Partnership will be instrumental in speeding up the mobile internet penetration rate
HSINCHU, July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, and leading communications platform Twitter, today announced a global strategic partnership that will see Twitter integrated into MediaTek's mobile platform solutions, enabling users in emerging markets to access a rich Twitter experience via affordable mobile devices, more easily than ever before.
With this partnership, MediaTek will preload the Twitter application in its MRE middleware as the default feature in its reference design for mobile handsets. Mobile manufacturers and brands can expect to reduce the time-to-market and to develop product differentiation for their consumers. With MRE, smart-feature phones will be able to run Twitter on minimal memory and hardware requirements, allowing manufacturers and brands to offer price-friendly devices with value-added mobile internet services. People with smart-feature phones will be able to experience a rich native application experience of Twitter consistent with smartphone applications like Twitter for iPhone or Twitter for Android.
Mobile internet usage continues to grow every year, more so in emerging markets. 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, innovative products such as the MRE solution helps MediaTek to address the growing demand for mobile internet access. This global partnership underscores the significant potential to present users worldwide with a gateway to access Twitter.
MRE is MediaTek's innovative middleware technology designed for mobile developers and application providers to deploy services and content for 'Smart-Feature phones'. 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 Twitter, in an intuitive way.
"Our new partnership with Twitter 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," said Cheng-Te Chuang, Corporate Vice President of MediaTek.
Jana Messerschmidt, Vice President of Business Development at Twitter, said, "The mobile Internet presents a great opportunity for Twitter to reach every person on the planet. Our partnership with MediaTek will help people in emerging markets enjoy the same rich Twitter experience on their mobile devices as more than 140 million others around the world."
The latest smart-feature phone solution, the MediaTek MT6255, will be the first model to carry Twitter applications. In the near future, twitter service preload will be also expanded to all MediaTek mobile platforms.
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, Sweden and Dubai. For more information, please visit MediaTek's website at www.mediatek.com.
