Strong sales in first 12 months, says research firm
TV-enabled mobile phones are already taking a 14.5 per cent share of the market for new phones in South Korea, despite being on sale for only one year, according to a local research firm.
A total of 189,000 mobile phones with Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) reception capabilities were sold in the country in March, Korea IT News reported today, citing data from the Seoul-based Atlas Research Group.
Two varieties of DMB phones are available in Korea: one can receive television broadcasts from satellites and the other from terrestrial transmitters.
While only satellite DMB phones were available last year, the launch of the terrestrial version early this year has been responsible for the recent surge in sales, Atlas Research reported.
The TV phones' total market share has jumped almost six percentage points from 8.9 per cent at the end of last year.
The increase in terrestrial DMB handset sales in Korea has been faster than expected, analysts from Hyundai Securities say, and has brought a welcome boost in sales revenue for telecoms manufacturers like LG.
Terrestrial DMB services are particularly popular because they are provided free of charge in South Korea and rely on funding from advertising.
Other observers point out that the government's recent decision to allow mobile phone firms to subsidise cut-price handset sales has also helped spark renewed activity in the country's saturated mobile market.
Even consumers in rural areas, where terrestrial DMB transmitters have not yet been set up, are buying the phones, Atlas reported.
Service providers are rapidly expanding the network's reach, installing repeater transmissions inside subway tunnels and stations, for example.
Korea's government and telecoms manufacturers are looking to the country's early start in DMB to give it an advantage in international markets.
To this end, manufacturers are rolling out a trial DMB system in several German cities in time for this year's soccer World Cup.
However, DMB faces competition, particularly in Europe, from the Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds standard, which is an adaptation of Europe's existing Digital Audio Broadcasting system.
In addition to mobile phones, notebook PCs and PDAs are also being sold equipped with DMB reception capabilities in Korea.
TV-enabled mobile phones are already taking a 14.5 per cent share of the market for new phones in South Korea, despite being on sale for only one year, according to a local research firm.
A total of 189,000 mobile phones with Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) reception capabilities were sold in the country in March, Korea IT News reported today, citing data from the Seoul-based Atlas Research Group.
Two varieties of DMB phones are available in Korea: one can receive television broadcasts from satellites and the other from terrestrial transmitters.
While only satellite DMB phones were available last year, the launch of the terrestrial version early this year has been responsible for the recent surge in sales, Atlas Research reported.
The TV phones' total market share has jumped almost six percentage points from 8.9 per cent at the end of last year.
The increase in terrestrial DMB handset sales in Korea has been faster than expected, analysts from Hyundai Securities say, and has brought a welcome boost in sales revenue for telecoms manufacturers like LG.
Terrestrial DMB services are particularly popular because they are provided free of charge in South Korea and rely on funding from advertising.
Other observers point out that the government's recent decision to allow mobile phone firms to subsidise cut-price handset sales has also helped spark renewed activity in the country's saturated mobile market.
Even consumers in rural areas, where terrestrial DMB transmitters have not yet been set up, are buying the phones, Atlas reported.
Service providers are rapidly expanding the network's reach, installing repeater transmissions inside subway tunnels and stations, for example.
Korea's government and telecoms manufacturers are looking to the country's early start in DMB to give it an advantage in international markets.
To this end, manufacturers are rolling out a trial DMB system in several German cities in time for this year's soccer World Cup.
However, DMB faces competition, particularly in Europe, from the Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds standard, which is an adaptation of Europe's existing Digital Audio Broadcasting system.
In addition to mobile phones, notebook PCs and PDAs are also being sold equipped with DMB reception capabilities in Korea.
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