A tainted Indian league gets Chinese smartphone backer

MUMBAI, India - The Chinese are coming and they are setting their sights on cricket in South Asia.

After Pepsico Inc. broke off its 3.97 billion-rupee ($61 million) sponsorship deal with the glitzy Indian Premier League , a Chinese smartphone maker is stepping in to gain from cricket's almost religion-like status in a region of 1.2 billion people. Vivo Mobile India, a unit of Guangdong BBK Electronics Industry Co., replaced Pepsico as the title sponsor, undeterred by the fading popularity of the tournament which has lately been plagued by many scandals.

While Vivo has surprised most Indians who have never heard of it, the cricket contract may just be what the Chinese company needs, scandals notwithstanding, to expand its reach in one of the world's fastest-growing smartphone markets. India's smartphone market is likely to overtake the United States to be the second biggest in the world by 2017, according to International Data Corp.

Vivo, which made its mark in China with smartly designed phones that sell for less than $100, will mainly compete with local handset makers Micromax Informatics and Intex Technologies India, and other Chinese manufacturers, said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research in Mumbai.

"India is a huge opportunity for everyone and whoever keeps investing now will recoup the rewards later," Shah said in an interview. "Just look at Samsung and Micromax- they invested hugely in setting up a network and are No. 1 and 2 for quite some time now."

Vivo has a history of rapidly grabbing market share from established rivals. In its highly competitive home market, the company rose to the fourth place ahead of Samsung Electronics Corp. with a 8.1 percent share of the Chinese market, from an 11th place less than two years ago, according to Counterpoint.

India's smartphone market can be divided into three categories, with different companies dominating each band. Local handset makers Micromax, Intex and Karbonn Mobiles India dominate the sub $100 category, whereas Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi and Lenovo Group are known for their models that range between $100 and $150, Shah said. Samsung is the biggest seller of the higher end phones up to $400.

Vivo has eight models currently selling in India that range from $92 to $510, though if it's China business were an indication, then most of the sales focus will be on the cheapest models.

"They develop the high-end models and advertise it extensively, but their volumes come from the cheaper models," Kiranjeet Kaur, a senior analyst at International Data Corp., said in an interview. "They'll probably take the same approach in India."

But the path in India will take a long time. The company's market share was 0.5 percent in the quarter ended June, according to Counterpoint data. That compares with market leaders Samsung and Micromax, which control about 25 percent and 18 percent respectively.

The IPL, where eight teams compete in the Twenty20 short- format version of cricket, started in 2008 when the Board of Control for Cricket in India auctioned off the league's clubs to investors including billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, and movie star Shah Rukh Khan.

The rapid-fire appeal of a Twenty20 match has led to high- scoring games, with more risk-taking by the batsmen, attracting viewers who otherwise don't have the time to watch the game's classic format five-day test matches or a one-day face-off that is typically played for about six hours, not including lunch and refreshments.

However, the league's reputation has been tainted by allegations of illegal betting and match-fixing.

The biggest scandal in the IPL came to the forefront in 2013, when several players and team officials were arrested on charges of placing bets on matches, a practice that's illegal in India. Earlier this year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India suspended two teams -- the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals -- for two years. Chennai's team was among the league's most decorated, and headed by Indian national team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Reports of Pepsico's termination of the title sponsorship deal were doing the rounds in the local media for two weeks. Then on Oct. 18, the cricket board said that Vivo had been appointed as the title sponsor for two years. Pepsico India spokesman Pradeep Wadhwa declined to comment.

Partly because of these scandals, and also because of a plethora of cricket on television, the allure of the sport for audiences has fallen. This has made the return from IPL sponsorships "somewhat unpredictable," giving pause to consumer goods conglomerates and other established companies that've formed the bulk of cricket-related advertising in India, said Ajimon Francis, head of India operations at consultancy Brand Finance Plc.

"The traditional sponsors would be a little more watchful due to the topsy-turvy nature of the tournament," Francis said via phone. "Internet enabled companies are the new wave of sponsors coming in."

However, by putting its name on a popular cricket series that is viewed on television by millions of Indians, Vivo will be able to quickly engender widespread brand awareness, Counterpoint's Shah said. The scandals may not have a sizable impact on the company's prospects.

Getting the sponsorship "is a really good win for them," Shah said. "Rural people may not have 2G and 3G connections but they do have a TV."

*****

Contributors: Haixing Jin in Beijing and Annie Lee in Hong Kong.

Source: A tainted Indian league gets Chinese smartphone backer

China pips US to emerge as world's largest e-commerce market

Beijing: China has overtaken the US to become the world's largest online retail market as its e-commerce revenues grossed $439 million (nearly Rs 2,864.5 crore) last year constituting 7% of its GDP, according to a new report.

E-commerce. Shopping cart and credit cards on laptop

The internet has become a critical element of China's economic progress in the past five years, accounting for 7% of the world's second largest economy's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, a percentage point higher than the US, state-run Global Times reported, citing a report issued by China Internet Network Information Centre.

China has exceeded the US to become the world's largest online retail market, it said as the online retail transactions reached 2.79 billion yuan ($439 million or Rs 2,864.5 crore) in 2014, one of the key economic achievements of China's Internet development during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15).

However, according to US journal Statista, US online sales last years accounted to about $290 billion (Rs 18.9 lakh crore).

Commenting on China's progress, Qin An, a cyber-security expert at the China Institute for Innovation and Development strategy, told the Global Times that "China has followed the world's trend to become a leader in e-commerce thanks to its favourable policies and competitive enterprises." According to CNNIC, there are so far 328 listed internet companies in China, whose total market cap reached 785 trillion yuan, accounting for 25.6 % of the nation's market capitalisation. Four of them have made their way to the top 10 world Internet companies, including Alibaba.

In 2014, the number of online shoppers climbed to 361 million, representing 55.7% of the nation's shoppers.

Online shopping represents 20% of all consumer demand, the report said. For the first time, mobile phones have become the most commonly-used platform to access the internet, followed by computers. Some 594 million people in China can access to the Internet through mobile phones.

The number is 86.8% higher than in 2005-10. The internet also boosted growth in related industries such as smart phones, servers, storage and internet infrastructure, Global Times quoted the report as saying.

E-commerce was able to thrive in China because it was from the beginning competitive with its Western counterparts, whereas the nation's traditional retail businesses are not as developed as those in the West, said Wang Xiaoxing, an industry analyst from consultancy Analysys International.

On cyber security, the report noted that China has issued 76 regulations and documents relating to cyber security, over 2.6 times of that of 2005-10, while many special operations have been carried out to regulate the Internet, including a crackdown on pornographic and violent content.

China remains a key victim of cyber attacks despite all the measures in the 12th Five-Year Plan period, which have failed to meet the expectations, Qin said.

Qin added that a better guarantee on the development of an industry aiming to protect Internet security should be listed as a national strategy.

PTI

Source: China pips US to emerge as world's largest e-commerce market

Some Alphabet Units May Return to China Ahead of Others, Brin Says

Alphabet Inc.'s Google unit is trying to get back into China, raising questions about the company's stance on censorship in the country.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin suggested Wednesday that the company's recent re-organization into a holding company may free some units to move ahead of others.

"We already do quite a lot of business in China, although it has not been an easy country for us," Mr. Brin said in a brief interview. Google sells ads to businesses in China, though its services are not available there. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Google was in talks about launching an Android app store in China.

"Each Alphabet business can make its own decisions on which countries to operate in," Mr. Brin said.

Google ceased most operations in mainland China in 2010 following cyberattacks against Gmail users and disagreements with the government over censorship of search results. At that time, Mr. Brin was among the most outspoken Google critics of China's government.

However, Mr. Brin stepped back from day-to-day Google operations in recent years, as product chief Sundar Pichai took on more responsibility and this year was named CEO of Google as part of the restructuring. Mr. Pichai is more pragmatic and business-focused and has spoken openly about Google's interest in being more active in China.

The reorganization separated the main Google businesses including advertising, Search, YouTube and Android from longer-term, speculative bets such as Nest, Life Sciences and the X research lab.

