According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global mobile phone shipments grew a striking 18 percent year-over-year, to 188 million units during Q2 2005 (April - June). Mega-vendors Nokia and Motorola outperformed in emerging markets, to grab an impressive, combined 50 percent share of total sales. Chris Ambrosio, Director of Strategy Analytics' Wireless Device Strategies service, noted, "Strong growth in emerging mobile phone markets, such as South America and Africa, is driving demand for increasing numbers of entry-level devices, precisely the mass-market segments where Nokia and Motorola are among the strongest." "The worldwide handset market is once again becoming concentrated in the hands of just a few major brands," said Neil Mawston, Associate Director of the Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service at Strategy Analytics. "For example, Nokia and Motorola accounted for exactly half the global market in Q2 2005, leaving more than 60 other brands to fight for the remaining 50 percent." Following 361 million handsets sold globally in the first half of 2005, Strategy Analytics forecasts 775 million units for the full-year 2005.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is quietly becoming one of the most strategic short-range wireless technologies in the market, moving from niche deployments into the mainstream of smartphones, cars, and smart spaces. As the ecosystem matures and next-generation implementations arrive, UWB is shifting from nice-to-have to a foundational capability for secure access, sensing, and high-performance device-to-device connectivity. UWB Technology Market Development Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, or legacy IEEE 802.15.4 implementations, UWB combines three powerful attributes in a single radio: secure ranging, radar-like sensing, and low-latency, high-throughput short-range data. This allows networking and IT vendors to architect experiences that blend precise location, context awareness, and rich interaction in ways traditional connectivity stacks cannot easily match. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, UWB is expected to be one of the fastest-growing wireless connectivity...