China Mobile, the world's largest mobile carrier by subscribers, will next year introduce eight OPhone smartphone models from U.S. phone maker Motorola, a company official told Reuters.

China Mobile unveiled plans last month to sell 3G smartphones using a lower-cost cell phone platform called OPhone, developed by California-based Marvell Technology, in what it hopes will be a major advance for its 3G service.

Companies that have signed on to make OPhone-based phones so far include mostly smaller names like Dell, the PC heavyweight which chose the platform for its first foray into the handset business.

Marvell has said that mobile carriers in Asia, the United States and Europe are all looking at OPhone-based phones, including U.S.-based AT&T, whose mobile division has certified the platform for use on its network.

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