Ericsson signs letter of intent with Arima on development and manufacturing

Ericsson signs letter of intent with Arima on development and manufacturing of entry-level mobile phones Ericsson has signed a letter of intent with the Taiwanese company Arima for development and manufacturing of entry-level mobile phones. The agreement is a part of Ericsson's new entry-level strategy announced in July this year. Arima will be one partner handling development and manufacturing according to Ericsson's specifications of high-volume, value for money mobile phones, so called "entry-level" products, which constitutes a large portion of the total global market. By this outsourcing programme, Ericsson will get access to additional development resources and components, and can allocate its own resources to advanced products for the mobile Internet. "This agreement is an important part of our new entry level strategy, which will help us to reduce cost and time to market and thereby increase profitability", says Jan Wäreby, Executive Vice President Ericsson Consumer Products. "We can also free resources for developing technically advanced products which will further strengthen our leadership in mobile Internet", says Mr Wäreby. Outsourcing is an important part of Ericsson's planned strong expansion on the mobile telephony market and will be instrumental in bringing high quality products to market fast. Ericsson is since the early nineties working together with other companies, outsourcing manufacturing of its mobile phones. Ericsson is the leading communications supplier, combining innovation in mobility and Internet in creating the new era of Mobile Internet. Ericsson provides total solutions covering everything from systems and applications to mobile phones and other communications tools. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for customers all over the world. Read more at http://www.ericsson.com/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Pia Gideon, Vice President External Relations Phone: +46 8 719 28 64 Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications Ericsson Mobile Communications AB Phone: +46 70 590 9900 Bo Albertson, Marketing Director Communications Ericsson Mobile Communications AB Phone: +46 70 510 0992 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/08/24/20000824BIT00600/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/08/24/20000824BIT00600/bit0002.pdf