3 Chinese smartphone brands among global Top 5

[TaiShang]

The global ‪#‎smartphone‬ market once again saw phenomenal growth in the third quarter of 2014.

From July to September, around 301 million smartphones were sold around the world. That meant a year-on-year sales growth rate of 20%, according to Garter, a U.S. IT research firm.

While ‪#‎Samsung‬ and ‪#‎Apple‬ still occupied the leading positions worldwide, the other three brands that made up the Top 5 are ‪#‎Chinese‬ ‪#‎tech‬ giants‪#‎Huawei‬, ‪#‎Xiaomi‬ and Lenovo.

This is the first time that Xiaomi has made it into the Top 5, knocking out South Korean giant LG.

Even though Samsung still enjoys an overwhelming advantage over the other brands, its sales have dropped by 9% compared to last year.

Apple, on the other hand, has done well with the launch of the iPhone 6.

The Chinese brands, meanwhile, have also continued to grow strong, with analysts saying that the blend of good quality and low prices being the key to their success.

 

[TimeTraveller]

Great........

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

I always try to buy Lenovo, especially when it comes to smartphones/tablets/computers.

Though I have to admit that Huawei smartphones are VERY tempting.

 

[TaiShang]

I always try to buy Lenovo, especially when it comes to smartphones/tablets/computers.

Though I have to admit that Huawei smartphones are VERY tempting.

It always makes more sense to support domestic manufacturers so long as they drive for excellence and improve constantly.

China's industries are quite competitive and hungry for success.

Samsung seems to be rather strong. Still. Although I am not much critical of it -- the brand of a good neighbor. The other brand, the Western one, on the other hand, I would like it to drop out of the top five asap.

 

[war is peace]

China need good chips and display tech to be overall powerful

 

[dray]

A few observations:

1. All the 5 phones are American concepts running on American technology/operating systems.

2. The top two (Samsung & Apple) has more than double the market share of the bottom three.

3. The bottom three phones cost half the price, and even less than the top two brands for similar specs.

4. It's a fight between innovation and quality vs. price. Innovation and quality are still valued in this world, hence they lead.

@Chinese-Dragon did I miss any point?

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

A few observations:

1. All the 5 phones are American concepts running on American technology/operating systems.

2. The top two (Samsung & Apple) has more than double the market share of the bottom three.

3. The bottom three phones cost half the price, and even less than the top two brands for similar specs.

4. It's a fight between innovation and quality vs. price. Innovation and quality are still valued in this world, hence they lead.

@Chinese-Dragon did I miss any point?

No, you didn't miss any point.

The Chinese domestic market ALONE is enough to propel Lenovo/Xiaomi/Huawei from the current 3-4-5 position to something higher.

And still India has nothing compared to Lenovo, a global market leader. India's smartphone companies just sell re-branded Chinese mobiles, they have no interest in designing their own when they can just import Chinese designs and resell them for huge profits to their fellow Indians.

And we are happy to be a part of that. The only ones who lose are the Indian consumers.

 

[dray]

No, you didn't miss any point.

The Chinese domestic market ALONE is enough to propel Lenovo/Xiaomi/Huawei from the current 3-4-5 position to something higher.

And still India has nothing compared to Lenovo, a global market leader. India's smartphone companies just sell re-branded Chinese mobiles, they have no interest in designing their own when they can just import Chinese designs and resell them for huge profits to their fellow Indians.

And we are happy to be a part of that. The only ones who lose are the Indian consumers.

But you missed the whole point.

The thread and my post was about those five brands, not about India, so no consolation prize for you.

You can't be a leader with borrowed tech.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

But you missed the whole point.

The thread and my post was about those five brands, not about India, so no consolation prize for you.

You can't be a leader with borrowed tech.

No doubt as a developing country, Chinese brands will still be in the early stages, compared to those like Sony/Apple/Samsung.

But the fact that we made 3 out of the top 5 in global smartphone brands (despite only really entering this market a few years ago) is pretty damn impressive I feel.

If we could do that in only a few years, then we can surely do more.

Lenovo is already the global market leader for computers/laptops, now they are entering the smartphone/tablet market. This is good progress, and in only a few years.

