MIPS Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet now available for $125.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

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MIPS Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet now available for $125.

MIPS Technologies, Inc. , a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for home entertainment, networking, mobile and embedded applications, together with Ingenic Semiconductor, a leading China-based CPU provider for mobile multimedia applications, and Karbonn Mobiles, a leading mobile brand and provider of attractively priced multimedia phones in India, today announced availability in India of the world's lowest-cost Android(TM) 4.1 'Jelly Bean' tablet.

The Karbonn Smart Tab 1 tablet, which leverages the popular, ultra low-power MIPS-Based(TM) JZ4770 SoC from Ingenic, is available now to consumers in India. Priced at Rs. 6999 (approximately US$125), the tablet will be available via the Karbonn website, as well as numerous online portals and retail outlets in India such as Reliance Digital and Walmart.

The Karbonn Smart Tab 1 tablet was first introduced in early July with the Android 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich' operating system. An upgrade to Android 4.1 will be available to customers who purchased this earlier version of the tablet.

According to a recent ABI Research study, the Indian media tablet market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 71% from 2011 to 2017. "2012 is an important year for media tablets in India as an increasing number of models designed for the India market become available at different price tiers," says mobile devices practice director Jeff Orr. "Keys to success for tablet vendors will be localized content, seamless connectivity, and providing an enhanced user experience."

"With its unmatched combination of high performance and ultra-low power consumption, the MIPS-Based Ingenic SoC was a natural choice for our new tablet. Long battery life, leading-edge features and a wealth of local content make the Karbonn Smart Tab 1 tablet an ideal product for the Indian market. Building on our success with mobile handsets in India, Karbonn is pleased to be a leader in bringing an Android 4.1 tablet to market, and the first company in the world to offer an Android 4.1 tablet at such an affordable price point. We intend to be the leading marketer in the Indian tablet market wherein we wish to reach up to 200 thousand units per month by focusing on enterprise business solutions segmentation, education, healthcare, hospitality and next-generation business verticals," said Pradeep Jain, managing director, Karbonn Mobiles.

"This new tablet demonstrates continued adoption of our cost-effective JZ4770 SoC in mobile devices. The JZ4770 SoC leverages the simplicity and elegance of the MIPS architecture, and features extremely low power consumption, 1.2GHz performance, and a high level of functional integration. Millions of tablets are already shipping around the globe based on our design, and we anticipate increasing success as more and more companies recognize the differentiation our solution can enable," said Qiang Liu, chairman and CEO of Ingenic Semiconductor.

"After joining with Ingenic to announce the world's first Android 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich' tablet in December, we have achieved numerous additional tablet design wins. Working closely with Ingenic and its OEMs, we are seeing increasing success for the MIPS architecture in tablets, especially in emerging markets such as China, Indonesia and now India. With our deep expertise in Android development, we are able to quickly port new versions of Android to MIPS-Based devices, with speed that is second only to Google itself," said Gideon Intrater, vice president of marketing, MIPS Technologies.

Specifications:

 3D G-Sensor for Gaming Experience

·         17.8 cm Capacitive 5 Point Multi Touch Screen

• 1.2 GHz Processor
• Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 2 Mega Pixel Front Camera
• Expandable Memory upto 32 GB

·         Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n  HDMI Support 3700 mAh Battery

·         Upto 7 Hours of Internet Surfing Time

·         8 Hours of Video Playback Time on Earphones

·         25 Hours of Music Playback Time on Earphones

3G Support through USB Dongle  Full HD Video Playback upto 1080p 

To learn more about the Karbonn Smart Tab 1 tablet, including features and availability, visit www.karbonnmobiles.com .

For more information about the MIPS-Based JZ4770 SoC and XBurst CPU from Ingenic, visit http://en.ingenic.cn/ .

About Ingenic Semiconductor

Ingenic Semiconductor was founded in Beijing in 2005 to develop innovative processor technology. Based on the MIPS architecture, Ingenic designs its own CPU core called XBurst. The XBurst CPU adopts an innovative micro-architecture which consumes very little power under high performance operation. Powered by the XBurst CPU, the company's JZ47xx series application processors are widely deployed in embedded devices and consumer electronic products including PMPs, educational electronic devices, eBooks, biometrics and more, with more than 30 million units shipped to-date. For more information, visit http://www.ingenic.cn/ .

