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34.6m Symbian smartphones shipped in H107

18.7m Symbian smartphones shipped in Q207

Nigel Clifford

BEIJING, China and LONDON, United Kingdom - 28  August 2007 - Symbian Limited, developer and licensor of Symbian OS™, the market-leading operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones, today released the following unaudited financial and operational figures for both the second quarter and the half year ended 30 June 2007:

Symbian Limited H1 and Q2 2007 unaudited financial highlights

 

2007 H1

2006 H1

H1 YoY Change

2007 Q2
2006 Q2

Q1 YoY change

Symbian OS Units

34.6m

24.0m

44%

18.7m
12.3m

52%

Average Royalty / Unit

US$4.4

US$5.5

 

US$4.3
US$5.7

 

Royalty GP%

93%

89%

 

93%
89%

 

             

Turnover

£m

£m

 

£m
£m

 

Royalties

78.2

73.4

 

40.3
37.9

 

Consulting Services

5.1

4.9

 

2.6
2.4

 

Partnering & Other

2.1

1.7

 

1.2
0.9

 

Total

85.4

80.0

7%

44.1
41.2

7%

Total Symbian smartphone models shipping at end H1/Q2 2007

 

End H1 2007

End H1 2006

H1 YoY % change

       
Number of Symbian smartphone models in the market
122
86
42%
Number of licensees with Symbian smartphones in the market
8
10
 
Number of Symbian smartphone models in development
62
55
 
Number of licensees with Symbian smartphones in development
8
9
 


Nigel Clifford, Chief Executive Officer, Symbian Ltd today said:

“We are pleased with these results. Symbian continues to lead the smartphone market in Q2 2007 with more than 18.7 million Symbian smartphones shipping worldwide, 52% growth since the same period last year. We feel that the rise in popularity of smartphones, the proliferation of affordable high-speed data networks, and the innovation which companies are showing on open mobile platforms should see us extending our 14 quarters of growth into the future.  We are in the right market at the right time with the right product.

We’ve worked hard to extend the close collaboration with our customers - the world’s leading handset manufacturers - and operators and have built a strong product pipeline. We are particularly pleased that our customers have reported that Symbian smartphones are strong contributors to their financial performance.

Symbian has a highly innovative product roadmap under development which will ensure that our leadership in high-end converged devices is extended whilst our access to mass market segments is constantly broadened. As proof of this, there are now 122 Symbian smartphone models in the market from 8 licensees – a rise of 42% over the same time last year – and another 62 phone models in development, which we know about.”

Key Symbian achievements H1 2007

Shipments

H1 2007 unit shipments of 34.6 million units means there have been 145 million cumulative Symbian smartphones shipped since the formation of Symbian to 30 June 2007.  More Symbian smartphones were shipped in H1 2007 than in the whole of 2005.

New smartphone models

33 Symbian smartphones models commenced shipment in H1 2007. The range of handsets shows Symbian’s ability to support a wide range of high-end and mass-market devices. Symbian smartphones targeted diverse segments such as FOMA D800iDS, the world’s first handset with screens on both upper and lower halves, FOMA Raku-Raku PHONE Basic, the fifth Symbian smartphone in the user-friendly Raku-Raku PHONE series, Motorola Z8 with high quality video playback, Nokia 6110 Navigator with inbuilt GPS and AGPS, designed for the mass-market, and Nokia 5700 XpressMusic.

3G/HSDPA

25 (76%) of the new Symbian smartphone models which commenced shipping in H1 2007 were for use on HSDPA or W-CDMA (3G) networks. HSDPA Symbian smartphones include FOMA F903iX HIGH-SPEED, Motorola Z8, Nokia N95, Nokia 6110 Navigator, Nokia E90 Communicator and Samsung SGH-i520W-CDMA.  

Enterprise

In Q2 2007 several new enterprise targeted devices were shipped or announced, including Nokia E90 Communicator, Nokia E61i, Nokia E65, Sony Ericsson P1i and FOMA 903iBSC, with integrated seamless interoperability with enterprise applications such as BlackBerry Connect, Microsoft ActiveSync and Microsoft Office.

Multimedia

Several new smartphones showcase the possibilities of Symbian’s competitive multimedia offering.  Nokia N95 multimedia computer, based on Symbian OS v9.2, offers very rich multimedia functionality including a 5 Megapixel camera and TV out functionality. Motorola Z8, also based on Symbian OS v9.2, excels in high quality video playback. As with most mobile technology standards Symbian looks to include support for the leading standards in Symbian OS according to market need. One-seg TV reception is currently enabled by Symbian licensees in the latest Symbian OS-based FOMA phones in Japan.

