Xiaomi, Huawei, Meizu & others working on expensive curved screen phones: Analyst

Chinese phonemakers have started to look beyond configurations in order to release smartphones that outwits competitors. In addition to high-end specifications, they, now focus on design, camera quality, and display type as well as other things which consumers fancy.

One area the domestic mobile phone companies in China seem to focus on is the migration to smartphones with a curved screen, similar to what Samsung did on the Galaxy S7 Edge. Already, the Vivo XPlay 5 has clinched the record as the first Chinese phone to get the curved screen design and reports indicate that Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu are seriously working on their own curved screen smartphones.

According to analyst Kevin Wang, director of China Research at iSuppli, Huawei, Xiaomi, Meizu, Gionee as well as Oppo have all perfected plans to churn out smartphones using hyperboloid or curved display screen. The analyst in his Weibo post also listed the features of the curved display to include its difference from the flat screens found on most devices, the cost of developing the curved displays which in turn translates into more expensive smartphones.

Chinese phones are known to be very cheap, even when they are at par in terms of specs with their foreign counterparts like Apple and Samsung. With aspirations to compete on the global turf, it is important that their smartphones sell at prices which would enable them compete and even outwit the top smartphone brands.

Read More: Xiaomi Curved Screen Smartphone Details Leaked, Launching Spring 2017?

It is in this regard that Xiaomi founder Lei Jun was reported to have visited Samsung during his first ever trip to South Korea to discuss with execs about its planned dual cameras, curved screen and even signal processors. The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 flagship which may be released before the end of this year is expected to adopt curved screen on one of the three rumored versions the device.

In the same regard, Meizu's next flagship device which is rumored to feature its next generation Flyme 6.0 OS, will likely feature a curved screen as well. Huawei is also said to be sourcing curved screens from Korean companies, LG and Samsung. Gionee and Oppo who mostly sells their smartphones via offline sales channels are also working on curved screen displays which comes with better looks and therefore might attract more buyers. But it is yet to be seen how they hope to adopt the obviously more expensive curved display type and yet keep their phones affordable and post good profits.

Source: Xiaomi, Huawei, Meizu & others working on expensive curved screen phones: Analyst

Chinese Group to Pay $4.4 Billion for Caesars’ Mobile Games

HONG KONG — Gambling may be illegal in mainland China, but that is not stopping Chinese tech investors from betting on casino-style mobile games.

In the most recent example in a growing trend of big deals for smartphone-based games, a consortium of Chinese investors led by the game company Shanghai Giant Network Technology said in a statement on Saturday that it would pay $4.4 billion to Caesars Interactive Entertainment for Playtika, its social and mobile games unit. Caesars Interactive is controlled by the owners of Caesars Palace and other casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

The Chinese consortium — which also includes Yunfeng Capital, the private equity fund of Jack Ma, the Alibaba chairman — said it would allow Playtika, based in Israel, to continue to operate independently. The all-cash deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, does not include Caesars Interactive's World Series of Poker game or its other real-money game businesses.

In recent years the Montreal-based Caesars Interactive has built Playtika, which it acquired in 2011, into a major player in the world of smartphone-based casino-style games. While many of Playtika's games, like Slotomania and Bingo Blitz, are free to play, users can also pay for virtual currency and items to enhance play. The virtual currency used in Playtika games will continue to be not exchangeable for real money, according to the statement.

While it is not clear when or whether Chinese regulators will accept gambling-style games, the Chinese investment i s an example of how internet companies in China often invest first and then worry about legal restrictions. It is also a sign that investors are willing to pay increasingly large sums for smartphone games, which have proved to be one of the best ways to make money from users.

In June, the Chinese internet giant Tencent said it would pay $8.6 billion for a controlling stake in the Finnish game maker Supercell, which makes the popular smartphone game Clash of Clans. Late last year, the American video game powerhouse Activision Blizzard said it would pay about $6 billion for King Digital, maker of Candy Crush.

While social networking apps may be more popular, mobile games like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush are some of the most profitable apps around. In China, where playing games on a smartphone can often stand in for other entertainment, like going to a movie, technology companies have competed intensely to lure players and the spare change those players are willing to spend on games.

For Shanghai Giant Network Technology, acquiring Playtika will also extend its reach beyond China. Other Chinese tech companies have used deals to reach players around the world. Among them is Tencent, which has gained control over internationally well-known games like League of Legends.

Last year, one of Caesars Interactive's parent companies, Caesars Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy protection. It has been working to get creditor backing for a plan to restructure.

Continue reading the main story
Source: Chinese Group to Pay $4.4 Billion for Caesars' Mobile Games

Xiaomi Mi 5 smartphone’s battery explodes in China: Report

Sebi eases rules for listing of startups

Tesla still looking for cause of 'autopilot' crash: Source

Networking forum for women technologists launched in Pune

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani: India to see growth from local consumption'

Tesla crash: Public opinion still in favour of self-driving cars

SwiftKey was accidentally leaking user details; company fixing bug

More than 50% of India's internet users will use digital payments by 2020: Google and BCG report

Voonik raises $3 million in venture debt financing from Temasek-backed InnoVen Capital

Startup eShopBox manages brick-and-mortar businesses' online operations

Source: Xiaomi Mi 5 smartphone's battery explodes in China: Report

Meet OPPO, the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the world

The fastest-growing smartphone maker globally — by far — is a little-known electronics company based in China called OPPO.

OPPO grew by 137% in the second quarter of 2016, compared to a year ago, according to market research firm IDC. The company finished fourth overall, behind Samsung, Apple and Huawei, in that order.

OPPO shipped 22.6 million smartphones in the second quarter and grabbed 6.6% of the market, well behind the 77 million shipped by Samsung and the 40.4 million from Apple, according to IDC.

With its fantastic pace of growth, OPPO is expected to continue to put pressure on high-end phone makers like Apple and Samsung. That's because OPPO's smartphones have attractive, high-end features at lower cost.

