Power 2002: Recharging portable & wireless products for e-business & consumer applications Los Angeles, CA--September 29-October 2, 2002

Advanced Battery Technology, Jan 2003 by Sieminski, Dennis

Colorful epitaphs of the customer base abound in the cellular marketing world - Connected Youth, Technopreneurs, Low Mobility Misers, and Mobile Safety Netters are some examples. The titles do capture and convey a sense of the market complexity and the difficulty in providing differentiated features and services while maintaining a healthy business footing. The graph on units sold and average selling price over time conveys the story well. The breakdown of market share by company reveals that 70% of the market is in the hands of five makers - Nokia 37%, Motorola 17%, Samsung 9.7%, Siemens 8.5%, Sony-- Ericsson 5.2%.

The emerging wisdom is that a handheld that is not connected is not going to be worth very much. PDAs are adding wireless connectivity, while cellphones are adding computing functionality. Phone/PDA convergence is a reality. With several models in the market today, we will be able to see the emergence of preferences for features and ergonomic form factors in this type of device. Product planners are looking for growth of multimedia in devices as the next u/ave with the addition of camera and audio.

Energy to run handhelds remains a precious resource and one that always seems in short supply. However, implementation of sophisticated power management necessitates a major architecture change in the device, requiring a companion IC. This approach can yield significant savings because it enables dynamic voltage management, and exploits idle periods by managing power supplies - putting them in off, sleep, or active modes. The downside is the cost and resultant dependence on a single chip supplier. On the other end of the device spectrum, some see a market for low-end phones that are voice centric with minimal data capability and very low cost.

The major component news is in Kodak's OLED screen technology, which is being introduced now in cellphones and digital cameras. Larger screens for DVDs, notebooks, desktops and televisions will take place from 2004 to 2006. The advantages of OLEDs over conventional LEDs are compelling - sharper, brighter images while being physically thinner, more rugged, and requiring less power - an incredible mix of positives. The power savings come from the fact that OLEDs require no backlight and the pixels are normally off unless activated. A joint development agreement between Kodak and Sanyo combines Kodak's OLED R&D and patent portfolio with Sanyo's expertise in manufacturing thin film transistor on glass. They also have a joint manufacturing venture called SK Display with fab facilities in Gifu and Tottori, Japan. Rogelio Sobers, Kodak's product manager in Walnut Creek, California, presented the information.

Batteries

Hideo Takeshita, vice president of the Institute of Information Technology, provided his usual thorough and upto-date examination of the rechargeable battery business. From his data, it is clear that the rapid increase in Li-ion sales growth is over and shipments are flat. A milestone has been reached however, and Li-ion volume now surpasses NiMH. Moreover, the cellular market continues the shift to Li-ion from NiMH and this trend is expected to continue. Looking at the producers, Sanyo and Sony lead the market and are separated by a big gap from followers BYD, MBI and Samsung. So in the top five producers, you have three Japanese, one Chinese and one Korean producer. The average price has continued to drop and now stands at -$3.50 with cylindrical pricing holding up better than prismatic and polymer. From the OEM standpoint, the major battery users are Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, Dell and Compaq. The major applications are notebooks, phones, PDAs, camcorders, and digital cameras. The industry is looking for growth in games, motor-assisted bicycles, electric scooter and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).