New brand – BenQ-Siemens

BenQ Mobile today unveiled its new consumer brand BenQ-Siemens to a global audience and set out a 2006 strategy for asserting its position in the mobile handset industry. Forged from the partnership between Siemens’ ex handset business and the Taiwanese consumer electronics group BenQ, the new company will focus on expanding its offering in the 3G arena and using the multimedia strengths of BenQ to create a clearly differentiated product proposition.

The BenQ-Siemens collaboration combines the best of German engineering quality and experience of the telecommunication sector, with the lifestyle design expertise and speed to market of relative newcomer BenQ.

Supporting the repositioning of the company, BenQ Mobile has adopted an aggressive branding strategy and is committed to building a powerful, global consumer brand. Rooted in the theme of exploration, the BenQ-Siemens brand reflects both sides of the company in balance. Visually this is shown in the “squound” shape between the words ‘BenQ’ and ‘Siemens’; the union of a square (representing rational thinking) and round (representing emotional touch), and by the colour purple, which fuses the emotional colour red with rational blue. Beyond graphics the spirit of the new brand will engage consumers that share BenQ-Siemens curiosity and excitement about the possibilities of mobile technology.

To mark the launch of BenQ-Siemens, the company unveiled today the first three products to carry the new joint brand name – EF81, S68 and S88. All feature slim design and premium metallic finishing but it is the EF81 in particular that provides an indication of the future roadmap: miniaturization of high speed UMTS technology in an ultra thin magnesium clamshell design. BenQ-Siemens has committed that at least a third of its products launched in 2006 will be 3G and that there will be a significant focus on multimedia; every three out of four products featuring a music player or FM radio and every second phone offering a minimum 1.3 mega pixel camera.

The bottom line: If it works for Sony and Ericsson, why not for BenQ and Siemens!? Therefore I am looking forward to see new Symbian OS powered phones from the new company.