OPPO doesn't sell directly in the U.S., but its newest F1 Plus, a stylish Android 5.1 (Lollipop) phone with a 5.5-in. display, can be purchased online starting at $434. (With a SIM card inserted, it could be made to work on T-Mobile and AT&T, IDC said.) The F1 Plus is the equivalent of the R9 smartphone launched in Beijing in March.

"There's no question that Apple has their eye on OPPO and other Asian vendors, but they operate at a much lower average selling price (ASP) than the iPhone," said Ryan Reith, an analyst at IDC, in an interview.

"OPPO has gotten a lot of global attention for growing fast when the overall smartphone market is slowing," Reith added.

Apple created the iPhone SE with its 4-in. display partly to compete with the likes of low-cost OPPO smartphones and those from Huawei and Vivo, the fifth-largest phone maker with nearly 5% of the market in the second quarter.

IDC calculated that the iPhone SE made up 22% of Apple's overall iPhone sales in the second quarter. "That's a good chunk of their sales," Reith said.

In the first quarter, IDC said it calculated Apple's ASP for all models of iPhones at $699, compared to $229 for OPPO's ASP. In the second quarter, Apple said its overall ASP for iPhones was $595, down 10% from a year earlier.

Reith said Apple's ASP values are always lower than the ASP that IDC calculates because the research firm looks at the actual price paid by consumers, while Apple reports its cost to retailers, including U.S. carriers, which tack on an added cost.

OPPO has benefited recently from sales in southeast Asia and India as well as slowing sales in China, backed by aggressive marketing and advertising, IDC said. OPPO also sponsored big name entertainers in that region to help build its brand. The F1 Plus and the equivalent R9 are the top models shipped, and the heavy marketing focused on the devices is an indication of the company's ambitions in the high-end smartphone market.

"OPPO is a household name in China, and as that market has recently slowed down, the only way to continue is to build outside in southeast Asia and India," Reith said. OPPO has opened physical stores to sell its phones in Singapore and Indonesia, where the company doesn't sell phones in large numbers, but the storefronts help increase awareness of the OPPO brand.

OPPO isn't expected to open physical stores in the U.S. or market more directly here. However, it's likely the phone maker will find strong market growth in the Middle East as well as in its existing market base.

OPPO, based in Dongguan, China, is part of a holding company called BBK, based in Chang'an, China.

BBK is also a principal investor in the smartphone startup OnePlus, which markets three smartphones that are sold in many countries including the U.S. IDC ranked OnePlus 45th in smartphones globally in the first quarter.

OnePlus, based in Shenzhen China, announced the OnePlus 3, an Android 6 (Marshmallow) smartphone, in June, priced at $399.

It features a large 3,000 mAh battery that can be charged to 60% of capacity in 30 minutes. With a 5.5-in. display, it comes with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, a fingerprint sensor and other standard features of high-end smartphones.

Even though OnePlus and OPPO are related through the BBK holding company, Reith said that BBK intentionally keeps the two entities separate. IDC doesn't count OnePlus shipments in its OPPO shipment totals and doesn't expect BBK to combine the two companies.

This story, "Meet OPPO, the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the world" was originally published by Computerworld.

Source: Meet OPPO, the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the world

Xiaomi Redmi Pro: All you need to know about the hot new smartphone!

Xiaomi recently unveiled the Redmi Pro smartphone in China. This is the first smartphone from Xioami to sport the dual-camera setup, is aesthetically pleasing and comes in three colour variants.

The two-camera module was seen first on HTC smartphones. Xiaomi launched the smartphone with this setup just a month before the launch of Apple iPhone 7, which is also expected to sport a similar camera module.

Here are the key features of the smartphone:

1) Dual camera setup

Xiaomi is using the dual camera setup as the selling point of the Redmi Pro. It sports a 13-megapixel Sony IMX258 sensor with a 5-lens module, an f/2.0 aperture, PDAF autofocus and supports dynamic depth of field, coupled with a 5-megapixel Samsung sensor for the secondary depth-sensing camera. The front snapper is of 5 megapixels with an 85 degree wide angle lens.

First published: 29 July 2016, 13:46 IST
Source: Xiaomi Redmi Pro: All you need to know about the hot new smartphone!

Xiaomi Redmi Pro Sports China-Made Oled Panels: Report

Xiaomi recently introduced the Redmi Pro in China, and the smartphone packs some flagship-worthy features.

Apart from the dual camera setup, the Xiaomi Redmi Pro is powered by a deca-core processor, offers 128GB inbuilt storage, and sports a 5.5-inch Oled display. Oled displays are much thinner, lighter, use less power and provide high colour gamut than LCD screens. They are also way more expensive than LCD screens, and that's why these displays are rarely ever seen on budget phones. However, Xiaomi used a neat alternative trick to ensure that the Redmi Pro sports an Oled display, while not compromising on its reasonable price point.

(Also see: Xiaomi Redmi Pro vs Redmi Note 3)

When an Oled display is introduced in a smartphone, it is presumed to be made by Samsung as it holds 95 percent of the market share. However, according to Xiaomi Today, the Chinese company took a different route and went to Chinese display makers to produce the display panel for the Redmi Pro. Xiaomi shipped the Redmi Pro Oled displays from two domestic companies called BOE and EverDisplay (Hui).

(Also see: Xiaomi Redmi Pro: 5 Things You Need to Know)

EverDisplay is reportedly the primary company responsible for supplying the Oled screens to Xiaomi, while BOE is secondary. Opting for a domestic tie-up instead of a global conglomerate looks to be proving to be cost effective for Xiaomi.

The Xiaomi Redmi Pro sports a full-HD Oled display with a pixel density of 342ppi, a 100 percent NTSC colour gamut, and 2.5D curved glass. The price of the smartphone in China is CNY 1,499 (roughly Rs. 15,100) for the 32GN variant; CNY 1,699 (roughly Rs. 17,100) for the 64GB variant; and CNY 1,999 (roughly Rs. 20,200) for the 128GB variant.

