10 firms to roll out handsets based on Qualcomm's single chip

With the sales of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Accesss) technology-based mobile handsets steadily growing in India, Qualcomm, in association with Tata Teleservices Ltd, rolled out the ultra slim Motofone F3c mobile handset (Motorola) based on the Single-Chip (QSC) chipset family.

Ten more original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are expected to launch similar handsets based on Qualcomm's QSC chipset worldwide in the coming days.

The Motofone F3c handset is priced at Rs 1,699 making it one of the cheapest mobile devices available in the market. The QSC chipset offers features such as polyphonic ringtones, wallpapers, games, Mp3 player and digital camera.

"Qualcomm is committed to bring wireless connectivity to emerging markets. Our QSC family of solutions enables affordable devices for cost effective countries like India. This country will continue to consume a large quantity of CDMA-based handsets," Qualcomm India President Kanwalinder Singh told Business Standard.

From 9 million in 2004, the number of CDMA-based handset user base increased to 26.5 million in the country. India tops the list in the low-cost handset category as service providers continue to expand their market. Qualcomm is keen on bringing more CDMA-based handsets with enhanced features to the Indian market.

Incidentally, India Development centres of Qualcomm, have contributed significantly towards the development of QSC chipsets.

"While the Bangalore Centre handled some part of hardware design process, the Hyderabad Centre focused on the software design and interprobability test of handsets built by the OEMs," Singh added.