Mr. Brin is now president of Alphabet and the head of X. He spoke on Wednesday at an event for Project Loon, which is delivering Internet service from high-altitude balloons.

Mr. Brin said China is among the countries that have expressed interest in expanding Internet coverage with Loon technology.

The Alphabet restructuring has freed Loon to pursue more telecom industry partnerships, he said. Google runs Android, the world's largest mobile-operating system, and that complicated Loon negotiations in the past because its service could connect to phones running other operating systems.

Now, executives running Loon "should not be worried about what operating systems those phones are on or what other business relationships Google has," Mr. Brin said. "They don't feel entangled in a complex way, so that's been working really well for us."

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Source: Some Alphabet Units May Return to China Ahead of Others, Brin Says

Chinese Smartphone Market Development, 3Q Industry Share, Size, Trends and Growth, Analysis and Forecasts by 2015: Hexa Reports

Latest Research on "Chinese Smartphone Market" subscribers topped 1.3 billion, with the adoption of 3G/4G services reaching 53.4%.

As of the second quarter of 2015, the number of China's mobile phone subscribers topped 1.3 billion, with the adoption of 3G/4G services reaching 53.4%. Ninety seven million smartphones were shipped in the quarter. When it comes to performance of individual brands in China, Huawei and Xiaomi staged the best performance while Apple continued to enjoy brisk sales. Sales of Samsung and Lenovo however continued to slide further. This report examines the development of the Chinese smartphone market during the second and third quarter of 2015 from the perspective of telecom operators and smartphone branded vendors.

Browse Detailed Report with TOC at:

http://www.hexareports.com/report/chinese-smartphone-market-development-3q-2015/details

List of Topics

* Development of the Chinese mobile communications market, touching on recent development highlights of China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom as well as their product and market strategies

* Recent quarter review of subscriber base of aforementioned three major operators, underscoring development and penetration rate of 3G/4G subscriber base

* Recent quarter review of Chinese mobile phone market volume and market share by major branded vendors

* Recent development of smartphone branded vendors including Samsung, Apple, Lenovo, Huawei, HTC, and Xiaomi and includes the detailed analysis of their product and channel strategies in the Chinese market.

Related Reports On ICT by Hexa Reports:

The Taiwanese Server System and Server Motherboard Industries, 3Q:

http://www.hexareports.com/report/the-taiwanese-server-system-and-server-motherboard-industries-3q-2015/details

Brand Competition and Consumer Preference of the Chinese Smartphone Market:

http://www.hexareports.com/report/brand-competition-and-consumer-preference-of-the-chinese-smartphone-market/details

Global Wearable Devices Industry 2015:

http://www.hexareports.com/report/global-wearable-devices-industry

Profile of smartphones launched by major Chinese smartphone branded vendors in the third quarter of 2015

Table of Contents

1. Development of the Chinese Mobile Communications Market

1.1 China Mobile

1.2 China Telecom

1.3 China Unicom

2. Development of the Chinese Smartphone Market and Major Players

2.1 Samsung

2.2 Apple

2.3 Lenovo

2.4 Huawei

2.5 Xiaomi

2.6 HTC

Request a sample copy of this Report at:

http://www.hexareports.com/sample/50857

3. Major Chinese Smartphone Brands and Their Products

Appendix

Glossary of Terms

List of Companies

About Us:

Hexa Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering industry reports, custom research and consulting services to a host of key industries across the globe. We offer comprehensive business intelligence in the form of industry reports which help our clients obtain clarity about their business environment and enable them to undertake strategic growth initiatives.

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Source: Chinese Smartphone Market Development, 3Q Industry Share, Size, Trends and Growth, Analysis and Forecasts by 2015: Hexa Reports

Huawei smartphone sales surge

Huawei expects to sell 100 million smartphones this year, making the Chinese wireless giant a solid #3 in the smartphone market behind Samsung and Apple. The company said that it sold 27.4 million smartphones during the third quarter, and that one third of those were mid-to-high-end devices. Smartphone sales were up 63% versus the year-ago quarter.

Huawei claimed 8.7% of the smartphone market during the second quarter, according to IDC, while Samsung had 21.4% of the market and Apple 13.9%. Huawei is poised to be the fastest growing smartphone maker, and most of its market share is likely to come from Android competitors, including Samsung. The overall smartphone market is expected to grow 10.4% this year.

The higher end of the market has long been a target for Huawei, but in a crowded field the company had a hard time gaining traction until recently. During the second quarter of this year, Huawei established itself as the #3 vendor behind Apple, pulling ahead of Chinese competitors Xiaomi and Lenovo, which now owns Motorola's smartphone business. Despite the slowing Chinese economy, Huawei managed to double its smartphone revenue growth in the world's largest market during the first half of this year.

Huawei's current flagship, the Mate S, is a 5.5-inch Android smartphone that sells for roughly $675 off-contract. It boasts a touchscreen that enables users to quickly open the camera by drawing the letter C and launch a web browser by drawing the letter I. The Mate S is not available in the United States, underscoring the fact that other world markets are far more important to Huawei.

Like Samsung, Huawei participates in three key parts of the wireless ecosystem: devices, chips and wireless infrastructure. Its wireless infrastructure business has thrived worldwide, with the notable exception of the United States, where carriers have been asked to avoid buying core network equipment from Huawei for political reasons.

Huawei also makes semiconductors for its mobile devices and network infrastructure. The company recently formed a joint venture with Qualcomm and Semiconductor Manufacturing International, China's largest chipmaker. The group's goal is to produce next-generation chips for smartphones and servers.

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Source: Huawei smartphone sales surge

A Tainted Indian League Gets Chinese Backer No Local's Heard Of

The Chinese are coming and they are setting their sights on cricket in South Asia.

After Pepsico Inc. broke off its 3.97 billion-rupee ($61 million) sponsorship deal with the glitzy Indian Premier League 10 days ago, a Chinese smartphone maker is stepping in to gain from cricket's almost religion-like status in a region of 1.2 billion people. Vivo Mobile India Pvt., a unit of Guangdong BBK Electronics Industry Co., replaced Pepsico as the title sponsor, undeterred by the fading popularity of the tournament, which has lately been plagued by scandals.

While Vivo has surprised most Indians who have never heard of the brand, the cricket contract may just be what the Chinese company needs, scandals notwithstanding, to expand its reach in one of the world's fastest-growing smartphone markets. India is set to overtake the U.S. to become the second biggest mobile-phone buyer in the world by 2017, according to International Data Corp.

"We think IPL is the most influential brand in India," Alex Feng, chief executive officer of Vivo Mobile India said in an interview. "It can help raise people's awareness about Vivo in India. We think it's the best platform."

Feng declined to comment on the price paid for the sponsorship, except to say that the deal was "worth the price." The brand, which made its mark in China with smartly designed phones that sell for less than $100, will mainly compete with local handset makers Micromax Informatics Ltd. and Intex Technologies India Pvt., and other Chinese manufacturers, Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research in Mumbai, said.

"India is a huge opportunity for everyone and whoever keeps investing now will recoup the rewards later," Shah said in an interview. "Just look at Samsung and Micromax - they invested hugely in setting up a network and are No. 1 and 2 for quite some time now."

China Rivals

Vivo has a history of rapidly grabbing market share from established rivals. In its highly competitive home market, the company rose to the fourth place ahead of Samsung Electronics Corp. with a 8.1 percent share of the Chinese market, from an 11th place less than two years ago, according to Counterpoint.

The company's phones are available at 10,000 outlets in India, Feng said. Vivo will stay focused on selling through brick-and-mortar stores rather than online sales, he said.

India's smartphone market can be divided into three categories, with different companies dominating each band. Local handset makers Micromax, Intex and Karbonn Mobiles India Ltd. dominate the sub $100 category, whereas Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are known for their models that range between $100 and $150, Shah said. Samsung is the biggest seller of the higher end phones up to $400.

Vivo has seven models selling in India that range from $92 to $510, though if its China business were an indication, then most of the sales focus will be on the cheapest models.

Short-Form Cricket

"They develop the high-end models and advertise it extensively, but their volumes come from the cheaper models," Kiranjeet Kaur, a senior analyst at International Data Corp., said in an interview. "They'll probably take the same approach in India."