(Also see: Xiaomi Redmi Pro vs Xiaomi Mi Max)

Source: Xiaomi Redmi Pro Sports China-Made Oled Panels: Report

Samsung, Micromax, Intex smartphone shares fall as Chinese vendors surge in Q2: Counterpoint

NEW DELHI: Korea's Samsung has maintained its lead in the smartphone market in India which grew 15% on year, driven by Chinese vendors which ate into the pie of established players, according to Counterpoint Technologies.

The study by the Hong Kong-based research firm showed that Chinese smartphone vendors such as Lenovo, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and LeEco captured almost 27% combined share of the India's total smartphone market. The shipments from Chinese brands surged 80% on-year in the quarter.

Samsung's share dropped to 25.6% from 29% in last quarter, while No. 2 player Micromax's share fell to 14.1% in the quarter from 17% in the previous quarter. Intex saw a decline of 1.5 percentage points sequentially in its market share to 8.5% in the second quarter. Lava and Lenovo (including Motorola) maintained their third and fourths. Motorola is contributing to more than 25% of the Lenovo's total smartphones, the report said.

Reliance's Lyf smartphones maintained the fifth spot but the brand's "sell-through has been not upto the expectations due to further delay to the launch of commercial LTE network services (of Reliance Jio Infocomm). As a result that brand has been sitting on high inventory during the quarter," Counterpoint said.In spite of being one of the fastest growing smartphone market globally, smartphone and hence internet penetration growth in India has slowed down a bit, only one in five users owns a smartphone or is connected to the internet.

"This has been mainly due to lack of localization and multi-lingual support in today's mass-market phones," Pavel Naiya, Analyst at Counterpoint said. "In light of this, since last 12 months domestic brands such as Micromax, Karbonn, Lava and so forth have launched devices with deeper integra tion and customization to support multiple native languages in effort to rope in next half a billion users which do not speak, read or write in English or Hindi as their first languages."

The market research firm estimates that by end of 2016 more than 10 million smartphone users will have phone supporting atleast more than 12 languages and this will be very important trend every smartphone maker will have to follow to further penetrate in Indian smartphone market.

Consequently, feature phones maintained a consistent shipment share of 56% in the second quarter with the rest being smartphones. Almost a third of the total smartphones were sold through online channels in the quarter.

The shipments of smartphones supporting 4G LTE technology however grew 264% on-year in the quarter. The study showed that two out of every three smartphones shipped in India were LTE capable.$100-$150 price band saw a yearly growth of over 48% in terms of shipments, while more than 60% of the smartphones shipped sported a 5 inch or larger display.

The number of brands manufacturing/assembling domestically jumped from 10 brands to 35 brands now contributing to almost 70% of the total smartphones production volume in Q2 2016. However, lack of component ecosystem is still a barrier to increase local value addition, Counterpoint said.Android now controls 97% share of the total smartphone shipments, however, Android's old versions like KitKat and Lollipop still contribute to 89% of the total Android shipments. Counterpoint said that deeper customized Android variants are gaining ground especially in need for regional languages support driven by startups such as Indus OS and others.

While Mediatek was the leading smartphone chipset supplier with 32% share, Qualcomm dominated the LTE based smartphone sub segment with 45% share.

Source: Samsung, Micromax, Intex smartphone shares fall as Chinese vendors surge in Q2: Counterpoint

Smartphone market inches back to growth with Samsung holding lead

The smartphone market is showing signs of growth again, but barely, with shipments up nearly 1 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, according to Strategy Analytics.

The research firm, which had reported a 3 percent drop in the market in the last quarter, said Wednesday that there are indications that the market had bottomed out in the first half of this year. Multiple new product launches from vendors including Samsung Electronics and Apple could see an improving  growth outlook for the second half of the year.

Another research firm Canalys reported Tuesday that smartphone shipments had returned to modest growth in the second quarter after a disappointing first quarter.

About 340.4 million smartphones were shipped in the second quarter, said Strategy Analytics, which added that the market had been hit by saturation in major markets like China and political events such as Britain's decision to exit the European Union.

Earlier on Wednesday, the largest smartphone maker Samsung reported its most profitable quarter in two years, driven by increased sales of its flagship products such as the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The company's mid-to low-end smartphone portfolio, including the  Galaxy A and J series, also contributed to improved profitability, it said.

Samsung said the smartphone business would stay buoyant in the second half, but warned that competitors are expected to launch newer models in the period. The company faces competition from Chinese brands at the low end and Apple's phones at the high end, but hopes to strengthen its high-end with the release in the third-quarter of a new large-screen flagship smartphone.

Profits are expected to be largely driven by its  components business, including demand for storage like solid state devices (SSDs), which is expected to pick up in the second half as smartphone makers launch new products.

The South Korean company reported a revenue increase of 4.9 percent year-on-year to 50.9 trillion won (US$44.7 billion) in the second quarter while operating profit rose 18 percent to 8.1 trillion won.

Rival Apple in contrast saw its revenue drop 15 percent to $42.4 billion in the quarter ended June 25 from $49.6 billion in the same quarter last year, while profit dropped 27 percent to $7.8 billion from $10.7 billion last year. Shipments of the iPhone dropped to 40.4 million units from 47.5 million units, an year-on-year drop of 15 percent.

"Apple continues to face iPhone fatigue among consumers and the new iPhone SE model has not been able to stem that trend," said Strategy Analytics' analyst Neil Mawston, in a statement.

Samsung led the market with an increased share of 22.8 percent for 77.6 million smartphones shipped, while second place Apple's share dropped to 11.9 percent, Strategy Analytics said. The next three places were taken by Chinese vendors Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi, in that order.

Source: Smartphone market inches back to growth with Samsung holding lead

In China, Apple’s Local Competition Takes a Bite Out of Its Revenue

July 27, 2016 12:03 a.m. ET

BEIJING— Apple AAPL 6.69 % has a China problem, and it may only worsen as Chinese smartphone makers offer better products and appeal to consumers to buy homegrown hardware.

