IFA iNternational 2019 DAY 4 Edition

BROUGHT
TO YOU BY
NEWS
QUALCOMM
TECHNOLOGY UNLOCKS
5G POTENTIAL
German retail solutions provider EK/Servicegroup is
ramping up its home appliance offering with the launch of
a new retail marketplace.
With 53 Electroplus branded stores
across Germany and Europe, EK/
servicegroup is at IFA to present
its Electroplus marketplace
concept to the world. Jochen Pohle,
Head of Business Unit EK Home,
EK Management Board
member Susanne Sorg
and EK CEO Franz-Josef Hasebrink,
set the new retail service concept in
motion on Friday.
Jochen Pohle, Head of Business Unit EK Home,
EK Management Board member Susanne Sorg
and EK CEO Franz-Josef Hasebrink
EK’S
ELECTROPLUS
OFFERS
CUSTOMER-
FRIENDLY RETAIL
marketplace enables the booking
of customer-friendly services
including device connection, the
removal of old devices, as well as
a revised inventory with access to
virtual warehouses. Accordingly,
consumers have access to a greater
choice of products and can also
choose between payment options
including Paypal, direct debit and
credit card.
Qualcomm President Cristiano
Amon used his IFA keynote to
explain the company’s 5G strategy.
Key priorities include widening
access to 5G-enabled devices and
opening up game-changing new
use cases like 5G fixed wireless
as an alternative to wired home
broadband.
On the device side, Qualcomm’s
Snapdragon 855 mobile platform
supports most of the premium
smartphones already in the market.
However, Amon said the company
will be expanding its portfolio of
5G mobile platforms across the
Snapdragon 8 Series, 7 Series
and 6 Series in 2020. As a result,
it will make the next-generation
of camera, video, AI and gaming
experiences more broadly available
to users.
According to Amon, 12 global OEMs
and brands including OPPO, realme,
Redmi, Vivo, Motorola, HMD Global,
the home of Nokia smartphones,
and LG Electronics, plan to use the
new integrated 7 Series 5G mobile
platform in their future 5G mobile
devices. Qualcomm’s new tech
will be commercially ready by the
fourth quarter of 2019 with devices
expected to launch soon thereafter.
Qualcomm also introduced the
Qualcomm QTM527 mmWave
antenna module for the Snapdragon
X55 5G Modem-RF System,
Cristiano Amon
President, Qualcomm
delivering the world’s first fully
integrated extended-range
mmWave solution for 5G fixed
wireless access. In short, this will
allow mobile operators to offer
fixed internet broadband services
to homes and businesses using
their 5G network infrastructure.
“This is yet another example of 5G’s
potential to transform industries
beyond the smartphone, just like
we’re seeing in transportation, AR/
VR, manufacturing and more,” said
Amon
“Our marketplaces combine the
strengths of bricks-and-mortar
retailers with digital opportunities,”
Susanne Sorg said at the company’s
IFA opening press conference. “The
marketplace is set to build on the
estimated €2.4bn of annual sales
and 4,000 retail partners that
make EK is one of the leading retail
services groups in Europe.”
With newly developed
functionalities, the Electroplus
At IFA, the EK exhibition team is
explaining the finer points of the
Electroplus marketplace, and the
kitchen-focused Küchenplus, at its
booth in hall 1.1. “With Electroplus
and Küchenplus we have two
high-profile and profitable retail
concepts for the specialist trade,”
Jochen Pohle said
Hall 1.1
Stand 203
ERRATUM
The Weekend edition of IFA International – page 9 – carried an article on the exhibitor TCL, with
a photo described as being Stefan Streit, Global Marketing Manager, TCL. The photo was in fact
of Kevin Wang – CEO, TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd.
www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 9 September 2019
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