Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Calls of Note Part 5

- UBS comments on the impact of Apple's iPone on the global handset industry saying that in terms of overall design, the device looks great and is better than they expected. The iPhone is very innovative, particularly with respect to the man-machine interface, including the unique touchscreen technology.

In firm's view the biggest mystery surrounding the device is the lack of advanced mobile connectivity; ie no integrated 3G technology (WCDMA or HSDPA). It appears that Apple favours WiFi connectivity, which calls into question the "over-the-air" download capability of the device on traditional mobile networks. This could limit acceptance by mobile opertors in Europe.

UBS is forecasting 850k and 7.4m iPhone units for FY06-07E and FY-7-08E, respectively. This represents less than 1% of global units in each period. Given the high price of the iPhone (US$499 for 4GB and US$599 for 8GB), the impact in value terms is likely to be higher; they estimate iPhones will represent at c2-3% of industry revenue in 2008.

UBS expects no financial impact to Nokia in 2007. While potentially greater impact in 2008E, they believe there is nominal financial risk, as Nokia's sweetspot in terms of profit is in the mid-tier segment of the market. Potentially greater risk to Sony Ericsson which is focused on higher tier segment of the market.

Notablecalls: Not actionable but good to know cateogry. I would not be surprised to see NOK stock creep up as we get closer to Jan 25 (earnings). They either warn now or they won't warn at all.

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