Sales in Greater China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, fell 33% to $8.8 billion in the quarter ending in June, compared with 112% growth a year earlier. It was Apple's steepest regional drop, and helped drag global revenue down 14.6%—a second consecutive quarter of decline.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview that after taking out currency impacts, sales in mainland China were only down 2% for the quarter. Mr. Cook said he was "very bullish" on China in the long run.

But Apple is facing growing challenges in China, a key market contributing a fifth of its revenue. Local rivals including Huawei Technologies Co., Xiaomi Corp. and Oppo Electronics Corp. are increasingly moving from the budget phone market to the high-end segment. Market leader Samsung Electronics Co. has moved to slash phone prices in China in a bid to claw back lost market share in the country. 

In recent months, Chinese smartphone makers have scrambled to pre-empt the next iPhone by beating Apple to the punch on features such as dual-lens cameras and brighter organic light-emitting diode or OLED screens.

"This quarter will still be a challenge for Apple," said Canalys analyst Nicole Peng. "Local vendors are very, very strong this quarter."

A prime example is an event scheduled to take place at China's national convention center in Beijing, just hours after the iPhone maker's earnings conference. One of China's most valuable startups, Xiaomi Corp., plans to launch a new smartphone Wednesday with advanced features including a dual-lens camera and an OLED screen, both of which Apple is developing for future iPhones but has yet to bring to market, according to people familiar with iPhone development plans.

Xiaomi has launched a patriotic ad campaign to accompany the phone launch, with posters proclaiming "Made-in-China Smartphones" in bold red characters.

Xiaomi isn't even Apple's biggest problem in China. The smartphone startup's China sales have been eclipsed this year by Huawei and Oppo, which have both launched sleek high-end smartphones in recent months aimed at taking on the iPhone. Huawei's P9 sports a dual-lens camera and a slimmer profile than the iPhone 6s, while Oppo's R9 touts the fastest battery charging on the market. Both devices come in luxury colors: gold and rose gold.

Huawei said Tuesday that it shipped 60.6 million smartphones in the six months through June, u p 25% from a year earlier. Apple said it sold 40.4 million iPhones during its quarter, down 15% from a year earlier.

"Huawei and Oppo are recognized as brands as good as Apple," said C.K. Lu, a smartphone analyst at Gartner. "Or not quite as good as Apple, but people don't feel less superior using them."

Apple's China smartphone market share slid to 9% in the second quarter from 12% in the first quarter, landing it in fifth place behind Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi, according to Canalys. The cheaper iPhone SE has done little to boost Apple's sales in China, due to strong domestic alternatives for price-sensitive consumers and as more brand-conscious buyers are likely to wait for the next flagship, the research firm said.

Apple is also facing geopolitical and regulatory challenges in China. Chinese social media circulated reports this month of consumers smashing their iPhones in anti-U.S. protests after China lost a territorial ruling in the South China Sea. China's official Xinhua news service urged calm last week, saying that crushing iPhones was "really n ot the right method to express patriotic sentiments."

Analysts say such actions will likely have a limited impact on Apple's sales. But they do come amid other political challenges for Apple, such as Beijing's recent efforts to flex its regulatory might, resulting in the shutdown of Apple's mobile book and movie services in China. 

China's growing focus on cybersecurity has also damped sales for iPhones and other foreign gadgets, especially among government buyers. Chinese brands such as Gionee have seen this as an opportunity to win security-conscious local buyers. Gionee on Tuesday launched a smartphone running a chip that is encrypted and designed by a Chinese chip maker.

IDC China Managing Director Kitty Fok said part of Apple's recent sales decline in China was due to consumers awaiting the next iPhone, and the true test will be whether Apple can return China sales to year-over-year growth after the launch of its new models, expected in September.

"Apple has very loyal users," she said. "Once you are an Apple user, you usually stay an Apple user."

Meanwhile, it was a different story in India, where iPhone sales rose 51% in the past three quarters compared with a year earlier, Mr. Cook said on the call.

India accounts for a small part of Apple's business, but it represents a huge engine for potential growth. It is set to become the world's second-largest smartphone market behind China, with consumers increasingly upgrading from basic feature phones to smartphones, though most sold are much cheaper than Apple's models.

"India is now one of our fastest growing markets," Mr. Cook said.

—Daisuke Wakabayashi in San Francisco and Newley Purnell in New Delhi contributed to this article.

Write to Eva Dou at eva.dou@wsj.com

Source: In China, Apple's Local Competition Takes a Bite Out of Its Revenue

In China, Apple’s Local Competition Takes a Bite Out of its Revenue

July 27, 2016 12:03 a.m. ET

BEIJING— Apple AAPL -0.69 % has a China problem, and it may only worsen as Chinese smartphone makers offer better products and appeal to consumers to buy homegrown hardware.

Sales in Greater China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, fell 33% to $8.8 billion in the quarter ending in June, compared with 112% growth a year earlier. It was Apple's steepest regional drop, and helped drag global revenue down 14.6%—a second consecutive quarter of decline.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview that after taking out currency impacts, sales in mainland China were only down 2% for the quarter. Mr. Cook said he was "very bullish" on China in the long run.

But Apple is facing growing challenges in China, a key market contributing a fifth of its revenue. Local rivals including Huawei Technologies Co., Xiaomi Corp. and Oppo Electronics Corp. are increasingly moving from the budget phone market to the high-end segment. Market leader Samsung Electronics Co. has moved to slash phone prices in China in a bid to claw back lost market share in the country. 

In recent months, Chinese smartphone makers have scrambled to pre-empt the next iPhone by beating Apple to the punch on features such as dual-lens cameras and brighter organic light-emitting diode or OLED screens.

"This quarter will still be a challenge for Apple," said Canalys analyst Nicole Peng. "Local vendors are very, very strong this quarter."

A prime example is an event scheduled to take place at China's national convention center in Beijing, just hours after the iPhone maker's earnings conference. One of China's most valuable startups, Xiaomi Corp., plans to launch a new smartphone Wednesday with advanced features including a dual-lens camera and an OLED screen, both of which Apple is developing for future iPhones but has yet to bring to market, according to people familiar with iPhone development plans.