But the path in India will take a long time. The company's market share was 0.5 percent in the quarter ended June, according to Counterpoint data. That compares with market leaders Samsung and Micromax, which control about 25 percent and 18 percent each.

The IPL, where eight teams compete in the Twenty20 short-format version of cricket, started in 2008 when the Board of Control for Cricket in India auctioned off the league's clubs to investors including billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., and movie star Shah Rukh Khan.

The rapid-fire appeal of a Twenty20 match has led to high-scoring games, with more risk-taking by the batsmen, attracting viewers who otherwise don't have the time to watch the game's classic format five-day test matches or a one-day face-off that is typically played for about six hours, not including lunch and refreshments.

Match-Fixing Allegations

However, the league's reputation has been tainted by allegations of illegal betting and match-fixing.

In 2013, several IPL players and team officials were arrested on charges of placing bets on matches, a practice that's illegal in India. Earlier this year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India suspended two teams -- the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals -- for two years citing misconduct by its officials. Chennai's team was among the league's most decorated, and headed by Indian national team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Spokesmen for Rajasthan Royals didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment, while Kasi Vishwanathan, director, at Chennai Super Kings, declined to comment.

Pepsico said Oct. 9 that it had notified the cricket board about its "concerns" over the tournament and that discussions were ongoing between the two parties. About 10 days later, the board announced that Vivo had been appointed as the title sponsor for two years. Pepsico India spokesman Pradeep Wadhwa did not respond to a phone call and text message seeking comment. BCCI spokesmen Nishant Jeet Arora and Gaurav Saxena didn't immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.

Falling Allure

Partly because of these scandals, and also because of a plethora of cricket on television, the allure of the sport for audiences has fallen. This has made the return from IPL sponsorships "somewhat unpredictable," prompting consumer goods companies to reduce their engagement with the sport, said Ajimon Francis, head of India operations at consultancy Brand Finance Plc.

However, by putting its name on a popular cricket series that is viewed on television by millions of Indians, Vivo will be able to quickly engender widespread brand awareness, Counterpoint's Shah said. The scandals may not have a sizable impact on the company's prospects.

"Even the Olympic Games or the World Cup may have such controversies," Vivo's Feng said. "That cannot change the impact that cricket can make in India. It's an activity for everyone from different regions, religions, ages, languages."

Source: A Tainted Indian League Gets Chinese Backer No Local's Heard Of

Samsung Galaxy On5 and On7 – New Budget Phones Launched For China, Maybe Coming To India

By Liezl Dunuan , Christian Post Contributor

October 25, 2015|11:56 am

Facebook/SamsungMobile

The Samsung Galaxy logo

Samsung has added two more budget smartphones to its Galaxy line up of phones. The Samsung Galaxy On5 and the Galaxy On7 was unveiled on the company's website for China, indicating that the phones will hit the Chinese market first. According to a report in GSM Arena, the phones were inadvertently posted on Samsung's website for India several days ago, but were taken down immediately after.

Both devices are considered to be entry-level phones which are easy on the budget. Although Samsung has yet to announce their prices, the report speculates that the On5 will sell for $150 while the bigger On7 will sell for $200.

As entry-level phones, they offer entry-level specifications according to a report in Android Authority. Their displays have a modest resolution at 1,280 x 720 pixels. The Galaxy On5 has a 5-inch screen while the Galaxy On7 is bigger at 5.5 inches. Under the hood, both devices only have a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 Exynos 3475 SoC paired with 1.5 GB of RAM. Their cameras differ however, with the On7 sporting a 13 megapixel main camera and the On5 has an 8 megapixel camera. They have the same 5 megapixel selfie camera.

There are two SIM slots in each device while offering 4G LTE support. Battery capacity is a plus for both devices with the Galaxy On7 having a 3,000 mAh battery and the Galaxy On5 having a 2,600 mAh battery. Internal storage however is limited to 8 GB, but is expandable to 128 GB via a microSD slot.

Both devices come pre-installed with Android Lollipop, and also comes with Samsung's Milk Music app.

Given that they first appeared on Samsung's China website, they will be released in the market soon. India may be the next market where these new budget phones will be released. Samsung has yet to announce their exact release dates as well as whether these phones will be available in other markets.

Source: Samsung Galaxy On5 and On7 – New Budget Phones Launched For China, Maybe Coming To India

Xiaomi Expected To Incorporate One Of Apple’s Innovative Tech In Its Next Smartphone

Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone OEM that has garnered a reputation for being called 'The Apple of China' is taking yet another innovate feature from Apple's lineup of products and incorporating it in its next smartphone? Can you guess which one is it?

According to a Chinese source, the upcoming smartphone from Xiaomi is going to be sporting the 3D Touch Force feature from Apple, which is not surprising at all seeing as how the technology was also used by Huawei in its Mate S, plus Samsung has also been reported to make its own pressure based touch tech and place it in its upcoming flagship smartphone, Galaxy S7. Since this particular technology is definitely high-end, we expect that the Chinese firm is going to incorporate it in its Mi5, or upcoming flagship tablet, Mi Pad 2.

Xiaomi Mi5, which is also expected to feature a Snapdragon 820 SoC, is expected to be released next year, although we did report that the handset was going to be released in two variants, and possessing different price tags. We had also reported that Xiaomi is prepping a notebook in 2016, so it is highly possible that Apple's pressure based technology is found in the company's upcoming laptop, which will be very exciting to see. Currently, the source (image given below) has only pointed that Xiaomi and Samsung will be using similar patents for Force Touch, but did not care to point out any of these details, which most likely means that we will hear more information about this in the near future.

However, we can say for a fact that the upcoming product lineup from the third largest smartphone manufacturer will be able to execute functions similar to those that are present in Apple's iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, thanks to the newly incorporated technology. So in addition to sporting a fingerprint sensor, Force Touch is also going to be present inside Xiaomi's upcoming mobile lineup.

Are you guys excited to see this technology in the company's Mi5? Let us know your thoughts.

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Source: Xiaomi Expected To Incorporate One Of Apple's Innovative Tech In Its Next Smartphone

Huawei Dethrones Xiaomi in China

Huawei made a huge jump in Q3, overtaking rival Xiaomi to become the No. 1 smartphone vendor in China.

The world's largest mobile market — that would be China, not the U.S. — has a new leader: Huawei.

According to research firm Canalys, Huawei made a huge jump in the third quarter of 2015, overtaking rival Xiaomi to become the No. 1 smartphone vendor in China, a first for the company.

The Mate S maker rose to first place with 81 percent year-on-year shipment growth in Q3, following a strong showing the previous quarter as well. Xiaomi, meanwhile, didn't have such a great quarter, logging a decrease in shipments from last year as it struggled to maintain its high growth.

Jessie Ding, a research analyst based in Canalys' Shanghai office, called Huawei's climb to the top a "remarkable feat, especially in the context of an increasingly cutthroat and maturing Chinese smartphone market." But she added that Xiaomi may be focusing elsewhere.

"Xiaomi, with its worldwide target of 80 million smartphone shipments for 2015, is under tremendous pressure to keep growing as an international player as it is slowing down in its key home market," Ding said.

Things were better for Xiaomi in China last year. The company dethroned Samsung in Q2 2014 to become the leading vendor in the country. At the time, Xiaomi was the fifth largest smartphone vendor in the world — something analysts called a "phenomenal achievement."

News about Huawei's rise comes after the company recently beat Apple to Force Touch with its Mate S, which was our favorite phone of IFA. The company also this year released its Android Wear-powered Huawei Watch.

For more, see Can Huawei and ZTE Conquer the U.S.?

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perely Isaac Reed School of Journalism. More »

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Source: Huawei Dethrones Xiaomi in China

Xiaomi Loses Its Top Spot in China to Huawei

By Juro Osawa in Hong Kong and Oct. 22, 2015 1:24 p.m. ET

In China's vast smartphone market, the tortoise has caught up to the hare.

