BANGALORE, KARNATAKA: MindTree Ltd today announced the launch of its Bluetooth health device solution on the Android platform.

The solution, which was successfully demonstrated on the Google G1 Android Phone at the Continua Health Alliance Fall Summit held in Boston from October 5-9, 2009, is designed to provide seamless interoperability among personal healthcare devices, thereby empowering individuals to connect with their healthcare administrators real-time.

The Continua device solution consists of MindTree’s qualified Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR stack including eL2CAP, Multi-Channel Adaptation Protocol (MCAP) and Health Device Profile (HDP), integrated with IEEE – 11073 layers ported onto the Android platform on a Google G1 developer phone.

In the demonstration, the health device solution on Google G1 Android Phone interoperated with a Continua-Certified pulse oximeter from Nonin Medical. The oxygen saturation levels and heart beat readings gathered by the pulse oximeter are transferred wirelessly over Bluetooth to the G1 mobile phone which then displays these readings. The readings can be stored for future reference or as a further application can be uploaded onto the Internet to an Electronic Health Record (EHR).

Today’s demographic trends indicate busy lifestyles that leave little time or motivation for fitness and weight management; a rise in chronic diseases; an aging population that requires escalating levels of supervision and medical intervention.

These, combined with the rising cost of healthcare, necessitate the need for a system where in people are seamlessly connected to their healthcare providers. This also brings about the need for improved interoperability among health devices.
MindTree’s solution on the Android platform not only enables connectivity but also demonstrates the interoperability between such devices.

“Continua Health Alliance is encouraged by the launch of MindTree’s implementation of the Continua Version One Bluetooth device interface,” said Continua Health Alliance President and Chairman of the board of directors, Rick Cnossen. “The MindTree technology will foster and accelerate the development of Continua standards-based mobile solutions available to consumers.”

“MindTree’s new solution, successfully demonstrated at a premier event such as the Continua Health Alliance Summit, further strengthens our leadership position in the Bluetooth technology space,” said MindTree President and CEO – R&D Services, Vinod Deshmukh.

“As Bluetooth continues to penetrate into newer markets such as healthcare, we will have newer requirements to address. We are conscious of this changing trend, and will continue to proactively invest in building the next generation of Bluetooth-based solutions that will effectively address the market requirements of tomorrow.”

MindTree’s Bluetooth stack and profiles are qualified for 2.1+EDR and have been proven in multiple products for interoperability and robustness by world-leading companies like NEC Corporation, GN Netcom and Logitech. The products include headsets, handsets and automotive infotainment platforms.

MindTree was also the first independent stack provider to qualify the Bluetooth health device profile. MindTree’s Bluetooth stack is written in ANSI C with well designed abstraction layer which enables easy portability across various platforms.

Worldwide PC shipments returned to growth in Q3-09: Gartner

STAMFORD, USA: The PC industry performed better than expected as worldwide PC shipments totaled 80.9 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a 0.5 percent increase from the third quarter of 2008, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Gartner had expected PC shipments to decline 5.6 percent in the quarter.

“These are good results especially given that PC shipments for the third quarter of 2009 are being compared to a very strong third quarter from 2008,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Sequentially, third quarter shipments grew 18 percent, which is higher than the historical seasonal growth from the second to third quarter.”

“The consumer market continued to lead unit shipment growth, driven by low priced mobile PCs,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “Ongoing price declines continue to be a major issue in the PC industry. PC vendor performance cannot be determined solely by unit market share gains alone as related revenues and margin performance are key to surviving in very competitive market.”

Hewlett-Packard continued to lead the worldwide PC market as its shipment growth exceeded the worldwide average (see Table 1). HP did well in Asia/Pacific, particularly in China. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, HP’s shipments declined, but it was less of a drop compared to the EMEA average.

Table 1Source: Gartner

Gartner analysts said the launch of Microsoft’s latest operating system (OS), Windows 7, should have a minimal impact on PC unit growth. But inventory adjustments around the launch could artificially affect shipment volumes during the third and fourth quarters of 2009.

“Recent OS releases have not been a growth driver in the PC market, however the timing of Windows 7’s is favorable for the industry due to expected economic improvements and an overdue hardware replacement cycle,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “We anticipate renewed interest in hardware upgrades from consumers and small business during the holiday season as a result Windows 7’s release. In the corporate market, Windows 7 adoption is not expected to ramp up until late 2010."

Regional breakout
After three consecutive quarters of year-on-year shipment declines, PC shipments in the US totaled 17.8 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a 3.9 percent increase from the third quarter of last year (see Table 2).

“The consumer mobile PC market drove US shipment growth in the third quarter of 2009, fueled by back to school sales,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “However, the results came with a revenue loss because of very steep declines in average selling prices (ASPs). Consumers were comfortable buying PCs, but they were relentlessly looking for bargains. Our preliminary research shows consumer mobile PC ASPs declined more than 20 percent compared to a year ago.”

Dell maintained its No. 1 position in PC shipments in the US, however its shipments declined 8.9 percent in the quarter. Gartner analysts said this could be attributed to Dell emphasizing profit protection rather than market share expansion.

Table 2Source: Gartner

The EMEA PC market had a double-digit decline for the third quarter of 2009. PC shipments in EMEA totaled 26 million units, a 10.1 percent decrease from the same period in 2008.

Central Eastern Europe was the weakest area, followed by Western Europe and then Middle East and Africa. The professional market continued to be weak in both the desk-based and mobile PC segments. The mobile consumer market kept the Western Europe market buoyed and again mini-notebook share increased as most of the vendors drove higher volumes.

PC shipments in Asia/Pacific registered 25.2 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a 16.1 percent increase from the third quarter of 2008. This strong rebound was primarily attributed to the surge in PC shipments in China and emerging markets in South East Asia that registered strong double-digit growth rates. The PC market in China is estimated to have grown 28.5 percent in the third quarter of 2009.

In Latin America, PC shipments totaled 6.9 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a decline of 3.9 percent, from the same period last year. This is the last quarter of expected contraction. Fourth quarter unit shipments this year are expected to grow at 29.6 percent.

Much of this has to do with the fact that PC shipments in the fourth quarter last year were so low. However, the generally improving economic scenario in Latin America and the likely strong fourth quarter holiday sales season should also drive growth.

PC shipments in Japan totaled 3.2 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a 15.1 percent decline. Both the professional and consumer markets were weak. The consumer market declined 13.8 percent in the quarter, after nine consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth.