Sagem Wireless

Last updated
Sagem Wireless
Company type Private
Industry mobile devices
HeadquartersParis
Key people
Pasquale Pistorio (Chairman), Thierry Buffenoir (CEO)
Website sagemwireless.com

Sagem Wireless was a multinational communications corporation headquartered in Paris, France. The company was engaged in the designing and manufacturing of customised connected lifestyle devices and services for mobile network operators and global consumer brands. Sagem Wireless was majority owned by Sofinnova Partners, with minority stakes owned by SAFRAN and Sagem Wireless founders and staff.

Contents

Sagem Wireless is now called MobiWire SAS. MobiWire SAS is now designing and delivering mobile phones as an original design manufacturer (ODM).

History

Pre-Telecoms Era

In 1925, Marcel Môme created the Société d’Applications Générale d’Electricité et de Mécanique (Sagem), whose initial business was primarily mechanical engineering. Sagem diversified its business, for instance by making precision equipment for the French navy. The Société d’Applications Téléphoniques was created in 1932 and taken over by Sagem in 1939, as the Société Anonyme de Télécommunications (SAT), making it a major player in telephony and telecom business.

Entry in the Telecoms market

In the 1940s, Sagem moved into the telecoms market with the production of telex machines. In 1962, Robert Labarre was named president and CEO, a role he held until 1987 when he was replaced by Pierre Faurre who had led a management buyout of company in 1985. [1] The appointment of Faurre coincided with the launch of first Sagem-made fax machine and followed by the launch of a new generation fax machine in 1990.

Involvement in mobile phones

In 1996, Sagem marketed a consumer fax machine, the “Phonefax”, and in 1995 GSM mobile phone activity was set up by Olivier DEMOLY for the international sales and Philippe Lucas for the French Market and the first satellite TV set-top box. Just one year later, Snecma took full control of its subsidiary SEP (Société Européenne de Propulsion), marking its entry in the space propulsion market. SFIM Industries were acquired by Sagem in 1999 and, together with other subsidiaries, consolidated as SAGEM operating divisions in 2000.

Between 1995-2000, the Mobile Phones business units was driven by Guy Rouanne and Radiocommunications Systems and Radiocommunications Networks business units were led by Thierry Buffenoir. In 2001, Buffenoir became chairman and chief executive officer of Sagem Mobile, the mobile phone operating division of Sagem. Under Buffenoir’s leadership, by 2004 Sagem Mobile had grown to become a top 5 European handset manufacturer and market leader in France, its home market.

Following the creation of SAFRAN in 2005, the Group once again refocused on its core businesses, divesting both its mobile phone and broadband businesses in 2008, to create Sagem Wireless and Sagem Communications respectively.

2009-2010

Sagem Wireless was launched in January 2009 with an investment from Sofinnova Partners and with Thierry Buffenoir as its CEO. [2] [3] [4] After this investment, Sagem Wireless shifted in strategy to begin designing phones for third parties. [4]

In 2009 the first connected lifestyle devices were launched by Sagem Wireless, including branded devices for Porsche Design and Hello Kitty. Operator branded devices included the Vodafone 533 Crystal – a device developed exclusively for Vodafone together with Crystallized by Swarovski Elements.

In October 2009, Sagem Wireless announced a licensing agreement with PUMA to deliver a branded mobile phone that is "completely tailor designed, from the inside out", adding the design will reflect "the DNA of the PUMA brand". [5]

At the Mobile World Congress 2010, Sagem Wireless unveiled two new devices – the PUMA PHONE [6] and the CosyPhone. [7]

In November 2010, the company launched Binder - a white-label e-Reader - and announced French retailer FNAC and Telecom Italia as customers. [8] Also that month, the CosyPhone became commercially available. [9]

MobiWire

In the spring of 2011, Sagem Wireless was renamed Mobiwire SA, the aim of renaming the company was to show it was independent from other SAGEM spin-offs (SAGEMCOM and SAGEM Defence).

Shortly after renaming the company had become bankrupt.

On 22 July, following the recovery proceedings, Sagetel Mobiles made an equity investment and a partial assets transfer relying on part of the employees and the management.

The new company was named MobiWire SAS. MobiWire SAS is now designing and delivering mobile phones as an original design manufacturer (ODM).

Technologies

Sagem Wireless partnered with innovative technology companies to integrate third party technology into its devices. As part of the Sofinnova Partners group of companies, Sagem Wireless also had access to the skills and expertise of other businesses in the group.

Sagem Wireless technology partners included:

Device portfolio

Operator branded devices

Were

Exclusive brands

Global brands

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-field communication</span> Radio communication established between devices by bringing them into proximity

Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 centimetres (1.6 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the bootstrapping of capable wireless connections. Like other proximity card technologies, NFC is based on inductive coupling between two electromagnetic coils present on a NFC-enabled device such as a smartphone. NFC communicating in one or both directions uses a frequency of 13.56 MHz in the globally available unlicensed radio frequency ISM band, compliant with the ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface standard at data rates ranging from 106 to 848 kbit/s.

Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divisions Verizon Consumer and Verizon Business, and stopped using the Verizon Wireless name. Verizon is the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 144.8 million subscribers as of December 31, 2023. It currently has the largest network in the United States with their LTE network covering 70% of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.mobi</span> Generic top-level Internet domain

The domain name mobi is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. Its name is derived from the adjective mobile.

Vodafone Limited, trading as Vodafone UK, is a British telecommunications services provider, and a part of Vodafone Group Plc, the world's second-largest mobile phone company. Vodafone is the third-largest mobile network operator in the United Kingdom, with 18.5 million subscribers as of February 2024, after O2 and EE, followed by Three. The country's first cellular phone call was made on the Vodafone network in 1985.