Hot Chinese startup Xiaomi Corp. lost the top spot in the world's No. 1 smartphone market to technology stalwart Huawei Technologies Co. in the third quarter and posted its first year-over-year decline in phone shipments, according to a new survey.

The shift comes as smartphone sales stall in China and as established tech companies and new upstarts alike pressure Xiaomi with many feature-filled phones at low prices.

The rival phones are drawing Chinese phone buyers like Wang Weixin, who went on a search recently for a new smartphone after he accidentally dropped his old Samsung SSNHZ 0.00 % into a boiling pot of soup. He said that although he considered Xiaomi, he went with a Huawei Honor 7 because it was a good bargain and because of the company's reputation.

"To be honest, regular folk don't know that much about specs," he said. "But Huawei phones have a good name among my friends, and I know it's an international brand."

Closely held Xiaomi's phone shipments fell 8% in the third quarter while Huawei's jumped 81%, according to research firm Canalys on Thursday. The firm didn't disclose specifics of its market-share data. In the second quarter, Xiaomi had a 15.9% share of the market, while Huawei had a 15.7% share, Canalys said.

The figures call into question Xiaomi's goal of selling 80 million to 100 million smartphones world-wide this year. Xiaomi says it sold 34.7 million smartphones in the first half of the year and has said the traditional fourth-quarter sales boom should help it reach its goal.

Xiaomi said its sales decline was due to product transition and that it would rebound. It cited the mid-August release of a new version of its budget Redmi phone, the Redmi Note 2, and the late September release of its new Mi 4 C.

"The China market is still big enough," Xiaomi public relations director Tony Wei wrote Thursday on Chinese social-media website Weibo. "Xiaomi's focus is user experience and product innovation, and not just specifically seeking flashy numbers and the top market seat."

It has also cited international expansion. Xiaomi has sold three million phones in India since it entered the market in July 2014, Xiaomi President Bin Lin said at the WSJD Live global technology conference in the U.S. this week.

Over the past few years, Xiaomi has thrown the country's traditional electronics makers into disarray. The company's buzzy online sales and rock concert-like product launches netted the company a $46 billion valuation, making it China's most valuable startup.

Weaker sales in China could make it harder for Xiaomi to justify its high price tag to investors. Until Uber Technologies Inc.'s fundraising in July, which valued the U.S. ride-hailing company at more than $50 billion, Xiaomi was the world's most valuable tech startup.

China's established tech giants have borrowed some tricks from Xiaomi and fought back. New handset models and a barrage of advertising helped Huawei surge past Xiaomi, analysts said. Xiaomi also lacks the massive engineering budget and established sales channels of more mature rivals like Huawei. Huawei said its total research-and-development spending stood at $6.6 billion last year. Xiaomi hasn't disclosed its R&D spending.

Huawei, one of the world's largest suppliers of networking gear used by telecommunications carriers, has been expanding its smartphone business over the past several years. In the second quarter, Huawei was the world's third-largest smartphone vendor behind Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc., AAPL 1.01 % according to research firms. Roughly half of Huawei's smartphone sales are in overseas markets such as Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Changes in China's smartphone market are working in favor of Huawei, which has been moving into higher price points, said Canalys analyst Nicole Peng.

Canalys said China's second-quarter smartphone shipments fell 2.7% from a year earlier to 105.6 million gadgets. Most Chinese consumers who can comfortably afford smartphones have already bought them, so existing users are looking to upgrade. Shipments of smartphones priced below $200 have been on the decline in China, falling 28% in the second quarter, while shipments of midrange phones costing between $200 and $500 rose 22% in the second quarter, according to Canalys.

The research firm said Huawei's average smartphone sales price in the second quarter was $282 in China, versus $149 for Xiaomi.

Xiaomi has sought this year to sell to more overseas markets and expand to other product categories as the smartphone fight turned bloodier in its home market. Kitty Fok, head of global research firm IDC's China group, said despite Xiaomi's growth slowdown, she doesn't expect the startup to flame out.

"Xiaomi has been expanding quite well in overseas markets," she said. "They also still have an advantage in volume, which will help them negotiate prices with component suppliers. That is a key advantage."

Write to Juro Osawa at juro.osawa@wsj.com and Eva Dou at eva.dou@wsj.com

Source: Xiaomi Loses Its Top Spot in China to Huawei

The Chinese firms opening factories in India

Image caption These soft toys, made in an Indian factory by a Chinese firm, will be exported to the US

Bright red Elmo stuffed toys are everywhere. Some are being sewn, others are having their batteries tested, and some more are being packed into neat little boxes.

The toys, based on the character from the TV show Sesame Street, are, as is often the case, being made by a Chinese firm for export to the US.

What's unusual however, is that this factory isn't in China, but in rural Andhra Pradesh, in southern India.

It is one of more than 100 businesses in the Sri City Industrial hub - many of them Chinese - attracted by the Make in India campaign.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, the ambitious campaign aims to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub.

As part of the scheme, the government has said it will incentivise foreign companies to manufacture in India.

"In plain terms, if you invest $100 [£65] here, we will give you $25. Then state incentives are also available," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said recently.

Image copyright Geeta Pandey -Internet Image caption The "Make in India" campaign aims to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub

The founder of the industrial zone, Ravindra Sannareddy, says the incentives make India a very attractive manufacturing base for Chinese companies.

"A lot of companies from China, which traditionally used to export their products to India, are now taking advantage of these incentives to come to India, put their manufacturing facilities here, and cater to the demand here," he says.

It's not just the financial benefits which are attractive to foreign firms.

The industrial hub is situated way out in the countryside, but finding labour has been easy.

Mr Reddy estimates that they have at least 200,000 employable youth in the surrounding villages.

You can see a lot of them working in factories here.

Image caption Two thirds of India's population is under 35, making it's easy for foreign firms to find staff Image caption For Indians living in rural areas, the factories offer an opportunity to find work without moving

Seema Nehra, director at Pals Plush, which makes toys here for the likes of Universal Studios, Walmart and Pottery Barn Kids, says around 80% of its staff are first time workers and are women.

"They are from rural areas, and we train them initially. But they are very comfortable with the sewing and finishing works of toy making," she says.

That is what India is selling to the world - its young, cheap workforce. Two thirds of India's population is under 35, and in the next decade, India will have more people of working age than anywhere else.

The various attractions have persuaded manufacturing giant Foxconn, best known for making Apple iPhones, and which already employs over a million people in China, to develop at least 10 factories in India - investing $20bn.

Closer to customers

Foxconn began assembling devices here for a number of Chinese brands, including Xiaomi, less than a year ago, and says the cost benefits are huge.

"In our kind o f business we work on wafer thin margins," says Manu Jain, Foxconn's head of operations for India.

If we import goods from abroad - from any other country like China - the lead time for us to order and then get these goods is four to five weeks.

"When we make the same goods in India the lead time gets reduced to two to three weeks and that is a massive saving. In order to be closer to customers and for supply chain benefits we decided to make phones in India."

Chinese smartphone brands are probably the most visible Chinese products being made in India.

Image caption Foxconn says there are huge cost benefits to manufacturing in India

In the past year, as well as Xiaomi, OnePlus, Lenovo, Gionee and Asus have all announced that they are planning to "Make In India".

Manufacturing firm Xi'an LONGi Silicon Materials Corporation is the latest company to sign up. It has promised to invest an initial $250m in building a factory in Andhra Pradesh.

Long term, it has said it plans to invest six times this initial sum, eventually creating 5,000 jobs.

"India is an exciting market of the future and we don't want to miss out," says Baoshen Zhong, chairman of LONGi.

"To take advantage of this market we need to make sure we have our foot in here early on."

Image caption Some Chinese expats have complained that there is not enough to do in rural Andhra Pradesh

Wooing the Chinese is also important to India, which needs to create more than 100 million jobs in the next decade.

According to the World Bank, fast-rising wages in China means companies are looking elsewhere - costing the Asian giant 85 million manufacturing roles - something India is hoping to take advantage of.

Quality of life?

But while cheap and abundant labour is bringing them here, some Chinese firms say the Indian government still needs to cut red tape.

"I wish the government here was a lot more efficient. It needs a lot of improvement," says Chen Zhaofeng, director of ZTT India, which makes fibre-optic-communication and power-transmission products.

