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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Who will showcase new hardware at CommunicAsia 2011?

Every year around this time in Singapore, the telecommunications world descends on the island-state to participate in the CommunicAsia tradeshow. Though the main reason for the show so companies can make contact with each other for business purposes, manufacturers also take the opportunity to showcase their new products and technologies. Here's our quick take on whether some of the major exhibitors will be announcing new devices.

Who's out?
Samsung has said that it will not be participating in the tradeshow this year. the company stated that its own Southeast Asia, Oceania and Taiwan forum held in March this year was sufficient for its business needs. The other Korean electronics giant, LG, had already pulled out of CommunicAsia in 2010.

Nokia
One of the most important announcements was that Nokia would be involved in CommunicAsia this year. The mobile phone market leader has typically held its own Nokia Connection event before the start of CommunicAsia but has decided to conduct Connection at the tradeshow this year.


Will Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announce new Windows Phone? (Credit: Microsoft) The company's CEO, Stephen Elop, will be here to give the keynote address. This suggests that Nokia has an important announcement to make. The company has said previously that it's trying to get new Windows Phones out by the end of the year, which leaves us wondering if it will unveil the handsets at CommunicAsia.

New devices? Nokia seems heavily invested in the show and given its track record for Nokia Connection, is certain to release new products. Hopefully one or more of these products will be Windows Phones.

Sony Ericsson
Though it doesn't have a booth at the show, Sony Ericsson is hosting its own event on the second day of CommunicAsia. It appears to be a big one, too, with media from the region invited.

New devices? We expect so. However, the importance of the announcement probably won't be on the same scale of the Xperia Play or Arc.


We will probably see the BlackBerry Bold 9900 at the show. (Credit: RIM) BlackBerry
RIM's major product announcements typically originate from the US or UK. We expect the company to showcase its already-unveiled products such as the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and BlackBerry Bold 9900.

New devices? Not likely.

Huawei
Huawei makes a whole range of telecommunications products and is a mainstay at CommunicAsia. Aside from equipment meant for operators' infrastructure needs, the company will also showcase consumer devices such as handsets, tablets, modems and connectivity dongles. Huawei is making no secret of its intention to showcase new products with an initial unveiling of some smartphones earlier this month (covered here) and will be announcing a new tablet a day before CommunicAsia 2011.

New devices? Definitely.

ZTE
Another Chinese company at the show is ZTE, a close competitor of Huawei. We expect to see ZTE's full range of products at CommunicAsia 2011 including handsets, tablets and dongles. The company had also previously showcased some interesting concept handsets, so that's something to look out for.

New devices? Very hopeful.

The above list is just a small sample of the companies that will be at the telecommunications exhibition. CNET Asia will be there to bring you the big announcements and also to feature the smaller companies with their quirky products, so look out for our full coverage.

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