Domestic phone makers race to unveil PHS phones
24/3/2003 14:56
China's phone makers are rushing to unveil Little Smart handsets,
pinning their hopes on the rising market for the in-city wireless PHS network
(personal handy-phone system).
Konka Telecom Technology Co. Ltd., a phone
unit of China's leading electronic group Konka Group, plans to market its first
Little Smart phone in May, Yuan Jingxiao, vice financial supervisor of the
company, said yesterday.
She said a research group in the company's LCD
department is busy developing the new handsets.
Other Chinese phone
suppliers, including TCL, Eastcom and Amoisonic, are reportedly developing the
phones, according to sources close to the telecom industry.
The race to
market the handsets has come as a result of the fast development of Little Smart
service in China, market analysts pointed out.
The market potential is
huge, as the service is new in China and few players are in the field, they
said.
Currently, there are only three telecom equipment suppliers in the
country for the Little Smart network, including US Starcom Inc, Qingdao Lucent
Technologies and ZTE Corp.
China Telecommunications Corp., the Little
Smart service operator, plans to develop 20 million Little Smart users across
the country, they noted.
Low profits and tight competition in the mobile
phone market is another factor leading domestic phone makers to switch to the
underdeveloped Little Smart market, the analysts added.
China's mobile
phone market has been dominated by overseas phone giants, with 60 percent of the
market shared by Nokia and Motorola, according to a recent survey by Horizon
Research.
With the country's telecom authority easing restrictions on the
Little Smart service, the service has been launched officially in all China's
key cities except Shanghai.
Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news
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