epages News [Electronics]

City to get Direct-To-Home TV Channels shortly

Jul 30, 2004: ‘Pick your favourite TV Channel’ slogan will soon buttress the hearts of the city’s numerous couch potatoes and enable them to view its delicious contents with relative comfort. In what has been termed as a path breaking trend, Prasar Bharati will soon unveil DTH (Direct-To-Home)facility with a handsome choice of 40 channels within three weeks.

However, there lies a catch the couch, that is, one should possess a dish antennae and a set-top box which as on now cost around Rs 3,000/- in the market, to avail the largesse of DTH. An added flavour is that the same will come with 14 ‘Free-to-air’ channels of the ubiquitous Doordarshan Kendra and 3 educational channels run by the HRD Minsitry.

It has been disclosed that the facility would be facilitated by the powerful Ku Band which possess 4 transponders each with 10 channels in its kitty. The remaining 23 channels from 40 would be filled up by private channels and already 12 channels has been filled up. The remaining are likely to be pouched and gobbled up by private channels in the next few days.

This is indeed a welcome piece of news as it allows the harried customers to view the sumptuous offering of his/her favourite channel in the cosy comfort of his couch cushion well aided by bites into the aromatic dish offering with relish.

It remains to be seen if the same will coerce the private players to offer their own brand of DTH. Looks like an interesting battle lies ahead and all to the merriment of the perennial harried couch potatoes, with rates set to drop down like a hot potato.

Urban India comes of age in Consumer durable products sale.

Jul 19, 2004: ‘It’s the latest…..’ should be the buzzword and when it comes to electronic gadgets it should be or else the game turns out to be a dumb ride to the showrooms for the shopping addicts.

Urban India seems to be in the grip of‘It’s the latest gadget, dude..’ mania, the pace galloping with each passing day. Consumer durable products often outlive their latest tag in a short span and its replacements arrive with sonic speed revving up market showrooms to showcase them. With spending power shooting steadily, consumer durable products are getting replaced at a faster pace than a Bullet train.

Durable giants such as Kelvinator, Samsung, Blue Star, etc are getting the message and acting as per its norm. Analysts see it as a positive and healthy sign and one which has seen Urban India maturing and people increasingly ready to upgrade their products. At the same time, they find it a challenge since innovative products will see the light of the day and where they come through in a quality and cost-effective manner will clean bowl over the customer. Also, product innovation should possess the charm to make customers use it in an easier manner without any frills else the charm will wear off at a faster pace than a Michael Holding express ball delivery.

Industry analyst’s also disclose that product innovation should provide more value and cost-savings in the long run and if the trend is followed, then durable products should hit the bull’s eye not just in urban and semi-urban markets, but also the rural markets as well.

Consumer Durable Goods rates to remain static

Jul 10, 2004: The General Budget has proved to be a mixed bag, a blessing in disguise for some and disappointment for some. Among the disappointed one’s are Consumer durable goods manufacturers. Despite across the board 2% education cess and increased service tax, FMCG giants such as Godrej, HLL, Dabur, Nestle, etc have decided not to hike their product rates as they fear it may affect their annual sales margin and affect their profits. In addition to this, they also cite tough competition among them in the market and their ambitious foray into rural areas may take a beating if they hike their products. Also they point to the sluggish and slow progress in sales during the last year and a half.

There also lies a silver lining to this piquant situation, they feel that if the proposed rural development schemes as outlined by the Government are implemented with sincerity and fruits reaped in true measure, then the resultant surge in rural sales would make up for the expected dip in sales margin.

There seems to be a ray of hope for the general public in this ball game, as it is getting hammered from all sides by surging rates of products & services, they can heave a sigh of relief and say “Ah! That’s a good delivery…”.

LG thinks local with Pune plant

Apr 05, 2004: New Delhi: LG Electronics has re-strategised its plans for the colour television segment in India. Its upcoming Pune plant, which was to have served as an export hub for some markets in the Asia Pacific region, will now also manufacture CTVs for the southern and western markets of India. These two regions are likely to constitute 50% of LG’s total sales this year and are expected to clock sales of 1.2 million units. LG is currently sourcing its requirement from a mix of original equipment suppliers as well as directly, from its mother plant in Noida. At present, LG is using Polygenta as an OEM supplier for Maharashtra, given the sales tax concessions available to it in the state. The company has a similar supplier arrangement in Bhopal for Madhya Pradesh. To start with, LG will manufacture 50,000-60,000 CTVs per month at its Pune plant, whose capacity will be ramped up later. This is expected to benefit the company’s margins from the southern and western markets as it will save on logistics costs to some extent. It will also have implications for future OEM suppliers as and when the tax concessions given to them expire. According to the blueprint for the Pune factory, the Korean company will put in Rs 100 crore each year for the next five years. The Pune plant was to manufacture top-end products for CTVs, including large screen products, apart from other appliances.

