ORPAT Group collaborates with NXP to launch mobile handsets

Mumbai, May 28 (UNI) Orpat Group, the world's largest clock-maker, today announced its collaboration with NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, for its entry into the mobile phone segment in India.

Orpat will use NXP's 'Nexperia Cellular System Solutions 5130 and 5211' to launch ultra-low-cost (ULC) and mobile multimedia handset models in the country under the ORPAT brand, while being on track to evolve to the more advanced 49xx single-chip solution from NXP during the course of the year.

The phones, based entirely on NXP's Nexperia solutions, have been developed in close co-operation with NXP. Apart from the system solution, NXP has provided Orpat with insight into the India handset market in terms of feature requirements and differentiators, the handset ecosystem and the partnerships necessary. The first batch of handsets has been a commercial success during the pilot phase in the country.

In a statement here today, Orpat Limited director Nevil Patel said ''We are glad to collaborate with NXP in our foray into the Indian mobile phone segment and NXP's Nexperia cellular solutions are key to the success of our launch strategy. We believe these phones will provide the next experience in providing feature-rich and multimedia-enabled handsets at competitive prices to a largely untapped and high potential market outside the mainstream market and in India's vast rural areas. In the initial phase of the roll out, we aim to garner a major share of the replacement market in the Indian mobile telephony space.'' NXP Semiconductors India vice president and managing director Rajeev Mehtani said ''Orpat is a well-known Indian household brand and Nexperia-based Ultra Low Cost (ULC) systems have the most extensively proven designs available globally, making the combination perfectly positioned to target rural and semi-urban Indian markets. At NXP, we constantly engage with customers, helping them identify opportunities in new product segments for different markets. We leverage our expertise to create semiconductor ecosystems that eventually help build business models for our clients with strong value based propositions. The collaboration with Orpat is a clear example of our commitment to enable home-grown Indian brands to enter new market segments and facilitate locally branded solutions.'' According to industry reports, mobile users in India are expected to be 500 million by 2010, of which rural India will account for around 35 per cent. With its potential rural consumer insights, Orpat will leverage its established consumer brand, 'ORPAT' and harness its 50,000-strong retailer distribution network and service capabilities to roll out the newly launched phones.

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