AT&T Wireless announced new promotions bundling tablets with smartphone purchases in an effort to boost the uptake of tablet wireless contracts. A limited-time offer beginning Friday includes an LG G Pad 7.0 LTE for 99 cents with the purchase of a smartphone for $0 down on AT&T’s Next installment plan. The promotion includes a two-year agreement and qualifying data plan with voice activation for the phone and a two-year data plan for the tablet, the company said. In an offer running Oct. 3-Jan. 8, customers can get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 (a $369 value) for $99 with the purchase of any Samsung Galaxy smartphone with two-year service agreement including data for the phone and a two-year data plan for the tablet, it said. Customers who buy an iPhone on the AT&T Next plan will get $200 off a new iPad bought on a two-year wireless agreement through Oct. 31, AT&T said. Qualified wireless service is required on both devices, it said. Customers must sign a two-year wireless agreement for the iPad and use AT&T Next to purchase the iPhone, the carrier said. Customers can score a $100 credit when purchasing a smartphone via AT&T Next and adding it as a new line to an account, AT&T said.
Toshiba will use next week’s CEATEC Japan show to showcase a wristband fitness tracker that draws on Toshiba’s biosensor technology to record a user’s physical activity and sleep patterns, the company said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/ZslfPh). It also will showcase the Silmee, a vital signs sensor module that senses the heart’s activity, pulse and body temperature to analyze the condition of the user’s autonomic nervous system and sleep, Toshiba said. In the field of electronic devices, Toshiba will showcase products that use wireless technology “to provide new user experiences,” it said. Examples include SeeQVault, a next-gen content protection technology, Toshiba said. SeeQVault, developed by Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba, uses bidirectional authentication with a unique identifier and public key infrastructure and can be integrated into flash memory cards for Ultra HD content playback in a smartphone, tablet or TV (CED Feb 27/13 p7). Also on display at the CEATEC stand will be “a glasses-like wearable device” called Toshiba Glasses, Toshiba said: “Visitors can try them out in different situations, such as watching sport or maintenance inspection.” CEATEC opens Oct. 7 in Japan’s Makuhari Messe for a five-day run.
Chinese telecom carriers’ strategies to end subsidies to smartphone makers has meant a falloff of smartphone demand after a peak in March and April, said an NPD DisplaySearch report released Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1E0cKdR). Telecom carriers in China will gradually stop subsidizing smartphones directly to focus more on consumer call charges, DisplaySearch said, which is expected to affect current inventory levels of name brands. The change in strategy could affect the supply chain, adding to declining smartphone display average selling prices (ASPs) in the open market, DisplaySearch said. The average price of a 5-inch 720p in-plane switching module was $25 in August 2013 and dropped 44 percent to $14 this August, said DisplaySearch, which could lead to “weaker-than-usual” sales growth in second half 2014. “An adequate supply” of mobile phone displays will result in falling ASPs through the rest of the year, said Terry Yu, analyst. Coolpad, which has strong relationships with Chinese telecom carriers, already suffered from inventory issues that forced the company to implement a new distribution strategy in September, Yu said. Coolpad plans to launch three distinct brands to lessen the impact of subsidy adjustments: one each for telecom carriers’ channels, traditional distribution and e-commerce, Yu said. The iPhone 6’s arrival in China in a few weeks, however, is expected to improve display procurement demand and ASP performance, he said.
Apple’s share of smartphone sales in Britain dipped only slightly ahead of the iPhone 6 launch due to robust sales of the iPhone 5c in August, said Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Historically, the British market sees a drop in share for Apple in the month before a new iPhone release, but the 1.6 percentage point dip in August 2014 was due to a focus on the iPhone 5c, “which tends to attract a slightly less tech savvy buyer who will be less likely to be holding off for the iPhone 6,” said Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director. The iPhone 5c was the best-selling phone in Britain in August with an 8.9 percent share, outselling the iPhone 5s at 7.6 percent and the Samsung Galaxy S5 at 6 percent, said Sunnebo. Of the 13.3 million iPhone owners in the U.K., roughly a third -- some 4 million users -- are ready for an upgrade, Kantar said. “Even before the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched, some 85 percent of British iPhone owners planned to choose another iPhone at upgrade time,” said Sunnebo. In the past, attracting customers away from Android has been a challenge, but that could change with the larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, he said. “It now remains to be seen how much of a barrier iPhone’s significant price premium will have on people switching” to the new Apple devices, he said. Android has remained the No. 1 operating system in the top five European countries (U.K., Germany, France, Spain and Italy) with 75.8 percent share for the three months ended August, with Apple at No. 2 with 13.6 percent, he said. Windows is third with 9.2 percent of sales during the latest period, said Sunnebo.
JVC Americas and Kenwood U.S.A. completed their merger, announced in April, that aims to streamline operations and spur innovation, the companies said Wednesday. JVC and Kenwood brands will remain distinct in their respective user markets and sales channels, the companies said. Sales and marketing of car electronics for both brands, along with JVCKenwood USA headquarters, will continue to be based in Long Beach, California, while sales and marketing of communications and security products will be in Suwanee, Georgia, they said. Sales and marketing of AV and professional camera products will remain in Wayne, New Jersey. The combination of the two companies will lead to new product and system areas for consumer and professional markets, they said. In 2008, JVC and Kenwood said they would combine businesses, R&D and other work in under the corporate structure JVC Kenwood Holdings but with plans to retain their identities as separate operating companies.