LG launches TV-fridge for Rs 2 lakh

Mar 31, 2004: New Delhi: LG Electronics India (LGEIL) has launched the world's first TV Refrigerator called TV DIOS with a 13-inch hi-definition LCD TV. Not just that, TV DIOS also has built in FM radio set too. Altogether this 600 litre of Fridge-cum-TV costs Rs 2 lakh. TV DIOS is the seventh model in the DIOS range of refrigerators but when asked about the target units LG wants to sell in next 12 months, the answer was, “several units". Meanwhile, LG India is also looking to launch Rs 5,000 worth refrigerators (150 litres) within the next 60 days. The launch will be in tune with company’s strategy of rural marketing coupled with the introduction of high-end products. As for advertising and marketing plans for TV DIOS, the company is putting aside Rs 3 crore to be spent on print and outdoor advertising.

O&M will be looking after the creative duties for this new product with Mindshare being the media planning and buying agency for LGEIL. Globally, TV DIOS refrigerator sells 30,000 units in a year with United States being a major market. In US, it sells 10,000 units while Europe and Korea account for another 10,000 units. In all LG have 80 models of refrigerators ranging from 50 to 800 litres in the market. The product was launched in Indian sub-continent by YH Lee, LG Electronics Executive VP and CEO of Digital Appliance Company (DAC). Globally, the LG's DAC has recorded a sales turnover of $ 6.8 billion.

Cricket fails to fire up CTV sales

Mar 29, 2004: Mumbai: The hype created around the Indo-Pak cricket series has not exactly yielded the 30-40% jump in colour television sales expected by the consumer durables industry as families remained concerned over exams. Quite a few companies are now saddled with substantial inventories, and this is expected to put pressure on prices. Already, average retail prices are understood to have dropped by 2-3% in the recent weeks. Most of the leading companies invested relatively big sums in high-decibel advertising to cash in on the viewership interest in the cricket series. Refrigerators and ACs have benefited, primarily owing to the usual peak season jump in sales. Most of the companies launched new models in the past few weeks in order to catch the fancy of the consumer. LG and Samsung, the market-leaders, are extremely aggressive, as the two companies have used cricket as their major marketing plank in the country.

Both audio and televisions did not throw up the expected sales. The industry has spent over Rs 200 crore on advertising during March to cash in on the cricket fever. Sales targets in March are generally scaled down owing to the usual examinations and Budget worries. Samsung was the title sponsor for the series, called the Samsung Cup, while LG is one of the associate sponsors. The company is spending around Rs 60 crore on the cricket series. LG spends are expected to be around Rs 40 crore. Industry players said better cable connectivity even in the smaller markets has raised consumer aspirations. Apart from launching affordable models, durables manufacturers have tied up with several financiers to push volumes. Marketing spends included discounts, freebies, exchange offers and extended warranties.

Sanyo, Seiko Epson to integrate LCD biz

Mar 26, 2004: Tokyo: Japan ’s Sanyo Electric and Seiko Epson said that they had agreed to integrate their liquid crystal display (LCD) operations to better compete in an increasingly crowded field. In a joint statement, the two electronics makers said they would form a joint company in October that would handle the development, production and sales of small and mid-sized LCDs used in mobile phones, digital cameras and other products. Seiko Epson will hold 55% of the new company while Sanyo will hold the remaining 45%.

Sanyo and Seiko Epson’s LCD operations will have combined sales of about 360 billion yen ($3.37 billion) in the current business year to March 31, the firms said. According to research firm DisplaySearch, Seiko Epson controlled 23% of the $8.15 billion yen market for LCDs used in mobile phones last year. That made it the largest player ahead of Sharp Corp, which had a 13% share. The company was considering boosting production capacity for small and mid-sized displays at its Mie plant in western Japan to meet demand from mobile phone and digital camera makers.

