Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

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European 3G handset shows sales growth

Firms will be breathing sigh of relief


By Tony Dennis in Taipei: Monday 31 May 2004, 07:53

ACCORDING TO RESEARCHput together by GfK, around 225,000 3G phones were sold in April throughout Europe. That figure represents about 2 per cent of all handsets sold but the number could rise to as high as 10 per cent by December.
The rise in sales is partially attributed to the availability of handsets from both Nokia and LG. The other factor which will raise 3G handset sales is the decision by leading European network operators – such as Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telefonica and TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) – to start selling 3G phones. For the last 15 months, all the running in the 3G market has been done by Hutchison’s 3.

However, TIM’s CEO – Marco de Benedetti- is quoted in The Asian Wall Street Journal as saying that he expects around two million Italians to own 3G phones by end of 2004. Currently 3G handsets cost between $360-$750 in Italy but De Benedetti says that the price of 3G handsets still needs to fall while reliability needs to increase.


http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=16239