Despite the global economic slump, analysts of the technology sector are expecting an increase of smartphone and netbook sales in 2009. Increased production of these small mobile Internet devices also means increased revenue for computer chipmakers such as Intel and Freescale.
Netbooks — small, light, inexpensive notebooks — and smartphones have seen tremendous growth in the past year due to their ability to facilitate fast and easy Web browsing on the go.
An article by Reuters says Freescale, formerly a part of Motorola, anticipates netbook sales to double in 2009. Likewise, Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, expects to sell 50 percent more of its Atom chips, which are specially made for small mobile Internet devices.
Needles to say, competition in this market is fierce. Dwindling cell phone sales only intensifies competition for smartphone market share. The dynamics of the industry has even spurred a reconciliation of sorts between two quarrelling companies.
Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, and Qualcomm, a San Diego-based chipmaker, announced a collaboration to produce smartphones for the North American market. A Surprising act, considering the past between these tow companies. Starting with a lawsuit in April 2007, the two companies were engaged in legal battles in several countries around the world before settling in July 2008.
CEO of the Finnish phone company Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is quoted in another article saying, “We need to be open to change. We have to work with competitors and our partners in different ways…”
Back in July, Kallasvuo also said this of the relationship with Qualcomm, “We believe that this agreement is positive for the industry, enabling the market to benefit from innovation and new technologies.”
While the inter-workings of the business-to-business negotiations are left only to speculation, I think the end result shows that good B2B PR was involved. Qualcomm and Nokia are faced with an opportunity for growth in difficult economic times. Both companies are sure to face intense competition in the smartphone market and could benefit from a corporate relationship — a corporate relationship that has worked in the past, despite how it might have end the first time around.
Whoever is working on the B2B relations side of things with both of these companies likely dealt with a whole lot more than was shared with the media, but in the end they managed to mend a relationship that makes good business sense. I’d like to hear more from either of these companies about how to mend a dysfunctional busniess relationship. Do you think it’ll last?
*handshake Image courtesy of slashgear.com
