Tianyu, Telegent analog/digital strategy covers all the mobile TV bases
Nov 18, 2008 11:55 AM, By Carolyn Schuk
Tianyu has already launched one dual analog/CMMB handset that offers viewers both legacy broadcast and new CMMB digital TV services.
A partnership to develop a new line of hybrid digital/analog mobile TV phones is a savvy next step for analog mobile TV chip manufacturer Telegent Systems and leading Chinese handset manufacturer Tianyu. Both established players in China's analog mobile TV market, the new line takes advantage of analog mobile TV’s popularity in Southeast Asia to extend the companies' market reach.
“The hybrid handset will allow China consumers to leverage the benefits of both TV ecosystems while the digital infrastructure is being deployed,” said Rong XiuLi, Tianyu CEO and general manager.
While the new handsets are CMMB compliant, the analog TV receiver allows Tianyu to sell the phones in practically any market. Viewers get a double dip of digital-level quality and the ubiquitous analog content they already know and love.
“Tianyu’s market leadership and strength in distribution channels will enable them to take advantage of the rapid gain in market share that TV phones are achieving in Southeast Asia and to lead the domestic China market in TV feature innovation,” said Ken Wang, general manager of Telegent China.
This is not the first time Tianyu has leveraged Telegent’s mobile TV technology in a handset designed to drive growth into the Southeast Asia market and capitalize on the popularity of analog TV phones. After its K-Touch V908 TV phone took China’s 20007 Best TV Mobile Phone Award, Tianyu released the K-Touch DT08/DT28 series, which delivers analog TV enabled by Telegent's chip.
Telegent has consistently chosen this mobile TV road less taken (analog) and has found that it pays off. The company's single-chip analog mobile receivers are currently embedded in more than 80 handsets worldwide by manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Korea and Southeast Asia and are sold in China, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.
Telegent's product strategy is to enable both analog and digital free-to-air broadcast reception with products capable of handling multiple standards, according to Telegent VP of marketing Diana Jovin. This will enable operators to build new revenue models from both the free-to-air platform and premium digital services.
And in Tianyu, Telegent has a partner that thinks the same way: that playing with an established infrastructure, viewer familiarity and hybrid technology make for a compelling analog mobile TV strategy.
For more information, visit www.benephon.com/en and www.telegent.com.
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