3 Chinese smartphone brands among global Top 5

[terranMarine]

China makes the best and broadest range of smartphones in the world。

There is no argument about this。

Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to have his or her head examined。

The doctors will have a very hectic time with over 1 bln Indian brain scans alone and i haven't included other nationalities.

 

[cirr]

It's official：Xiaomi Mi 5 to use sapphire screen。

 

[dray]

No! You're just very butt hurt. You can't seem to accept the truth. What you are asking Chinese to do is re-invent the wheel. What's borrowed tech? So, now you want each and every car to have different shapes of wheels? Yea why not, Mr. Brilliant here wants every company to have their own wheel design? Oh wait, how about aeroplanes? Do you want a change in their wing design too? How about missiles design? A square shaped missile? Face it, dray. Your just butt hurt.
When you have nothing concrete, you just troll. You're nothing but a troll. From day one, you were always recognized as a troll.

Can we maintain some civility here?

Probably you are unable to grasp what I am saying, hence you are losing your cool. I would suggest you to calm down first.

And yes, humans have always reinvented wheels, certainly we are not using the kind of wheels that were invented for the first time.

Coming back to mobile phones;

First there was jumbo brick-like Motorola phones as the market leader.

Then Nokia became the market leader with its user-friendly phones.

Blackberry captured the business phone market with their business-friendly phones.

iPhone changed the concept of the phones with its keypad-less, touchscreen, mini-computer like phones.

And then something revolutionary happened, Google launched its Android OS and made it available to all mobile phone makers, now any mobile phone maker could make cutting-edge mobile phones that are more user-friendly than Nokia and more business-friendly than Blackberry, almost all phones became Android phones, those who didn't; they lost out in the race. Now unlike the past, every phone can offer the same kind of functionality with only two differentiating factors, quality & price, those are differentiators with low entry-barriers, and many more players are joining the race, and maintaining market share for existing players will become increasingly difficult going forward. China doesn't even have the reputation for quality, price is where China can fight, and it is almost impossible to keep the price low in the long run.

Compared to China, America is far more secure because whichever country is the OEM, America gets there share of business, that's the difference between a leader and the followers.

 

[Genesis]

@DRAY

I didn't follow this thread, come on it's 6 pages, but I got the gist of your posts, probably.

So here's my response, do you know when did Samsung start? What they made and what type of product even current Korean companies sell? Including Samsung?

Everyone's got to start, cheap burners became cheap smartphones, now Oppo, and a few other brands offer high end phones, and soon, innovation will flow, why? They got the capital for R&D now like they never before.

New more qualified graduates are going into the work force with an already established workforce that will help them navigate and lead them like they never could when they started.

China is pouring the billions we never had 10 years ago into the more high end sectors like chips, OS and more, we are getting experience, prestige and more that we never had before.

Can you honestly say 10 years ago you saw China became remotely what we did? Now you are saying we are not going to succeed in the future because we are not God and able to make up centuries of distance in 20 years?

Everything goes in stages, you see what you want to see.

This isn't about India, but about your own experience, India doesn't do these things not because it doesn't want to or there's no will, but it lacked the work force, prestige money and market share to do so. This is not a slam on India, just that things don't happen over night, sometimes years, sometimes decades. That's not only just the way it is, but if everyone can do it, then it's lame and there be no thread about it here.

 

[dray]

@DRAY

I didn't follow this thread, come on it's 6 pages, but I got the gist of your posts, probably.

So here's my response, do you know when did Samsung start? What they made and what type of product even current Korean companies sell? Including Samsung?

Everyone's got to start, cheap burners became cheap smartphones, now Oppo, and a few other brands offer high end phones, and soon, innovation will flow, why? They got the capital for R&D now like they never before.

New more qualified graduates are going into the work force with an already established workforce that will help them navigate and lead them like they never could when they started.

China is pouring the billions we never had 10 years ago into the more high end sectors like chips, OS and more, we are getting experience, prestige and more that we never had before.

Can you honestly say 10 years ago you saw China became remotely what we did? Now you are saying we are not going to succeed in the future because we are not God and able to make up centuries of distance in 20 years?

Everything goes in stages, you see what you want to see.

