Panasonic is ending development of GSM mobile phones and
will concentrate instead on 3G Linux-based phones, which are
already popular in Asia.
Panasonic is the first major mobile phone manufacturer to pull
out of the GSM market, and the move will result in a number of site
closures around the world.
The company said that concentrating on 3G, and on the Linux OS
in particular, will bring down Panasonic’s overall research and
development and production costs, and will help it focus on a
market predicted by analysts to take off worldwide.
As a result of the decision the company will close a US R&D
centre which has been working on non-Linux platforms, and its UK
mobile research facility will re-focus its direction on 3G.
A Philippines GSM handset factory will also close, as will a
factory in the Czech Republic. One in China will shift production
exclusively to 3G.
