InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[olddog967]

ed: I agree with you that Nokia was talking about the time to market product development cycle. In view of what seems to be a constant introduction of new models I was surprised that it would take as long as Nokia claimed. However, as you point out there is a lot involved. Here are some comments from a Jul/Aug 2003 article, from Wireless Systems Design. As noted, for a company like Nokia that wants to do almost everything in-house it can take as long as 18 months, but for the smaller companies that use standardized components, it can be done in about six months. ( the six month period is in agreement with what an independent design company claims it takes - see second URL cite).

“In addition, companies are leveraging alliances and collaborations to gain entry into new markets. Such measures can enable product development or help a company obtain key technology. Device companies also are compressing the product-development cycle. A typical timeline for the development and manufacture of a new handset is about 18 months. The use of standardized, modular components and outsourced production can reduce this timeline to around six months.”

Snip

“By developing a critical sense of time to market, each participant plays a crucial role in supplying value to the end customer. Participants also enable a more efficient, time- and cost-sensitive process for product development and introduction. This is exactly what's happening today. Wireless manufacturing is being divided into two camps. The first group believes that in-house, chip-level design allows manufacturers to maximize control and minimize risk (i.e., Nokia and Samsung). Then there are those who believe that the use of standardized wireless modules enables OEMs to focus on core competencies. In the latter camp are the companies looking to exploit economies of scale and output flexibility, such as TCL and Handspring.”


http://www.wsdmag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=6025

http://www.my-esm.com/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=21800178