... Argogroup's Device Master to provide testing and analysis information to drive global adoption of Chinese handsets...
Surrey, UK, 11 September 2006 - Argogroup, the leader in user experience optimization for mobile services, has formed a strategic alliance with the China Academy of Telecommunication Research (CATR) of the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) to increase the quality of mobile telephony devices which are exported from China to the rest of the world. CATR, a key organizational element of the Chinese MII, has amongst its responsibilities the access market certification of all handsets within China.
Under the terms of the five-year agreement, Argogroup's advanced device profiling centre and knowledge base, Device Master, will be the major technology platform behind China's new Handset Quality Export Promotion project. Device Master will provide the tools to increase the quality of Chinese handsets for the global mobile industry, both for domestic use and export. The Handset Quality Export Promotion project will support China's local handset manufacturing community, providing testing and analysis information to allow easier adoption of Chinese handsets into overseas markets.
Commenting on the partnership, David Frodsham, CEO at Argogroup said, "The next five years are going to be very exciting for the Chinese handset market. With roughly a third of its population equipped with a mobile phone, China has more mobile phone subscribers than any other nation - with 30 per cent of these handsets being home-grown,* " he explained. "This new strategic project could also see a significant shift in the global supply and demand of Chinese handsets, making China a potentially major player in the global market."
With the complexities of devices and their uses throughout the world - both geographically and from a user perspective - it will be imperative for the Chinese mobile handset manufacturers to have an understanding of the services and user patterns which their handsets will need to support in order to achieve global adoption.
The Handset Quality Export Promotion project allows the mobile handset manufacturing market in China to gain a clear understanding of the best products to be produced for different worldwide market segments. Replacing the previous manual testing process which lacked any ability to diagnose problems if an error were discovered, Argogroup Device Master performs rigorous automated device testing, enabling manufacturers to ensure a better quality of handset for the export market - quicker.
According to Frodsham, as both handsets and the applications which drive them have become more complex, the ability to test the end-to-end user experience has become exponentially complex. "As such, today's handsets must go through a whole host of more complex testing and qualification to determine whether they meet the radio and voice quality requirements sufficiently to make it into the stores," Frodsham explained.
Dr. Xie Yi, the Chairman of the Telecommunication Terminal Testing & Approval Forum (TAF) and the Vice President of CATR, said, "Argogroup was an important partner for this project as it is the only vendor who has really solved the handset profiling challenge. With its tools and technologies available for China's mobile handset manufacturing market, we anticipate significant developments in the country's export market."
Frodsham concluded, "We are delighted to be part of this landmark project. Not only will the success see a growing number of high-quality Chinese mobile devices on shelves across the world, but it will see them there faster."
* According to data from Analysys International
Search News
Daily News
