Hutchison Whampoa Launches Handset Subsidiary

Published on: 14th October 2008

Hutchison Whampoa has launched its own mobile phone subsidiary, INQ Mobile to develop phones for its 3G networks worldwide. The company aims to launch a range of low to mid-priced handsets based largely on free operating systems, likely to be either Linux or the Google backed Android OS - and will be based on Qualcomm chips.

NQ aims to sell its phones to network operators at prices low enough that they're expected to cost consumers US$50 or less, with some phones being free after subsidies.

The company's first phone, the INQ1, is due out in the UK and Australia before the end of year and in seven other markets where Hutchison has 3G networks in the first half of 2009. The handsets are expected to be manufactured by Taiwan based OEMs.

The company is also building on its existing relationship with Skype and will continue to support the VoIP service in its new phones - along with integrating social networking services such as Facebook into the phone OS.

The firm said that it is already working on four more handset designs - which will be made available to other operators as well as its own 3G network subsidiaries.

 

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