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Sendo aims smartphone at Asian market

Tags:
Smartphone,
Asia,
Microsoft Deal,
Sendo

John Lui CNETAsia

Published: 18 Nov 2003 11:35 GMT

It was a case of now-you-see-them, now-you-don't: UK-based phone maker Sendo arrived with a splash in Asia last year, then vanished.

But it is now staging a return on the back of a new smartphone.

Sendo decided to withdraw from Asia to focus on Europe following its falling-out with former smartphone partner Microsoft last year, said chief executive Hugh Brogan.

The then-flagship product, the Microsoft Stinger-based Z100, had to be scrapped. It would have been among the first -- if not the first -- traditionally shaped mobile phone with PDA functions.

"We were disappointed that we could not offer the Z100 in Asia," he said.

Without a flagship offering, it didn't make sense to enter the Asia market, so the firm pulled out to go back to the drawing board, said Brogan.

Late last year, the firm opted for the Symbian platform, resulting in the Sendo X smartphone. The phone will be available in Singapore and Hong Kong from March next year. In Europe, it has been priced at around $500 (about £300) without a carrier subsidy.

Brogan felt that Sendo's absence from Asia hasn't put the firm at a competitive disadvantage. However, it is sticking to the plan to crack the market at the high end. In the less-crowded high-end playing field, it's more likely to be noticed.

"We need something to different to offer here. It's a sophisticated market," he said.

Also, in Singapore and Hong Kong, where almost everyone is tied to a mobile phone contract, carriers want more revenue from each subscriber. A data-centric phone like the Sendo X will be more welcomed by carriers, especially as it's highly customisable for the operator's own suite of Web, email and messaging services, said Brogan.

The bulk of shipments from phone makers go to carriers, so a large part of Sendo's strategy has been to be mindful of their needs, he said.

In future, the firm plans to offer less expensive handsets in markets such as Thailand and China, where carriers are still roping in first-time cellphone users, rather than tempting existing customers with upgrades.

Brogan harbours no illusions about taking on the big brands. The firm is profitable and is doing well in Europe's GSM market, he said, and he would not be drawn into specifying market share targets or whose market he was gunning for.

"We are not a significant threat to any of the big guys. But you could say we are competing with all of them," he said.

Built around Symbian and Nokia's Series 60 software platform, the Sendo X has a VGA resolution still/motion camera with flash, a 65k colour 176x220 pixel screen, 64-voice polyphonic ring tones, and a suite of graphics, audio and video software all running under Sendo's Now! environment.

Other software includes Java J2ME, a personal information manager with email that can synchronise with PCs, the RealOne audio and video player, and a smattering of games.

It's compatible with Symbian and Series 60 applications, and has around 32MB of its internal 64MB flash memory available for user programs and data. This can be expanded through MMC and SD cards, although Sendo claims that the standard memory can store up to 1,000 pictures or half an hour of 'quality' video and audio.

The phone has triple-band GSM and GPRS class 8, Bluetooth, USB and infra-red connectivity, and incorporates a third-party Internet browser from a major but as yet unspecified company. This supports HTML, frames, WAP 2.0, and XHTML MP as well as standard secure SSL Web and WTLS WAP secure pages.

ZDNet UK's Rupert Goodwins contributed to this report.