 

[TaiShang]

The Rise of a New Smartphone Giant: China’s Xiaomi
By PAUL MOZUR and SHANSHAN WANGDEC. 14, 2014

HONG KONG — In China, the smartphone battle used to be Samsung versus Apple. But not anymore.

• Over the summer, a Chinese company, Xiaomi, took the No. 1 position in China’s competitive market and became the world’s third-largest phone maker in the process.
  
  Founded in 2010 as a lean start-up to sell smartly designed phones at cheap prices over the Internet, Xiaomi was decidedly late to the game. Its first handset came out around the time of the iPhone 4S.
  
  But a clever social media strategy and a business plan that emphasized selling services that work on the phone helped Xiaomi build frenzied support from young and trendy Chinese.
  
  With people in China expected to buy 500 million smartphones in 2015 — more than three times as many as will be sold in the United States, according to the research firm IDC — Xiaomi is poised to cement its place as one of the most powerful phone makers in the world’s most important market.
  
  Now the company’s founders, who include the Chinese entrepreneur Lei Jun and the former Google executive Lin Bin, hope that status will help them take their brand globally.
  
  
  
  Lin Bin, Xiaomi’s president, center, and others in a “planking” challenge at company headquarters in Beijing. Recent photos of such a contest went viral in China.CreditGilles Sabrie for The New York Times
  Though Xiaomi already sells internationally, next year will be the true test of whether it can continue its rise beyond China. Shunning markets like the United States and Europe, Mr. Lei and Mr. Lin are looking at huge developing countries like Brazil and India. And they hope to use e-commerce networks to sell cheap, high-quality phones and recreate their Chinese success.
  
  But there are considerable challenges. Xiaomi does not yet have much of a patent portfolio, leaving it vulnerable to lawsuits from competitors. Last week, the company was temporarily blocked from India because of a patent complaint by the Swedish telecommunications manufacturer Ericsson. And other low-cost manufacturers from China have the same idea about pushing into those emerging markets.
  
  “Selling the phone to users is a good start, but it’s really not the end of the business,” Mr. Lin said in a recent interview. “It’s actually the beginning of the business. It’s after the user buys the phone and starts using the phone that will generate extra value, to users and to us.”
  
  Yet the company is more than a copycat. In its business model and marketing, Xiaomi has out-innovated all comers in China.
  
  The online-first approach has earned Xiaomi the greatest accolade a company can receive in China: Its rivals are now copying it. The well-known telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE both have lines of phones they sell primarily online. Companies like OnePlus and Smartisan also focus on well-designed products with high-end components and sell them at a relatively low price.
  
  To be sure, Xiaomi is treated with respect by its competitors. Li Nan, vice president of the rival Meizu, which began in the early 2000s by making digital music players and aims at customers slightly older and wealthier than Xiaomi’s, likens the devotion of Xiaomi supporters to a religion.
  
  “Xiaomi fans have a high level of organization,” he said. “They love Xiaomi. It’s a form of idolatry.”
  
  Han Yu, a 24-year-old studying for his master’s degree, is one of those idolaters. He, with tens of thousands of others, helps Xiaomi test its user interface by looking for bugs and offering suggestions. Mr. Han moderates several pages on the company’s online forum, which averages 200,000 posts a day and is where fans interact with the company.
  
  Much of his personal life revolves around Xiaomi, and he says he has met many friends that way. He said he was honored when his suggestion to create a private photo folder was adopted on phones by Xiaomi.
  
  
  
  A customer examines Xiaomi products in Beijing. The company is known for the devoted following seen among its users.CreditGilles Sabrie for The New York Times
  “I really enjoy the sense of participation,” Mr. Han said.
  
  Though Xiaomi makes some money on phone sales, the company’s plan is to increase profitability by selling services like entertainment and apps through the phone. The company has also started to sell other devices, like a smart television, a tablet and a fitness band, that work on its finely tuned user interface, which it built atop Google’s Android operating system.
  
  Xiaomi’s marketing efforts still attract plenty of attention. After an executive meeting in December, Mr. Lin proposed a “planking” competition to management.
  
  Holding their bodies rigid in a push-up position, the executives looked markedly different from traditional Chinese executives, who are rarely seen outside formal conferences. Mr. Lin, who had a Xiaomi tablet perched on his back, eventually collapsed in exhaustion.
  
