Taiwan’s Asustek is working with China Mobile to launch five smartphones that run on the mainland’s homegrown 3G network.
That is TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), which runs on China Mobile’s network and uses China Mobile’s Ophone operating system.
These phones are a triumph for China Mobile as TD-SCDMA was thought, perhaps, to be a laggard in the network stakes. China Mobile has pushed it forward until it is now a serious international player.
Two of the new smartphones – the T10 and T20 series – are powered by a new integrated chip, the PXA920, from Marvell, a US-based chip maker. These were designed specifically for TD-SCDMA and will bring down the cost, size, and power consumption of these new Asustek models.
Focus Taiwan cited media reports as saying that China Mobile will purchase a total of 12.2 million TD-SCDMA-based handsets this year. How many will come from Asustek is not known.