Samsung to invest $220 mn to expand production

Mar 24, 2004: Seoul: Samsung Electronics, the world's second-largest semiconductor maker, said it plans to spend $220 million on a memory line to produce more chips. The investment will go towards expanding production of the company's 13th memory plant, which is under construction. The new plant will make so-called flash memory chips that go into consumer electronics such as mobile phones as well as computer chips known as dynamic random access memory, South Korea-based Samsung said in a statement. South Korean rules require companies to disclose decisions on any spending that exceeds 5% of paid-in capital, or its initial investment. Samsung Electronics had paid-in capital of 890 billion won at the end of last year. The spending is part of the 7.9 trillion won that the company has budgeted this year for capital expenditure. Samsung has allocated 3.9 trillion won of that amount for memory chips.

HP to hit digital market with plasma TVs

Mar 24, 2004: New Delhi: IT giant Hewlett Packard (HP) is planning to take on the likes of Sony and Samsung in the digital consumer electronics arena. The first product to hit the market is likely to be the plasma TV in the US in 6 months and in India in 8 to 10 months. HP is already believed to be planning blitzkrieg ad campaigns featuring Bollywood stars. Many more IT giants like Microsoft and Intel have diversified their business to include digital entertainment devices. HP is globally putting a high-profile bet on digital imaging and digital entertainment, which it sees as two major growth drivers.

Market leader in consumer PC space, HP, has a strong retail presence selling high-end PCs in the home segment. Having acquired Compaq, HP has emerged as a clear market leader in the consumer PC space in India with a market share of 8.3% last year, much ahead of its largest rival being at 5% market share. It’s Pavillion range of PCs are already being sold through retail stores and experience zones. Analysts point out margins are much higher in high-end Tvs compared to wafer-thin margins in PC market. HP is aiming at the high-end market for plasma TVs which are wide-screen televisions that are typically 40 inches across, measured diagonally. Flat-panel TVs, either LCD or plasma are 6 inches deep or less.

LG Philips, Samsung lead 61% jump in LCD sales

Mar 22, 2004: Seoul: LG Philips LCD and Samsung Electronics led a higher-than-expected 61% surge in global shipments of liquid crystal displays in the fourth quarter, driven by demand for flat-panel televisions, market researcher DisplaySearch said. Shipments by Seoul, South Korea-based LG Philips of LCDs measuring at least 10 inches diagonally rose 84% from a year ago, keeping its spot as the world's top vendor of the 24 $billion-a-year market with a 22% market share, DisplaySearch said in a quarterly report.

Samsung narrowed the gap with market share of 21.7% after shipments doubled. As consumers abandon glass-tubes TVs for slimmer screens, global sales rose to a record 30 million screens in the fourth quarter, or a fifth more than what DisplaySearch projected in January, the researcher said. While one-year growth peaked at 64 % in the third quarter of 2003. Fourth-quarter LCD revenue doubled from a year ago to $8 billion, raking in $24 billion for the industry in 2003. Shipments in 2003 rose 45% to 99.8 million units, or a quarter more than the 79.6 million units projected a couple of months ago, DisplaySearch said. LCDs geared for televisions, which tripled to 5 million units, led growth among product applications.

Samsung to ramp up R&D ops, double headcount

Mar 13, 2004: New Delhi: Samsung will invest another five million dollars in software research and development centre at Noida this year to develop products like digital TV and plasma display panels for global consumption. The company, which set up this centre in 2002, has already put in 12 million dollars in R&D, including research into hardware.

Besides, new opportunities for Indian film industry will emerge due to increased focus on home entertainment. Market transition to flat panel TVs in India can be faster than people think. Globally, Samsung was targeting 30 million units LCD TV sales to grab 15% market share by 2007; its target for plasma display panels would be 10 million units by 2007. Samsung has earmarked three billion dollar investment in research and development this year on a global basis.

Samsung to ramp up R&D ops, double headcount

Mar 12, 2004: New Delhi: Samsung will invest another five million dollars in software research and development centre at Noida this year to develop products like digital TV and plasma display panels for global consumption. The company, which set up this centre in 2002, has already put in 12 million dollars in R&D, including research into hardware.