  He lost, but the contest was an advertising victory. A photo of the competition quickly went out on social media and was shared on the service Weibo more than 3,000 times in the first 24 hours.
  
  For all its success, Xiaomi’s biggest challenge looms outside China. In September 2013, the company hired Hugo Barra, an old friend of Mr. Lin’s from Google, to lead the company’s international expansion. Using social media to spread word of product launches and parties, Mr. Barra has opened a number of markets in Asia.
  
  Though some aspects of Xiaomi’s business model play on the peculiarities of China, Mr. Lin said he believes it can work abroad. In particular, he said the company will target markets with large populations, a developed e-commerce infrastructure and weak telecom carriers. The last point is important because if large service providers give consumers significant handset subsidies, the edge Xiaomi gains by selling cheap phones evaporates.
  
  “I would put China No. 1, India two, Indonesia three, then hopefully follow with Brazil and Russia,” he said. “The developed countries with tightly controlled carrier networks are not in the top five.”
  
  The countries Mr. Lin identifies all have large populations who still have not bought their first smartphone, meaning Xiaomi has a chance. Still, analysts say the company will have to be skillful in adapting to the local demands of each market.
  
  For now, investors like its chances.
  
  A new fund-raising round could rocket Xiaomi’s value to $30 billion to $40 billion, above that of its better-known rival Lenovo, according to a person familiar with the process. And investment bankers are already courting the company ahead of a potential initial public offering of stock, which company insiders say is probably years off.
  
  “Bankers are treating Xiaomi like the next Alibaba,” said one investment banker who spoke anonymously because of company policy forbidding him from speaking with the news media.
  

 

[black-hawk_101]

Xiaomi is an interesting one, tell me how much does it cost?

 

[dray]

No doubt as a developing country, Chinese brands will still be in the early stages, compared to those like Sony/Apple/Samsung.

But the fact that we made 3 out of the top 5 in global smartphone brands (despite only really entering this market a few years ago) is pretty damn impressive I feel.

If we could do that in only a few years, then we can surely do more.

Lenovo is already the global market leader for computers/laptops, now they are entering the smartphone/tablet market. This is good progress, and in only a few years.

But the point is that China is still a follower, the leaders are elsewhere who changed the way we use the tech, starting from iOS, Android, Windows PC, Mac to mobile technology, internet, television, radio and most of the other things that changed the way we live today. China cannot be a global leader like them unless they come up with innovations that are life altering.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

But the point is that China is still a follower, the leaders are elsewhere who changed the way we use the tech, starting from iOS, Android, Windows PC, Mac to mobile technology, internet, television, radio and most of other things that changed the way we live today. China cannot be a global leader like them unless they come up with innovations that are life altering.

Global market shares are proof of our success. And with the money that comes with it, we can move forward to capture even more of that market share.

India could never replicate Lenovo's success for example.

When Lenovo acquires HP they will have 40% of the global market, and they are buying Blackberry too.

Lenovo is a name known for high prices and high quality, all over the world. India makes nothing, there is nothing you sell that anyone else needs to buy. They buy from us, even India buys from us.

 

[dray]

Global market shares are proof of our success. And with the money that comes with it, we can move forward to capture even more of that market share.

India could never replicate Lenovo's success for example.

When Lenovo acquires HP they will have 40% of the global market, and they are buying Blackberry too.

Lenovo is a name known for high prices and high quality, all over the world. India makes nothing, there is nothing you sell that anyone else needs to buy. They buy from us, even India buys from us.

The world buy Windows computers and Android phones, and look for the cheapest sources, today it is China, tomorrow it can be anybody else, but it will still remain very difficult to replace Microsoft or Google because they are driven by innovation.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

The world buy Windows computers and Android phones, and look for the cheapest sources, today it is China, tomorrow it can be anybody else, but it will still remain very difficult to replace Microsoft or Google because they are driven by innovation.

We are in the middle of an economic transition, and we are trying to build a knowledge and innovation based economy.

Granted we are still a developing country, so we are starting from far behind. But still, even in 3-4 years we managed to get 3 out of the top 5 selling smartphone brands in the world.

Not a bad trend. And will only increase, fueled by a wave of Chinese consumer spending as our economy transitions.