Huawei Technologies, a Chinese networking company, will be launching Android and Symbian smartphones in the first half of 2009. The company is planning to expand into phone and mobile broadband, hinging on the current economic crisis to extend the lifespan of lower-end phones, and create extra time to bring smartphones to market. Despite Huawei’s late arrival to the smartphone market, the company believes they’ll be able to achieve their corporate targets without an established partner. But they are looking for private equity investment.
A member of the Open Handset Alliance, Huawei finds the open source Android attractive, as it allows the company to leverage their software expertise and customise phones for specific operators. Just don’t look for the Huawei name on any smartphone; they’ll be sold through operators and branded as such.
via pcworld