Can a $50 Wireless Web Phone Whack the iPhone? - BusinessWeek

The Hutchison subsidiary will make ultracheap mobile phones for surfing the Net. That could toughen competition for Apple, Nokia, Samsung, and others The IN Q1: Offering new ways to use popular Web services James Day Frank Meehan isn't even officially in the cell-phone business yet. But already he has plans to shake it up. Meehan is a top executive at Hutchison Whampoa , the Hong Kong conglomerate that operates ports, retail stores, and wireless-service providers around the world. On Oct. 13 he plans to unveil a new Hutchison subsidiary, INQ, that will make cell phones in competition with Nokia , Motorola , and Apple, among others . Hutchison wants to slash the price of phones that let people surf the Net and tap social networking sites. The goal is to get more people to use the phones—and let companies such as Hutchison... [read full story]