3 Nov, 2007
The founder of China-based Spreadtrum Communications, a fast growing handset chip supplier, will visit Taiwan this week to attend an investors conference of Chip Hope, its local partner for the development of complete handset-use solutions featuring touch functionalities, market sources said.
Fan Yongren (transliterated from Chinese), currently vice president of Spreadtrum, will attend Chip Hope's investors conference on December 5 and will also call on Taiwan's handset vendors and makers, the sources said.
Spreadtrum, whose handset chip shipments for 2007 are expected to top five million units, has been working with Chi Hope to integrate Taiwan-based Elan Microelectronics' touch panel controllers into complete handset solutions, the sources noted.
Fan's attending Chip Hope's investor conference is meant to be a display of the strong partnership between the companies, the sources commented.
Spreadtrum hopes the complete solutions can boost its share of the white-box handset market in China, the sources said, adding a white-box handset with a touch screen can sell for more than 1,000 yuan (US$135), while one without a touch screen is only less than half of the sum.
The Chinese white-box handset market will grow to 100 million units in 2008 from 70-80 million units in 2007, the sources estimate.
Spreadtrum, Chip Hope and Elan are all optimistic about the shipments of the handset solutions they have co-developed, the sources said, adding the prices of their solutions are 30-40% cheaper than the US$18 for the one that Apple has adopted for the iPhone.
They expect ship 50,000-100,000 units of the solutions monthly during the first quarter of 2008, with a monthly goal of 100,000-500,000 units thereafter.