This isn't about India, but about your own experience, India doesn't do these things not because it doesn't want to or there's no will, but it lacked the work force, prestige money and market share to do so. This is not a slam on India, just that things don't happen over night, sometimes years, sometimes decades. That's not only just the way it is, but if everyone can do it, then it's lame and there be no thread about it here.

Fair enough, btw you can at least read my posts in last 6 pages to see what I am trying to say, it's not much, and most of my posts are on topic barring a few counter-trolling.

 

[cirr]

Huawei Honor 4X for the poor。

Huawei Honor 4X Gets Launched In China, Kirin 620 And A 5.5″ 720p Display In Tow

Published on December 16, 2014 by Kristijan Lucic



Much like Huawei’s Honor / Glory 6 Plus handset, this device has been leaked like crazy in the last couple of weeks. I’m talking about Huawei Honor 4X handset which just got launched in China alongside the Honor 6 Plus which we covered already. The Honor 6 Plus definitely took the spotlight at that event, but Honor 4X is nothing to scoff at either, and if you don’t recall, this handset was listed for pre-sale by Huawei for a few days already. This handset is powered by Huawei’s newly announced Kirin 620 SoC, a 64-bit octa-core chip. Let’s check out its specifications.

Huawei Honor 4X features a 5.5-inch 720p display along with along with 1 or 2GB of RAM (depending on the version, you have two options to choose from). As I already mentioned, this handset is powered by Huawei’s very own Kirin 620 64-bit octa-core processor, which is a mid-range SoC which ships with Mali 450 GPU for graphics processing. 13-megapixel camera can be found on the back of this handset while there’s a 5-megapixel snapper on the front side of this device. 3000mAh battery ships with the device as well as Android 4.4 KitKat OS with Huawei’s Emotion UI on top of it.

As I already mentioned, this handset is available in 1 and 2GB of RAM options. The 1GB version will cost you 799 Yuan ($128.83) while the 2GB model will set you back 999 Yuan ($161.08). Both these versions are available in Gold color as well, next to Black and White variants, of course. The device will be available for purchase starting December 23rd at Jingdong Mall and Huawei’s VMall store in China.

There are a couple of images showing off this device in a gallery below the article. The device is well designed, in line with Huawei’s latest design choices, though it might not appeal to everyone. Let us know what you think, do you like the look of this device and do you think the price is justified considering everything? I actually believe this is a great option at that price, just like the Honor 6 Plus which launched as well.

 

[antonius123]

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.

These differences can be bridged in 5 to 10 years maximum, and you know we will do it now, and you also know why, and you are already seeing the steps being taken.

But yes, you are just saying what I am saying, tomorrow any SE Asian nation can also replace Chinese phone brands because the only USP they have is cheaper price.

If you think china can only contribute to cheap price not innovation and design, then you need to educate your self


McKinsey’s proprietary research indicates that more than 50 percent of PCs, and between 30 and 40 percent of embedded systems (commonly found in automotive, commercial, consumer, industrial, and medical applications), contain content designed in China, either directly by mainland companies or emerging from the Chinese labs of global players. As the migration of design continues, China could soon influence up to 50 percent of hardware designs globally (including phones, wireless devices, and other consumer electronics).
Semiconductors in China: Brave new world or same old story? | McKinsey & Company

 

[mike2000]

Huawei designs its own processor, the networks that the phones run on and the phones themselves. The only thing that Huawei doesn't do is assemble the phone (that is handled by another Chinese company) and the OS, which is Android. This means that there is a huge advantage to Huawei, because it knows exactly how to optimize its phones for its network, and it can leverage its networking experience into providing more mobile services such as data storage.