Forthcoming phones

New Symbian smartphone models which were announced in Q2 2007 but were not shipping as of 30 June 2007 include: Nokia 6121 classic, Samsung SGH-i400, Sony Ericsson P1i, and Sony Ericsson W960 Walkman.

Operating system development and support

At the end of H1 2007, the world’s five leading handset vendors had shipped or announced products based on Symbian OS v9. With the adoption of Symbian OS v9 by Symbian licensees, Symbian’s reduced royalty scheme for high volume and lower cost devices has contributed to the improved economics of Symbian OS device development for mid-range segments. Moreover, our commitment to backwards compatibility in Symbian OS v9 releases is providing easy application migration and reduced time-to-market for handset vendors and operators. Symbian OS v9 applications grew 573% to 2139 (318 Q2 2006).

Symbian announced Symbian OS v9.5, designed for both mass-market lower cost devices as well as differentiated high-end devices. Symbian OS v9.5 delivers high performance, richer experiences with lower build cost, and faster time-to-market.  Symbian OS v9.5 contains powerful new features reducing the hardware, particularly the RAM, requirements of a phone, thereby reducing cost significantly.

Symbian applications

There are now 7,888 third party Symbian applications commercially available, an increase of 48% on 30 June 2006 (5,323 applications) (Source: Symbian research, see Notes to Editors). In Q2 2007 the number of Symbian Signed applications grew almost 150% year-on-year to 3,005 applications from 700 companies (Q2 2006: 1,208 applications from 350 companies).

Symbian Academy

Symbian expanded its Symbian Academy program of coursework and developer materials to over 1,200 students in 32 universities in 14 countries up to Q2 2007.

Tools

Carbide 1.2 launched in Q2 2007, providing a new Eclipse based Integrated Development Environment for Symbian OS. This launch marks the start of a new era for Symbian development with enhanced productivity and the ability to extend Carbide functionalities with community plug-in components.

Global success

During H1 2007, Symbian licensees shipped smartphones worldwide, via over 250 network operators, underlying Symbian’s commitment to providing a product fit for diverse regional market requirements, offering extensive customization options and supporting global technology standards as well as languages from 99% of the world's countries.

China

In January 2007, Symbian expanded its office in China to support the growing business development and market operations of its licensees and ecosystem partners in the region. During H1 2007, Symbian set up the Symbian Platinum Program in China and signed up new Chinese partners in the areas of security, business solutions and multimedia. Six tier one Chinese universities joined the Symbian Academy, training 800 students.

Japan

Symbian continued its strong progress in Japan with 15 new Symbian smartphone models commencing shipping in H1 2007 in Japan. As at 30 June 2007, a total of 59 Symbian smartphone models had launched in Japan by six customers: Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Nokia, Sharp and Sony Ericsson.

New innovative FOMA 904i phones based on Symbian OS which commenced shipping in Japan include:

  • FOMA SH904i - equipped with a touchpad to give an operational feel similar to a PC, and a 3 inch widescreen
  • FOMA F904i - offering “one-segment” mobile TV on the horizontal motion 3.1 inch full widescreen
  • FOMA D904i - a slim-slide phone with gaming using intuitive motion

USA

In H1 2007 30 US companies joined the Symbian Platinum Program. Symbian partners are key to enabling device differentiation and reduced time-to-market by creating off-the-shelf Symbian solutions for enterprise and consumer segments. 

In the same period, Nokia N75 multimedia computer went on sale with AT&T, its first Nokia 3G device based on Symbian OS. Symbian smartphones were shipping through enterprise-focused retailers such as Dell, Gateway and Mobile Planet (models offered: Nokia N95, Nokia E61i, Nokia E65, Nokia N76).

Symbian Outlook

Symbian is confident in the development and growth of the smartphone market and its position as the leading open OS developer. The current era of convergence demands a truly scalable mobile operating system which can meet both the demands of the global mass-market and the next generation of converged mobile computing:

  • super3G, WiMax and 4G
  • all-IP wireless broadband and bearer mobility
  • ultra high resolution colour displays
  • rich multimedia enablers (for creation, consumption, communication)
  • high speed, low latency real-time networking
  • large memories and persistent storage
  • superior graphics effects in the user interface
  • energy and thermal efficiency
  • content protection and rights management.

Many examples of innovation in these areas from Symbian and its ecosystem will be on display at the Symbian Smartphone Show, taking place in London, 16 - 17 October.

Symbian fast facts Q2 2007

CEO Webcast

- ENDS -

  1. Definitions and Additional Information

    Royalty Revenue - Symbian receives a royalty on each phone based on Symbian OS shipped by licensees. From Symbian OS v7.0 onwards the royalty has been set at $7.25 per unit for the first 2 million units shipped by a licensee and $5 per unit thereafter. From v9.0 onwards after 1 July 2006, licensees are being offered an additional pricing model based on either (a) a fraction of the trade price of devices shipping; or (b) an annual volume ratchet pricing structure.

