Android phone prices dropping faster than expected, Taiwan makers say Tweet

Prices for Android-powered smartphones are declining at a pace faster than expected due to competition for orders from handset makers in Taiwan and China, according to industry sources.

Huawei Technologies has pursued an aggressive pricing strategy to push sales of its Android phones, especially through telecom channels, the sources noted.

The China-based telecom equipment and handset maker is making a second customized Android-powered phone, the Pulse Mini, for T-Mobile, which will begin to market the model in the UK in April 2010 with an unlocked price about £100 (US$155), revealed the sources.

The unlocked price for the Pulse Mini represents a reduction of over 54% compared to about £180 tagged on its predecessor, the Pulse, said the sources. Huawei began to ship the Pulse to T-Mobile in the fourth quarter of 2009.

On the other hand, the Foxconn Group, the most competitive Taiwan-based handset maker as far as pricing is concerned, is currently offering Android-powered phones to telecom carriers at unlocked prices of slightly below US$300, the sources indicated.

Despite the threat from Huawei, most Taiwan handset makers insisted that they will continue to focus on medium- to high-end Android models to avoid fierce completion in the low-end segment.

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