Handset ODM Arima Communications is striving to sign contracts for smartphones with new clients, and extend the collaboration with its existing customers from feature phones to smartphones, according to industry sources. The sources expect Arima to ship 4-5 million smartphones in 2012.
The anticipated smartphone shipments are likely to account for 15-20% of Arima's total shipments, and contribute a larger 30-40% to the company's revenues for the year, the sources cited market watcher estimates as indicating.
The sources revealed that Arima has won orders for Android-based models from Japan-based vendors. Meanwhile, the handset ODM is vying for smartphone orders from Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics, to which it currently supplies touch-enabled feature phones, the sources pointed out.
Arima is expected to see monthly shipments top two million units starting June, the sources said. Shipments will likely total 5.3-5.4 million handsets in the second quarter, and climb further to a record 6.5 million units in the third, the sources added.
In addition, the sources observed that Motorola has replaced Sony Ericsson as the largest client of Arima. Orders placed by Motorola may contribute 45-50% to Arima's total revenues in 2011, according to the sources.
In a recent interview, Arima president Owen Chen remarked that the company will start shipping 3G handsets and smartphones in the second half of 2011. It is working with both Qualcomm and MediaTek in 3G solutions, and focusing on the Android platform.