About Karbonn Mobiles

Karbonn Mobiles, launched in March 2009, is one of the fastest growing mobile brands in India complemented by a comprehensive portfolio of mobile phones with an array of features. Karbonn Mobiles is a joint venture between Delhi-based Jaina Group and Bangalore based UTL Group. Karbonn already has over 650 service centers established across the country, ensuring great after sales support. For more information, visit www.karbonnmobiles.com .

About MIPS Technologies, Inc.

MIPS Technologies, Inc.  is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for home entertainment, networking, mobile and embedded applications. The MIPS architecture powers some of the world's most popular products. Our technology is broadly used in products such as digital televisions, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, broadband customer premises equipment (CPE), WiFi access points and routers, networking infrastructure and portable/mobile communications and entertainment products. Founded in 1998, MIPS Technologies is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices worldwide. For more information, contact (408) 530-5000 or visit www.mips.com .

Follow MIPS on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, RSS and Twitter.

The MIPS Technologies, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11351

MIPS, MIPS32 and MIPS-Based are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United States and other countries of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Use of this trademark is subject to Google Permissions. All other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: MIPS Technologies, Inc.

China to Become the Largest Market for Smartphones in 2012 with Brazil and India .

WorldWide Tech and Science. Francisco De Jesús.

China to Become the Largest Market for Smartphones in 2012 with Brazil and India Forecast to Join the Top 5 Country-Level Markets by 2016, According to IDC.

 Smartphone shipments to emerging markets will drive growth in the worldwide smartphone market in the years ahead. According to the latest smartphone forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, China will become the leading country-level market for smartphone shipments in 2012, moving ahead of the current leader, the United States. Looking ahead to 2016, two additional emerging markets, India and Brazil, will enter the top 5 country markets for smartphone shipments. 

"Due to their sheer size, strong demand, and healthy replacement rates, emerging markets are quickly becoming the engines of the worldwide smartphone market," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. "Users in emerging markets seek more than simple voice telephony, and smartphones offer the ideal platform for mobile entertainment, social networking, and business usage as seen in developed markets." 

Meanwhile, mature markets, such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, will experience continued growth in smartphone adoption, but volumes will not keep up with those destined for emerging markets. 

At the same time, smartphone growth within emerging markets presents its challenges. "The total cost of ownership remains a hurdle for potential smartphone buyers," added Llamas. "Smartphones still represent a significant investment for consumers in many countries. This fact was acknowledged by a number of industry executives at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, who stressed the need for low-cost devices – as low as sub-US$50 – to spur widespread adoption. Another notable barrier to adoption is the cost of a monthly data plan. To realize the full potential of emerging markets, smartphone vendors need to develop low-cost smartphones that provide a full, robust experience while mobile operators will need to creatively subsidize device cost and data plans." 

China Highlights

After surpassing smartphone shipments in the U.S. for two consecutive quarters in the second half of 2011, China will carry that momentum into 2012 and beyond. "PRC smartphone shipments are expected to take a slim lead over the U.S. in 2012 before the gap widens in the coming years," said Wong Teck Zhung, senior market analyst with IDC's Asia/Pacific Client Devices team. "There will be no turning back this leadership changeover." 

Android smartphones priced below US$200 were a hot segment in 2011 and these low-cost smartphones are expected to remain a key driver for smartphone growth, with prices becoming even more affordable on falling chipset prices and increased competition. "Emerging domestic vendors will be another important engine of smartphone growth as giants Huawei, ZTE, and Lenovo continue to ramp up with big carrier orders due to their willingness to produce customized handsets," added Teck Zhung. "International players such as Samsung and Nokia are also expected to drive volume at the low end with cheaper smartphones."

