Things are volatile in the mobile handset world, and it’s not just Motorola that’s having trouble. For mobile content developers, this means more volatility in handset types for the (about a fifth) of the market not covered by the big five manufacturers. Sanyo was rumored to be in talks to sell its handset business with both Sharp and Kyocera, according to TelecomAsia, and when Sanyo came out and said it hadn’t made any decision regarding its mobile phone business its shared dropped 2.1 percent, noted the Taipei Times. Although not a major player internationally Sanyo was at one point the largest mobile phone manufacturer in Japan.
The Netherland’s Philips has also gotten out of the handset business, selling it to China Electronics Corporation Holdings with which it holds a Chinese JV, Shenzhen Sang Fei Consumer Communications. It has managed to sign a licensing fee to use the Philips trademark on the phones: Shenzhen will have the right to the trademark until March 31, 2012 after agreeing to pay 3 million euros (US$4.08 million) until 2008 and 7 million euros (US$9.51) for the rest. Meanwhile, the Asian OEM’s are ramping up efforts to grab marketshare under their own name.
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