The news that Samsung achieved European market share of over 50% in the second quarter, and yet another disappointing set of results from BlackBerry, should deter almost anyone from entering the smartphone market from scratch. Yet device and platform companies know they need mobile presence to survive, so we continue to see new challengers ‘ those who have tried and failed before, like Hewlett-Packard, and new arrivals, like Mozilla.
HP has sought to replicate its PC prowess in the smartphone world several times, and has tried several operating systems ‘ Windows on the iPaq PDA, back in 2000; Android on a series of underwhelming handsets; then the failed gamble on buying Palm’s webOS platform and Pre line-up.
Now it is preparing to enter the space again, almost two years after killing off the Palm products. For a while it seemed the company might skip handsets and focus on tablets, but now Yam Su Yin, the firm’s senior director of consumer PCs and tablets in Asia-Pacific, has told local media that a smartphone is on its way. She said: ‘The answer is yes but I cannot give a timetable. It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game.’
CEO Meg Whitman has said several times that HP cannot afford to stay out of mobile forever, but that it needed to get its offering right this time. Last fall, she said: ‘We did take a detour into smartphones and we have to get it right this time. My mantra to the team is ‘better right than faster’.’ But Yam Su Yin did not shy away from the risks of that ‘take your time’ approach. She said: ‘Being late you have to create a different set of propositions,’ but added: ‘There are still things that can be done. It’s not late. When HP has a smartphone, it will give a differentiated experience.’
There are few clues to what that experience might be, though it would be logical to assume HP would focus on features for its core enterprise base and perhaps for the rising use of mobile cloud services in that environment. Since the start of this year, various leaks have indicated that HP would revert to Android for its mobile products. The company has been dismissive of Windows RT and Windows Phone, although it has a W8 tablet called Envy and, of course, a long relationship with Microsoft.
But Android is a tough game, given the dominance of Samsung and the aggressive rise of the Chinese majors, so it is not inconceivable that HP might, once again, throw its weight behind a different platform ‘ probably one of the emerging Linux/browser oriented OSs like Mozilla Firefox Mobile or Ubuntu’s mobile implementation.
HP may be wary of taking a risk on a minority OS again, but Telefonica has no such qualms about placing a hefty bet on the upcoming Firefox Mobile. It was the first carrier to support the offering and earlier this year, promised to launch handsets in several of its key markets in Europe and Latin America in the summer and fall.
Now more details are emerging about the first commercial launch, which will take place this week in Spain. The initial device will be the low cost ZTE Open smartphone, reflecting Mozilla’s decision to focus its efforts on the mass market; on delivering a strong mobile web experience even with limited resources; and therefore to attract operators which see the huge base of first-time, midmarket smartphone users as a chance to assert their brands and services rather than those of Google and Apple.
The Open will cost €69 ($90) including €30 of pay-as-you-go credit, or users can get the handset for €2.38 a month with a two-year contract. The device has firmly midrange specs with a 3.5-inch screen with 480×320 resolution, a 3.2-mp camera, 256Mbytes of RAM and 4Gbytes SD card.
More importantly, it brings Mozilla’s promises of efficient browsing, long battery life, ease of use and, according to Telefonica, a high degree of personalization. Yotam Benami, the carrier’s digital director of open web devices, said in an interview: ‘We’re excited about dynamic app search. It’s a very personalized experience. You can interact with web apps in the cloud. The entire user experience is more simple and streamlined. Many users are frustrated with the complexities of Android.’
Next, Telefonica will launch the Alcatel One Touch Fire in Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia and will be followed by Firefox handset launches by Telenor in central and eastern Europe, and Deutsche Telekom in Poland, both after the summer, while other cellcos have made statements of support.