Communications and Technology Industry Research

ABI Research (News - Alert) has released a report, “Cellular PC Modems Vendor Matrix”, that shows Huawei Technologies at the top of the latest Vendor Matrix. Sierra Wireless bagged the second position and Novatel Wireless (News - Alert) was ranked third for the second quarter of 2008.

 

ABI Research is a market research firm mainly focused on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. It assists hundreds of clients with their strategic growth initiatives by utilizing market intelligence, primary research and expert assessment from worldwide team of industry analysts. 

 

The Vendor Matrix is said to be an analytical tool that is developed by ABI Research, in order to provide a clear understanding of vendors’ positions in specific markets. Vendors are assessed on the important parameters of innovation and implementation across several industry-specific criteria.

 

This Vendor Matrix forms part of ABI Research’s Cellular PC Modems Research Service. This service by ABI covers the following technology and market issues: Form Factors -PC Cards and Express Cards, Internal Modems, USB Modems, 3G/Wi-Fi Routers; Air Interface Technologies- GSM/GPRS, EDGE, E-EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA/HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE (News - Alert), CDMA2000 1xRTT, EV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, WiMAX, TD-SCDMA; Distribution Channels -PC OEM, Wireless Carrier, Independent Distributor; Customer Type -Business, Consumer; Card Size -PC Card, Express Card/54, Express Card/34; Market Issues- Connectivity Options, Drivers and Inhibitors, Market and Industry Conflicts and Opportunities, Client Software, Vendor Landscape and Market Share.

 

Dan Shey, principal analyst, said, “ABI Research found Huawei gaining top honors, followed closely by Sierra Wireless and Novatel Wireless. Huawei had the best implementation score of all companies, carried by high ratings in market share and cost. Sierra Wireless and Novatel Wireless had the highest scores for innovation in addition to being highly rated in implementation. As longstanding players in this market they both also score well on breadth of product line and integration and certification support.”

 

ABI Research provides an unbiased rating of all the current vendor offerings based on product implementation and innovation. Several criteria were evaluated in determining the rating of a particular vendor’s cellular modem offerings, according to the research firm.

 

ABI Research, under its innovation category, performed analysis on vendor’s design excellence, plug and play capabilities, their products’ RF performance enhancement features, durability, and applications/services functionality, as well as their GSM and/or CDMA network coverage.

 

For the implementation category, ABI Research analyzed the vendors’ capabilities across the categories of certification and integration support, breadth of product line, complementary product offerings, Tier III customer support, market share, financial and organizational health, and product cost.

 

According to the report, Huawei had the best implementation score of all companies, carried by high ratings in market share and cost. Sierra Wireless and Novatel Wireless had the highest scores for innovation. For implementation, both Novatel Wireless and Sierra Wireless are highly rated and they even scored well with breadth of product line and integration and certification support.

 

The report also shows that ZTE (News - Alert) stands in a solitary position on the vendor ranking chart. It is said to have similar characteristics to that of Huawei - when ranked on complementary product offerings and financial health but its market share position and breadth of product offering lower its implementation scores.

 

The report also depicts that C-Motech and Sony Ericsson (News - Alert) occupy similar positions to that of ZTE in the vendor rankings, as they have scored lower overall across implementation and innovation, but for different reasons said the research firm.