China market: China Mobile to launch Android-based Ophone handset in May, says paper

China Mobile plans to launch an iPhone-like smartphone, the Ophone, in the China market in May, in order to compete with the iPhone which is reportedly slated for launch by China Unicom in June, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.

China Mobile will outsource production of the Ophone to Lenovo and LG Electronics (LGE) initially, using chipset solutions most likely from Taiwan-based MediaTek, the paper said, adding that the Ophone will run on China Mobile's in-house developed Android-based open mobile system (OMS).