Xiaomi has launched a patrioti c ad campaign to accompany the phone launch, with posters proclaiming "Made-in-China Smartphones" in bold red characters.

Xiaomi isn't even Apple's biggest problem in China. The smartphone startup's China sales have been eclipsed this year by Huawei and Oppo, which have both launched sleek high-end smartphones in recent months aimed at taking on the iPhone. Huawei's P9 sports a dual-lens camera and a slimmer profile than the iPhone 6s, while Oppo's R9 touts the fastest battery charging on the market. Both devices come in luxury colors: gold and rose gold.

Huawei said Tuesday that it shipped 60.6 million smartphones in the six months through June, up 25% from a year earlier. Apple said it sold 40.4 million iPhones during its quarter, down 15% from a year earlier.

"Huawei and Oppo are recognized as brands as good as Apple," said C.K. Lu, a smartphone analyst at Gartner. "Or not quite as good as Apple, but people don't feel less superior u sing them."

Apple's China smartphone market share slid to 9% in the second quarter from 12% in the first quarter, landing it in fifth place behind Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi, according to Canalys. The cheaper iPhone SE has done little to boost Apple's sales in China, due to strong domestic alternatives for price-sensitive consumers and as more brand-conscious buyers are likely to wait for the next flagship, the research firm said.

Apple is also facing geopolitical and regulatory challenges in China. Chinese social media circulated reports this month of consumers smashing their iPhones in anti-U.S. protests after China lost a territorial ruling in the South China Sea. China's official Xinhua news service urged calm last week, saying that crushing iPhones was "really not the right method to express patriotic sentiments."

Analysts say such actions will likely have a limited impact on Apple's sales. But they do come amid other political challen ges for Apple, such as Beijing's recent efforts to flex its regulatory might, resulting in the shutdown of Apple's mobile book and movie services in China. 

China's growing focus on cybersecurity has also damped sales for iPhones and other foreign gadgets, especially among government buyers. Chinese brands such as Gionee have seen this as an opportunity to win security-conscious local buyers. Gionee on Tuesday launched a smartphone running a chip that is encrypted and designed by a Chinese chip maker.

IDC China Managing Director Kitty Fok said part of Apple's recent sales decline in China was due to consumers awaiting the next iPhone, and the true test will be whether Apple can return China sales to year-over-year growth after the launch of its new models, expected in September.

"Apple has very loyal users," she said. "Once you are an Apple user, you usually stay an Apple user."

—Daisuke Wakabayashi in San F rancisco contributed to this article.

Write to Eva Dou at eva.dou@wsj.com

Source: In China, Apple's Local Competition Takes a Bite Out of its Revenue

Gionee Marathon M6, M6 Plus smartphones launched in Beijing; prices likely to start at Rs 27,000

Smartphone maker Gionee has launched two new smartphones in Beijing today – Marathon M6 and M6 Plus. So what is new in the latest addition? To ensure extra security to user's content, Gionee M6 and M6 Plus feature inbuilt data encryption chip.

Gionee has priced Marathon M6 at CNY 2,699 (Rs 27,000 approximate) for 64 GB variant and Marathon M6 Plus at CNY 2,899 (Rs 30,000 approximately) for 128 GB variant while the 64 GB variant of M6 Plus has been priced at CNY 2,999 (Rs 30,200 approximately) and the 128 GB variant at CNY 3,199 (Rs 32,200 approximately).

Gionee Marathon M6 will be available in China from August 6 while the Marathon M6 Plus will be available from August 13.

Gionee has decided to keep the data encryption feature only in Chinese variants. Keeping its bet on bigger batteries, it has provided Gionee Marathon M6 with 5000mAh battery while M6 Plus comes with 6020mAh battery. Also, Gionee Marathon M6 has a special feature – it acts as a power bank if you have to charge other smartphones. Gionee claimed that M6 can charge other smartphones faster than the power banks.

Gionee M6 features 5.5-inch full HD display, 4GB RAM, 64/128 GB memory further expandable up to 128 GB, dual SIM and dual standby and 1.8GHz MediaTek Helio P10 octa-core processor.

On the camera front, Marathon M6 sports 13 mp rear camera, LED flash and 8 mp front camera designed for selfie lovers and 5000 mAh battery. The 4G LTE smartphone claims that the battery lasts up to 6.4 hours is we watch video and at least 55 hours of continuous call and a breathtaking 33 days or 794 hours stand-by time.

While, the Gionee Marathon M6 Plus features 6-inch full HD display, 16 mp rear camera, LED flash and larger 6,020 mAh battery besides all other features same as Gionee M6.

Gionee Marathon M6 and M6 Plus will be available in two colours – Champagne Gold and Mocha Gold. Gionee may launch the smartphones in India in August but the variants will have fingerprint sensor, not the in-built data encryption chip.

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Source: Gionee Marathon M6, M6 Plus smartphones launched in Beijing; prices likely to start at Rs 27,000

Start up: Russia and the Democrat hack, Mayer v Yahoo, a CRISPR future, another Brexit price hike, and more

It's a phone from China's top-selling Android OEM in June. Can you name the company? If not, why not? Photo by TechStage on Flickr.

You can now sign up to receive each day's Start Up post by email. You'll need to click a confirmation link, so no spam.

A selection of 10 links for you. What fun! I'm charlesarthur on Twitter. Observations and links welcome.

All signs point to Russia being behind the DNC hack • Motherboard

Thomas Rid:

»

two months earlier, in April, the Democrats had noticed that something was wrong in their networks. Then, in early May, the DNC called in CrowdStrike, a security firm that specializes in countering advanced network threats. After deploying their tools on the DNC's machines, and after about two hours of work, CrowdStrike found "two sophisticated adversaries" on the Committee's network. The two groups were well-known in the security industry as "APT 28" and "APT 29." APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat—usually jargon for spies.

