Handspring, a maker of Palm-based communicators, is taking a crack at the mainland hand-held market under a new manufacturing and branding deal with CEC Telecom in China.
The United States company will sell its GPRS-enabled (general packet radio services) mobile-phone personal digital assistant (PDA) combination, the Treo 270, in China with CEC Telecom at a price many would consider prohibitive in the mainland.
Handspring marketing vice-president Joseph Sipher said its partnership with CEC Telecom was important because the brand was relatively new in China.
The new metallic-silver Treo will be sold in the mainland as the CECT Treo 270, probably at a higher price than in Hong Kong due to China's 17 per cent import tax. The Treo 270, introduced in July, is selling for HK$5,380 here.
Under the deal, CEC Telecom will be responsible for final assembly and manufacturing. The Treo 270 model sold outside of China is made in Mexico.
Taiwan-based information technology distributor GrandTech will be responsible for marketing the product in China.