India Highlights

The Indian smartphone market will witness galloping growth throughout the forecast period. Carriers are expected to aggressively roll out 3G networks and data plans while domestic vendors such as Micromax, Spice, Karbonn and Lava have already launched low-cost smartphones in a bid to drive future demand as they attempt to move up the value chain from low-cost feature phones. In 2011, growth has been largely driven by top-tier brands like Samsung and HTC, and international vendors will look to invest further in local manufacturing in the coming years as the high-growth Indian market becomes a top priority. 

"Demand for smartphones will also grow as urban and enterprise users mature in their handset preferences and usage," says G. Rajeev, senior market analyst for mobile devices with IDC India. "Consumers are growing accustomed to higher data usage and using handsets for entertainment and other content, instead of just as a communication device." 

Brazil Highlights

A booming economy combined with low inflationary pressures have helped lower the poverty rate in Brazil and improved the discretionary income of the Brazilian population. The resultant growth in Brazil's consumer and business segments has been felt in products beyond mobile phones, with Brazil moving past Japan in 2011 to become the third largest country-level market for PCs.

The shift from feature phones to smartphones is well underway in Brazil. Mobile phone subscribership has exceeded the country's population, smartphone prices have dropped to less than US$300, and carriers have introduced prepaid data plans. This last piece has been especially critical as four out of five mobile phone users in Brazil use prepaid phone lines. It has essentially opened up smartphones to a new world of customers that otherwise would not have been able to reap the benefits of smartphones.

Country-Level Smartphone Market Share for 2011, 2012, and 2016 (based on shipments)

Country	2011 Market Share	2012 Market Share	2016 Market Share
PRC	18.2%	20.7%	20.2%
USA	21.3%	20.6%	15.3%
India	2.2%	2.9%	9.3%
Brazil	1.8%	2.3%	4.7%
United Kingdom	5.3%	4.5%	3.7%
Others	51.2%	48.9%	46.8%
Total	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, March 2012

Country-Level Smartphone Rankings for 2011, 2012, and 2016 (based on shipments)

Country	2011 Ranking	2012 Ranking	2016 Ranking
PRC	2	1	1
USA	1	2	2
India	9	7	3
Brazil	11	10	4
United Kingdom	4	4	5

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, March 2012

Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, please contact Kathy Nagamine at 650-350-6423 or knagamine@idc.com.

About IDC

IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

Contact

For more information, contact:

Ramon Llamas
rllamas@idc.com
508-935-4736


Kevin Restivo
krestivo@idc.com
416-673-2230


Michael Shirer
press@idc.com
508-935-4200

India: iPhone 4S coming in Nov 25.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Apple's latest iteration of its iPhone will be available in India on Nov. 25, but Cupertino has faced difficulty selling its mobile devices there due to limited 3G network coverage in the country, the world's second-largest mobile phone market.


Rival Indian carriers Bharti Airtel and Aircel will both launch the iPhone 4S at midnight on Friday, according to Times of India on Tuesday.


Both carriers did not reveal any details on the pricing, but the report drew reference from the US$649 price tag of an unlocked 16GB iPhone 4S and estimated that the cheapest model would cost between 35,000 and 40,000 rupees (US$696 and US$795).


It added that the companies were likely to offer reverse subsidy for iPhone 4S through discounted call and data plans.


India is the world's second largest mobile market after China, but the country's limited wireless network infrastructure and patchy third-generation (3G) services have made it a challenge for Apple to peddle its iPhone devices to the approximately 602 million active Indian mobile subscribers, noted a Bloomberg report in October.


Scotia Capital analyst, Gus Papageorgiou, said in the report: "Networks in India are just not conducive for Apple--3G networks aren't quite where they are in Western Europe and North America."


Citing IDC research, Bloomberg also pointed out that Apple accounted for only 2.6 percent of India's smartphone shipments in the quarter, ended Jun. 30, far lower than rivals Nokia, Samsung and BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion
.
Since its initial launch on Oct. 5, the iPhone 4S is now available in various countries in Asia-Pacific including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. South Korean handset maker, Samsung, earlier this week announced it would not push for a legal ban to prohibit sales of the iPhone 4S in its home country.