Collaboration Begins with China Mobile; R&D;/Operations Centre to Open; and Treo 680 to Launch
Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM), a leader in mobile computing, today increased its commitment to China with a three-tiered advance into the rapidly growing market. The company announced the following:
-- cooperation with China Mobile Communications Corporation, the world's largest mobile operator, with more than 240 million subscribers;
-- the establishment of Palm's first Research & Development and Operations Centre in the Asia Pacific region; and
-- the launch of the new Palm(R) Treo(TM) 680 smartphone in cooperation with CEC Telecom Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (CECT) and Treo 680 distribution partner, Beijing Riverwill Communication Technology Co. Ltd. (Riverwill).
Today's announcements will greatly extend Palm's presence in China and advance the company's goal of worldwide geographic and demographic growth.
The Palm Treo 680 smartphone, a GSM/GPRS/EDGE quad-band world phone(1), will be brought to market with CECT, certified by China Mobile and distributed by Riverwill. The Treo 680 is slim and compact, yet packed full of features beyond its stellar phone capability, such as email, web browsing, messaging, multimedia, calendar, contacts and more.(2) According to IDC, the China market is expected to be close to 12.1 million data-centric converged devices shipped by 2011, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 30 percent.(3) This presents a tremendous growth opportunity for Palm Treo smartphones.
"We're growing the Palm infrastructure for success in China, an important part of our international-expansion strategy," said John Hartnett, Palm senior vice president, Global Markets. "With a stronger local presence, we believe we can accelerate the success of Treo smartphones across Asia and beyond. And we are thrilled to serve the Chinese marketplace by working with the world's largest carrier, China Mobile."
To meet the growing global opportunity, Palm is establishing its first R&D; and Operations Centre in the Asia Pacific region. The Shanghai-based centre will work to accelerate the delivery of next-generation smartphones to mobile operators, partners and customers worldwide; ensure local language capabilities are incorporated into Treo smartphones; and facilitate close collaboration between Palm and its manufacturing partners. The centre will be key to the delivery of new mobile-computing solutions aimed at redefining the smartphone experience through award-winning Treo smartphones.
"The increasingly mobile work force in China is looking for mobile devices that feature superior ease of use and excellent hardware and software integration - all to manage their busy lives," said Wu Zhi Yang, chairman, CECT. "Palm's innovative and easy-to-use smartphone, together with CECT's well-established status in the local mobile-phone market, will provide a competitive edge for Palm and help it lead the development of smartphone trends in China."
"Palm has a legacy of innovation, and we are confident that the team members of our newly announced China Center will play an integral role in the development of new, innovative Palm mobile-computing products," said Mike Farese, Palm senior vice president, engineering.
"We are pleased that the new Palm Treo 680 supports China Mobile PushMail and Mobile Email, delivering email solutions to even more customers," said Mr. Shen Wei Zhong, deputy general manager, Department of Key Accounts, China Mobile Communication Corporation.
PalmZone.net Treo 680 Information
About China Mobile
China Mobile has been playing a leading role in the development of the mobile-communications industry in China and holds an important position in the international arena as well. After more than 10 years of efforts, China Mobile has established a comprehensive network with wide coverage of high-quality and a rich array of business and first-class customer services. It ranks the first in the world in terms of the network scale and the customer base.
About CECT
Chinese Electronics Corporation Telecom Co., Ltd. (CECT), with registered capital of RMB 300 million, is one of a few manufacturers in China who are approved to produce GSM and CDMA mobile phones. As the core business of CHOSEN Group (Nasdaq:XING), CECT - based on the principle of "Fashion and Practicality" - manufactures, researches and sells GSM, GPRS, PDA and CDMA mobile phones, and provides value added services. In virtue of its strong base and the established large network sales system of China Electronics Corporation (CEC) and CHOSEN Group, CECT has set up 300 province and city level sales service centers, and has built a sales force comprising over 5000 members.
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., a leader in mobile computing, strives to put the power of computing in people's hands so they can access and share their most important information. The company's products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm(R) Treo(TM) smartphones and Palm handheld computers, as well as software, services and accessories.
Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm Retail Stores and
Palm online stores.
(1) Designed to be compatible with networks implementing GSM/GPRS/EDGE standards, but networks may not be available in all countries or within countries in which it is deployed.
(2) Within wireless service coverage area only. Availability and coverage depends upon carrier and the geographic scope of international roaming agreements. Email, messaging and web access requires data services from a mobile service provider at an additional cost. Email account not included. EDGE service not available in all areas.
(3) IDC's Asia Pacific Handheld Tracker Q406.
