China-based TCL Communication Technology Holdings may release ODM orders for 3G and 3.5G Android smartphones as well as tablet PCs to Taiwan-based makers, according to company CEO George Guo at a December 10 press conference in Taipei.

A member of the China-based TCL Business Group, TCL Communication established a joint venture with Alcatel in 2004 and later acquired a right to use the Alcatel brand for 20 years. The company now makes feature phones for ODM clients, and ships TCL-branded smartphones to the China market and Alcatel-branded ones overseas.

TCL Communication began ODM production of entry-level feature phones for Motorola in the second half of 2009, becoming a competitor of Taiwan-based makers including Compal Communications, Arima Communications and Foxconn.

However, TCL Communication's major focus has been own-brand business, which has extended to smartphones and tablet PCs, Guo indicated. TCL Communication has launched its first Android smartphone model in Europe and Hong Kong as well as a 7-inch tablet PC based on an OMAP (Open Multimedia Application Platform) processor developed by Texas Instruments in China and Asia Pacific markets.

With strengths in feature phones at an average selling price (ASP) of US$30, TCL Communication lags behind Taiwan-based makers in R&D for smartphones and tablet PCs, which is a reason why the China-based company is seeking manufacturing partners in Taiwan, industry sources said.

TCL Communication plans to launch 7-8 Android smartphone models and several tablet PCs covering the entry-level, mid-range and high-end segments in 2011, Guo indicated, adding smartphones are expected to account for 20% of the company's total revenues in 2011.

The industry sources said the TCL brand has gained considerable awareness in South America and Europe. TCL Communication shipped a monthly record of 4.384 million handsets in November 2010, with 97.53% going to overseas markets, the sources said. With January-November handset shipments reaching 31.969 million, TCL Communication is expected to ship 35 million handsets in 2010, 6.1% more than the projected 33 million units, the sources added.

TCL Communication CEO George Guo in Taipei
Photo: Daniel Shen, Digitimes, December 2010