30 Nov, 2007
China-based Huawei Technologies and ZTE are expected to start making inroads into the global smartphone market in 2008, joining Amoi Electronics and TechFaith Wireless as new rivals to Taiwan-based smartphone vendors, according to sources in Taiwan's handset industry.
Huawei is expected to launch Windows Mobile- and Symbian-based smartphones, targeting telecom service providers in Europe, said the industry sources, noting that Huawei may also push sales of own-brand smartphones to other markets.
Huawei has been shipping 3G mobile phones to Vodafone with total shipments already exceeding 800,000 units, the sources indicated. In addition, Huawei is also a supplier of 3G data cards for more than 150 telecom service providers around the globe.
ZTE has ventured into the development of Linux- and Windows Mobile-based smartphones, the sources indicated, noting that ZTE has established business relationships with Vodafone, Hutchison Telecom and BT, and the company is also a leading provider of CDMA handsets in India.
