Palm gears up to crack China

Current rumour-mill topic Palm has announced it is upping its efforts to break into China.

The company has agreed a partnership with the country's biggest carrier, China Mobile, to boost Palm's presence there, and will launch the Treo 680 in China.

The smart phone maker is also planning to open up a new R&D facility based in Shanghai, which will be charged with ensuring local language compatibility for its products.

According to IDC stats, the converged devices market in China will encompass 12.1 million devices by 2011. By comparison, 80 million smart phones were shipped worldwide last year. The analyst expects smart phone shipments in the country to grow annually at a rate of 30 per cent.

Many mobile vendors are targeting areas such as China and India as the key to future growth. According to reports in the local press, the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry recently said it believes there will be 600 million mobile users in the country by 2010.

Palm is now in the midst of a strategic review that may see the company sold off, making acquisitions or seeking investment. Nokia is rumoured to be interested in acquiring it.