FIH takes over Nokia San Diego CDMA team, say sources
Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) has taken over the CDMA team of Nokia located in San Diego, USA, in attempts to further strengthen its partnership with the handset vendor, according to market sources.
FIH is facing strong competition from rivals such as Compal Communications, BYD and TechFaith. These companies are expected to begin shipping low-end CDMA handsets to Nokia in the first half of 2008. TechFaith is expected to ship GSM/CDMA dual-mode handset to Nokia, noted the sources.
To deepen its relationship with Nokia, FIH has taken over the company's CDMA team in San Diego. In the future, FIH will not only team up with Nokia on low-end products, but the company will also pursue orders for mid-range and high-end handsets too, added the sources.
Nokia has not solved its royalty disagreements with Qualcomm and the company's joint venture CDMA business with Sanjo has not worked out. Therefore, since the second half of 2006, the company has seen its market share falling sharply in North America.
In order to strengthen its position in the CDMA sector, Nokia has decided to outsource orders to reinforce certain CDMA markets during 2008. In addition to the low-end, Nokia will also target mid-range and high-end markets, the sources noted.
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FIH is facing strong competition from rivals such as Compal Communications, BYD and TechFaith. These companies are expected to begin shipping low-end CDMA handsets to Nokia in the first half of 2008. TechFaith is expected to ship GSM/CDMA dual-mode handset to Nokia, noted the sources.
To deepen its relationship with Nokia, FIH has taken over the company's CDMA team in San Diego. In the future, FIH will not only team up with Nokia on low-end products, but the company will also pursue orders for mid-range and high-end handsets too, added the sources.
Nokia has not solved its royalty disagreements with Qualcomm and the company's joint venture CDMA business with Sanjo has not worked out. Therefore, since the second half of 2006, the company has seen its market share falling sharply in North America.
In order to strengthen its position in the CDMA sector, Nokia has decided to outsource orders to reinforce certain CDMA markets during 2008. In addition to the low-end, Nokia will also target mid-range and high-end markets, the sources noted.
Samsung Launches CDMA Phone, MAX
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., has launched its first open market phone - Samsung MAX in the CDMA segment.The slider is launched through the company's own distribution network and aiming at the growing CDMA market, will be available to both Tata Indicom and Reliance Mobile subscribers.
Hyundai Kim, Vice President and Head - CDMA Division, Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt. Ltd., said, "We expect to fuel the growth of the Indian CDMA industry through the launch Samsung Max in the open market. Fully feature loaded Samsung Max is launched to serve the Multimedia needs of the CDMA consumer. The availability of CDMA phones in the open market will provide Indian consumers freedom to choose network operator's of their choice".
Samsung maintains that the Samsung Max is a complete multimedia phone localized to suit Indian needs.
The phone sports a 1.9-inch 262k TFT screen and a 1.3 MP camera. It has Bluetooth, R-UIM card support, expandable memory, an integrated FM radio, voice recorder and an MP3 player. Other features include Indian Calendar, Panchang, Mobile Prayer, Cricket Scorer, Hinglish SMS, Mobile Tracker and SOS alert.
The phone also has some additional security features like call lock which restricts others from receiving or making calls from the handset.
Dinesh Sharma, Marketing Head - CDMA Division, Samsung Telecommunications India Pvt. Ltd., said "Samsung aims to roll out Max through open market distribution in a phase wise manner.
Currently, the MAX will be available only in Delhi and Mumbai for Rs. 7,500, but by December 2007 it will be available in several other large cities.