The Hanoi-based technology firm Bkav will receive full support from Qualcomm in the design and testing of products, as the American firm offers to other top smartphone manufacturers, said Thieu Phuong Nam, General Director at Qualcomm Vietnam and Indochina.

Bkav has signed a contract with Qualcomm to use the entire group's innovations in the smartphone products they produce, Nam told newswire ICTNews late last week.

Bkav is the first company in Southeast Asia to sign a contract with Qualcomm to use the entire group's patents, he said.

As a result, Bkav will be entitled to use all of Qualcomm's technology for smartphones and receive direct support from Qualcomm in the design and testing of products.

"Although Bkav can use all of Qualcomm's patents, when Bkav produce a certain product it will have to choose a specific chipset, and the local technology firm will have to sign more contracts for the copyright of the chipset,” Nam said.

However, the cost for signing the contract is small, as the main contract is more important because it covers a lot of patents, "Nam said.

Last month, Bkav introduced its first smartphone at the CES exhibition in the U.S. During the product introduction at CES, Bkav did not publish full information on product configuration.

The company only offered initial information, for example that the Android-run smartphone’s 5-inch screen is made by Sharp and the gadget is equipped with the latest processor from Qualcomm. Bkav also said it will use high-grade materials and components for the making of its first smartphone .

As the product, may be called BPhone, will be marketed in the premium segment, it will have a price of VND10-12 million (US$470-564).

Information that Bkav will participate in the smartphone market has spread for about two years now.

Previously, Nam told ICTNews newswire that Vietnam is currently a hotspot for mobile phone manufacturing with big names such as Samsung and Nokia setting up factories in the country.

Thanks to such trends, he think that production costs in Vietnam are very competitive, which is also the reason that some big global phone manufacturers are investing in Vietnam ".