Panasonic, temporarily out.

[difenbaker]

Update: Matsu****a drops GSM to focuses on 3G, 4G
Yoshiko Hara
EE Times
(12/09/2005 1:25 PM EST)

TOKYO — Matsu****a Electric Industrial's decision to withdraw from the highly competitive and unprofitable GSM business illustrates its intention to focus resources on 3G and future mobile phones based on its integrated UniPhier design platform.

.....

Panasonic Mobile is the second largest Japanese supplier after NEC. It was the eighth-ranked global supplier last year.

Panasonic Mobile recorded a ¥8.9 billion (about $74 million) operating loss last fiscal year. The first half of this fiscal year ended in September with a loss of ¥1.9 billion (about $17 million), mainly due to poor GSM business in Europe and China.

http://www.eet.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=WHGGAMQ1CRNNMQSNDBESK HA?articleID=174910137



:eek:

[Dynamoo]

Full press release here (http://panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/en051209-3/en051209-3.html).

I've been saying that this was likely to happen for.. oooh.. 12 months now. Market share for Panasonic in the UK is less that 1% I think, down from about 4% 18 months or so ago (from memory).

However, there's an interesting shift in their business model. Looks like they'll be producing Linux-based 3G phones, although I'm a bit surprised to see that they are dropping development on the Symbian platform. 3G is the way to go.. that would be following Sharp and Toshiba who are almost purely 3G in Europe.

[Jose_R.A.M]

Good thinkin Pan! Get in the pool while its still relatively empty.

Its gonna be a maker or breaker for them, but since staying in the gsm arena has already proven to be non profitable, they really have no choice.