MWC: Outsiders storm smartphone market

Despite the fact that the top five handset manufacturers just wrapped up less-than-stellar quarters, a number of equipment makers from outside of the cellular industry are trying their hand at device making. Building up to Mobile World Congress (MWC) taking place in Barcelona this month, smartphones have been confirmed or rumored from several companies, each with a specific use case and no shortage of challenges to overcome.

Garmin adds telephony to navigation

One of the few formally announced smartphone models comes from Taiwanese PDA and computer-maker AsusTek Computer and personal navigation device (PND) company Garmin. The two introduced a jointly branded line of smartphones, called Garmin-Asus nuvifone, the first of which will debut at MWC. The location-centric smartphone could hypothetically take the place of a traditional PND and is optimized for communication and navigation. The first nuvifone also will feature Ciao, a social networking application that combines location-based social networks in the device and the same turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation as Garmin’s PNDs. It comes preloaded with maps and points of interest that are searchable by category, establishment name or destination.

In expanding beyond its core competency, Garmin will be hard-pressed to find distribution channels or carrier partners, said Neil Mawston, director of global wireless practice for Strategy Analytics. The brand is not associated with mobile devices, and it already attempted its first nuvifone device back in early 2008 with very little uptake. Teaming with Asus is a step in the right direction, but Mawston said they are far from success.

“Garmin is one of the world’s biggest players in [PND] and has a good reputation,” Mawston said. “If they were to come along with a good set of apps and a store that goes with it and prove to carriers there is a potential to grow revenue through new services like social location — if they could prove there is potential to raise ARPU — there is definitely potential to work with big players. But at the present time, you struggle to see how they are standing apart from the competition. They don’t have the brand strength, the brand isn’t exciting, and the services don’t stand out — they are good rather than great.”

Personal navigation, along with gaming devices, is a segment that many analysts believe would make prime candidates for app-specific mobile Internet devices (MIDs), pocketable computers optimized around mobile Web browsing. But the segment is still a few years off as vendors focus on the netbook and smartphone category. With its heritage in mobile phones, Sony Ericsson also is taking the smartphone route, although it has not yet delivered on a PlayStation-branded handset. The OEM launched its latest gaming handset, the F305, yesterday. Using motion-sensor technology, the device is preloaded with motion games, 50 additional games and a two-megapixel camera. The device is not available in the U.S., and a company spokeswoman said it has no plans to launch it here. She would not comment on plans for a PlayStation-branded phone, apparently nixed by parent company Sony, but said Sony Ericsson Japan has filed a patent for a gaming-oriented mobile phone.