NOMADIC LIFESTYLE Rob
NOMADIC LIFESTYLE Rob Mesirow Vice President, CTIA, Show Director, Super Mobility Week Jens Heithecker Executive Director, IFA CTIA and IFA Partner in First “Borderless” Trade Show in 2014 Peak industry trade shows create a seamless global platform for mobile, consumer electronics and home appliance industries CTIA, the wireless association’s Super Mobility Show held in Las Vegas September 9-11, and IFA, the world’s largest trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances held in Berlin September 5-10, have together created the world’s first borderless trade show in 2014. Due to the boom in the mobile capabilities in all aspects of consumer electronics and white goods, a closer partnership between the wireless association and IFA has become a must. Combining CTIA's expertise in mobility and IFA's leadership in consumer electronics and home appliance markets, live video feeds of the keynote presentations at both trade shows are beamed between Berlin and Las Vegas to create a seamless media event. "Mobility and wireless connectivity are the future of the consumer electronics and home appliances on display at IFA," said Jens Heithecker, executive director of IFA, adding that a partnership with CTIA “shortens the distance for US retailers, consumers and media to view the global product launches that take place at IFA in time for the holiday retail season.” In 2013 the two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding as the first step in creating a transcontinental trade show. The partnership has produced the first global platform of its kind for retailers, buyers, distributors, manufacturers, vendors and carriers to launch the next generation of new products and services for work, home and play. "The CTIA and IFA partnership reflects today’s borderless and diverse wireless ecosystem, across time zones, across industries and across audiences. Together with IFA, we’re driving the trends that are defining the global marketplace," said Rob Mesirow, CTIA vice president and show director. Heithecker added to this sentiment. "Regardless of location or time zone, the two events will create a transatlantic alliance that connects attendees, exhibitors, media, keynotes and speakers," he said. Companies of all sizes throughout the wireless ecosystem and across the globe are enthusiastic about the alliance and recognise the opportunities that Super Mobility Week offers. "Wireless technology is borderless, and therefore we require platforms that support the global appeal of our products. The IFA and CTIA alliance provides us with an integrated opportunity to showcase our products to the world," said Bryan Biniak, Vice President and General Manager, Global Partner and Application Development at Nokia. "With the new super show and now the IFA partnership, CTIA once again demonstrated its leadership by revolutionising the show experience for attendees and exhibitors. Regardless of a company’s size or location, the alliance between the two shows will mean everyone has an international platform to announce new products and services," said Gary A. Rayner, founder & CEO, LIFEPROOF. CTIA 2014 features top executive keynote speakers like AT&T's Ralph de la Vega, recently promoted to CEO of AT&T's Mobile and Business Solutions Group, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead, Microsoft's devices chief, Stephen Elop, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, The CTIA and IFA partnership reflects today’s borderless and diverse wireless ecosystem, across time zones, across industries and across audiences and Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf. Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless, agrees that CTIA’s Super Mobility Show reaches a much wider audience by partnering with IFA. "CTIA has become an industry bellwether for the wireless world. Their partnership with IFA shows they understand that wireless technology transcends borders. The Super Mobility Week in September 2014 means we have a platform to show our products to the world," said Lo.. CTIA 2014 - Keynote Stage 16
BUYERS' GUIDE SMARTPHONES STATE OF PLAY Global sales of smartphones continue to boom, however increased competition is changing the face of the market, as what had been second-tier players continue to gain market share against the sector’s mainstays. Despite the launch of the iPhone 5C, destined to a broader selling base, Android largely dominates as an operating system as the broader market is for lower to mid-price models. MARKET Within as little as three years, 69% of the planet’s population will own a smartphone. That’s 5.2 billion people with a smartphone by 2017. As the market continues to expand it gets closer to saturation point. For brands dominating the high-end smartphone market, diversifying their portfolios is critical to maintaining market share. Local brands are more likely to cater for the lower end of the market, and are expected to fuel smartphone adoption in emerging regions through diverse distribution methods and increasingly aggressive pricing. In the second half of 2014, GfK forecasts the Chinese brands to not only continue their strong growth domestically, but also to gain share across other emerging markets with the same strategy of offering smartphones with strong specifications at low price points. This trend is likely to come at the expense of the international brands. There is a clear trend towards bigger displays. One out of five handsets sold in Germany in 1H14 had a display bigger than 5 inches. KEY SELLING POINTS TECHNOLOGY Operating system Top three choices are Android, iOS and Windows Phone. The most popular OS is Android with the largest number of apps, while iOS remains the most intuitive platform for smartphones. Display Smartphones are getting larger every day and the border between smartphones and phablets is not clearly visible any more. Display resolutions in higher-end models are now surpassing Full HD and manufacturers will continue to raise the bar in this area. Screens are built with higher quality in terms of scratch and water resistance. Specifications Take a good look at what type of processor is in the smartphone you want to buy. The second important thing is the RAM – newer high-end models come with 2 or 3GB, while cheaper models have 1 or half-GB. FEATURES Camera One of the most important things for consumers is the quality of camera in the smartphone. Do not just look at the number of megapixels, since image quality depends also on the size of the sensor, and additional features like image stabilisation. Battery life There are now smartphones on the market with 3000 mAh batteries that can survive all day surfing the web and playing games or videos. Accessories As smartphones become the epicentre of our lives, manufacturers are creating accessories that connect wirelessly. New smartbands follow one’s everyday life, and smart watches do much more than just tell the time. DESIGN Build quality Some smartphones come with plastic chassis but some are built like a full-metal jacket. All manufacturers try to squeeze in the biggest screens possible, so there is not much to talk about in the design of the front side. If the consumer chooses a uni-body phone, he must bear in mind that changing that battery on his own is not possible. Buttons Whilst most manufacturers put buttons on the top and side of smartphones, there are new proposals with buttons on the back. This gives more space for larger screens, but it takes time for users to get used to this idea. Curved phones This solves the problem for those using a larger phone for voice calls, for whom this usually means the microphone is too far from their mouth. The types of display that curved phones use will make these phones almost unbreakable. CONTACT Arndt Polifke Global Director Telecom GfK Retail and Technology Arndt.polifke@gfk.com INNOVATING @ IFA VESTEL VENUS Vestel’s Venus is available in two models. The Venus X stands out for its sharp lines and is manufactured with display sizes of 5- and 5.5-inches. The Venus V sports more rounded lines but comes with the same screen sizes as the Venus X. The 5.5-inch versions feature 4G, NFC, 13MP cameras and quad-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processors. Both models have long battery life and are competitively priced compared to similar devices. » HALL 8.2 STAND 101 Vestel Venus Dr. Rudolf Aunkofer Global Director Information Technology GfK Retail and Technology rudi.aunkofer@gfk.com THE FUTURE The future of smartphones is definitely in flexible screens using OLED technology. The next big thing will be augmented reality where the consumer can point his phone camera and get overlay information about things around him like cafés, restaurants etc. Voice control is an excellent feature that is already present, but we can expect further improvements. Haierphone W970 HAIERPHONE W970 Haier is launching five new Android smartphones at IFA 2014. They include the HaierPhone W970, which has a depth of just 7.7 mm, making it the slimmest model in the range. The large 6-inch HD IPS OGS screen is made for optimum video viewing, with any content or definition smoothly supported by a quad-core processor. Also boasts an extra-powerful 13MP camera, 16GB internal memory and a double-mic design for clear conversation. Powered by Android 4.4. » HALL 3.2 STAND 201 Our thanks to EISA for their help in compiling this buyers’ guide. www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Wednesday 10 th September 2014 17
