BenQ Restructures Mobile Business Strategy

BenQ Corp has revised its mobile product strategy to shift emphasis to mobile Internet device (MID) from generic mobile phone since it ended investment in BenQ Mobile, which transformed from Siemens AG`s mobile phone asset it acquired, a year ago because of immense operation loss.

The first fortune of the company`s strategy of restructuring comes from Telecom Italian Mobile (TIM), which has ordered an estimated 200,000 MIDs from BenQ. This is the first case worldwide of a telecom service provider supporting MIDs. Intel has also thrown its weight behind this deal since BenQ builds its Atom processor into the devices.

The company has stopped selling BenQ branded mobile phones outside of Taiwan. Overseas, the company will seek cooperation with telecom service providers to promote its MIDs.

Forward Concept, an organization tracking mobile markets, forecasts global shipments of MID to shoot up to 40 million systems in 2012 from an estimated 305,000 systems throughout this year. ABI Research estimates demand for mobile Internet equipment to top 90 million systems in 2012, with MID leading the way.

Industry watchers pointed out that MID offers BenQ a new access to the mobile market, which Intel has begun helping foster since last year by working with Taiwanese IT hardware manufacturers. Topology Research Institute of Taiwan expects MID`s cost to halve to $200 should Intel brings down its Atom price, which now stands at $40. Last year, Intel set MID`s retail price at $500, only half the price of UMPC.

Last year, Intel formed an alliance called Mobile Internet Device Innovation Alliance with Taiwanese hardware manufacturers including Compal Electronics, Asustek Computer, HTC Corp, Inventec Corp, Quanta Computer and BenQ.

In addition to MID, the company will make a foray into the low priced computer market, which is quickly expanding.

Source: CENS