Arima Communications to begin shipping two ultra-low-cost handsets to LGE in early 2009

Arima Communications will begin to ship two ultra-low-cost handsets to LG Electronics (LGE) in early 2009, with the vendor likely to price the two models at below US$30 targeting emerging markets such as India and Thailand as well as central and south America, according to market sources.

Arima is currently developing more than 10 handsets for LGE, including 5-megapixel and dual-SIM card models, with its handset shipments to the South Korea-based vendor likely to top 7-8 million units in 2009, the sources noted.

Market watchers had previously predicted that Arima's handset shipments to LGE will probably reach 10 million units in 2009. However, the ongoing economic slump might reduce the projected shipments, the sources explained.

Arima is also expected to ship 5-6 million handsets to Sony Ericsson in 2009, the sources added.