Marketing manager Pongnarintr Tantrakul said the company would roll out an additional 150 shops next month to add to its existing 250 outlets nationwide.

Of the new shops, 70 per cent will be upcountry, as part of company plans to expand its provincial market share.

It will launch a greater number of new products aimed at consumers aged 16-18, apart from its existing target group aged 20-35. The new products will be in an affordable price range of Bt3,900 to Bt4,500.

Despite the low prices, the phones will host lots of high-tech functions such as music and digital-camera features.

Pongnarintr said demand for full song downloads would be one of the key drivers of the handset market's growth next year.

General manager Arthur Huang said Sony-Ericsson would introduce more than 20 new models in Thailand next year.

In the global market, Sony-Ericsson sold 19.8 million mobile phones in the third quarter this year, up 43 per cent year on year.

Huang estimates the local market will grow 10 per cent next year. About seven million new handsets are expected to be sold this year.

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation