14 DAY TRIAL // Palm Pre, the highly expected mobile phone that was announced at the beginning of this year as the direct competitor for Apple's iPhone, is reported to be manufactured by a Taiwan-based company, namely Chi Mei Communication Systems.
As many of you might already know, the Taiwanese computer industry has been greatly affected by the economic turmoil, and the weak demand on smartphones has influenced the phone manufacturing segment as well, yet it seems that things are expected to change for the better in the ongoing year.
News site DigiTimes reports that Taiwan flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) makers are confident that the demand will rise throughout the year, mainly due to the fact that a large number of mobile phone manufacturers like High Tech Computer (HTC), Research In Motion (RIM), Palm and Apple are expected to launch new models during Q2 2009.
“Taiwan-based Chi Mei Communication Systems will undertake OEM production of the Palm Pre, Palm's next-generation smartphone that will be launched soon. Chi Mei is likely to source handset FPCBs from fellow suppliers, including Career Technology, Ichia Technologies and Flexium Interconnect, with shipments expected to begin in March at the earliest, indicated the sources,” is what the news story says.
Initially, the manufacturing company for Pre was believed to be HTC, the same that worked with Palm for bringing Treo Pro to the market. The fact that the ODM (Original Device Manufacturer) for Pre is CMCS raises some question marks when it comes to the company's capability to meet demand. According to DigiTimes, shipments of the handset should begin in March, and we have already reported that Sprint expected the phone in its warehouse by the 15th of the month.
On the other hand, although CMCS is a relatively unknown manufacturer, the company has been part of the “Foxconn Technology Group” since 2005, and Foxconn is a widely known name in the industry, having manufactured handsets for companies like Motorola, Nokia, and others.