Ericsson unveiled its T28sc mobile phone in Taiwan yesterday in efforts to save its sagging local market share.
"T28sc is one of six new models we plan to launch in the second half. We acknowledged that our sales didn't go well in the first half but it will change in the second half," said Arthur Huang (
In the first quarter, Ericsson's share of the mobile phone market place dropped from first place to fourth, following Nokia, Motorola and Sagem, according to the Chinese-language Commercial Times (
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
In order to turn defeat into victory, Ericsson has decided to introduce new mobile phone models starting in the second quarter and continuing to early next year, with nearly NT$60 million to NT$100 million budgeted for advertising.
The launch of T18 model in July ignited the campaign. Nearly 80,000 units were sold one month after its debut. "We now regain the third place in the market. With more new models planned to be introduced to the market, we expect the sales will improve significantly in the second quarter," Huang said.
The T28sc, priced at NT$28,000 per unit, is the most slender Ericsson phone yet. It comes with advanced lithium polymer technology, which allows its battery to be the size of a credit card and enables users to carry a spare in their wallets.
The model will be available by the end of the month. Ericsson expects to sell 100,000 to 20,000 units in Taiwan this year.
As T28sc is being marketed as a high-end product, Ericsson presently has no plans to contract with a supplier to market the new model, though it doesn't rule out the possibility in the future, Huang said.
Besides T18 and T28sc, Ericsson T-10, priced at NT$10,000, also hit the market recently. The A-1018, priced at NT$7000 and R-250, which hasn't yet been priced, will be introduced to the market this year, said Steven Yeh (
In 1998, Ericsson sold 700,000 mobile phone units in Taiwan.
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