Sharp Shipping Smartphones to China
As announced in June, Sharp is prepping to ship two Android smartphone models into China from next month. http://bit.ly/dfnwN1
Sharp Corp. (6753) said Tuesday that it will launch two new smartphones in China next month. Featuring touch-screen panels, the handsets operate on a system developed by a Chinese firm based on Google Inc.’s Android. The 3.2-inch model will sell for 2,200 yuan, or around 27,000 yen, while the 3.5-inches will go for 3,000 yuan, or some 37,000 yen.
Users will be able to download about 1,000 games and other applications from a special Web site, as well as buy Japanese manga. The smartphones will also offer easy access to Chinese social networking sites. Sharp says it has no plans at the moment to market the smartphones in Japan.
Sharp’s Chinese cellular phone sales topped 1 million units last fiscal year. It aims to rapidly lift sales to the 5 million unit mark. As early as next spring, it will unveil handsets compatible with the 3-D format. Continue >>