GfK Equity Research
GfK OvernightNews
First published Thursday 26th AUG 2010
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RESULTS/OUTLOOK
* COMPAL to cut 3Q notebook shipment forecast on slowing global demand – says Europe is only stable, USA has weakness, emerging markets including China also very slow (Source: Unwired View)
Steve: Demand comments in line with most recent GfK data - Europe back-to-school ramp has started, but China weakening
* INVENTEC forecasts flat 3Q10 q/q revenues with notebook shipment growth q/q, 1Q-3Q shipments exceeding 12m, 2010 shipments reaching 18m vs 21m in 2009 (Source: Digitimes)
Steve: Implies modest growth 2H/1H vs flat as reported yesterday, but main point remains y/y decline due to loss of business to, among others, FOXCONN
* CHINA UNICOM 1H10 rev of RMB82bn, +8%y/y; mobile revenue of RMB41bn, +18%y/y (3G service rev of RMB3.98bn); 3G subsidy of RMB1.17bn, target 3-5bn subsidy for full year, rising mobile revenues compensated for fixed line decline (Source: Company)
Richard: Subsidy focus shifted to smartphones in 2H10 explaining weaker subsidized WCDMA sales and net adds in JUL
* LED packager EVERLIGHT 1H10 rev of NT$8.3bn, +75% y/y; forecasts 2H10 results to be similar; 4Q order visibility unclear (Source: Digitimes)
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WIRELESS
* MICROSOFT leaks LG E900/Optimus 7 WinPho7 photos: NOV launch in Europe expected, LG to launch C900 as Pacific (Source: Unwired View, Engadget)
Davide: LG faces a tough battle against HTC on WP7: 1) even if first, LG will have a short headstart over HTC; 2) WP7 lack of hardware/software differentiation is an issue b/c HTC brand is stronger than LG in high-end
* 4Q OS video reviews:
- WinPho7 in-depth UI look (Source: Pocketnow)
Antoine: A sleek and efficient OS, good UI, but hard to differentiate from a vendor standpoint
- NOKIA N8 hardware & Symbian ^3 (Source: WOMWorld)
Davide: UI not as smooth and intuitive as competitors - look for S^3 to help in stopping NOKIA smartphone share bleeding, but not in winning back customers that moved to APPLE or GOOGLE OS
* Report: New HTC phone specs leak, pricing/availability undisclosed (Source: HTC Pedia)
- Motion: 3” WQVGA display; TouchFLO OS; QUALCOMM 6290 300MHz processor; 3.2mp camera; 256MB ROM; 128MB RAM
- Sage: 3.2” QVGA display; WinMo 6.5; QUALCOMM 7625 528MHz processor; 5mp camera; 512MB ROM; 384MB RAM
Richard: GfK data shows HTC cheap smartphones are gaining traction in Emerging Markets
- HTC Merge receives GCF approval: rumoured specs of Android OS; 1GHz processor; 10mp camera (Source: Softpedia)
* India: BlackBerry sales drop in India as consumers turn wary: sales declined by ~ 50 % (Source: Sify)
Amit: Bad timing, big setback for RIM's ongoing campaign to expand their reach into Tier 1 and Tier 2 Cities
* SPREADTRUM launches SC6600L7: first Tri-SIM card single baseband solution; ARM7-based; shipments start in 4Q10, expect ramp from 1Q11
Simon @ SPREADTRUM 2010 Tech Forum: Despite 5 month delay SPREADTRUM has high expectations - opportunity to continue take share from MTK which suffers from tight supply and product transition
* MOTOROLA News:
- Report: MOTOROLA MB520 Kobe/Diablo photos leak: Android 2.1 with 2.2 update expected; Blur UI; to launch on AT&T; pricing unknown (Source: Engadget)
- T-MOBILE launches MOTOROLA Charm from US$75 on contract (Source: Engadget)
* QUALCOMM plans new mobile services and applications (Source: Unwired View)
* Report: Tight capacity keeping smartphone touch panel pricing stable (Source: Digitimes)
* U.S. News:
- METROPCS to launch SAMSUNG CRAFT in SEP, pricing undisclosed (Source: Yonhap News)
- AT&T to launch SONY ERICSSON Vivaz SEP 5 for US$80 on contract after rebate (Source: Engadget)
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DISPLAY
* SONY launches a new midrange 3DTV line with the NX810 series in US: 46/55/60" models; US$3000/3700/4700 respectively (Source: Engadget)
Agnes: GfK data shows SONY is completing its 3DTV line-up with low, mid and high-end models - now leader in Japan 3DTV; SAMSUNG dominates Western Europe 3DTV
* Report: PC vendors reducing LCD monitor orders for 2011 due to weak demand: CMI, TPV, QISDA say orders affected from reduced orders from HP, DELL, ACER (Source: Digitimes)
Jing: LCD Monitor y/y unit change has slowed despite a pick-up in commercial purchases
* Small-to medium-size TFT-LCD panel maker E-INK HOLDINGS says no effect from SAMSUNG quitting e-paper business (Source: Digitimes)
* LGD to begin mass production of 9.7/19" flexible epaper next gen ereaders, tablets (Source: PC World)
* MITSUBISHI launches three full HD 3D televisions: 40/46/55" models; pair of glasses bundled; US$3500/4700/5900 respectively (Source: Engadget)
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PC
* Report: Regional vendors impacted by 1st tier notebook brands offloading inventory in emerging markets: HP, ACER dropping prices on older models and reselling in emerging markets in Eastern Europe and APAC (Source: Digitimes)
Steve: Look for channel transshipping to clear excess and ageing channel inventory
* SHARP to launch ‘iPad rival’: potential 3D display in future; expected in US & Japan this year; China in 2011 (Source: PCR)
* WIIPAD launches Wiipad Plus: Android OS; 7” 800x480 display; 720MHz TELECHIPS TCC8902 ARM11 CPU; 256MB of DDR2 memory; 2GB flash storage; US$190 (Source: LifeAtMost)
* ASUS UK notebook launches: (Source: LifeAtMost)
- N53JN: 15.6” display; US$1005-1545; INTEL Core i5 processor; NVIDIA GeForce GT325/415M graphics
- N73JN: 17.3” display; US$1700; INTEL Core i5 processor; NVIDIA GeForce GT325/415M graphics
* PEGATRON to acquire China-based PC component maker RLI for US$220m (Source: Digitimes)
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COMPONENTS/OTHER
* GARMIN to recall 1.25m nuvi range PNDs due to fire hazard, doesn’t expect to hurt results; battery supplier to share replacement costs, ~64% recalls from US market (Source: Reuters)
Stefan: A Very rare occasion to have PND recalled - mostly affecting older lower-end devices 200W, 250W and 260W so expect limited impact on already weak PND category
* CANON may raise overseas output, review product prices if Yen stays strong (Source: Bloomberg)
Stefan: GfK data shows CANON now biggest camera vendor in Taiwan - but SONY still top-selling SLR vendor with strong NEX demand; net/net Taiwan small market - bigger picture demand for DSC still positive and strengthening across all GfK regions
* CANON surpasses SONY in JUL to become largest camera vendor in Taiwan (Source: Digitimes)
* Report: APPLE to hold media event on 7 SEP: report predicts the announcement of APPLE TV service and iTunes video rental service (Source: Mobile Today)
* AMAZON says most preorders for 3rd gen Kindle than any previous model, shipments begin 2 days ahead of schedule (Source: Reuters)
