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Report organisation, companies reviewed and interviewed
Organisation of the Report
Companies and Products Reviewed
Methodology and Interviews
CHAPTER A. The Quiet Revolution
A flashback into the history of handset customisation and a flash forward into the proliferation of uniquely customised handsets
A.1 | 1990-2000: The Handset as the Network Endpoint
A.2 | 2001–2005: The Handset as a Medium for Branding and Service Access
A.3 | 2006-2011: Uniquely customised handsets
CHAPTER B. The Market Today
The status of manufacturer, mobile operator and brand activities and the market for uniquely customised handsets
B.1 | The Status of Handset Customisation Today
B.2 | Uniquely Customised Handsets
What is handset customisation?
Uniquely Customised Handsets
B.3 | Uniquely Customised Handsets: Global Update
CHAPTER C. Manufacturers: Disruptive Times In The Age of Customer Segmentation
Manufacturer strategies and case studies in handset customisation from skinning to total redesign
C.1 | Striving for Customer Segmentation
The struggle for profit margins
Charting segments and market niches
C.2 | Diversity in Manufacturer Positioning
OEMs, ODMs, ODEs, EMSs, CDMs and OBEs
Continued growth in outsourced handset production
C.3 | OEMs: Innovative but organisationally handicapped
OEM handset innovation, fashion and style
Superficial handset customisation
Independent subsidiaries: Vertu and Xelibri
Uniquely customised handsets: Samsung and Casio
Organisationally handicapped
Disconnected handset sub-teams
The limitations of economies of scale
C.4 | ODMs: Facilitating customised devices
HTC, a prime example of a handset customiser
C.5 | ODEs: Changing the Economics of Customisation
FG Wireless
Positioning and revenue model
Development process
Strategy
Cellon
Positioning and business model
Services and technology
C.6 | Case studies of uniquely customised handsets
Xelibri: lessons learned
A bold experiment in fashion handsets
The year in the life of the Xelibri range
What Xelibri did right
Where did Siemens go wrong?
The Siemens ESCADA project
A repeated success in handset co-branding
How the ESCADA project benefited from the Xelibri experience
Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen, a $600M Brand
From concept to design
The Handset
Market Reaction and Strategy
The ELLE GlamPhone by Alcatel
A brand, a matchmaker and a manufacturer
From design to distribution
Inside and Outside the GlamPhone
Market Reaction and Strategy
i-kids: a customised kids handset
Vertu by Nokia
Vertu’s brand DNA: obsessive craftsmanship
The Signature and Ascent Handsets
Exclusive materials and precision engineering
Commodity hardware and lightly customised UI
Concierge service
Market reaction
Goldvish
Competition in the horizon
VIPN Black Diamond
C.7 | Manufacturer handset customisation: 2006-2011
CHAPTER D. Operators & MVNOs: Time for Handset Innovation
The ageing state of operator handset customisation and case studies of the novel MVNO approach to market segmentation through handset innovation
D.1 | The Ageing State of Operator Handset Customisation
Handset Customisation Today
Raison d'être
Handset branding
Network service interoperability
Usability and service promotion
Industrial design and aesthetics
The Benefits to Operators
A Minefield of Challenges
One Brand To Rule Them All?
Development cost on the rise
Longer development and lead times
Organisational constraints
Technology fragmentation
Partner competition
Operators must innovate
D.2 | MVNOs: Reinventing the Handset
Handsets at the core of the MVNO proposition
Firefly Mobile: Designed for Tweens
Go-to-Market Strategy
Market reaction and company strategy
Disney Mobile
Disney’s surprisingly limited handset customisation
The Dmobo Disney-branded handsets
Helio
Korean handsets, with a touch of customisation
Amp’d Mobile
The handsets
Mobile ESPN
Handset design: A low risk strategy and exacting product definition
The handset at the forefront of the ESPN experience
Market reaction
Strategy: more devices by end of 2006
UIEvolution
The UIEngine application environment
Voce MVNO
Exclusive leather-moulded handsets
Jitterbug MVNO
MVNOs: towards uniquely customised handsets
MVNEs: Handset Customisation as service
D.3 | Operator strategies in handset customisation
Exclusive partnerships
The 5-year Huawei agreement
Co-branded handsets
Vodafone Ferrari
T-Mobile, Robbie Williams and Sony Ericsson
Middleware investments
Vodafone to facilitate a more aggressive move
Behind Vodafone’s S60 announcement
The Vodafone-DoCoMo Linux-based reference platform
From DoCoMo to Vodafone Simply and Orange Experience
DoCoMo and KDDI: Leading the way
Inside the Vodafone Simply Proposition
Mid 2007: the Orange Experience handsets
Operator-led Handset Innovation
T-Mobile’s vision: Multi-modal access
D.4 | Operator-led handset customisation: 2006-2011
MVNOs
MNOs
Own-brand handsets
Co-branded handsets
Wholesale
CHAPTER E. Consumer Brands: The New Force in Mobile Handsets
The routes to market, incentives and challenges for brands entering the handset customisation market.
E.1 | Brands and Mobile
What’s in a brand?
Brands in the mobile industry
Lack of brand differentiation
Lack of manufacturer brand differentiation
Obscure operator brand deliverables
Is brand building only about time and money?
The absence of consumer brands: an unbalanced equation
E.2 | Consumer Brands and Mobile Content
Branded content everywhere
Brands using On-Device Portals
The future of branded content looks bright
E.3 | Branded Handsets: The New Frontier
Branded handsets as a line extension
Consumer electronics as a brand extension
The unique proposition of branded handsets
The incentives for brands
New revenue sources
Attractive margins
The Barriers to Market Entry
Limited know-how
Manufacturer flexibility
Operator inertia
Channel pricing, capabilities and retail experience
Lack of technology kudos
E.4 | Beyond 2006: The Future of Branded Handsets
Which brands are best suited to brand handsets ?