Besides, new opportunities for Indian film industry will emerge due to increased focus on home entertainment. Market transition to flat panel TVs in India can be faster than people think. Samsung was targeting 30 million units LCD TV sales to grab 15% market share by 2007; its target for plasma display panels would be 10 million units by 2007. Samsung has earmarked three billion dollar investment in research and development this year on a global basis.

Canon unveils hybrid colour printers

Mar 12, 2004: New York: Consumer electronics maker Canon Inc. unveiled new "hybrid" copiers, aimed at building its share in the market, for office users who only occasionally need their pages printed in colour. Canon U.S.A. Inc., a unit of Japan 's Canon Inc., unveiled the Imagerunner C6800 and Imagerunner C3100 Series, expanding its line of black-and-white and colour networked digital multi-functional imaging systems. Printer makers such as Canon, Xerox Corp., Ricoh Co. Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are looking to colour to drive growth in the printer market. Spurred by affordable operating costs and a belief that colour can improve the value of their document, more and more businesses are buying colour printers linked to corporate networks. The C3100 will range in price from about $9,000 to $11,00, while the C6800, a high-volume model, will sell for about $24,000. Both machines print, copy and scan documents.

Toshiba to ramp up R&D headcount in India to 800

Mar 10, 2004: Bangalore: Toshiba, the $46bn Japanese electronics giant, is looking to ramp up its research and development (R&D) employee headcount in India to 800, from the 200 engineers it is now. The headcount increase will cover Socrates Software, a Bangalore-based embedded solutions provider, set up 15 months ago, to cater to the company’s requirements and third party vendors. Toshiba is a major customer for Socrates, which has invested about $5m in its India operations and plans to increase this amount as per business requirements. Other Toshiba centres are located in Cambridge, England and the US. While this ramp-up may be considered small as compared to those of software services companies, Toshiba’s R&D presence in India was larger than that of most Japanese electronics companies.

Socrates Software will focus on creating re-usable software programs. The centre works on integrating systems on chip solutions for semi-conductor companies and is working on projects in areas such as audio and speech codes and the development of middleware for digital video broadcast and DVD frameworks. Various divisions have worked on time-bound contracts with Indian vendors such as Wipro, Sasken and Ittiam. However, Wipro is currently the only company to have a full-fledged offshore development centre for the Japanese giant.

Kodak sues Sony over digital camera patents

Mar 10, 2004: New York: Eastman Kodak Co., the No. 1 maker of photographic film, said it had filed suit against Japan's Sony Corp. alleging that the consumer electronics company infringed 10 of Kodak's patents related to digital photography. Rochester, New York-based Kodak, in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York, alleged that Sony's products use technology invented by Kodak, including an "electronic camera utilising image compression and digital storage."

Kodak and Sony are among the leaders in sales of digital cameras, which do not use film and record images on computer chips and built-in memory cards. The lawsuit comes at a time when Kodak is undergoing a tough transition toward digital products amid the decline of its film business. Kodak's patents in question date from 1987 to 2003 on inventions related to a range of tasks, such as reproducing video images, printing, previewing and storing images. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against further use of the technology and monetary damages. Kodak already has licensing agreements with rival camera makers Olympus Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.

Key into HDTV with removable card

Feb 28, 2004: New York: Sony Electronics unveiled its latest new products and technologies line during its presentation to the nation's consumer electronics retailers. Sony introduced 12 fully integrated HDTV sets designed to include CableCARD-based interface technology. With the new technology consumers insert a cable card into an integrated slot in the television. The card acts as a removable ‘key,’ allowing HDTV on any compatible TV set or HDTV receiver. Sony's line-up features models ranging from 30 to 60-inch screen sizes and encompassing FD Trinitron WEGA direct view CRT, Grand WEGA micro-display LCD, and CRT rear projection television categories. The first integrated HDTV sets with planned CableCARD-based interface technology start shipping this August. Sony is also adding the XS-series to the FD Trinitron WEGA lineup.