As the number of Chinese expats increase, there is one other common concern - quality of life.

Many wish there were more entertainment venues, supermarkets or global restaurants here like in major cities.

Those concerns aren't enough to deter Chinese companies building more fact ories here

But if India's creaking infrastructure is not overhauled, it may lose out on a long-term opportunity to grab more business from its biggest Asian rival.

Source: The Chinese firms opening factories in India

Deflation still impacting China growth: Expert

China is in the spotlight once more, with news of a slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter. The world's second largest economy grew by 6.9 percent, compared to 7 percent in the previous quarter.

China is in the spotlight once more, with news of a slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter. The world's second largest economy grew by 6.9 percent, compared to 7 percent in the previous quarter.

It is the lowest rate since the 6.2 percent recorded in 2009 during the global recession. And this is despite several stimulus measures from the government.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Scott Kennedy, Deputy Director, Centre For Strategic & International Studies shares his views on what is plaguing Chinese growth.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview..Q: Even though the quarterly numbers were more or less along expected lines, concerns only seem to be mounting for China. Has the worst now been confirmed for China? A: There is something in here for everybody. For those who are really worried about the Chinese economy, there is data that shows a continued slowdown in the numbers particularly in industry. I think probably for me some of the most concerning data has to do with their private investment which has registered the slowest growth in six to seven years. The other is that real GMP was larger than nominal GMP which means that there is deflation that is still affecting the economy and this is really a bad sign that demand is still quite low.

On the other side you could see positive numbers in the transition t o services and consumption for those who want to argue that the economy is transitioning towards a different growth model. So, there is that data too. However on balance these aren't numbers to sing about.

Q: Exactly not numbers to sing about but it is important you talked about private investments being at a six year low because China has been trying to restructure its economy away from its export lead model to focus more on domestic consumption but if you look at the data from passenger vehicle sales for instance last month only one percent even smartphone sales growth is projected to grow at 1.2 percent as against 20 percent in 2014. Would you then say that the restructuring efforts are not working today?

A: I would, you know in the third quarter services accounted for just over 50 percent of the economy, about 51 percent which for some shows big transition but a huge part of that growth and services is financial investment from the stock market and if you look at the turn over in the stock market over the summer in July and August in the third quarter it was quite massive because of the concerns there. So, that is really not the type of growth in services that you want to bank on for restructuring the economy overall. So, what you need to do is wait to see what the full year numbers are to tell you whether services are really playing a much important and constructive role on the economy.

Source: Deflation still impacting China growth: Expert

Pepsi quits IPL cricket sponsorship after match-fixing scandals

PepsiCo has withdrawn from its sponsorship deal of the Indian Premier League (IPL) following match-fixing scandals, with Chinese smartphone maker Vivo taking over the title sponsorship of the world's richest cricket tournament.

The beverage company's exit could discourage other brands from investing in the IPL, analysts said.

Pepsi bought the title sponsorship rights to the IPL for five years for US$71 million starting in 2013. That was almost double the amount paid by the Indian property developer DLF for the previous five years.

But the IPL has been plagued by corruption scandals in recent years. In July, Chennai Super Kings, owned by Indian Cements, and Rajasthan Royals, owned by a consortium including Bollywood's Shilpa Shetty, were suspended from the competition for two years over a match-fixing controversy.

"There is a dent in the image of IPL," said Sanjay Chakraborty, a marketing communication adviser based in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Pepsi was investing "a lot of money, which was at stake with this brand", he said. "Their own image can get corroded if they associate with an event that has an image problem."

Cricket is by far the most-watched sport in India. The IPL was launched in 2008, loosely based on Britain's Premier League football championship and the NBA. It has gained mass appeal because of its fast-paced Twenty20 matches, which last only a few hours each, and because of the Bollywood glamour of the tournament, with actor Shah Rukh Khan among the team owners.

"IPL has to do something to revive its image," said Mr Chakraborty. "They can't afford to lose these big brands."

Sponsorship rates were likely to come down because of the match-fixing scandal and Pepsi's withdrawal as it would become more challenging for the IPL to get sponsors on board, he said.

Harish Bijoor, the chief executive of Harish Bijoor Consults, a Bangalore-based firm that specialises in brand and business strategy, said that the change in the title sponsorship would be unlikely to affect viewership.

"I do believe IPL has this uncanny way of inventing for itself good viewership season after season," said Mr Bijoor. "It is all about the process that makes every season packed with zing of both the positive and negative kind. Both add to the glory and glamour of this format of 'cricketainment'."

He added that the new title sponsor would need "to invest time, energy, money and, most importantly, creativity in ensuring that the format of sponsorship is as exciting as what Pepsi brought to the game".

An array of companies have signed up to the competition as advertisers, sponsors, and team owners to capitalise on the tournament's ability to reach large numbers of Indians across the country.

The brand value of the tournament was $3.2 billion last year, according to American Appraisal India.

The Indian steel giant JSW Group in July revealed that it had shelved plans to buy an IPL team because of the match-fixing controversy.

Mr Chakraborty said that with many other opportunities on offer for sponsors in India, Pepsi would "definitely find some other way of investing their money into some other event".

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Source: Pepsi quits IPL cricket sponsorship after match-fixing scandals

Pepsi tipped to corner less than 1 per cent of China's smartphone market after launch of branded handset

Global beverage and snacks giant PepsiCo is expected to corner a small, but potentially important, niche in mainland China's smartphone market after the launch of its first branded Android handset there next week.

"We forecast Pepsi to capture less than 1 per cent of China's smartphone market in 2016," Neil Mawston, executive director for global wireless practice at technology consultancy Strategy Analytics, told the South China Morning Post.

New York-based PepsiCo, which runs about 14 food and beverage brands that each generate over US$1 billion in annual sales, plans to unveil its "Pepsi P1" smartphone in Beijing on Tuesday. The expected retail price is US$205.

READ MORE: Pop tech: Will the Pepsi branded smartphone for China be a fizzer?

"PepsiCo is exploring new avenues for brand promotion with smartphones ... and reaching out to younger Chinese consumers who are more likely to drink Pepsi Cola," Mawston said.

Technology research firm IDC has forecast a slight growth in total smartphone sales in mainland China this year to about 424 million units, up from 420 million last year, amid a slowdown in the world's largest smartphone market.

Even if the market remains sluggish next year, a less than 1 per cent niche for the Pepsi P1 could potentially amount to sales of about one million units in a highly competitive industry.

"PepsiCo is very good at distributing fast-moving consumer goods," Mawston said. "So we expect to see some innovative use of distribution channels for the P1 smartphone across China, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, vending machines and even music festivals."

"If the Pepsi P1 becomes a major hit, Coca-Cola will be forced to respond with a Coke phone next year," Mawston added.

Technology news site Mobipicker, which was the first to report about the launch, said on Thursday that the "Pepsi Phone" page on popular microblogging site Weibo had been taken down, following "the avalanche of news circulating around the Pepsi P1".

A PepsiCo spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday that the company was working with a licensing partner to sell a line of mobile phones and accessories exclusively in mainland China.

She said the effort was "similar to recent globally licensed Pepsi products, which include apparel and accessories".

According to Mobipicker, the Pepsi P1 will have a 5.5-inch high-definition screen, a 1.7-gigahertz processor, 2-gigabyte random access memory, 13-megapixel rear camera and 5MP front camera and 16GB storage capacity. It will also run the Android 5.1 "Lollipop" operating system.

Shenzhen Zhongtai Chuangxin Science and Technology, a subsidiary of privately held Aok International Group (HK), is widely speculated to be the Chinese licensing partner PepsiCo has not identified.

Founded in 2006, Shenzhen Zhongtai Chuangxin describes itself as one of the "leading professional manufacturers and exporters of a full range of speakers, headphones, other mobile accessories, gift products and more".

The company, which operates a 2,000 square metre factory in Shenzhen, listed Heineken, Pepsi and Hewlett-Packard among its high-profile customers.