This is something i agree completely with, i was waiting for other members to point out this important point. I was surprised to learn recently while going through Financial times/The Economist that Huawei not only designs its own processors now(in which it phones now run on), but also most of the critical parts(apart from the behemoth Google's android.lol) in its phones are designed/manufactured by the company itself inhouse, something only Apple and Samsung do. This in itself is more impressive than anything other smaller/'famous' smartphone brands like Xiaomi(who doesnt design almost anything critical that goes into the phone), Coolpad, Meizu, Oppo(their phones look really good though) or whatever other brands which i have never heard of.lol

Of all of them, i have heard/seen only Huawei(quite alot, to a lesser extent ZTE and Lenovo(laptops/tablets/pcs only though) smartphones here in U.K/Europe. Of all of them, i think only Huawei(and to some extent Lenovo) has a real chance of challenging the Samsung-Apple duopoly. Since it has the global sales channel/distribution to market/release its phone worldwide etc. The others a re a non starter for now to be honest, apart from maybe in Asia only. Huawei's business strategy and technology is some of the most all-encompassing and forward-thinking. This is something that rightly worries other major powers like the U.S not Xiaomi or Meizu.lool Since It’s not unfathomable to imagine an average person who buys a Huawei phone, connects to the internet on a Huawei wifi router, makes calls and texts using mobile network infrastructure built by Huawei, and drives to work on roads monitored by Huawei for traffic analysis. So this maks the company much more important than anything other Chinese mobile companies offer, though they seem to get more of the limelight than Huawei. Somehow, i think China has too many smartphone companies/market is too fragmented. Need just 2 or maximum 3 smartphone tech giants, not dozens. Like APPLE in the U.S , Samsung/LG in South Korea, HTC in Taiwan, and Sony(though the sun seems to be setting down on it.lol) in Japan.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

This is something i agree completely with, i was waiting for other members to point out this important point. I was surprised to learn recently while going through Financial times/The Economist that Huawei not only designs its own processors now(in which it phones now run on), but also most of the critical parts(apart from the behemoth Google's android.lol) in its phones are designed/manufactured by the company itself inhouse, something only Apple and Samsung do. This in itself is more impressive than anything other smaller/'famous' smartphone brands like Xiaomi(who doesnt design almost anything critical that goes into the phone), Coolpad, Meizu, Oppo(their phones look really good though) or whatever other brands which i have never heard of.lol

Of all of them, i have heard/seen only Huawei(quite alot, to a lesser extent ZTE and Lenovo(laptops/tablets/pcs only though) smartphones here in U.K/Europe. Of all of them, i think only Huawei(and to some extent Lenovo) has a real chance of challenging the Samsung-Apple duopoly. Since it has the global sales channel/distribution to market/release its phone worldwide etc. The others a re a non starter for now to be honest, apart from maybe in Asia only. Huawei's business strategy and technology is some of the most all-encompassing and forward-thinking. This is something that rightly worries other major powers like the U.S not Xiaomi or Meizu.lool Since It’s not unfathomable to imagine an average person who buys a Huawei phone, connects to the internet on a Huawei wifi router, makes calls and texts using mobile network infrastructure built by Huawei, and drives to work on roads monitored by Huawei for traffic analysis. So this maks the company much more important than anything other Chinese mobile companies offer, though they seem to get more of the limelight than Huawei. Somehow, i think China has too many smartphone companies/market is too fragmented. Need just 2 or maximum 3 smartphone tech giants, not dozens. Like APPLE in the U.S , Samsung/LG in South Korea, HTC in Taiwan, and Sony(though the sun seems to be setting down on it.lol) in Japan.

Just hold your breath, here is the shocking news.

China to stop using foreign operating system and server by 2020 - OFweek News

 

[TaiShang]

China's smartphone makers see in-house operating systems as advantage

Mainland brands begin developing their own operating systems to better compete with rivals

• 

Beijing supports homegrown operating systems due to concerns over information security

China's smartphone makers are getting even smarter, developing their own operating systems that offer greater customisation on devices in a bid to differentiate themselves from rivals at home and abroad.

Xiaomi, the world's biggest seller of mobile phones, is a prime example. The Beijing-based firm has a self-developed operating system known as MIUI. Some analysts think the returns from its operating system and accessories unit are higher than from its core phone business.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba skipped the hardware but is now a player in smart devices. In October, the e-commerce giant launched its YunOS 3.0 operating system after moving into the field in 2011. More than 40 handset models are supported by YunOS. Alibaba said it has partnered with more than 20 companies, including Shenzhen-based Zopo.

"Almost all the Chinese mobile phone manufacturers have their own OS," said Zhao Yue, an analyst at CCID Consulting. "Though strictly speaking, these operating systems are built either on Android or Linux, just customised a bit to cater for the habits of mainland phone users."

