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SINGAPORE : Internet search engine Yahoo! has said Indonesia and India will be key markets to grow its mobile services in Asia.
It plans to tackle these emerging markets through tie-ups with phone suppliers to boost data usage.
Mobile phone penetration in Asia is growing, but data usage through smart phones remains low.
And as Indonesia and India ramp up their data infrastructure and services, Yahoo! said they will become key markets for mobile in the region.
Irv Henderson, VP, product management, Connected Life, Yahoo!, said: "Data networks are coming on pretty strong. 3G implementation in India is going to be significant by the end of the year. It is already making traction in key markets like Indonesia. Device form factors and operating systems are evolving very aggressively, offering better services to end users."
Yahoo! said Indonesia currently has 130 million mobile subscribers. Only about a quarter of them use smart phones.
India has some 500 million subscribers, with only 15 million on a data plan.
To drive data uptake in these markets, Yahoo! recently teamed up with Alcatel to produce a low-cost smart phone bundled with Yahoo! content retailing for about US$100.
In comparison, Apple's iPhone retails for just under US$600.
Yahoo! is also hoping that its bundled services for smart phones will entice users to make the switch.
Mr Henderson said: "Just last week, we announced a partnership with Nexian. Nexian is one of the emerging private label entities in Indonesia. They are responsible now for almost 20 per cent of new devices sold. And our partnership basically drives the discoverability of new devices of Nexian devices."
Yahoo! said that while all the components are in place for the growth of the mobile space in this part of the world, it is still early days yet. It could take three to five years before data adoption, and as a result, mobile services, come into their own in the Asia Pacific. - CNA/ms
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