RIM may add Foxconn as new EMS partner for smartphones, say sources

Research in Motion (RIM) is reportedly seeking an EMS partner for the production of its smartphones in Asia Pacific, with Taiwan-based Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) being pinpointed as the potential partner, according to sources with the Taiwan handset industry.

RIM is currently cooperating with EMS firms Elcoteq and Celestica, and the company is likely to add an additional EMS firm to ramp up its output to meet its expanding global market share, the sources noted.

If Foxconn snaps up orders from RIM, the company will become the most comprehensive OEM smartphone maker capable of producing smartphones that run on all major handset operating system (OS), including Windows Mobile, Android, Web OS, iPhone OS and BlackBerry OS, the sources indicated.

RIM is currently the second-ranking smartphone vendor worldwide with an 18% market share, trailing only Nokia. The company shipped 26 million smartphones in its fiscal 2009 (from March 2008 to February 2009), pushing its revenues to US$11.07 billion, up 84% from the previous fiscal year, according to company data.