Huawei to dominate in smart-phones

Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, is to launch its first own-branded manufactured Smart-phones, aimed at making its handsets accessible to all in the global phone market.

“By 2013, Huawei Device aims to be one of the world's top handset manufacturers, and we are well-placed to achieve that goal.

“We are going to get to a point where we're a credible player in the market. We want to make an impact in the market,” Mark Mitchinson, an official of the company, said.

Mr. Mitchinson indicated that the company currently has 25 staff working on the launch in the United Kingdom (UK) and will increase the number to approximately 60.

He disclosed that the device currently makes up a small part of Huawei's business, which in the UK has a total headcount of 500, and that it plans to double that figure by 2015 as well as recruiting 1,500 sub-contractors.

"It is a necessary change for Huawei. We are one of the dominant players in infrastructure. How much more infrastructure can we build? We believe there is enough space in a very competitive space like the UK," Mr. Mitchinson said.

Huawei is targetting the so-called feature-phones market, which it estimates make up about 60 percent of UK mobile sales. Feature phones are low-end, limited handsets that are cheaper than smartphones.

"We have established ourselves in the infrastructure and technology space. There is no reason why we can't expand that," Mr. Mitchinson said.

“The company also makes phones for other UK phone companies including Vodafone and Everything Everywhere, which owns T-Mobile and Orange. The Huawei Blaze, which will run the Android operating system and cost less than £100, will be the first of a series of phones and devices from Huawei, including tablets and media pads. A high-end smartphone is expected next year.

"There is an opportunity to bring smartphones to a wider audience.” Mr. Mitchinson said.

He said: “Smart-phones for all is a key message. Huawei will open up the door for that. The next explosion is the data-explosion. It's about the right proposition.

The UK could be the blueprint of how we roll this business out into the rest of Europe. China and the UK are the two key markets for the launch of devices."

Huawei was established in China by RenZhengfei in 1988 and serves 45 of the top global mobile network operators, covering a third of the world's population.

It first moved into devices in 2003, making handsets for other companies. It will ship 12 million smartphones this year, with sales hitting US$6bn (£3.7bn).