Sales of smartphones in the China market are expected to top 100 million units in 2013, accounting for 40% of total handset sales, according to Huang Xiaoqing, general manager of China Mobile Research Institute.
Additionally, the market value of handset applications in the China market will reach 11.09 billion yuan (US$1.62 billion) in 2013, increasing 15 fold from 2009, Huang said, citing an internal estimate of China Mobile. Huang was in Taipei recently.
Sales of Ophones, which are built to support China Mobile's Open Mobile System (OMS), will also gain momentum in China along with the growing popularity of smartphones, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
China Mobile has stepped into the development of 3D technology and gaming engines for the Ophone, aiming to compete with iPhones, the sources revealed.
More than 20 hardware device makers, including Acer, Asustek Computer, Lenovo, Motorola, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics (LGE), Dell and Sony Ericsson, have already joined the supply chain of Ophones, said the sources, noting that a total of about 35 Ophone models are expected to launch in 2010.
The ASPs (average selling prices) of Ophones are expected to drop from about 4,000 yuan in 2009 to 2,000 yuan in 2010, and further decline to 1,000 yuan by year-end 2011, estimated the sources.
