Handset maker China TechFaith (CNTF) will expand into the low and ultra low cost 3G handset markets.

Defu Dong, TechFaith's chairman and CEO, said, "As a pioneer in low and ultra low cost 3G handset development, we believe the low and ultra low cost markets represent big opportunities for us globally. We carefully evaluated the markets based on customer demand."

TechFaith will target emerging markets including India, South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia and Latin America.

The company will initially offer a US$79 and a US$69 model WCDMA phone. Based on Qualcomm's recently launched MSM6245 platform, the new phones feature "candy bar" style designs, with quad-band capabilities covering UMTS2100, GPRS10, GSM900 and DCS1800.