    Up to 2 February 2007 when Symbian completed the sale of UIQ Technology AB, Symbian received additional royalty revenue for devices shipping with the UIQ software..

    Royalty Gross Profit - Symbian in-sources certain technologies when either:

    i) there is already an appropriate industry standard developed by another party or

    ii) technology can be more efficiently provided by an outside supplier (e.g. WAP / web browsers; personal computer connectivity),

    and, in both cases, where Symbian considers that such technologies should form part of Symbian OS to satisfy market and licensees' requirements.

    Consulting Revenue - Symbian undertakes consultancy activities to assist its licensees implement Symbian OS in new handsets. Symbian receives revenue to cover costs (including full overhead recovery) but, such activities are primarily in support of licensees adoption of Symbian OS. The level of consulting revenue will fluctuate depending upon: (a) the volume of new engagements with licensees; (b) the ability of licensees to develop new Symbian OS phones without the assistance of Symbian; and (c) the ability of Symbian Competence Centers to provide support for licensee product development.

    Phone models - Symbian defines phone models on the basis that the following conditions are satisfied:
     - the device is manufactured in commercial quantities; and
     - the device is available in retail channels; and
     - the device has a unique model identifier and/or is a publicly announced variant or derivative: US with 850 MHz radio, China, Japan or CDMA. (Up to two variants or derivatives from the following segments: US, China, Japan, CDMA; public announcement on the part of the licensee must be fully auditable through licensee's marketing collateral or web content)

    Partnering & Other Revenue - Symbian derives a further revenue stream from training activities, partner activities (including the Symbian Platinum Partner Program) and trade shows. These activities are designed to promote Symbian OS and are therefore priced to enable cost recovery only.

  2. Models in development

    Models in development are defined by Symbian as phones prior to launch where licensees a) have committed a minimum development team; and b) have a visible plan to launch; and c) have a minimum expected lifetime shipment for the phone.  The determination of phones in development is at the discretion of Symbian.

    With more and more Symbian models being launched by licensees, such licensees are becoming experienced in developing new Symbian models with only limited or no direct Symbian assistance.  As a result, Symbian is not always aware of new models prior to their market launch.  Symbian is keen to ensure that licensees are able to quickly and easily launch new models and encourages licensees to build up appropriate internal capabilities and experience in developing with Symbian OS.  Therefore, the number of new models in development known to Symbian at the reporting date is becoming a less accurate forward looking indicator of new Symbian licensee models coming to market.

  3. Number of Symbian OS Applications

    Symbian tracks the number of commercially available Symbian OS applications. This is done through surveying the applications offered for sale by a wide range of on-line, commercial distributors of Symbian OS applications.

    To be included in the count of Symbian OS applications, an application must be offered for sale by a company, not by an individual alone.

    Applications which are offered for sale but which do not meet these criteria are regarded as "Shareware". Symbian maintains separate counts for "Shareware", "Freeware" and "Open Source" applications.

    Only applications written for, or specifically shown to work on, Symbian OS phones are included in the Symbian OS application count. The count includes applications written using any of the wide variety of programming languages supported by Symbian OS, including C++, Java (pJava or MIDP), AppForge Crossfire and OPL.

    The number of Symbian OS applications does NOT include Java MIDlets that have not been developed specifically for, nor have been explicitly validated as running on, Symbian OS phones. It is therefore likely that there are many additional Java MIDlet applications that will run on Symbian OS phones.

About Symbian Limited

Symbian is a software licensing company that develops and licenses Symbian OS, the market-leading open operating system for advanced, data-enabled mobile phones known as smartphones.

Symbian licenses Symbian OS to the world's leading handset manufacturers and has built close co-operative business relationships with leading companies across the mobile industry. During Q2 2007, 18.7 million Symbian smartphones were sold worldwide to over 250 major network operators, bringing the total number of Symbian smartphones shipped up to 30 June 2007 to 145 million.

Symbian has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom, with offices in the United Kingdom, United States and Asia (India, P.R. China, Korea, and Japan). For more information, please visit Symbian.

Media Enquiries

Karen Hamblen
Global Symbian
Press Office
+442071541707
press@symbian.com
Valerie Breslow
US
V Breslow Communications
+1 858 337 4217
valbreslow@earthlink.net
David Matthews
Europe
Catalysis
+44 20 7101 7340
symbian@catalysis.co.uk
Hiroko Tanaka
Japan
Burson-Marsteller Japan
+81 3 3264 6727
symbian.pr@bm.com
Lily Duan
China
Edelman China
+86 10 6530 8590 ext 225
Lily.duan@edelman.com
 

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