Zhao said Chinese companies were a long way off from threatening the dominance of Google's Android system or Apple's iOS. But such innovation was necessary as customised platforms enabled these companies to add functions in fiercely competitive domestic and global markets.

Android's market share in China was 78.4 per cent in 2013, while that of iOS was 15.6 per cent, a mobile internet white paper issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in May.

Analyst Wang Jun of Beijing-based consultancy Analysys International, said the operating system is the most important programme on a device. "OS is the link between hardware, software, and the users," said Wang. "Without it, any service, any application, won't function."

Liu Xingliang, chairman of Hongmai Software, a Beijing-based internet data analysis firm, said Chinese enterprises needed to operate on their own operating systems, otherwise "your fate is in the hands of others".

He said Apple removed several applications of software and search engine firm Qihoo 360 from the Apple Store in 2012 and 2013, giving no reasons. The apps were among the most popular in China.

Moreover, Beijing supports the development of homegrown operating systems due to concerns over information security. A home-grown Linux-based system called China Operating System was launched early this year, but met a poor reception.

Zhao said even a well-resourced player such as Alibaba faced difficulties in popularising use of its operating system, adding that it should team up with a major telecommunications operator or established hardware producer.
***

Does it compute yet? China forges on towards own OS

Chinese software companies have been hoping to get into the mobile operating system (OS) market as the government looks to strengthen its network information security, Guangzhou's Time Weekly reports.

Companies have established a union for China's intelligent terminal OS, and so far this year three of which have established domestic intelligent terminal OSs, yet these have inevitably triggered queries from the industry.

The nation held its first national network security show in Beijing in November, at which time a mobile OS introduced by Yuanxin Technology Co drew widespread attention as the company claimed to have developed an independent system with intellectual property rights. The mobile OS market is currently dominated by Android, Apple's iOS, and Microsoft's Windows. Although some Chinese software enterprises have tried to introduce their own operating systems, most are based on Android and therefore do not fully possess independent intellectual property rights.

In addition to Yuanxin, two other companies in January also claimed to have developed their own mobile OSs with their own technology, though most remain skeptical.

Ni Guangnan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the OS development alliance, said Yuanxin's security problem needs to be evaluated by a third party as well as end users.

Addressing questions about the system, Yuanxin chairman Shi Wenyong said his company's OS is not based on Android, but is based on Linux's Mer, a free project previously named MeeGo and developed in 2010 jointly by Nokia and Intel.

In China, there are more than 10 companies which have been developing mobile OSs, but most of them are based on Android. These companies have done well at adapting the existing system, but as Google controls Android's intellectual property rights, these domestic OSs will be restricted and controlled in the long term, Ni said.

Ni, whose OS alliance has nearly 100 members, believes China's OS system can catch up with the current leaders, as Android was introduced two to three years after Apple but the two now hold a similar market share.

In 2010, Saipan systems accounted for 55.2% of China's smartphone OS market, followed by Android with 14.3% and iOS with 11.9%. In 2013, Android became the clear leader with a 94.6% market share.

 

[terranMarine]

now that's more like it
China is Planning to Purge Foreign Technology and Replace With Homegrown Suppliers - Bloomberg

 

[cirr]

China IC design firms expand presence in touch IC markets

By: Stephen Mayhew | biometricupdate.com | Posted: 17 Dec 2014, 14:00

China-based IC design firms including Goodix and Silead have expanded their presence in both the touch IC and fingerprint sensor markets, with a considerable spike in orders placed by China’s brand handset vendors, according to a report by Digitimes.

Goodix touchscreen controllers has a significant rise in new customers in China, with the company expected to surpass Taiwan’s FocalTech Systems as the largest touchscreen controller firm in the region.

In addition, Goodix recently rolled out its fingerprint identification chip solutions, which are expected to outperform its Taiwanese competitors in the market by securing orders from China’s brand handset vendors.

Silead has received fingerprint sensor orders from Coolpad and ZTE, with the company already shipping the orders.

FocalTech announced plans earlier this year to acquire China-based LCD driver IC specialist Orise Technology to enter the TDDI (touch with display driver) chip market, which is expected to be completed in January 2015.

