Seoul - In a departure from their dependence on domestic
mobile phone brands like Samsung or LG, South Korean mobile carriers
are preparing to launch non-Korean brands for smart-phones.
International vendors such as HTC, RIMM, Apple and Nokia will be
able to sign up with local carriers to put their international
bestsellers in the hands of South Koreans.
SK Telecom launches Tuesday a touch-screen Windows Mobile smart-
phone from Taiwanese vendor HTC, while it is also considering
launching its next version Touch Diamond smart-phone from HTC later
this year.
'We expect the HTC smart-phone to be a 100,000-unit seller for
this year,' said Chung Dae-Hyon, a senior manager at SK Telecom. 'And
this is only a start. We may be ready to launch one international
brand after another,' he added.
SK Telecom has also said that it is ready to launch the Blackberry
smart-phone from Canada-based Research in Motion (RIMM) later this
year if the ongoing talks bear fruit.
South Korea may not be in the list of countries getting Apple's
iPhone 3G in its marketplace on July 18, but talk is under way
between mobile carrier KTF and Apple to launch the iPhone 3G in South
Korea.
Even top-notch vendor Nokia may make a comeback after it pulled
out of South Korea in January 2003 after two years of sluggish sales
in South Korea. Both SK Telecom and KTF have said they are in talks
with Nokia to launch Nokia models of smart-phones.
This move is a departure from South Korea's dependence on Samsung
or LG brands for most of the cell-phones sold in the country. Almost
14 million cell-phones were sold there between January and the end of
June.
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