BenQ mobiles to debut in India

BANGALORE: The peripherals major and erstwhile Acer Communication and Multimedia, BenQ Corporation is planning to introduce its own brand of mobile phones in the already crowded handset market in India. It is also planning to launch its notebooks called `Joybooks' in the country.

"We are contemplating of introducing mobile phones and notebooks in India. At this moment it is just a thought and nothing planned yet," said, Ashish Bakshi, Country Head of BenQ in India.

The company has five models in GSM and four in CDMA. It is still not clear as to which models will be introduced in the country. "The BenQ mobiles are currently sold in Taiwan and it has been a huge success. So introducing them to Indian market is just a thought as the cellular industry in India is witnessing significant growth," added Bakshi.

According to a recent survey conducted by Voice&Data, the cellular services in India for the year 2002-03 is pegged at Rs 8,303 crore, registering a growth rate of 50 percent as against last year. The same research indicates that the size of the GSM handset market in India was Rs 1,795 crore, representing a growth of 78 percent, while the year old CDMA handset market in India was sized at Rs 559 crore.

The Joybooks are targeted at home and corporate segments. The notebook market in India is also witnessing significant growth led by major OEMs like Toshiba, Acer, IBM and HP.