No Easy Path For Remote Control Functionality in Smartphones
It will be two to three years before CE remote control functions are standard in smartphones and tablets and generate “material” revenue for Universal Electronics, CEO Paul Arling said at the Needham investor conference in New York. Much of the lag can be blamed on mobile product design cycles, he said.
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LG’s Optimus Vu: II smartphone shipped in Korea last fall containing a “Q” embedded version of Universal’s Quickset application that allows the device to act as a remote by accessing product codes built into the software, Arling said. While Universal expects additional agreements with handset suppliers later this year, “it’s something that is going to take some time, but [what] we want to do is get some initial success” with Quickset being built into the phone’s Android operating system, Arling said. In smartphones and tablets, Universal will get a per-unit royalty and generate additional revenue with the sale of its IR blaster microcontroller, Universal officials have said.
Universal also has started shipments in Europe of TiVo’s peanut-shaped remote controls to Virgin Media and Swedish cable operator Con Heim, the latter launching an IP network, Arling said. Universal signed a pact with TiVo for the European market last year. Universal also will try to land TiVo’s remote control business in the U.S., Arling said. “There is no reason why we couldn’t have that business in the United States,” Arling said.
DirecTV remains Universal’s largest customer, accounting for 19 percent of the company’s $124.8 million in Q3 revenue, up from 15 percent a year earlier, Universal said. DirecTV has built Quickset software into its remote controls. Universal also buys more than 10 percent of its ICs from Samsung, the company has said. Universal also has released Universal Control Plus software that combines IR control technology with emerging protocols, including IP, HDMI and CEDC, to control AV products. Universal has an IR and IP database of more than 100 metadata tags that can find and send correct control codes for devices that may be lacking it, Universal has said. Universal ended Q3 Sept. 30 with $41.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $29.3 million a year earlier, the company said. It ended December with zero debt, Arling said.