CrowdStrike linked both groups to "the Russian government's powerful and highly capable intelligence services." APT 29, suspected to be the FSB, had been on the DNC's network since at least summer 2015. APT 28, identified as Russia's military intelligence agency GRU, had breached the Democrats only in April 2016, and probably tipped off the investigation. CrowdStrike found no evidence of collaboration between the two intelligence agencies inside the DNC's networks, "or even an awareness of one by the other," the firm wrote.

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link to this extract

Why Armstrong really wanted Yahoo • The Information

Jessica Lessin and Tom Dotan:

»

To understand why Tim Armstrong just convinced Verizon to spend $4.83bn to buy Yahoo's main business, you have to go back to April 2007.

Mr. Armstrong, then running North America advertising for Google, drove Google's purchase of display ad firm DoubleClick, launching the search giant into banner advertising. By every measure it was a transformative deal, and it's loomed large in Mr. Armstrong's mind in the years since, multiple past colleagues say.

After he jumped to AOL from Google in 2009, Mr. Armstrong dreamed of building an ad network to rival the juggernaut Google became. For years, publishers have whined about wanting such an alternative. And Mr. Armstrong listened, believing you could build a better version of what DoubleClick had become.

Mr. Armstrong took a big step toward that goal last year when he signed a deal for AOL to sell Microsoft's display advertising. The deal, struck in the wake of selling AOL to Verizon, gave him more ad space to sell to build out his network. Inside Verizon, the Microsoft deal is viewed as successful and part of the justification for taking a swing at Yahoo.

Now, he'll get another influx of volume from Yahoo.  

If this all sounds a little deja vu to you, it is. Microsoft, Yahoo and many others have tried to dethrone Google in online advertising and proposed all sorts of permutations around teaming up.

«

Oh sure, that'll work.link to this extract

Mayer decries 'gender-charged' reporting of Yahoo • FT.com

David Crow and James Fontanella-Khan:

»

Marissa Mayer has hit out at sexist coverage of her leadership at Yahoo, as she agreed to sell the bulk of the internet pioneer's assets to Verizon for $4.8bn cash, ending the independence of the star of the 1990s dotcom boom.

Speaking after announcing a deal that will bring the company set up 22 years ago by Jerry Yang and David Filo under the same roof as fellow internet pioneer AOL, Ms Mayer decried reporting about her that focused on her gender.

"I've tried to be gender blind and believe tech is a gender neutral zone but do think there has been gender-charged reporting," she told the Financial Times.

"We all see the things that only plague women leaders, like articles that focus on their appearance, like Hillary Clinton sporting a new pantsuit. I think all women are aware of that, but I had hoped in 2015 and 2016 that I would see fewer articles like that. It's a shame."

Ms Mayer, who has been repeatedly criticised by analysts for making a series of bad acquisitions and poor hires, will stay at Yahoo until the deal closes, but is unlikely to join Verizon, according to people familiar with the matter.

After she said in a post on the company's Tumblr page that she planned to stay "to see Yahoo into its next chapter", she admitted that it was unclear what would happen once the deal closes early next year.

«

link to this extract

The age of the red pen • The Economist

Natasha Loder on the new gene-editing technology that is sweeping through biotech:

»

One particularly impressive—and potentially worrying—application is in the creation of genes that can spread themselves quickly through a population with blithe disregard for the constraints of natural selection. Engineering the CRISPR-Cas9 system itself into a creature's genome makes it possible for an organism to edit its own genes, and there are ways that this ability can be used to "drive" a gene through a population (see article). Such a technology might, proponents say, be used to make the mosquitoes that carry malaria, or dengue fever, unable to spread the organisms responsible for causing the disease.

The applications seem limited only by the imagination. Dr Zhang says CRISPR has enormous potential for treating previously intractable diseases. For example, genome editing may make it possible to eliminate viral infections within the body, creating entirely new antiviral treatments. He also speculates that it might be possible to make red meat that is less harmful, or to engineer pig organs so that they could be transplanted into humans with much less risk of rejection. Dr Church, for his part, has speculated about using gene editing to turn elephants into mammoths—or to recreate Neanderthals.

«

Long and detailed, but an important primer. You might not think CRISPR is going to affect you, but it could well affect your children. (Loder won a science writing prize for this piece.)link to this extract

Oppo becomes the leading smartphone brand in China in June 2016 • Counterpoint Technology

James Yan:

»

According to the latest research from Counterpoint's Monthly Market Pulse, the demand for smartphones in China grew a healthy 17% annually in June. This was the best ever June month in terms of sell-through for smartphones, even though the overall market for the June-ending second quarter has seen modest growth over the first quarter of the year.Commenting on the results, Research Director, James Yan, highlighted, "The competitive environment in the world's leading smartphone market has taken an interesting turn as domestic brands have significantly ramped-up their positions in the smartphone market. Oppo became the number one brand in China for the first time ever in June surpassing Huawei, Apple and Xiaomi with a record 23% market share with sales volumes up a massive 337% annually for the month…

…Chinese brands now control more than 84% of the total Chinese smartphone market as they exert an iron grip on the sales channels, industrial design curve and leverage access to Chinese supply chain. Their dominance extends across the price bands even extending in to the premium segment with models such as Huawei P9, Oppo R9 Plus and Vivo X play 5.

«

Samsung is fading from view – from the leading 14.1% share in June 2014 to 4th place in 2015 to 5th equal (with Xiaomi) this year. And Xiaomi is fading too, on those numbers.link to this extract

Ofcom should push for fibre – Ex BT CTO • The Register

Kat Hall:

»

a damning report by MPs last week that warned if BT doesn't get its house in order and address its significant under-investment in Blighty's infrastructure, Openreach should be structurally split from the former state monopoly.

Earlier this year the regulator stopped short of recommending a formal separation – but deliberately kept that option on the table. BT has denied the accusations of underinvestment, pointing to its plans to roll-out ultrafast speeds to 12 million homes in the next four years, 2 million of which will be fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP).

But Professor Peter Cochrane, former CTO and head of R&D at BT, has slammed BT's emphasis on its hybrid copper G.Fast technology. "An ambition of 2 million FTTP delivery is no target at all. It's woeful. It would be 48 years to get to all the homes."

