Indian Cell-Phone Subscribers Top 260 Million
China’s Cell-Phone Subscribers Reach 574 million
China Mobile, Vodafone, and Softbank Mobile Set Up Test Lab
SMIC to Convert DRAM Production to Logic ICs
Casio Rumored to Supply Handset to Softbank
Hitachi Markets Wristwatch-Style Health-Monitoring Device
Samsung and Sony Agree on Additional 8G TFT-LCD Production Line
Nokia Siemens Demonstrates LTE Technology

The cell-phone subscriber base in India reached 261 million at the end of March 2008, based on statistics from Indian government, as reported by Asahi Shimbun (Japan's second-largest daily paper). The figure is larger than that of the U.S. and means that worldwide India has the second largest cell-phone subscriber base after China. The Indian government expects India to have as many as 500 million wireless subscribers by 2010.

In 2005, the Indian cell-phone subscriber base was about 5,000. The figure grew explosively along with the fast-paced economic growth of the country in general. No doubt, the low cost of making cell-phone calls has also contributed to the rapid growth. The average communication charge is about 1 rupee (2 cents @ 40.46 rupees/$US 1) per minute, which is one of the lowest rates in the world.

According to CTIA (the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association) of the U.S., the number of U.S. wireless subscribers was 257 million at the end of March 2008. China has over 500 million wireless subscribers. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

According to China’s Industry Information Agency, the country’s cell-phone subscriber base increased to 574 million at the end of March 2008, up 27,348,000 since the end of March 2007. By contrast, the number fixed-line subscribers decreased by over 4 million to 361 million in the first quarter 2008. Reductions in monthly cell-phone charges helped to lure subscribers away from fixed line subscribers.

Along with the increase in size of the cell-phone user base, transmission of short messages soared in the first quarter of 2008 to 174.86 billion messages, an increase of 28.8% year on year. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

China Mobile of China, Vodafone of the U.K., and Softbank Mobile of Japan announced in late April 2008 that they are planning to jointly to set up a test laboratory named Joint Innovation Lab, according to japan.internet.com (a news and technology portal).

Through their collaboration, the trio hopes to accelerate the commercialization of mobile Internet. Included in their plans is the development of a mobile widget platform. Vodafone also indicated that the new test facility will be devoted to R&D of cell-phone application programs as well as upgrading the mobile operating-system technology of each carrier. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

China’s largest semiconductor foundry, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), plans to convert its DRAM production to more profitable logic ICs. EE Times reported in late April 2008 that SMIC had announced it would completely withdraw from the commodity DRAM business.

The company’s exit from the DRAM market could affect Qimonda and Elpida, for whom SMIC produced DRAMs on a foundry basis. According to the Taiwanese press, Qimonda plans to end foundry orders in the second quarter of 2008, while Elpida has been reducing its foundry orders since January 2008.

Analysts point out that the worldwide DRAM glut has continued, while TI and Broadcom are increasing logic IC orders. Those factors are affecting the strategies of DRAM manufacturers going forward. SMIC’s CEO has been trying to decrease the company’s DRAM output ratio to less than 20% and improve its financial well-being. SMIC posted a $119 million loss for the first quarter 2008.

In related news, Elpida and Qimonda announced in late April 2008 that they would collaborate in developing and manufacturing next-generation DRAMs, which should hit the market sometime in 2011. They are also considering supplying products to each other. The combined DRAM market share of Elpida and Qimonda is close to that of Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading supplier of DRAM. Elpida and Qimonda are joining forces to be more competitive. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

IT-Media!, the online Japanese technology news portal, reported that Casio of Japan is preparing to supply a handset to Softbank Mobile in the coming fall. Neither Casio nor Softbank Mobile has commented. However, since Casio has been developing handsets with Hitachi in the Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications joint venture (est. 2004), there is also speculation that Hitachi may supply a handset to Softbank.

Casio is currently supplying handsets to KDDI in Japan as well as CDMA2000 handsets to various markets. The company is reportedly working on the development of W-CDMA handsets to be marketed in the second half of 2008. Casio previously signed a deal with Qualcomm in December 2007 to expand its license to all of Qualcomm's 3G wireless technology. Casio now has the right to manufacture and market 3G handsets around the world, including technologies such as CDMA2000 (hybrid 2.5G / 3G technology), W-CDMA/UMTS (higher-speed transmission protocol used in the Japanese FOMA system and in the UMTS system, a third-generation follow-up to 2G GSM networks deployed worldwide), and TD-SCDMA (a 3G mobile telecommunications standard being deployed in China).

Currently, in Japan, NTT DoCoMo, Softbank Mobile, and EMOBILE are the carriers deploying W-CDMA wireless services. The speculation is that Casio will supply W-CDMA handsets to one of them. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Hitachi of Japan announced on its website in late February 2008 that it would market a wristband-style wireless sensor called the Hitachi AirSense Entry Model 02 Plus. The device collects data from the wearer over a 24-hour period and analyzes it using monitor software that comes with the product. The device monitors the amount of exercise amount, walking rate, and sleep duration of the person wearing it. The collected data is automatically fed into graphical charts, including a biorhythm chart, to help detect (through changes in the data) any abnormality in health.

The Hitachi AirSense Entry Model 02 Plus consists of a wristband-type wireless sensor, USB device- gateway, real-time monitor software, and dedicated charger cable. The whole set is priced at 500,000 yen ($4807.23 @ yen 104.01/$US 1).

Such devices, called "life recorders," acquire and analyze data automatically (without user interaction), giving insights into a user's health trends that may have been previously neglected. Recently, several companies, including Hitachi, have gotten serious about their involvements in the "life recorder" business. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Samsung Electronics of South Korea and Sony of Japan plan to install an additional 8^th-generation amorphous silicon TFT-LCD production line at S-LCD, their joint LCD panel production plant in South Korea. The announcement was made in late April 2008, according to CNet (a Japanese media and technology news portal).

S-LCD plans to invest $2 billion in the project. The new production line in Tangjeong Complex in South Korea should be ready in the second quarter of 2009. Initially, the new production line will process 60,000 glass substrates (2200mm x 2500mm) a month. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Nokia Siemens Network (the joint venture between Nokia, the Finnish telecom giant, and Siemens, the German engineering conglomerate, established in 2007) demonstrated LTE (Long-Term Evolution) technology, which is used in 3.9^th-generation cell phones. The demo was made for the Japanese press in late April 2008, according to the Japanese media and technology news portal CNet.

Nokia Siemens Network’s sales in 2007 ranked second worldwide after Ericsson of Sweden. The Finnish company will concentrate on demand in Japan and North America in an attempt to capture the No. 1 position.

Nokia Siemens Network demonstrated the new technology, called LTE Flexi Multimode BTS (base transceiver station), which also supports GSM, the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Equipment used in the demonstration coupled two base units at a maximum throughput rate of 80Mbps. The equipment can also be configured for use with four units. By using MIMO, which combines multiple antennas, throughput can be improved to 170Mbps, when using two transmitting antennas and two receiving antennas and transmitted at 20MHz.

Nokia Siemens Network plans to offer a commercial solution sometime in the 2009 or 2010. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]