Huawei targets 60 million smartphones shipments in 2012.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Huawei targets 60 million smartphones shipments in 2012.

According to Digitimes Huawei Technologies, a China-based vendor of telecom equipment and mobile and home-use terminal devices, has set global target shipments of 60 million smartphones in 2012, thereby standing a chance of becoming the world's third largest vendor of smartphones, according to the company's corporate media relations vice president Scott Sykes.

Of the 60 million smartphones, 20 million units will be shipped in the China market. Huawei shipped 60 million handsets in 2011, with 20 million units of which being smartphones, Sykes indicated. Huawei has launched more than 40 models of smartphones in many markets including China, the US, Europe, Japan and India, and has set aside a marketing budget of US$200 million mainly for sales promotion of smartphones in 2012.

Huawei adopts two operational models for smartphone business, one is ODM production of customized models for mobile telecom carriers, the other is sale of own-brand models through retail channels. Huawei has a competitive advantage, that is, it has cooperated with more than 500 telecom carriers in over 140 countries through marketing telecom equipment.

In addition to Android, Huawei will offer Windows Phone models, and its smartphones are of a wide retail price range from US$100 to over US$400.

As Taiwan is a major supply source of components, Huawei hopes to set up a representative office and considers establishment of an R&D center in Taiwan. Huawei's fast growing sales of smartphones are expected to benefit its Taiwan-based partners, IC design house MediaTek and OEM maker Foxconn International Holdings.

Shipments of tablets to be affected by component shortages

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

The global supply chain for tablet PCs is expected to brace for acute shortage of parts and components, including memory chips, gyroscopes, capacitors, chip-resistors, cover glass and even bismaleimide-triazine (BT) resin, which will seriously affect shipments of  tablets, according to sources at Taiwan notebook makers.

The market had originally expected the tight supply of components and key materials caused by the Japan earthquake will ease in May. Contrary to the expectations, the crisis of the possible interruption of the supply chain now is likely to emerge in the second half of May, indicated the sources.

Supplies of gyroscopes from STMicroelectronics and AKM, high-end capacitors and resistors from Japan-based makers, BT resin for IC substrate production and other types of chemicals all will fall short of demand, the sources added.

Affected by the component shortages, a number of makers have reduced their shipments of tablet PCs, said the sources, noting that combined tablet shipments from first-tier notebook vendors could be less than five million units in 2011.

Actual sales volumes for the Galaxy Tab from Samsung Electronics, the Eee Pad Transfomer from Asustek Computer and even the Xoom from Motorola Mobility could have been lower than the target amounts or reported figures, the sources commented.