He says: "I have no patience with the arguments being put forward that we can do it all with copper. I mean, we can do all our transport by boats on rivers if you want."

Cochrane believes the estimated speeds of 1Gbps for G.Fast are wrong. "It's been tested in a laboratory under rather idealised conditions in the field. And some people are quoting they can do a gigabit over 200 meters – I can categorically tell you they cannot. What they can actually do is a gigabit over 20, possibly 30 meters. After that it just dies.

"If they had fibre to the pole at the end of my garden they might be able to deliver 200-300mbps."

«

"We can do all our transport by boats on rivers if you want" ranks among the very finest technical putdowns I've heard.link to this extract

Notice regarding the impact of Pokemon GO on the consolidated financial forecast • Nintendo

»

The Pokémon Company, which is an affiliated company of Nintendo Co., Ltd. (the "Company"), holds the ownership rights to Pokémon. The Pokémon Company is going to receive a licensing fee as well as compensation for collaboration in the development and operations of the application.

The Company owns 32% of the voting power of The Pokémon Company. The Pokémon Company is the Company's affiliated company, accounted for by using the equity method. Because of this accounting scheme, the income reflected on the Company's consolidated business results is limited.

Also, a peripheral device for use with the application, "Pokémon GO Plus," which will be produced and distributed by the Company, is scheduled for release. All of the above are reflected in the financial forecast ending March 31, 2017 as set forth on April 27, 2016.

Taking the current situation into consideration, the Company is not modifying the consolidated financial forecast for now. The Company will make a timely disclosure when the Company needs to modify its financial forecasts.

«

Spoilsports. Nintendo shares, which had doubled in value, plunged as a result of this fact-based announcement.link to this extract

Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Brexit, weak pound. A price hike is coming • The Register

Paul Kunert:

»

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is to bump up the price of its infrastructure gear in Blighty from Monday, blaming the crash in the value of UK sterling currency for the hike.

According to sources close to the matter, the cost of servers will go up between 6-7%, and storage and legacy networking by circa 10%.

El Reg understands this week was the cut-off date for ordering kit in HPE's third quarter of fiscal '16, even though its Q4 doesn't start until 1 August.

"HPE always carefully considers any price changes for our products and adjusts prices based on exchange rates and currency fluctuations," a spokeswoman told us.

The value of the British pound had fallen by roughly 7% against the US dollar in the 12 months prior to the EU Referendum, but since the Brexit vote was down around 15%.

«

Follows Dell, HP Inc (printers/PCs), Asus, Cisco. Wonder when Apple will follow suit.link to this extract

PonoMusic goes dark for several weeks as the company switches providers • TechCrunch

Brian Heater:

»

Neil Young's music service is apparently down, but not out. In a note posted to Pono's front page, the hi-res music provider announced that it'll be going offline for for "several weeks," due to the recent acquisition of Omnifone, which has been the driving force behind the service's infrastructure.

The company's purchase has led Pono to seek a new partner for PonoMusic, striking a deal with 7 Digital, a London-based digital music platform that has worked with a number of high-profile partners, including Samsung and BlackBerry. In its letter, Pono insists that the move, while "well underway, [is] not yet complete," hastening to add that the move won't affect any of its dealings with big music labels.

What all of this means for the Pono faithful is no more music purchases for what's likely to be several weeks from last Wednesday.

«

All twelve users must be upset.link to this extract

Apple: Katy Huberty calls BS on the three-year cycle • Philip Elmer‑DeWitt

»

Smartphones aren't headed for a three-year cycle, says Morgan Stanley's chief Apple watcher, contradicting last month's supply chain rumors, today's Wall Street Journal, and conventional wisdom on the Street.

"We're actually quite bullish," says Katy Huberty in a video released to clients Tuesday.

According to a new AlphaWise Survey of smartphone owners in seven countries, the market may in fact be setting itself up for what Huberty calls a "potential supercycle."

Most analysts' estimates for Apple and Samsung, she says, imply that customers are sticking with their current phones longer and longer, stretching a replacement cycle that used to be 24 months to nearly 36 months.

But that's not what customers are saying.

«

Quite an important distinction. The suggestion is that people have hung on to old phones for quite a while, but are now ready to upgrade. Well, next year will be.link to this extract

Errata, corrigenda and ai no corrida: none notified

Source: Start up: Russia and the Democrat hack, Mayer v Yahoo, a CRISPR future, another Brexit price hike, and more

Huawei sales revenue up 40% thanks to strong smartphone sales

Huawei joined several other companies in announcing financial results for their just completed accounting period and the news was good for the Chinese smartphone manufacturer. Huawei reported a 40% increase in sales revenue for the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year, totaling CNY245.5 billion ($36.7B USD), on an operating margin of 12%.

In a statement issued by Sabrina Meng, Huawei's Chief Financial Officer regarding the financial results, she noted:

"We achieved steady growth across all three of our business groups, thanks to a well-balanced global presence and an unwavering focus on our pipe strategy. We are confident that Huawei will maintain its current momentum, and round out the full year in a position financial position backed by sound ongoing operations."

Huawei did not reveal sales numbers for their mobile devices or particular lines of business. However, they do indicate they "maintained steady growth globally" for products like the P9, Mate 8, Honor V8 and MateBook. The company also noted that they are making gains in areas like 5G network connections and Internet of Things infrastructure and devices. In these latter areas, Huawei is working directly with telecom operators in order to prepare for a new wave of technology and related devices.

source: Huawei

Raised in North Carolina, Jeff Causey is a licensed CPA in North Carolina and possesses the CAPM credential from PMI. Jeff's past Android devices include an HTC EVO, a Samsung Note II, and an LG G3 along with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1. He currently uses a Motorola Moto X Pure Edition and (very rarely) a Nexus 7 (2013). Jeff used to have a pair of Google Glass and a Moto 360 Sport in his stable of gadgets. Unfortunately, his wife and kids have all drunk the Apple Kool-Aid and have i-devices. Life at home often includes demonstrations of the superiority of his Android based devices. In his free time, Jeff is active in his church, a local MINI Cooper car club, and his daughter's soccer club. Jeff is married, has three kids, and a golden retriever.

