NEWS&ANALYSIS
the
buzz
MOBILE
Symbol’s MC9000
handhelds will
operate with
bar-code printers.
Symbol partners
with Zebra
MOBILE WORKERS WHO
need to access and print
data on the go will soon
get new options from
Symbol Technologies
and bar-code-printer
provider Zebra
Technologies.
The companies’ first joint
offering will combine Symbol’s
ruggedized MC9000 and PPT
8800 handheld computers with
Zebra’s QL mobile printers.
The duo will also co-develop
mobile offerings targeted at verticals such as manufacturing,
retail, government and health
care.
In addition, Zebra will combine
its forthcoming RW 420 wireless
receipt printer with Symbol’s
MC9000 and PPT 8800 handhelds
to help
users in the
retail industry
process transactions
and payments on the fly.
—Shelley Solheim
BUSINESS
Firefox gains on IE
in browser space
MICROSOFT’S DOMINATION OF THE
Web browser space has slipped
slightly, with Internet Explorer’s
market share dropping nearly a
percentage point over the past
seven weeks. Since June, IE’s
market share has declined
almost 3 points, according to
Web analytics provider WebSideStory.
IE’s share dropped to 92.9 percent of the browser market as of
Oct. 29, a decline of 0.8 point
since WebSideStory’s last marketshare report Sept. 10
and a 2.6-point drop
overall since June.
Firefox, the Mozilla Foundation’s
stand-alone browser,
moved up to 3 percent of the market.
Browsers from
Mozilla and America Online’s
Netscape Communications
unit together account for 6 percent of the market, a jump of 2.48 percentage
points since September.
Other browsers, including
Opera Software’s Opera browser
and Apple Computer’s Safari,
gained one-tenth of a point in
total to reach 1.1 percent of the
browser market, according to
WebSideStory. —Matt Hicks,
eweek.com
Intel share slips
INTEL’S SHARE OF THE CPU
BY THE NUMBERS
Global cell phone numbers
Third quarter 2004
market fell slightly last quarter
as smaller rivals nipped at the
leading chip maker’s heels,
according to data released last
week by Mercury Research.
Intel’s market share slipped
to 81.9 percent, versus 82.5
percent the quarter before.
Advanced Micro Devices’
share rose from 15.5 percent to
15.8 percent. —Mark Hachman,
eweek.com
WIRELESS
Verizon, Nextel settle
spectrum dispute
VERIZON WIRELESS LAST WEEK
ended its fight to block the
Federal Communications
Commission’s plan to move
Nextel Communications out of a
spectrum where it interferes with
police and fire department radio
signals.
The FCC in July announced
its plan to move Nextel from the
800MHz spectrum it currently
shares with emergency responders to the higher-frequency
1.9GHz band.
Verizon disputed the plan
because it believed the spectrum—worth billions of dollars—
should be auctioned by the FCC.
But now, “it’s time to move
on,” said Verizon Wireless
spokesperson Jim Gerace.
Verizon officials declined to
comment further on the settlement.
Nextel, as part of its deal with
Verizon, will stop its legal efforts
to obtain exclusive rights of the
phrase “push to talk.”
If the FCC’s plan is implemented, the new spectrum will
allow Nextel to offer expanded
voice and data services.
—Shelley Solheim
Nokia
Motorola
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Samsung
Siemens
LG
Sony Ericsson
NA
NA
NA
0 5
Market share percentage
Units in millions
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Source: In-Stat/MDR
22 e W E E K n N O V E M B E R 8 , 2 0 0 4
We don’t have to worry about making our
numbers every quarter. We’re not quarterly
focused; we’re focused on the next two
years.
Jim Goodnight, SAS CEO, on being a private company
w w w. e w e e k . c o m