China IC design firms expand presence in touch IC markets - OFweek News

 

[TaiShang]

In addition, Goodix recently rolled out its fingerprint identification chip solutions, which are expected to outperform its Taiwanese competitors in the market by securing orders from China’s brand handset vendors.

Bad news for Taiwan

Taiwan needs to set its priorities right

 

[cirr]

Bad news for Taiwan

Taiwan needs to set its priorities right

Spreadtrum Communications may be re-listed next year

OFweek | Posted: 18 Dec 2014, 15:29

(OFweek) - Driven by 4G industry, there are some breakthroughs in Chinese chip fields, and a number of chip enterprises like Hisilicon, ZTE Microelectronics, Leadcore, Spreadtrum and Innofidei, etc., have sprung up rapidly.

For example, Spreadtrum has spared no effort to invest in the R&D of 4G, who is closely walking with the carriers, said Zhou Weifang, CMO of Spreadtrum Communications Inc. In 2014, Spreadtrum launched two 4G chips, namely, three-mode TD 9620 and five-mode TD/FD 9830. What's more, the first chip 9620 has already been adopted by Coolpad, Lenovo and other mobile phone manufacturers in September and the low-price phone terminals have also been developed.

Besides, 4G is a good opportunity for Spreadtrum, added Zhou Weifang. As the only company that has both TD-CDMA and WCDMA technologies, Spreadtrum has strong technical strength in patent and technology level. In addition, Spreadtrum is a complete solution provider of product hardware, software and solutions, which make terminal enterprises capable of developing a new mobile phone in just two to three months, narrowing production cycle and thus providing market advantages for customers.

"Spreadtrum's capacity inTD-SCDMA chip market reaches up to 60%, and it will continue to expand its advantages in 4G. It is estimated that 4G will grow explosively in 2015, so the company may be re-listed next year with the advantages in 4G," said Zhou.

 

[cirr]

SMIC Shenzhen 8-inch fab goes into operation

By: Jessie Shen | digitimes | Posted: 19 Dec 2014, 08:52

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) has begun operations at its Shenzhen 200mm (8-inch) wafer fab, according to the China-based IC foundry.

SMIC indicated that its existing 8-inch fab capacity has failed to meet demand for chips used in mobile communication devices and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. SMIC's Shenzhen fab will focus on production of chips mainly for image sensors, logic circuits, power management ICs, and other consumer and communications devices.

SMIC disclosed that by the end of 2014, the Shenzhen fab will reach an installed capacity of 10,000 8-inch wafers per month. Capacity will climb to 20,000 units a month by the end of 2015, the company said.

In addition, SMIC claimed the Shenzhen fab is the first 8-inch production line to be put into operation in Southern China.

"Shenzhen is a place of strategic importance for China's IC industry, as the leader of domestic IC manufacturing enterprises. SMIC's arrival will play an important role in completing Shenzhen's semiconductor industry chain," SMIC CEO Tzu-Yin Chiu said in a statement. "Our Shenzhen fab will also further strengthen SMIC's capacity and strategic outlook. We look forward to cooperating with local upstream and downstream industry chain enterprises and complement each other's advantages to maximize the benefits available."

SMIC aims at 28nm process to press on TSMC

OFweek | Posted: 19 Dec 2014, 15:28

(OFweek) - Since Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corporation teamed up with Taiwan MediaTek to co-develop 28nm process products, Chinese wafer foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) announced on Thursday (December 18, 2014) that the 28nm Snapdragon 410 processor jointly developed with the world's largest mobile phone chip manufacturer Qualcomm has been successfully produced, which presents that Chinese chip factory is now ready for 28nm process and it will grab orders against Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).

From this year, China has spared no effort to develop semiconductor supply chain. The primary task is aiming at the upstream IC designers, yet the middle and downstream packaging & testing and wafer foundry cannot be ignored, either. The target is to mass produce 28nm process by next year and then enter 16/14nm process by 2020. The recent rapid development of Chinese wafer foundry announces that it has entered 28nm process.

It is believed that Chinese wafer foundry is accelerating to catch up with Taiwan IC factory. Under the severer competition between chip giants Qualcomm and MediaTek, if the 28nm development is becoming more and more mature, it will gradually press on TSMC and UMC.