NEW DELHI, India: MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, and Facebook today announced a global partnership that will see Facebook embedded into MediaTek's mobile platform solutions, enabling users in emerging markets to access Facebook, many for the first time, via affordable mobile devices.

MediaTek is the world's largest mobile chipset platform provider, shipping over 500 million units in 2010, for assembly into a wide range of mobile phones distributed worldwide. This partnership will allow users of handsets powered by MediaTek's Runtime Environment (MRE), to better connect with their friends, family and coworkers. 

MRE is MediaTek's innovative middleware technology designed for mobile developers and application providers to deploy services and content for 'Smart-Feature phones' (Note 1). The MRE solution provides millions of users in emerging markets with the ability to enjoy rich online experiences previously available only on smartphones. MRE-enabled devices will enable many users to access leading Internet services, such as Facebook, for the first time.

According to a recent study by media research firm Informa Telecoms and Media, emerging markets will account for 60% of the mobile market by 2013. With 70% of mobile handsets sold in emerging markets being feature phones, this global partnership underscores the significant potential to present users worldwide with a gateway to access Facebook.

Last year, phones powered by MediaTek chipsets represent over 40% of the overall Indian handset market. With the launch of this global partnership, MediaTek is expecting more than half of its customers in India to adopt its MRE solution.

"Our new partnership with Facebook further reinforces MediaTek's focus on providing differentiated services and value for handset brands, giving them the means to offer affordable, compelling and differentiated mobile solutions to consumers in key emerging markets such as India," said Cheng-Te Chuang, Corporate Vice President of MediaTek.

Vaughan Smith, Mobile Partnerships and Corporate Development Vice President of Facebook added, "Every phone should be social and we're excited to be working with MediaTek to bring Facebook to more devices, in more markets around the world and helping users to connect and share anywhere, anytime."

MediaTek is currently working with leading handset brands, including Spice Group and Micromax in India, Cherry Mobile in the Philippines, and Nexian in Indonesia to roll out their mobile solutions in these key markets.

MediaTek's chips have been a powerful force behind the worldwide mobile telephony revolution.  In emerging markets such as India, the ability to offer features such as color interfaces, cameras, video recorders, QWERTY keypads and dual SIM capability at a compelling price point has driven the uptake of MediaTek-powered 'Smart-Feature phones'.

"With MediaTek's new MRE solution, we are in a position to redefine the mobile landscape and give our users their first mobile browsing and social networking experience on a handset that costs less than US$50," shared Dilip Modi, Managing Director of Spice Mobility.

"This is a true breakthrough for the industry, and we are very proud to be working with a leader in innovation like MediaTek to create unprecedented value for our users across India, many of whom will access popular internet services such as Facebook for the first time via their mobile device," added Vikas Jain, Business Director of Micromax Mobile.

Note

1. 'Smart-Feature phone' refers to a feature phone device with Internet functionality

About MediaTek Inc.

MediaTek Inc. is a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions. The company is a market leader and pioneer in cutting-edge SOC system solutions for wireless communications, high-definition TV, optical storage, and DVD and Blu-ray products. Founded in 1997 and listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange under the code "2454", MediaTek is headquartered in Taiwan and has sales or research subsidiaries in mainland China, Singapore, India, U.S., Japan, South Korea, Denmark, England and Dubai. For more information, please visit MediaTek's website at www.mediatek.com .

SOURCE MediaTek Inc.