Design Management Group

Case study - Sendo mobile phones

Sendo was founded in August 1999 by Hugh Brogan, following several years in the industry with Motorola and Philips. The company might reasonably claim to be the UK's only mobile phone manufacturer, and the first in the world to be started from scratch.

The company focuses on the needs of Network Operators, and offers originally designed, technically advanced products with extensive customisation possibilities to support operators' own brand development.

In February 2001, it was announced that Sendo was to receive a government grant of £6.75m towards a new £36m R&D facility being built in Birmingham.

Sendo is estimated to have won around 1.5% of the world market, with the best selling non-Nokia phone in the Netherlands. It made inroads in Nigeria by offering handsets in yellow, the corporate colour of Nigerian operator MTN, and was first to offer 'photo covers' with e-comeleon Ltd in July 2001

Sendo was one of the first companies to develop a smartphone based on the Microsoft Smartphone 2002 platform and was close to releasing the Sendo Z100, when the launch was unexpectedly cancelled in November 2002, apparently because of an acrimonius dispute with Microsoft over IP.

Instead, Sendo announced it would use Nokia's Series 60 Platform, based on the Symbian operating system. The resulting Sendo X was launched in October 2003, manufactured by Celestica in the Czech Republic.

Other Sendo partners include Virgin Mobile and Texas Instruments.

[Footnote: Sendo went into administration on 29 June 2005. Its R&D and intellectual property assets have been acquired by Motorola].

Further information

• Arnold, J. Sendo: Britain's mobile maverick , BBC News Online, 20 March 2002
• Evers, J. and Rohde, L. Sendo drops Microsoft for Nokia , Infoworld, 7 November 2002
• Brewin, B. Mobile phone developer expects hearings in Microsoft suit within a month, Computerworld, 26 December 2002
• Durman, P. Mobile phone minnow snaps up trade from the giants, The Sunday Times, 10 August 2003
• Kewney, G. Sendo: why it went titsup, The Register, 30 June 2005
• Oates, J. Sendo reports Ericsson to EC, Ericsson sues Sendo, The Register, 23 March 2005