Viettel to sell iPhone in Vietnam

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A deal has been signed between Apple Inc. and Military Telecom Corp, Viettel to sell the iPhone in Vietnam. Viettel is the country’s top operator telecommunication and mobile operations with a revenue of VND60 trillion ($3.24 billion) last year and targeting $15 billion in 2015.

According to Viettel Deputy General Director Nguyen Manh Hung, both sides have agreed to sell the iPhone but the details regarding the timetable have not been divulged.

Apple and RIM sued by Kodak over Imaging Patents

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Lawsuits have been filed against Apple and Research In Motion in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) by Eastman Kodak, alleging the infringement of Kodak digital imaging technology. The company has claimed that its patent covering technology related to a method for previewing images has been infringed by Apple’s iPhones and RIM’s camera-enabled BlackBerry devices.

According to Laura G. Quatela, Chief Intellectual Property Officer, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company, the company was bound to take this action as the discussions with both Apple and RIM had been carried out for years to resolve this issue amicably, but no satisfactory agreement was reached.

In the complaint, limited exclusion order preventing the importation of infringing devices, including certain mobile telephones and wireless communication devices featuring digital cameras is sought by Kodak.

LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson are among the 30 countries having Kodak’s licensed digital imaging technology

ZTE’s Android to be launched this quarter

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Android-powered smartphones would be launched by ZTE which has joined the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), in the first quarter of 2010.After phone and PC maker Lenovo and rival kit vendor Huawei, ZTE becomes the third Chinese equipment supplier to join the OHA.

The announcement was made after Korean phone maker LG plans to launch 20 smartphones based on a range of operating systems including Android, Windows Mobile and Linux.

According to Lin Qiang, general manager of ZTE Smartphones, the company has has invested heavily in the research and development of Android smartphones during the last year because of its trend and popularity and is committed to invest in this innovative platform to meet the market demand.

LG aims 20% rise in handset sales

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Increase in the global handset sales has been planned by LG Electronics under which the company aims to sell 140 million units in 2010, a rise of 20%. About 20 new smartphones would also be launched by the company in 2010, of which more than 10 would be Android- based. Major focus would be on home market Korea and North America.

Other 2010 handsets model would be based on Linux and Windows Mobile systems. Production of easy-to-use smartphones aimed at first-time owners would also be the focus of the company in the first half of 2010, before moving into premium handsets with cutting-edge designs later in the year.

LG unveils its business plans for 2010

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In its bid to become one of the top two mobile device manufacturers in the world by 2012, a raft of plans has been drafted by LG Electronics for its mobile business. The plan includes the goal of 20 percent increase year-on-year besides selling 140 million handsets in 2010. Details of a concerted drive into the global smartphone market are also included in the plan.

About 100 mobile retail stores in the developing world has been opened by the company in 2009 but the it still feels the need of a strong push into the Korean and North American markets.

Special smartphone business division was established by LG besides boosting the smartphone R&D workforce by 30 percent last year. LG’s current year target is to 20 smartphones based on operating systems including Android, Windows Mobile and Linux.

With the launch of a device supporting 3-Way Sync technology allowing seamless viewing of all mobile, PC and web content over a wireless network will also be unveiled as an innovation by LG.

iPhone 3G most used handset in the USA

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The USA is celebrating third generation with iPhone 3G becoming the most used mobile phone in the country.

Ruling over 4 percent of an “embedded base of all subscribers” of US market from January to October, the bestselling device of Apple tops the list of several other competing handsets such as RIM’s BlackBerry and mobile phones made by LG, Motorola, and Samsung.

iPhone 3G’s accumulative sale is just past the BlackBerry 8300 series which has 3.7 percent of the market share, followed by the RAZR V3 series with 2.3 percent and the LG enV2 with 2.1 percent.