ANDROID SALES SKYROCKET: China-based white-box vendors to offer below US$100 Android smartphones for emerging markets
Daniel Shen, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 9 February 2011]
China-based vendors are poised to offer Android smartphones priced at below US$100 for sale in China and other emerging markets including India, Indonesia and Brazil in 2011, according to Taiwan-based handset and component makers.
Such low-price Android smartphones are equipped with basic functions including dual-mode or dual-SIM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM radio, trackball and G-sensors, with other functions such as mobile TV and GPS available for additional choice, the sources noted.
The low price is based on non-customized turnkey solutions featuring the integration of chips, operating systems, software and user interfaces, the sources pointed out. Taiwan-based IC design houses MediaTek and Infomax Communication have offered such solutions at less than US$100 and US$80-90 respectively, while China-based Leadcore Technology and Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics have done so at US$80-105 and US$90-105 respectively, the sources indicated. Qualcomm, ST-Ericsson and Broadcom have also offered such solutions, but mostly for 3G and priced higher at US$100-120, the sources noted. |
