Nokia Handset Set to Stir up CDMA Market
Sweden mobile phone giant Nokia Oyj's first CDMA phone in China will hit the market this Friday at a record low price, a move set to breeze fresh air to the already heating-up competition in the phone making industry, Thursday's Youth Daily reported.

The first batch of 5,000 phones will be marketed at Guomei Electronics Appliances Co Ltd, one of the leading home appliance retailers nationwide, at 388 yuan (US$47), more than 40 percent off Nokia's key rival Motorola's record low offer of 699 yuan.

Market analysts said Guomei, the retailer, could probably invest 600 yuan for each phone to avail the cheapest-ever CDMA phone and expected the offer to spark a new round price competition in some half a month in China's Code Division Multiple Access sector, previously a high-end sector of the mobile telecom market.

Key CDMA phone makers from home and abroad are totally unprepared by Nokia's upcoming offer. Motorola expressed skepticism about the price while Sony Ericsson, Hisense and TCL were "shocked" at the news. They said such a low offer could rarely make a balance for the phone's manufacturer.

According to industry sources, overseas brands are dominating China's CDMA phone market, with US Motorola, South Korea's Samsung and LG taking a combined 68 percent shares.

(Shanghai Daily November 6, 2003)