China Mobile, HTC sign TD-SCDMA handset deal

Robert Clark | August 25, 2009

telecomasia.net

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Taiwan smartphone firm HTC Corporation will make TD-SCDMA devices for the mainland market.

The company yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding for “substantive cooperation on TD-SCDMA” with the mainland mobile leader.

China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou said HTC would supply one TD-SCDMA device this year and five next year, FT.com reported.

HTC is the world’s biggest maker of Windows Mobile-based smartphones and the first to make a smartphone powered by Google’s Android OS.

Under the MoU, signed during a visit by Wang to Taiwan, the two companies will work together on future handset development, including TD-LTE devices, and market research.

Wang said in an interview with FT.com that China Mobile hoped to introduce another 100 new 3G phones to the market by the end of the year.

The operator has 493 million customers, of whom just 1 million use the operator’s 3G service, based on the locally-funded TD-SCDMA system.

During his trip to Taiwan Wang also plans to meet with chipset firm MediaTek to discuss the development of chipsets for TD handsets and the coming Ophone.

Source:

Robert Clark