Archive for July 15th, 2008

June 2008 Update For Mobile Industry: 88 Million SIMs, Rate Of Growth Slows

Published by Babar Bhatti on July 15, 2008 under Business, Competitive Trends, Economy, Emerging Markets Telecom, Mobile Companies, Mobile Trends, Pakistan, Telecommunications

The 2008 mid-year numbers for mobile subscribers are available here. The data shows a few trends about the growth of mobile subscribers (see chart below):

The rate of growth has slowed. 1.3 million sims were added in June, compared with the average of around 2 milliom per month from Jan - May of ‘08.

Warid fought back by adding the largest number of subscribers in June. Telenor and Zong seem to be losing some steam after a few months of high subscriber intake. Mobilink continues at sluggish pace. Ufone and Telenor numbers remain extremely close to each other.

One thought is that the dip is seasonal and growth will resume after some time (the June numbers in 2007 also took a hit). The dip in FDI may also be a factor. More likely it could be that the rising food and oil prices are taking their toll.

 

 

What Will You Do With The World’s Toughest Phone?

Published by Babar Bhatti on July 15, 2008 under GSM, Gadgets, Humour, mobile phones

Tough phones, laptops and other gadgets serve a niche market segment. I recently tested a tough phone: XP1 from Sonim, shown here. I was impressed by its design and high degree of tolerance to take abuse. The company, Sonim, claims it to be the world’s toughest phone.

This ruggedized GSM phone is great for use in rough and tough conditions such as construction, outdoor activities, under water and for security professionals. It comes with a push-to-talk feature and SOS service for emergencies. Otherwise it is a bare-bone phone. There are no fancy applications or multimedia capabilities.

This kind of phone is not cheap (around Rs. 22K) but apparently there is a good demand from certain industries and it is in use in Europe. Is there a market for this kind of phone in Pakistan or South Asia? At least its good for venting out anger. Check out the hilarious videos of the phone at toughestphone.com.