Spreadtrum and Hisense Jointly Launched the World's First Affordable TD-SCDMA Phone Supporting CMMB Digital TV

USA - English

• USA - English

SHANGHAI , Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company that develops baseband and RF processor solutions for the wireless communications market (hereinafter referred to as "Spreadtrum", Nasdaq Stock code: SPRD), and Qingdao Hisense Communication Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of a world leading provider of flat panel TVs, household appliances and mobile communications (hereinafter referred to as "Hisense Communication"), jointly launched the world's first TD-SCDMA feature phone -- Hisense N51 -- with retail price below 1000 RMB . Hisense N51 is the only affordable TD-SCDMA mobile phone that supports CMMB digital TV among all existing 3G phones that are available through China Mobile's "TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project" program. With the increasing demand for affordable 3G phones in the Chinese market, the launch of Hisense N51 will greatly accelerate the adoption of the TD-SCDMA platform and further enrich TD-SCDMA terminal products and services.

Hisense N51 was jointly developed by Spreadtrum and Hisense in a highly collaborative technical partnership. Executive Vice President of Hisense Communication, Ms. Wenlin Yang , said: "Hisense and Spreadtrum share a long history of co-operation. Partnering with Spreadtrum, we successfully won the bid of 'thousand-yuan 3G mobile phones' project of China Mobile's 'TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project.' Through our six-month joint efforts and Spreadtrum's very competitive TD-SCDMA and CMMB solutions, the Hisense N51 was introduced. The excellent localized technical support and quick customer service response from Spreadtrum's team have not only greatly shortened the time to launch Hisense N51, but also ensured that Hisense TD-SCDMA products will be competitive in the 3G phone market. Hisense has always been at the forefront of the TD-SCDMA industry. At present, China Mobile has completed the construction of a national network, by investing huge resources to support the end-products, especially affordable G3 handsets. Compounded with its huge customer base and mature terminal operating experience, I believe, in 2010, China's TD users will show explosive growth and our partnership with Spreadtrum will move further in the next level."

President and CEO of Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., Dr. Leo Li , said: "We are very pleased to be working with Hisense to develop affordable TD-SCDMA products targeting China's 3G market. Hisense has an extensive research and development experience and leading technology, as well as a close partnership with Spreadtrum. Spreadtrum provides highly integrated TD-SCDMA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip SC8800H and RF chip QS3200, which effectively reduce the cost of development and manufacturing of Hisense Communication products. Therefore, Hisense Communication is able to introduce cost-effective handsets such as N51 by targeting the Chinese 3G market quickly to meet the needs of consumers. Spreadtrum CMMB mobile TV chip SC6600V provides Hisense N51 with vast application space. Particularly, Hisense N51 is currently the world's only 1000 RMB level TD-SCDMA phone that supports CMMB."

Chief Scientist of Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., Dr. Xiaojian Dong , also remarked: "Spreadtrum has maintained a close cooperative partnership with mobile terminal manufacturers during the implementation process of China Mobile's 'TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project.' Under the guidance of China Mobile, we jointly overcame difficulties and achieved our goals. Hisense N51 has successfully passed China Mobile's testing, which marked Spreadtrum's great leap forward in phone platform, TD-SCDMA/GSM wireless performance and 2/3G mutual operation and stability. The outstanding results fully confirmed that the performance and maturity of Spreadtrum's TD-SCDMA solutions is at the forefront of its industry.

About Hisense N51:

Hisense N51 uses Spreadtrum's highly integrated SC8800H-baseband, QS3200-RF and SC6600V-CMMB chips to support TD-SCDMA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE and mobile TV functionality. Hisense N51 is based on a slim design with a thickness of only 13.3mm and comes with a 2.4-inch screen and a 2 million pixel (HD) camera. Furthermore, Hisense N51 supports TD-SCDMA/HSDPA high-speed data services, TD-SCDMA/GSM dual-mode, WWW/WAP browser for fast Internet access, and has built-in Fetion, music player, cell phone securities, mobile maps, MMS, DM, and PIM, etc. Hisense N51 has a maximum downlink speed of up to 1.6Mbps and uplink speed of up to 384Kbps. For the function of CMMB mobile digital TV, Hisense N51 can receive and send TV broadcasting and communications signals simultaneously without mutual interference and provides maximum TV viewing experience with TD-SCDMA mobile digital TV service.

About CMMB:

For more information on China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting, please visit http://www.cmmb.org.cn .

About Hisense Communication:

Qingdao Hisense Communication Co., Ltd. is one of the largest mobile terminal solution suppliers in China . The product line-ups include mobile handsets, Linux OS Smartphones, wireless modules, PC cards and industry customized terminal products based on the prevailing telecommunication technologies, such as CDMA, 1X/EVDO, GMS/GPRS, and TD-CDMA. Hisense Communication is a subsidiary of Hisense Group, which is a multibillion dollar global conglomerate with workforce over 60,000 worldwide. Hisense is recognized as a world leading provider of flat panel TVs, household appliances and mobile communications and its products are sold in 130 countries and regions throughout the world.

For more information, please visit: http://www.hisense.com .

About Spreadtrum Communications:

Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRD; "Spreadtrum") is a fabless semiconductor company that develops baseband and RF processor solutions for the wireless communications market. Spreadtrum combines its semiconductor design expertise with its software development capabilities to deliver highly-integrated baseband processors with multimedia functionality and power management. Spreadtrum has developed its solutions based on an open development platform, enabling its customers to develop customized wireless products that are feature-rich to meet their cost and time-to-market requirements.

For more information, please visit: http://www.spreadtrum.com .

Safe Harbor Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the increasing demand for affordable 3G phones in the Chinese market, the effectiveness of Hisense N51 in accelerating the adoption of TD-SCDMA platform and enriching the TD-SCDMA terminal products and services, the effectiveness of Spreadtrum's support and service in ensuring Hisense TD-SCDMA products to be competitive in the 3G phone market, the ability of Hisense N51 in meeting the needs of consumers and providing maximum TV viewing experience with TD-SCDMA mobile digital TV service, the ability of Hisense in always being in the forefront of TD-SCDMA industry and Hisense's belief that China's TD users will show explosive growth in 2010 and the partnership between Hisense and Spreadtrum will move further in the next level, the effectiveness of Spreadtrum TD-SCDMA/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband chip SC8800H and RF chip QS3200 in reducing the cost of development and manufacturing of Hisense products, the ability of Spreadtrum CMMB mobile TV chip in providing Hisense N51 with vast application space, Hisense N51's marking role in Spreadtrum's great leap forward in phone platform, TD-SCDMA/GSM wireless performance and 2/3G mutual operation and stability, and the leading role of the performance and maturity of Spreadtrum's TD-SCDMA solutions in its industry. These statements are forward-looking in nature and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual market trends and the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the rate at which the commercial deployment of TD-SCDMA technology will grow, market acceptance of affordable products utilizing TD-SCDMA technology, continuing competitive pressure in the semiconductor industry and the effect of such pressure on prices, continuing weak industry demand and the effect of such weakness on revenue, unpredictable changes in technology and consumer demand for handsets, the state of and any change in the collaborative technical partnership between Hisense and Spreadtrum, the state of and any change in Hisense's and Spreadtrum's relationships with their major customers, the ability of Hisense and Spreadtrum in successfully completing the China Mobile's "TD-SCDMA Terminal Special Incentive Fund Project" program, and changes in political, economic, legal and social conditions in China . For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please consider the information contained in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the annual report on Form 20-F filed on June 30, 2009 , especially the sections under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and such other documents that the Company may file with the SEC from time to time, including on Form 6-K. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.