Haier selects Philips design for low-cost cellphone market in China

Royal Philips Electronics announced that Haier, a handset manufacturer in China, has selected the Philips Ultra Low Cost (ULC) Reference Phone for its HG-Z1000 cellphone. The ULC design uses the Nexperia cellular system solution 5128.

Philips said its design was selected by Haier because of its customizable technology, which enabled Haier to bring its HG-Z1000 to market in just four months. The Nexperia cellular system solution comes with system optimization and power management capabilities, which is said to provide the HG-Z1000 with 280 hours standby time and three hours talk time.

"The bulk of new subscriber growth over the next five years will come from developing regions, such as China," said Scott Smyser, director and principal analyst at the market-research firm, iSuppli Corp. "Subscribers in developing regions require low-cost handsets, and costs can be reduced only with innovative semiconductor solutions."