Microsoft said on Tuesday that it is partnering with Taiwanese chipset vendor MediaTek to drive growth in smartphone sales for emerging markets over the next 12 months.
The partnership will provide a multimedia-rich smart phone solution aimed at emerging markets the two companies said. As a result of this deal, consumers will be able to buy a wide range of Windows phones in China and other emerging markets. MediaTek has worked with Microsoft to couple its hardware with the Windows Mobile 6 software. Both companies said this will give Chinese handset makers a reference point for creating new Windows Mobile phones.
MediaTek expects this partnership with Microsoft will help drive smartphone penetration in the targeted markets. The handsets will be running Windows Mobile 6 software and will feature touch controls and capabilities such as web browsing and email.
"There is a huge thirst for smartphones in emerging markets. For many people, the phone rather than the PC is the main entry point to the Internet, resulting in a high demand for rich communication devices. In order to meet this demand, we have teamed up with MediaTek to facilitate the provision of affordable smartphones," said Daren Mancini, General Manager for OEM Mobile, Microsoft.
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