Sale of smartphones at Thailand Mobile Expo is likely to increase by 20 percent in volume from last year while their value is expected to be steady at 1.3 billion baht ($42.0849 million approx), reflecting lower unit prices, according to sources.

The show is organized at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok “Heavy competition will lower smartphone prices at least 20 percent,” said Opas Cherdpunt, managing director of M Vision, the organizer of the expo, in a statement. “Demand growth is expected with Android (News - Alert)-based smartphones, cut to 9,900 baht from 12,000,” Cherdpunt said. “Android-based users are mainly university students and first-jobbers.”

Many mobile brands will introduce Android-based smartphones at the fair. These companies include the Motorola (News - Alert) Defy at 12,900 baht ($417 approx), the Charm at 9,900 baht ($320), the Samsung Galaxy Cooper at 9,900 baht ($320) and the Acer E140 at 6,590 baht ($213).

LG will demonstrate its Optimus 2X and Black. Handset major Nokia will launch the E7, which offers Symbian (News - Alert) for business customers and C6 for touchscreen phones. HTC will announce the launch of the Mozart, the second model of Windows Phone, at 17,900 baht ($579).

QWERTY feature phones are becoming a growth area with prices ranging between 3,000 and 8,000 baht. This segment is well known among 11- to 17-year-olds, who love to chat and use social network sites, according to officials of the Expo.Most customers come to buy smartphones because of the promotions and these users know about specifications such as display, processor speed and mobile operating system.

US-based Motorola announced that it is introducing two Android phone models at the Thailand Mobile Expo: the Motorola Defy equipped with a 3.7-inch touch-screen display, priced at 12,900 baht ($417), and the Motorola Charm with keyboard priced at 9,900 baht ($320).

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