Undaunted by the market exit of other Japanese mobile phone companies such as NEC and Panasonic, Japan's Sharp plans to make forays into the Chinese mobile phone market by launching a high-end mobile phone codenamed SH9010C in China by the end of June, China Tech News reported on June 9.

Instead of competing with mobile phones launched by Nokia and Samsung in the low-price segment, Sharp's SH9010C ?with a price tag of 5,000 RMB (US$723.9; US$1=6.9 RMB) - targets the high-end customers in Shanghai and Beijing, Reuters reported. The same model will be released concurrently in Japan as well. By year-end 2008, Sharp is expected to launch two to three more models in China, according to the Reuters report.