Will The Toshiba TG01 See The Light Of Day

With still no release dates given and Germany’s O2 being the only known carrier that has an exclusive deal for this phone I am getting nervous.  Not because of the lack of carrier support so far, but because of this-

Toshiba to Stop Making Mobile Phones in Japan
By The Associated Press
WirelessWeek – May 20, 2009

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s top chipmaker Toshiba said Wednesday it will end production of mobile phones in Japan due to plummeting demand amid an economic slump.

The company said its only domestic plant for mobile phones will halt operations in October. Toshiba’s revenue for mobile phone business nearly halved to 140 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2009.

Consumers are reluctant to buy new mobile phone handsets amid an economic downturn. The Japanese mobile phone market was really hit hard by the ongoing economic slump,” Toshiba spokeswoman Yuko Sugahara said.

 

Toshiba has stated that it’s Chinese factories will continue making devices but the TG01 was a Japanese made model.  Your guess is as good as mine but let’s keep our fingers crossed that this amazing phone does get released this summer and that production numbers are high.  Many online retailers are still allowing customers to pre-order the TG01 such as Mobile City, but none have an ETA at this time.

You can read the whole statement from Toshiba Here

more at Wireless Week »