The expanded line will also feature Super Fine Pitch technology and include the wide-screen 34-inch KD-34XS955, KD-30XS955 30-inch and the 4:3 KD-36XS955 36-inch models. The wide-screen models will be available for $2,000 and $1,400, respectively in August and the 36-inch model will sell for around $1,900 in October. In the Grand Wega micro display LCD rear projection sets, there will be six new fully integrated HDTV models. Available in 42", 50", 55" and 60" screen sizes. Sony also introduced two CRT rear projection, fully integrated high definition sets, designed with a CableCARD-based interface, in 51- and 57-inch wide-screen models. The KDP-51WS655 and KDP-57WS655 models will be available in September for $2,100 and $2,400, respectively. In addition, Sony showed a pair of high-definition digital video recorders. The DHG-HDD100 and the DHG-HDD200 digital video receiver/recorders will be available this fall for about $700, and $800, respectively. Sony also expanded its Location Free portable broadband LCD TV line-up with the addition of a 7-inch monitor and base station, the company added.

Sony recalls 24,000 Aiwa TVs in Japan

Feb 27, 2004: Tokyo: Sony Corp said it had recalled 24,000 televisions with a built-in video cassette deck sold under the Aiwa brand in Japan because of an exposed metal portion that causes an electric shock when touched. Sony has earmarked about 760 million yen ($7 million) to cover the cost of the recall. The charge would be booked in the current quarter to March 31. The recall covers three different Aiwa models sold from November last year to February.

Samsung, LG put top brains to pep up white goods

Feb 27, 2004: Seoul: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Electronics Inc, known for their snazzy consumer electronics, are struggling to make their low-tech home appliance divisions work. The operations that make refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and microwave ovens are suffering from competition, frail consumer spending at home and slow global demand. This is the only area where success — and profit growth — has eluded both companies. Other businesses of making sleek, folding mobile phones featuring cameras and flat screens for televisions and computers have taken the market by storm. In an attempt to mimic that performance, Samsung and LG have put their top managers in charge of fixing the divisions, which are focusing on premium, more lucrative products and are banking on a rebound in domestic spending.

The home appliance business is more crucial for LG, which made white goods its mainstay in the late 1950s, than for Samsung, Asia ’s most valuable electronics firm with a market value of $73 billion. It accounts for just 7% of Samsung’s revenues, or 860 billion won ($735 million) in the fourth quarter. LG, by contrast, derives more than a fifth of its sales from appliances, or 1.2 trillion won in the fourth quarter. New Leadership: Samsung put Yun Jong-yong, a vice chairman and one of the company’s most powerful men, in control of the white goods business in January after reassigning the former president to the parent group’s cultural foundation. LG’s rise to become South Korea ’s biggest home appliance maker and the world’s fifth-largest mobile phone maker. Both men, known for innovative ideas, have risen to the top of South Korea ’s corporate empires without the aid of blood ties to the companies’ founding families.

Philips targets global market for domestic appliances

Feb 27, 2004: Bangalore: Philips India will explore global markets for its domestic appliances products. Currently sales are restricted to the domestic market. While the company aims at doubling the division’s turnover to around Rs 150 crore next fiscal, its contribution to overall sales will also correspondingly increase. At present, the division contributes just around 5% of the company’s overall sales turnover of around Rs 1,600 crore. Exports to a few select Asian markets have begun, while other developed markets are expected to be tapped. The domestic appliances division, which is part of Philips India, has also chalked out future plans of growth by introducing innovative products catering to the mid-segment category. Most of the new launches will be in mixer grinders and electric iron categories. The domestic appliances division, which recently completed ten years of operations in the country, has emerged as one of the leading brands in various categories while plans are also afoot to focus on research and development (R&D). Its development centre in Pune works concurrently with international development centres across the globe. Apart from software, several outsourcing opportunities are being pursued in the consumer electronics and medical electronics business segments.

Sony bets big on China, sees 60% growth

Feb 26, 2004: Shanghai: Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony said it expects annual sales within China to grow 60% to $1.6bn in the year up to March, exceeding its own target “by a large margin”. Sales in China have been driven by brisk demand for digital cameras and other electronic goods. In China ’s rapidly expanding and highly competitive digital camera market, Sony has a 30% share despite fierce price competition from domestic makers. With key camera components readily available in the market, it is relatively easy for high-tech makers to enter into digital camera production, helping intensify competition.

By April ’08, when Beijing will host the Olympics, the company aims to boost its sales in China to around $9bn, from $1bn in March ’03. China sales represented less than 2% of Sony’s total revenue in the last business year. Although brisk sales of Cybershot digital still cameras, Vaio PCs and camcorders are pushing up sales, it will have to wait a little longer to see a substantial boosting effect from its PlayStation 2 due to limited software availability.

 
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