Tay Xiaohan, a senior market analyst at IDC, said PepsiCo's branded smartphone will face stiff competition in a saturated market with many low-cost handset brands. These include new market players LeTV, Lenovo Group subsidiary Zuk and Qiku Network Technologies, a joint venture of security software giant Qihoo 360 and Hong Kong-listed smartphone maker Coolpad.

"Unless Pepsi is able to provide some unique services for its phones, there may not be that much opportunity for its branded smartphones to grow in China next year," Tay said.

Fast-growing technology start-up Xiaomi was the top smartphone supplier in mainland China during the quarter ended June 30, with almost a 16 per cent market share, according to separate estimates by research firms Canalys and Counterpoint.

The other leading smartphone suppliers last quarter included Huawei Technologies, Apple, Lenovo, Samsung Electronics and Vivo Electronics.

Kiranjeet Kaur, a research manager at IDC Asia-Pacific in Singapore, said the Pepsi smartphone was a way "to differentiate itself in the China market, where it is a distant second to Coca-Cola".

"It's interesting to see how there are various [business] models existing in the smartphone market," Kaur said. "Xiaomi is disrupting the industry by focusing on online sales; LeTV is selling phones at zero or negative profits because it intends to make money through services; and now fast-moving consumer goods companies using smartphones for their branding activities.

"I wouldn't be surprised if PepsiCo also made a move to the smartphone market in India, where Pepsi is still second to Coke," he said.

Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi, Gionee Communications Equipment and Oppo Electronics are among the major Chinese smartphone suppliers aggressively expanding in India this year.

Linda Sui, a director at Strategy Analytics, has predicted that India will overtake the United States as the world's largest smartphone market by 2017 when total sales there reach 174 million units.

Source: Pepsi tipped to corner less than 1 per cent of China's smartphone market after launch of branded handset

China and India Show The Dominance Of Asian Market In The Smartphone App Segment

China is leading the iOS app downloads surpassing Apple's home turf, the United States. Though the US is still Apple's largest revenue generator, China has become the largest iOS app consumer. According to stats compiled by analytics firm App Annie, China leads over the rest of the markets with absolute growth in the third quarter of this year.

On the other hand, its neighbour across the Himalayas India, along with Indonesia and Vietnam have together had a significant impact on the Google Play Store by sheer downloads, making Google Play outnumber iOS app downloads by 90%. This, however hasn't had an astounding impact on the revenue generated from Android apps. This department is led by Apple, thanks to its top two revenue generators: the USA and China.

With China and India among the top three largest markets for smartphones, Asia has become the hotspot for smartphones. Mainly due to the higher sales of budget smartphones in emerging economies like India, where smartphone penetration is only 10-15%, and largely due to Apple's stronghold in China, both Google Play and iOS apps benefited from the region.

India, importantly the world's third largest market for smartphones, also happens to be the one among the top three largest markets by downloads for Facebook and WhatsApp and the third largest for Google Play.

The revenue generated by iOS app store in the third quarter is 80% higher than Google Play, which leads in terms of sheer downloads.

The success of iOS is largely contributed to the growth of social video apps and games; the latter leading the revenue with a large contribution followed by the frenzy around social video apps.

Although Asia, in particular China and India are major smartphone markets, they are yet to surpass US as the highest revenue generator for iOS App Store, which leads the charts followed by Japan. And while China is coming to terms with US growth, Indians are way too behind in terms of generating revenues for Apple by App Store purchases.

The favourable response received by the recent iPhone launch in China (which wasn't the case with India) might be enough to take over the US in terms of revenue. But for that to happen, the smartphone penetration has to beef up along with internet connectivity.

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Source: China and India Show The Dominance Of Asian Market In The Smartphone App Segment

Found Test Footage from Inside a Chinese Drone Factory

The Federal Aviation Administration expects a million consumer drones to be sold this holiday season. No doubt, many of those will come from DJI, makers of the Phantom, the world's most popular drone. But where do those drones actually come from? Thanks to some found footage acquired by Motherboard, here's a brief look inside one of DJI's Chinese factories.

Before every DJI drone is shipped to consumers, it's tested. Because DJI makes its own cameras, those are given a quick test too, as you can see from this video, which was licensed by Motherboard from Skyz Media, a Michigan-based aerial photography company.

Erik Reed, the founder of the company, told me that his DJI X5 camera came preloaded with the footage, which was supposed to be deleted before the drone was shipped. Found factory footage is posted online from time to time: Here's a video that purports to show a Parrot Bebop drone being tested, and footage found on an HP laptop from a few years ago made waves for showing the inner workings of a Foxconn factory.

In this video, you can see what appears to be a DJI factory line, who are assembling DJI's Inspire 1 drones. Every time footage like this makes its way online, it's utterly fascinating in its mundanity. We're catching just a few seconds of a camera test, but then you think about how every smartphone, every laptop, every game console, every drone, every camera is tested for a few seconds by the people who assemble them. Seeing even a moment of that monotony at least reminds us that someone is making our electronics, somewhere.

A spokesperson for DJI said the video does indeed show the inside of one of DJI's manufacturing facilities, but he couldn't tell us much more.

"We're looking into where this video was taken but we can confirm that we have multiple camera testing facilities as do most camera manufacturers," the spokesperson said.

Source: Found Test Footage from Inside a Chinese Drone Factory

Xiaomi CEO invests in cool electric bikes that connect to your smartphone

What's This?

The Yunbike Steven Millward for Tech in Asia 2015-10-14 17:15:02 UTC

Electric bikes are no longer the preferred way of getting around China's cities. People are moving onto cars. The bike lanes are getting a bit less frenetically elbow-to-elbow as the roads fill up instead with gas-guzzlers that add to the polluted skylines. Yes, more e-bikes than cars are sold each year in China and there are more than 200 million e-bikes scattered across the nation, but cars have now won over the hearts of Chinese consumers.

So it seems an odd time for a Chinese startup to be building a fledgling business that specializes in electric scooters. But what YunMake has created isn't a normal electric-powered two-wheeler — it's a radically designed smart bike that connects with an app. The Yunbike X1 looks like this:

The Yunbike X1

That's quite a contrast to what China's regular 200-bucks-from-the-hypermarket e-bikes look like:

Foldable e-bike

Proving that the startup's funky Yunbikes are not competing with regular e-bikes, the website is full of photos of guys unloading the smart bike from the trunk of their cars and then unfolding it. It's clearly meant to be a fun accessory like a Segway or those stupid things that everyone's calling hoverboards even though they don't hover.

The foldable Yunbike

The startup team behind the Yunbike got together in 2013 and unveiled the X1 a year later. Tomorrow, a new smart bike will be shown at a product launch event. Ahead of that launch, the team announced over the weekend that it has secured an undisclosed amount of series A funding. The latest funding was led by Shunwei Capital, the VC firm started by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun — which also led an earlier US$1.6 million seed round. The other series A investors include Qualcomm Ventures, ZhenFund, and Foxconn.

Xiaomi has its own range of smart gadgets, such as the cheap Mi Band fitness bracelet and the Air Purifier, that sell alongside its hugely popular phones. There's no word on any tie-up between Xiaomi and the Yunbike crew aside from Xiaomi phones popping up in the smart scooter's promotional photos.

The Yunbike X1 weighs 16kg and can hit 25km/h, which is as fast as you'll want to go on those tiny wheels with weedy rubber brake pads. It can go 25 kilometers on a single charge. It has a small LED readout screen, but for the full smart bike experience you'll probably want to attach your smartphone and keep the Yunbike app open on it. The battery packs 36v/6.6AH and takes four hours to charge fully.

This article originally published at Tech in Asia here

Topics: Apps and Software, china, e-bike, electric bike, Gadgets, Mobile, Startups, Tech, Transportation, Travel, Travel & Leisure, Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi CEO invests in cool electric bikes that connect to your smartphone

Pepsi is releasing a line of smartphones in China

When you think of Pepsi, you probably think of sugary carbonated beverages. Maybe soon you'll think "smartphones" when someone asks if Pepsi is okay instead of Coke (it's not, though a certain editor of mine disagrees). The company has confirmed that it's helping to launch a Pepsi-branded Android phone called the P1 in China later this year. The world can be pretty weird.

