Shares of MediaTek Inc (聯發科) rallied 4.89 percent yesterday after the chip designer confirmed that telecoms operator Vodafone’s latest feature phone — which has Facebook built-in and targets India and other emerging markets — uses its new 2.75-generation chip.
The deal represented another order win from a global telecom operator for the nation’s biggest handset chip designer. After its successful venture into China, the Hsinchu-based company is seeking to diversify its clientele as it faces increasing competition from new rivals.
MediaTek said it would also start shipping its first 3G handset chips later this quarter as scheduled.
The company hopes to duplicate its success in the 2G feature phone market by helping “customers hit their operational targets in all markets [through its new chips for] 3G phones and smartphones,” company president Hsieh Ching-jiang (謝清江) said in a statement on Thursday.
The announcement came one day after rival Mstar Semiconductor Inc (Cayman) (開曼晨星半導體) said it had landed new orders from Chinese customers by offering new chips for high-end feature phones.
MediaTek’s new 2.75G chip has been well-received by Vodafone and other telecoms operators as well as handset makers, Hsieh said.
Vodafone, which has 382 million subscribers around the world, uses the 2.75G chip in its new feature phone — the Vodafone 555 Blue — which has a built-in Opera Mini 5 Web browser, Facebook and other features to make social networking easier.
Vodafone 555 Blue was designed to target users in emerging markets and developing countries like India, MediaTek said.
Forecasting growth for MediaTek, UBS Securities said in a research note yesterday that shipment growth would mainly come “from Lenovo’s (聯想) demand in smartphone and shipments outside China.”
The stock price of MediaTek jumped NT$14.50 to end at NT$311 yesterday, marking its highest since July 4. Mstar’s share price climbed 3.13 percent to NT$165.
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