China-based vendor Coolpad will launch Dazen F2, an Android 4.4.4 smartphone supporting 1,800MHz 4G frequency band, in the Taiwan market at a contract-free retail price of NT$5,490 (US$177) on December 9, according to Coolpad Taiwan.

Dazen F2 features Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 64-bit 1.5GHz 8-core processor, a 5.5-inch 1,280x720 IPS touch screen, 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM, a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera, dimensions of 154.5 (H) by 78.0 (W) by 8.6 (D)mm and a weight of 154.4g.

Coolpad Taiwan said it hopes to sell 100,000 Dazen F2s in the local market. Coolpad also plans to launch 5-9 4G smartphone models for sale at NT$5,000-10,000 in the Taiwan in 2015, with target sales of 500,000 units for a smartphone market share of 5%, it indicated.

There will be an estimated 90 million 4G smartphones sold in the China market in 2014 and Coolpad expects to ship more than 20 million units globally, Coolpad Taiwan said. According to China-based Sino Market Research, Coolpad is currently the largest 4G smartphone vendor in the China market with a market share of over 15%. Coolpad Taiwan said 4G smartphone sales in the China market will fast grow to 350 million units in 2015.

In the China market, the lowest pricing for an entry-level 4G smartphone will keep falling from CNY799 (US$130) currently to CNY499 in first-alf 2015 and to CNY399 in the second half, Coolpad Taiwan said. Pricing for an entry-level 3G smartphone will drop to CNY199-299 in the second half of 2015.

While focusing sales on the China market under three brands Coolpad, Dazen and ivvi, Coolpad has been tapping overseas markets under the brand Coolpad, including cooperation with Sprint and T-Mobile in the US market and with Vodafone and Orange in Europe. Coolpad has also entered India, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar and Latin America markets.