The phone will apparently feature midrange specs including a 5.5-inch 1080p LCD, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 3000mAh battery, a 13MP camera, and a 1.7GHz processor. The SoC is allegedly going to be the MediaTek MT6592 octa-core ARM chip. This inexpensive SoC is popular in mid-range Chinese Android devices. It's not the fastest ARM chip out there (based on the Cortex-A53 CPU core), but the number of cores is very important when marketing phones in China.

The Pepsi P1 will be running Android 5.1, but as it will be a Chinese phone, there won't be any Google services like Gmail, Maps, or the Play Store. Those will have to be replaced with local equivalents. The P1 will also have a Pepsi app, which it probably plans to use for marketing to the hip young crown that would buy a cola phone. So the phone will have Pepsi branding crawling all over, but the price will be good for the specs at 1,299 yuan. That works out to $205. If the device sells well, there could be a line of Pepsi-branded phones in China. It'll have stiff competition from established brands like Huaewi and Xiaomi that already offer very inexpensive phones.

Pepsi has confirmed the phone exists, but it's not building it on its own. One of the many white label electronics manufacturers in China will be doing all the leg work, then adding the Pepsi-licensed branding to the device. Frankly, I think they're missing an opportunity to make the phone out of recycled Pepsi cans. Now that would be a marketing opportunity. The official announcement is rumored to take place on October 20.

Source: Pepsi is releasing a line of smartphones in China

Between Turkey and China, It Was a Really Bad Weekend for Free Speech on the Internet

When Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to the U.S. last month, NGOs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released statements urging American tech companies not to do the "dirty work" of the Chinese government.

Internet freedom activists chalked up another disappointment this weekend, as the New York Times reported that Apple had apparently "deactivated" its Apple News app in China in order to avoid dealing with government censors. And in Turkey, reports surfaced indicating that the government was behind an Internet outage in the wake of a deadly bombing at a peace rally.

Censorship isn't new for either government — China is near the bottom of the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, and Turkey is ranked 149th out of 180.

Apple has previously yanked apps that the Chinese authorities didn't like, including anything related to the Dalai Lama. Earlier this year, the company was reportedly talking with the Chinese government about ways the company could do business there without building a "back door" for the government to access user data.

In Turkey, Twitter has long tussled with the government over keeping the service accessible to users. In April, a Turkish court briefly banned services including Twitter and YouTube for the second time in a year. On Saturday, authorities issued a total media blackout (which Turkish media ignored) after a bombing in the capital, Ankara, that killed 97 people. Across the country, Twitter users reported service issues.

As Silicon Valley looks to grow newer markets in countries like China, Turkey and elsewhere, firms are finding it tricky to balance their commitment to free speech with the strict rules of many governments.

Google is probably the biggest cautionary tale for American tech companies. After wrestling with the Chinese government over free speech concerns, the company left the country in 2010. Since then, Chinese smartphone makers (such as Xiaomi) that use Android software have taken off, which means Google hasn't had control over the OS in China, and it has missed out on revenue from apps. That's why, five years later, Google is trying to get back into the good graces of the Chinese government.

Xi's visit last month suggests that the Chinese government was offering an olive branch to Silicon Valley, which in turn was sang the praises of Xi's government and the Chinese economy.

It's important to note that problems like these aren't limited to American companies or users. In South Korea, the popular messaging service KakaoTalk handed over chat logs to the government last year. The Supreme Court of India handed down a judgment in March that killed a law making "offensive" comments on social media punishable by jail time.

American tech executives like Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg have gone out of their way to reaffirm their free speech bona fides this year. Foreign governments, China's chief among them, are trying very hard to get Silicon Valley to stay in line.

So far, it looks like the latter group is winning.

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Source: Between Turkey and China, It Was a Really Bad Weekend for Free Speech on the Internet

Unannounced Gionee GN5001 and GN9010 spotted at TENAA

After the recent sighting of the Gionee F103L, two more Android 5.1 Lollipop powered Gionee smartphones have been spotted at TENAA - GN5001 and GN9010. It seems the Chinese smartphone maker is working to launch the couple of devices before the end of the year.

The TENAA listing reveals that the Gionee GN5001 sports a 5" 720p LCD, a quad-core 1.3GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, and a memory card slot supporting up to 128GB microSD card. The GN5001 has an 8MP primary camera comprising of a CMOS sensor, which can record 720p videos and a 5MP front camera for selfies. Connectivity options include TD-LTE, FDD-LTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. Measuring 8.6mm thick, it is a bit heavy at 188.5 g.

The Gionee GN9010 features a 5.5" 720p display, an octa-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage and memory slot with up to 128GB microSD card support. It will feature 13MP or 8MP primary camera (depending on the market) capable of recording 1080p videos and a 5MP front camera. Its connectivity options include FDD-LTE, TD-LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. It measures 6.9mm thick while being 145.2 grams heavy.

As reported earlier, Gionee is set to announce its first made-in-India smartphone in the coming week and we wonder if it could be either of these two devices.

Via | Source (translated) (1), (2)

Source: Unannounced Gionee GN5001 and GN9010 spotted at TENAA

China Tightens Oversight of Private Car-Hailing Services

Oct. 10, 2015 12:03 p.m. ET

SHANGHAI—China plans to tighten oversight of online private-car-hailing services, a market in which Uber Technologies Inc. and its Chinese rivals plan to spend billions of dollars to generate potential growth.

If strictly enforced, the rules could deal a blow to such companies, crimping their carpooling services in China and requiring them to operate in a higher-cost, regulated fashion akin to traditional taxis.

An Uber spokeswoman said the company is in close communication with Chinese regulators and would follow all new rules.

One draft measure forbidding drivers from working for multiple ride-hailing app providers at the same time also raises the possibility the regulations could be used to tip the balance toward a favored provider in China.

But the companies have been upbeat about the guidelines, saying they will bring regulatory clarity. It is unclear how strictly the rules will be enforced or what they will look like in their final form.

In draft rules published on Saturday, the Ministry of Transport said online private-car-hailing app providers must place their servers in China, share their data with local transport authorities, register their cars as taxi services, sign labor contracts with their drivers and insure their cars and passengers.

In addition, foreign companies must obtain a license to carry out telecommunications business in China and are subject to national security checks, the ministry said. It didn't mention Uber by name in the lengthy document.

The rules, which are open to public opinion in the next month, present a path for legalization in China for Uber and Chinese private-car-hailing app provider Didi Kuaidi Joint Co. Both have been locked in a turf war in the past year and foresee a market of more than 700 million potential urban commuters and a growing middle class that can increasingly afford upgrading from traditional taxis.

A Didi Kuaidi spokeswoman said the company welcomed regulation and would study the report, but she declined to comment on any specifics.

Such businesses currently operate in China, but in a gray area. So far, private taxis have been illegal in most of the country, as in many other nations. According to a report by China's official Xinhua News Agency in July, more than 1,200 private drivers from Didi Kuaidi and 170 from Uber were caught by Beijing authorities this year on suspicion of running illegal taxi services and evading taxes.

Didi Kuaidi and Uber have invested heavily in private-car-hailing services, which an increasing number of Chinese use via smartphone apps. Didi Kuaidi has raised $3 billion, and Uber has earmarked more than $1 billion for the Chinese market.

While regulators have been slow to catch up with developments in this hot market, they are gaining ground. On Thursday, the transport authority in the city of Shanghai said it had granted Didi Kuaidi, which has an estimated value of $16 billion and is backed by Chinese Internet giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA 1.49 % and Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY -0.54 % , a license to operate an online car-booking platform in that city.

Didi said the license was the first of its kind in China and that it is seeking more licenses from other cities. Uber is also seeking licenses from Chinese cities

While the rules published by the transport ministry legalize ride-hailing nationwide for the first time, Uber and Didi Kuaidi would have to change their businesses if the rules are adopted in their current form.

For example, the proposed regulations require all drivers engaged in private taxis to have three years of experience in driving, to limit the number of seats in a car to no more than seven and they ban carpooling and ride-sharing services offered by private drivers without a taxi license.

