“This is a difficult year and smartphones are expensive products. In the second quarter of 2008, HTC [producer] will enter the consumer segments, with a medium-priced terminal, of some €300. However, I doubt that such phones will end up costing €100 in stores,” according to Raluca Nicolae, Country Manager of TCCM distributor, which distributes smartphone producer High Tech Computer (HTC) phones in Central Europe.
After the launch of iPhone in Romania, telecom operators focused on smartphones in their offers. “The market is experiencing a growing trend, especially since touch screen phones were launched. All producers have started lowering prices under the current market conditions,” according to the Retail Manager of Avenir-Telecom distributor, Costin Soare. “This year’s acquisition price will be of some €100 for terminals, which will cost some €150-200 in stores,” he added.