LG began selling a 21:9 curved 34-inch monitor in the U.S. Wednesday, incorporating an in-plane switching screen and Ultra Quad HD panel with 3400 x 1440 resolution. “Many people spend more time in front of computer monitors than they do in front of TVs, and yet the industry hasn’t delivered the same level of innovation when it comes to monitors,” said Tim Alessi, LG’s U.S. head of new product development, in a news release. The curved screen provides a more immersive viewing experience, Alessi said. The $1,299 monitor is compatible with PCs and Macs and supports Thunderbolt 2 for high-speed data transfers, the company said. On the audio side, the 34UC97 also features MaxxAudio and a 7-watt stereo speaker system. LG’s 34UC97 will be available nationwide in October at online and regional retailers including Adorama, Amazon, Fry’s B&H, Newegg and Tiger Direct, LG said.
The EPA is “just now receiving” all the comments submitted on Draft 2 of the Energy Star Version 7 spec for Ultra HD TVs, Verena Radulovic, Energy Star product manager for consumer electronics, told us Tuesday in an email. Though comments on Draft 2 were due Monday (CED Sept 30 p3), “some are due to come in early next week, given some extensions,” Radulovic said. The EPA “typically” posts all comments received with the release of the final draft, which is expected in late October or early November, she said.
One of every eight U.K. homes uses streaming services to watch TV, while tablets and smartphones are the “go-to” browsing devices in a third of British homes, and one in every 10 millennials doesn’t own a PC or laptop, said a survey report released Monday by the U.K. firm Post Office HomePhone and Broadband. Streaming or downloading TV programs ranked as one of the top three most popular uses for broadband at home, with 12 percent of homes viewing TV shows mainly via online channels, the report said. The survey of 2,000 British consumers in mid-August also found that nearly a third of U.K. homes use a smartphone or tablet as their main browsing device at home. But PCs and laptops still remain popular for accessing the Internet at home, though not among the youngest consumers, it said. Only 15 percent of 18-24-year-olds use PCs as their main browsing platform compared with two in five consumers over 55, it said. “Streaming and on-demand entertainment services respond to the needs of the time-poor consumer and our report demonstrates how the convenience of these entertainment channels is beginning to dominate the UK’s home browsing activity,” the company said. “While smartphones and tablets provide convenience when accessing the Internet away from home, it’s interesting to see that they are now superseding the PC and laptop as the device of choice in nearly of third of households as well."
Delphi Automotive will acquire media connectivity module supplier Unwired Technology in a deal that’s expected to close in Q4, terms undisclosed, the companies said Tuesday. “Media connectivity is a high-growth segment as auto manufacturers respond quickly to consumers’ increasing desire to integrate their smartphones and tablets in their vehicles,” said Delphi CEO Rodney O'Neal in a statement. “Unwired’s products strengthen our overall electrical architecture and electrical connector offerings, which is supporting increased electronics content per vehicle.” As CE products become more advanced, “automakers are integrating increasingly complex modules and hubs,” Delphi said. Unwired’s connectivity products provide two-way data connections between smartphones and tablets and in-car infotainment systems, “allowing consumers to safely access content in the vehicle,” it said. “These media connectivity modules can handle multiple devices, provide high-speed charging capabilities and enable seamless access to content through emerging infotainment software solutions."
Global shipments of branded tablets will rise by a “disappointing” 2.5 percent in 2014, ABI Research said Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1tegvnG). Apple and Samsung continued to lead branded vendors in unit share during 2014’s first half, but with “mixed fortunes,” it said. First-half unit shipments of iPads fell 13 percent from a year earlier, while Samsung units were up 26 percent, it said. “The roller coaster ride from the leading two tablet vendors has market watchers looking to other vendors to create sustainable growth,” it said. “All eyes are on Lenovo as it is one of few to demonstrate consistent growth over the past year.” Lenovo remains the world’s biggest PC supplier, but now sells more smartphones and tablets than it does PCs, and is the world’s third-largest tablet supplier, Lenovo said in the run-up to the IFA show last month in Berlin (CED Sept 3 p6). Meanwhile, DisplaySearch similarly sees tablet shipments rising only 2 percent this year, the company said Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1uagAwO). That’s a marked downgrade from the 14 percent growth DisplaySearch predicted in a previous forecast, the company said. It sees tablet demand growing by single digits through 2018, as leading brands “are changing their business plans,” because the rapid growth of tablets over the past several years “is ending,” it said. “We can expect to see more competitive overlap among display sizes for tablet PCs, notebook PCs, and smartphones, as Apple has announced its new iPhone 6 Plus, with an increased screen size of 5.5 inches, and Microsoft has introduced its new Surface Pro 3 models, with 12-inch screens.” It sees tablets up to 7.9 inches becoming “cannibalized somewhat” by 5.5-inch-and-larger smartphones, it said. Shipments of tablets with 11-inch-and-larger screens will rise from a 2 percent share this year to 14 percent in 2018, as tablets directly compete with smaller laptops with screen sizes up to 13 inches, it said.