SAGEM was a French company involved in defense electronics, consumer electronics, and communication systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile web</span> Mobile browser-based World Wide Web services

The mobile web comprises mobile browser-based World Wide Web services accessed from handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones or feature phones, through a mobile or other wireless network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile banking</span> Service provided by a bank

Mobile banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct financial transactions remotely using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Unlike the related internet banking it uses software, usually called an app, provided by the financial institution for the purpose. Mobile banking is usually available on a 24-hour basis. Some financial institutions have restrictions on which accounts may be accessed through mobile banking, as well as a limit on the amount that can be transacted. Mobile banking is dependent on the availability of an internet or data connection to the mobile device.

The term mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, to mean "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer’s hand, anywhere, via wireless technology." Many choose to think of Mobile Commerce as meaning "a retail outlet in your customer’s pocket."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gemalto</span> International digital security company

Gemalto was an international digital security company providing software applications, secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens, e-wallets and managed services. It was formed in June 2006 by the merger of two companies, Axalto and Gemplus International. Gemalto N.V.'s revenue in 2018 was €2.969 billion.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network. A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that use the protocol. Introduced in 1999, WAP achieved some popularity in the early 2000s, but by the 2010s it had been largely superseded by more modern standards such as XHTML. Modern phones have proper Web browsers, so they do not need WAP markup for compatibility, and therefore, most are no longer able to render and display pages written in WML, WAP's markup language.

Betavine was an open community and resource website, created and managed by Vodafone Group R&D, for the mobile development community in order to support and stimulate the development of new applications for mobile and Internet communications. The Betavine website allows developers to upload and profile their alpha-stage and beta-stage applications, provides interaction tools for members to share knowledge and give feedback on apps, and discuss topics in mobile. Betavine also contains a growing resources section with technical topics and APIs.

MobiTV, Inc. operated as a provider of live and on-demand video delivery solutions, with its headquarters located in Emeryville, California. Founded in 1999 by Paul Scanlan, Phillip Alvelda, and Jeff Annison, Mobi TV was a privately held company supported by venture capital. Charlie Nooney assumed the roles of CEO and Chairman of the company on October 15, 2007.

Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited is a multinational company which provides telecommunications and information technology services to large corporations, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc. It is headquartered in London, England and was established in April 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MiFi</span> Brand name for a wireless router that acts as mobile Wi-Fi hotspot

MiFi is a brand name to describe a wireless router that acts as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot device.

Novarra was a mobile internet software company founded in 2000 and based in Itasca, Illinois, United States. It created web-based services such as web internet access, portals, videos, widgets and advertising for mobile devices. Novarra provided access to the internet and other services through wireless handsets, PDAs and laptops and sold directly to operators, mobile handset manufacturers and internet brand companies. In 2010, Nokia acquired 100% of Novarra's shares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icera</span> British multinational fabless semiconductor company

Icera Inc. is a British multinational fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nvidia Corporation. It has developed soft modem chipsets for the mobile devices market, including mobile broadband datacards, USB sticks, and embedded modems for smartphones, laptops, netbooks, tablets, e-books and other mobile broadband devices.

MobiWire SAS is a spin-off of Sagem Wireless. MobiWire SAS was created in July 2011 with an equity investment from MobiWire Mobiles Ningbo Co LTD, formerly Sagetel Mobiles of Ningbo, China, after Sagem Wireless had gone into bankruptcy when it was majority owned by Sofinnova.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NNG (company)</span>

NNG, formerly known as Nav N Go is a company which provides navigation software for the automotive, enterprise, wireless and personal navigation industries. In 2016, NNG had nearly 1000 employees, 12 offices and 4 auxiliary offices on 6 continents. NNG's products are based on the iGO Navigation Engine, which consists of the navigation software, user interfaces, and related content and services, which it sells to device manufacturers, auto makers, network operators, and transport specialist companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ting Mobile</span> Wireless service company

Ting Mobile is an American mobile virtual network operator owned by Dish Wireless. Originally established in February 2012 by Tucows, Ting provides cellular service in the United States using the T-Mobile and Verizon networks. The service is sold off-contract with billing that adjusts the cost of service based on actual customer usage.

References

  1. ↑ "Le décès brutal de Pierre Faurre plonge Sagem dans l'incertitude". Les Echos (in French). 2001-02-08. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  2. ↑ Staff, V. C. J. (2008-07-31). "Sofinnova Buys Sagem Mobile". Venture Capital Journal. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  3. ↑ "Sagem aims to beat rivals with speed". Reuters. 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  4. 1 2 "Sagem prêt à abandonner sa marque pour exister dans le téléphone portable". Les Echos (in French). 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  5. ↑ Parsons, Russell (6 October 2009). "Puma to launch mobile phone". Marketing Week. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "Puma phone hands-on video: It's pumped full of Puma". Recombu. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  7. ↑ Kloet, Charles (15 February 2010). "Sagem Cosyphone: Swipe a card to make a call". Cnet UK. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "Sagem Wireless' Binder is a white-label eReader product". IntoMobile. 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  9. ↑ Henderson, Rik (9 November 2010). "Sagem Wireless Cosy phone embraces NFC tech". Archived from the original on 12 November 2010.
  10. ↑ INSIDE Contactless and Sagem Wireless Extend NFC Technology Partnership, More RFID "MoreRFID - INSIDE Contactless and Sagem Wireless Extend NFC Technology Partnership". Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  11. ↑ Sillis, Ben (3 February 2010). "Sagem Android phones to pack fingerprint IID!". Electricpig. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010.
  12. ↑ "'Sagem taps Mobiles Republic, Cellmania for Puma phone'". TMCnet. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  13. ↑ Chick, Chip (28 October 2009). "Roxy Phone is the Latest Fashion Mobile to Join the Fray". Archived from the original on 23 January 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.