China Mobile launches Ophones

Sep. 1, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China Mobile Ltd<0941>, the country's largest telecom operator, yesterday officially launched its Ophone hardware and software platform at a special event in Beijing, sources reported.

China Mobile showcased new Ophone handset models made by Dell Inc, the world's second-largest PC maker, Lenovo Mobile Communication Technology Ltd, a mobile phone subsidiary of Lenovo Group Ltd<0992>, and Taiwan's HTC Corp. A version of the HTC Magic handset, called the Dopod A6188, is already available to consumers. The 3G Lenovo O1 will reportedly go on sale next month, and although Dell's Ophone is only a 2G prototype, the company is working on a 3G model called the Mini3i.

LG Electronics, Philips and Motorola are also said to be developing Ophone handsets.

The China Mobile Open Operating System is based on and compatible with Google Inc's Android OS, and the China Mobile phones operate on the home-grown, government-backed TD-SCDMA 3G standard.

China Mobile's new products will compete with the popular iPhone handset that China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd<600050><0762>, the country's second-largest telecom operator, will begin selling in the fourth quarter of this year, and will be able to run programs from the company's online application store, Mobile Market.