With the European Union choosing DVB-H as the mobile-television standard over other versions of the technology in March, Samsung Electronics will commercialize a handset supporting the new format as a pre-emptive measure in the Netherlands.
But Samsung officials couldn’t be happy with the news that Apple’s iPhone is virtually ready to penetrate the Dutch market via the Netherlands’ biggest mobile operator KPN ― probably an ominous sign for Samsung with expected soaring marketing costs.
On Sunday, Samsung Electronics said it will commercialize the ``SGH-P960’’ mobile that supports DVB-H OMA-BCAST technology in the Netherlands from Thursday via KPN ― for the first time in Europe.The handset enables users to watch television programs with clearer images thanks to digital natural image engine technology. The device adopts a 2.6-inch QVGA liquid crystal display screen and features a 3.0-megapixel camera, Samsung said. ``The timing of the launch has been delayed for one month for technical reasons,’’ a Samsung spokesman said.
``Currently, we have no detailed idea of how many European mobile operators will support the DVB-H OMA-BCAST technology and in that sense the launch is a kind of litmus-test,’’ he added.Samsung’s new phone has been in line with the Dutch incumbent player’s plan to launch a large-scale network that will offer TV through mobile phones from Thursday in time for the start of the Euro 2008 football championships.
The number of mobile phone users in the Netherlands rose to 18.9 million in 2007, representing a penetration of 115 percent due to the large number of cancellations of traditional telephone connections, according to industry estimates.
DVB-H, or digital video broadcasting for hand-held devices, which is also a sister standard of DVB-T, is the most widely used mobile-TV format in Europe and is supported by handset makers including Nokia, Motorola as well as Samsung and LG Electronics.The European Commission said its latest decision ordering EU member countries to promote DVB-H over rival standards was necessary to get the technology off the ground.``Samsung took a meaningful step. However, marketing costs will rise further in the Netherlands,’’ said a local analyst. KPN will launch broadcasts of 10 channels on Thursday and will initially sell two mobiles ― one from Samsung and one from LG, while it also plans to launch Nokia handsets, as well.``As far as I know, talks regarding the sale of Apple’s iPhone on the Dutch market via KPN will be finalized soon, which is not great news for Samsung,’’ the spokesman said.
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