Handset maker Coolpad plans R&D unit in India

Coolpad Communications, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed China Wireless Technologies that manufactures dual handsets, is planning an R&D unit in India by 2011. The company will decide on the exact location in India where the proposed R&D centre will be located towards the end of 2010, Coolpad’s managing director Sami Al-Lawati said here on Tuesday.

Coolpad's parent company China Wireless Technologies has about 1,000 R&D engineers in China. Coolpad has already launched Coolpad 2938, capable of supporting both the CDMA and GSM networks in India. The smartphones are sold at Reliance World and Reliance Mobile stores, as a part of the partnership between Coolpad and Reliance Webstore Limited, the retail venture of Reliance ADA Group.

Al-Lawati said the company was targeting revenues of Rs 800 crore in India, in the next five years. Meanwhile, the company has announced the launch of four new models to meet the buying power of the Indian consumer. India is the first market outside China where Coolpad is launching its products. Presently, 4 per cent of the mobile phones sold in India are smartphones. The Indian smartphone market is expected to cross 20 million handsets by 2010, with nearly 50 per cent of the volumes being contributed by business users.