Uber said that to localize its Chinese business, Uber China has officially registered in Shanghai as a separate entity called Shanghai Wubo Information Technology, run by Chinese managers. It has obtained the requisite licenses and qualifications as an Internet company and placed its servers in China, the company added.

And Uber in December tapped China's top search-engine operator Baidu Inc. BIDU 2.10 % as a strategic partner.

Still, as of the end of June, Didi Kuaidi controlled more than 80% of the Chinese private-car-hailing market by ride volume, according to market research firm Analysys International, compared with 15% for Uber. But Uber has declared China as its most important overseas market and has set out a plan to expand to 100 Chinese cities in the next year from about one-fifth of that total at present.

—Rose Yu in Shanghai and Eva Dou in Beijing contributed to this article.

Source: China Tightens Oversight of Private Car-Hailing Services

iPhone 7 Rumors: Everything We Know So Far About Apple Inc.’s 2016 Smartphone

It's been one month since Apple unveiled the iPhone 6S, and the rumor mill is already looking towards the company's next handset, unofficially called "iPhone 7."

Officially Apple hasn't said a word about its next smartphone -- it's still in the process of rolling out its iPhone 6S to the rest of the world. But that hasn't kept supply chain details from starting to leak out. Here's a closer look at some of those claims, so you'll know what to look for as Apple works on its 2016 iPhone.

Six-Core A10 Processor

Apple's next iPhone chip may come with up to six cores, up from the two cores in the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, according to a technology leaker on Chinese social networking site Weibo. In theory, the move to more processor cores should make it easier for the smartphone to handle more data and commands simultaneously. But how well it does that depends on a number of factors, such as software optimization and balancing battery life and performance.

Thinner Body

Apple's iPhone 7 could be its thinnest smartphone yet, according to a research note issued by KGI Securities analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo. The note points to a thickness of 6.5 mm, about the same thickness as an iPod Touch. In comparison, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus come in at 7.1 mm and 7.3 mm respectively.

Edge-To-Edge Display

According to Taiwan's Digitimes, Apple is considering switching to glass-on-glass technology for its touchscreens -- a setup where a glass touch panel is sandwiched between an LCD display and the iPhone's cover glass.

Apple's iPhone 6S uses "in-cell technology," which eliminates the middle layer by placing the touch sensors directly inside the LCD display. While the tech enabled Apple to save room on the device, production bottlenecks with the process reportedly made it more difficult for the company to manufacture higher resolution displays, according to Digitimes. The switch to glass-on-glass could help Apple build a bezel-less iPhone, since it has better touch sensitivity on the edges, compared to in-cell technology, according to GforGames.

Water Resistance

Trips underwater may be less of a problem for the iPhone 7. According to Japanese blog Mac Otakara, Apple is developing a smartphone that is both dust and water resistant.

Officially Apple has never said its iPhones are "waterproof" But a few tests have shown that the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus may survive an accidental trip into the sink. Further teardowns by iFixit also revealed the addition of new gaskets to the edge where the case and display of the iPhone 6S meet.

Wireless Charging

At the time the iPhone 6 was released, wireless charging didn't play nicely with aluminum-bodied phones. One way that could change is through a piece of technology released by Qualcomm, which enables the feature through metal device bodies. Alternatively, an Apple patent details a different method for enabling wirelessly charging in an iPhone, by using a metal coil that can play double duty as a speaker component and a wireless charger.

Release Date

Hold your horses -- Apple hasn't even finished its global rollout of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. But if it keeps to the trend of its past four iPhone releases, customers are likely to see the iPhone 7 release sometime in the second half of 2016.

Source: iPhone 7 Rumors: Everything We Know So Far About Apple Inc.'s 2016 Smartphone

China’s Didi Kuaidi Gets License to Ride in Shanghai

Updated Oct. 8, 2015 7:36 a.m. ET

SHANGHAI—In the race for legal legitimacy in China's fast-growing market for private rides, Uber Technologies Inc.'s local rival has become the first to cross the finish line.

Shanghai city officials on Thursday said they granted Didi Kuaidi Joint Co. authorization to run an online private car-booking platform in the city. The authorization requires the Chinese ride-hailing app provider to register and insure its cars and drivers, as well as insure passengers.

In return, Didi Kuaidi can operate an Uber-like ride-hailing business in the city without the legal doubts that plague the company and others in various places around China, a market with more than 700 million potential urban commuters and a growing middle class that can increasingly afford upgrading from taxis. Didi Kuaidi said it would now seek authorizations from other Chinese cities.

Didi Kuaidi started out in taxis, but now its private-car service makes up about half of its trips.

"It's a good start," said Cheng Wei, chief executive of Didi Kuaidi. "We are confident we will be successful all over the country."

The move puts a spotlight on Uber's own efforts to win legal legitimacy in China, just one aspect of intense competition between Didi Kuaidi and its U.S. rival in a market they both consider essential.

Uber China said it is "actively preparing" material for its own application in Shanghai, as well as in other Chinese cities. It cited its efforts to localize much of its business—including placing servers in China—to comply with local laws.

"Uber China is a company run by Chinese and backed by Chinese investors financially," said Uber spokeswoman Josephine Yin. "We cooperate with the Chinese government and offer services catering to Chinese demand for transport."

Sun Jianping, director of the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission, said he had briefed Uber on the requirements earlier this year and was prepared to consider its application. "We are open to all car hailing apps as long as they meet the criteria and comply with Chinese laws and regulations," he said.

Both companies are racing to emerge from a Chinese legal limbo that speaks to the rapid expansion by both Uber and Didi Kuaidi. It marks the latest example of untrammeled growth in China's Internet—in everything ranging from e-commerce to financial transaction to online-to-offline services like restaurant delivery—that has seen entire industries zoom ahead of Chinese regulators.

Didi Kuaidi and Uber have invested heavily in private-car-hailing services, which an increasing number of Chinese use via smartphone apps. Didi Kuaidi has just raised $3 billion, and Uber has earmarked more than $1 billion for the Chinese market.

As of the end of June, Didi Kuaidi controlled more than 80% of the Chinese private-car-hailing market by ride volume, according to market research firm Analysys International, compared to 15% for Uber. But Uber has declared China its most important overseas market and has set out a plan to expand to 100 Chinese cities from about one-fifth of that in the next year.

Shanghai is traditionally a test-bed for China's new economic policies before they are rolled out nationally. Since June the Shanghai government has allowed the city's taxi drivers to use Didi Kuaidi's app, the company's core business before it went head-to-head with Uber in private rides.

Private taxis are technically illegal in many places in China, and some local governments have moved to restrict such services. Beijing city authorities blamed Didi Kuaidi and Uber in July for increasing traffic congestion and said the companies were suspected of running illegal taxi services and evading taxes, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

However, China's top transport authority has said that private taxi services offer a more convenient and efficient means of transport. Transport Minister Yang Chuantang told official broadcaster China National Radio in March that the ministry was working on guidelines to oversee such services.

Under Shanghai's initiative, private car-hailing apps must obtain an Internet content-provider license from the industry ministry, their servers must be stationed in China, and they must agree to share data with local governments, said Mr. Sun, the Shanghai transportation official.

To localize its China business, Uber in December tapped China's top search-engine operator Baidu Inc. BIDU -2.49 % as a strategic partner. Also, Uber China has officially registered in Shanghai as a separate business entity called Shanghai Wubo Information Technology, run by Chinese managers.

Didi Kuaidi, valued at $16 billion, is the result of a merger between taxi app Kuaidi Dache, backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA 1.15 % , and Didi Dache, backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY 0.11 % , in February.

China's Didi Kuaidi is seeking to expand a global alliance to curb Uber's influence. In March, it invested $100 million in Lyft Inc., Uber's biggest U.S. rival. In August Didi Kuaidi and its backers at Tiger Global Management LLC and SoftBank Group Corp. 9984 1.54 % led a $350 million investment in Singapore-based GrabTaxi. Last month it invested an undisclosed sum in Ola, India's largest taxi-hailing app by market share.

—Rose Yu

Source: China's Didi Kuaidi Gets License to Ride in Shanghai