The Route To Market
1. The MVNO route
2. The Customised Design Manufacturer (CDM) route
3. The Value-Adding Distributors (VAD) route
Technology as a catalyst
CHAPTER F. The Silk Road of Customised Handsets
The arduous path of handset commercialisation, from brand licensing and industrial design to distribution and the retail experience
F.1 | The Path to Handset Commercialisation: From Design to Distribution
Cost and time-to-market
Brand licensing
Market research
Industrial design
Hardware design
Handset assembly and manufacturing
Software integration
Last mile handset customisation
Service integration
Testing and quality assurance
Distribution, warehousing and logistics
Retailing
Customer support, reverse logistics, waranty and repairs
F.2 | Routes To Market for Uniquely Customised Handsets
1. The Customised Design Manufacturer (CDM) route
2. The Value-Adding Distributors (VAD) route
Technology as a catalyst to handset commercialisation
Reference designs
Operating systems
Application environments
User interface frameworks
On-device portals
F.3 | Industrial Design: First Step of the Experience
The business dynamics of industrial design
Limited differentiation and margin pressures
Towards closer integration of industrial design with manufacturing.
No Picnic
Frog design
Lawton & Yeo
The benefits of independent industrial design firms
The Industrial Design process
Idem
Services
Positioning and customers
Strategy
Ocean Observations
Overview
Services
Positioning and customers
Strategy
Case Study: Nordisk Mobiltelefon
Background
The design of the Nordisk brand
Understanding the Scandinavian rural professionals segment
Development of the rugged line of handsets
Next phase: targeting the consumer segment
Development of The Networker Line
Summary
F.4 | Customised Design Manufacturers
CDM: an OEM without fixed costs
The beginnings and principles of the CDM model
From modelabs to TCL Alcatel
CDM challenges
Modelabs
A unique and market leading position
The Elite (modelling agency) and Airness (sport equipment) branded handsets
Strategy: 10 uniquely designed handsets a year
Tedemis
Licensing and on-device portal services
A branded services provider strategy
Emblaze Mobile
A handset customisation house for operators
A three-stage strategy from an ODM to a CDM model
A service-centric strategy targeted to operators
F.5 | Value-Added Distributors
Challenges for value added distributors
Emporia Telecom
EmporiaLife: A handset for the 50+ age group
Dangaard Telecom
Brightpoint
Brightpoint’s Business Model
F.6 | Handset Commercialisation: 2006-2011
CHAPTER G. A Guide to Technologies for Handset Customisation
The technology vendor ecosystem, from user interface and plastics customisation to operating systems and reference designs
G.1 | The Handset Technology Stack
Technology as a catalyst to handset customisation
The software stack
On-device portals
User interface frameworks
Application environments
Operating systems
Reference designs
Casing
G.2 | On-Device Portals
ODP, the evolution of WAP
A Crowded Vendor Landscape
Nokia Content Discoverer
Market forecast to 2009
G.3 | UI Customisation Platforms
Who needs UI customisation?
Vendors and Technologies
Vendor landscape
Technology and tools
Criteria for UI vendor selection
TAT
Background and overview
Positioning and unique selling points
Products
Customers and deployments
Technology
Strategy
Digital Airways
Background and overview
Positioning and unique selling points
Products
Customers and deployments
Technology
Strategy
e-SIM
Background and overview
Positioning and unique selling points
Products
Customers and deployments
Technology
Strategy
MSX
Background and overview
Positioning and unique selling points
Products
Customers
Technology
Strategy
High-end Handset UI Platforms
Nokia S60
Trolltech Qtopia
G.4 | Application Environments
Beyond Java and browsers
Java, a point solution
Application environments: the new operating system
Decomposing the browser as an application environment
The war of application environments?
Adobe Flash Lite
Openwave MIDAS
Obigo
SKY MobileMedia
SKY-MAP middleware platform
Customers and partnerships
Open Plug
Product proposition, customers and partners
G.5 | Operating Systems
Symbian
Microsoft
SavaJe
Linux: quickly gaining market share, but challenges remain
Challenges for Linux vendors today
Purple Labs
G.6 | Hardware Reference Designs
Reference design form factor: crucial to handset customisation
G.7 | Casing: new materials for mass customisation
Handset customisation beyond plastics
Inclosia
Overview
Positioning and revenue model
Products
Customers
SkinIt
History
Product and positioning
G.8 | Handset Customisation Technology: 2006-2011
CHAPTER H. 2006-2011: Market Forecasts and Trends
The growth of uniquely customised handsets and the trends that will shape the handset customisation market
H.1 | Global Market Forecast 2006-2011
Forecast Model
Market Forecast 2006-20011
H.2 | Market Trends in Handset Customisation
Brand-led handset customisation
Uniquely customised handsets at the core of the MNO strategy
Own-brand handsets
Co-branded handsets
Wholesale
The Rise of Customised Design Manufacturers
Verticalisation in handset services and technology
Verticalisation in the service business
Verticalisation in the technology business
Handset System Integrators
Mass customisation: micro-segmentation
Open OSes are out; customisable software stacks are in
CHAPTER I. Recommendations For Industry Players
Strategic insights for mobile operators, manufacturers and consumer brands charting their course in handset customisation and segmentation
Recommendations for mobile network operators
Own-brand handsets
Co-branded handsets
Wholesale
Recommendations for handset manufacturers
Recommendations for consumer brands |