Source: Huawei sales revenue up 40% thanks to strong smartphone sales

Huawei Reports Boost in H1 Revenue Powered by Growth in Smartphone Sales

Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei said on Monday that revenue surged 40 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2016, boosted by steady growth in smartphone sales.

Total sales revenue reached CNY 245.5 billion ($36.7 billion or roughly Rs. 2,46,813 crores) in January-June, audited results released in a company statement showed.

The company did not provide a breakdown of the figures.

"We are confident that Huawei will maintain its current momentum, and round out the full year in a positive financial position backed by sound ongoing operations," Huawei chief financial officer Sabrina Meng said.

Huawei is one of the largest providers of network infrastructure globally, but its consumer products are less well-known outside of China.

Its consumer business, including smartphone sales, has strongly supported the company's performance, soaring 73 percent to CNY 129.1 billion last year.

Huawei had more than eight percent of the world smartphone market last year, putting it in third place behind Samsung and Apple, International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a report this year.

Huawei said in the statement that its consumer business in the first half "maintained steady growth globally". It is set to release sales figures for its smartphone business later this week.

The firm said net profit rose 33 percent year-on-year in 2015, reaching CNY 36.9 billion, adding that revenue for the year was CNY 395 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37 percent.

Huawei is not listed on any stock exchange but it releases financial information in the interest of transparency.

US officials view Huawei as a security threat due to perceived close links to the Chinese government, which the company denies.

Download the Gadgets 360 app for Android and iOS to stay up to date with the latest tech news, product reviews, and exclusive deals on the popular mobiles.

Source: Huawei Reports Boost in H1 Revenue Powered by Growth in Smartphone Sales

8 things you need to know when buying a Chinese smartphone

In March of this year a list of the world's top phone vendors was published. Twelve names were on it, and of those a stunning eight were Chinese.

Far from the knock-off merchants they have so often been categorised as, companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and more have been almost unstoppable in their ascendance.

But what does this mean for consumers in the West? On the surface of it, not a great deal. These manufacturers have tended to focus almost exclusively on China and other emerging markets, particularly India.

For various reasons many of them have opted to avoid the West almost entirely, only dipping their toes in every now and then. A great deal of this has to do with patent law, which is a story for another day (preferably a long gloomy winter's eve). That means the handsets can be a little tricky to get hold of.

The opportunity does exist for those of you with a little gumption and knowledge to successfully snare yourself a super Chinese smartphone. In doing so you can get a cracking deal, with specs to make even the most hardened power hounds weep with envy, and often at a third of the price of the well known flagships.

The market is totally different however, and there are many pitfalls to avoid. Read on for eight top tips on buying handsets from abroad.

1. Research your handset

This may seem like an obvious first step, but the reality is harder than you might think. To begin with there can often be a lack of reviews for many handsets, especially those from lesser known companies such as Doogee, Elephone and Cubot.

Set a budget for yourself, trawl the web and draw up a list of three or four phones that particularly appeal (for example the Xiaomi Mi5, the Elephone P9000 and the Meizu Pro 6).

It's worth noting that there's a particular love for phablets in China, so those with smaller hands may want to steer clear.

2. 4G or no 4G?

Everyone wants superfast internet on their smartphone, so a key thing to check is whether the phones you're looking at support the correct LTE bands for your country.

Many Chinese handsets come without support for Band 20, which for example is used by O2 in the UK, and would mean no 3G or 4G internet when using such a phone on a network which relies on this band.

3. Dodge update doldrums

The next thing to do is look a little further into the company behind your handset. Take Xiaomi for instance. Every phone from the firm comes running MIUI, a proprietary skin of Android, and does not run Google services.

Xiaomi regularly updates its software, bringing new versions of Android to customers at a relatively decent speed.

However, it's the exception rather than the rule. If you plan on keeping your handset for any length of time, try to ensure you pick a manufacturer with an established reputation for software update support, otherwise the first bug you find may continue indefinitely.

4. The customer is always right

There's another major thing to bear in mind before buying a Chinese smartphone, after-sales support. If you would like to receive this, don't buy 'gray imports'.

With limited presence (and in some cases none) in the West, parts and expertise are scant should a repair be needed, so have a think before buying and certainly before dropping the phone you've chosen onto unforgiving cement.

This may change in the years to come as manufacturers continue to expand their global presence, but for the moment it can be a difficult choice to make.

5. Pick a vendor

This is perhaps the most important step, as making the wrong choice can mean weeks, maybe months of disappointment and despair.

Different phone manufacturers depend on different sites. Meizu and Oppo phones can generally be purchased through Amazon, while Xiaomi devices are usually available from the likes of AliExpress and GearBest.

Where possible, try to get stock shipped from a warehouse relatively near you, for example from Europe if you're in the UK, and also make sure to choose a guaranteed delivery option.

Research each vendor before making a purchase, and pay close attention to user reviews. If several people have had a bad experience that should be a red flag.

6. Free ROM-ing

Due to firewall restrictions in China, the vast majority of Chinese phones come without Google's suite of apps installed. They instead run a custom software package ('ROM') overlaid on top of the core Android platform.

That doesn't necessarily mean you'll be in passion of a dud, as you can get Google's offerings with an international ROM with support for English and Google Play.

Many vendors will give the option to ship with an international ROM, but beware of this as devices bought this way may come preloaded with malware.

Choose a handset with an unlockable bootloader, and preferably with a microSD slot too, and check that an international ROM is available. You can then manually flash the ROM to the phone, minus any potentially nasty malware or unnecessary additional applications.

7. Customs charge

An important point when purchasing any phone from abroad is; be aware of customs. Having a device shipped from the same country will help to avoid this situation, but it isn't always an option.

Often when shipping from China, not only will the device in question take several weeks to arrive, but when it does an extra charge has sometimes been applied, proportional to the cost of the device, potentially up to 20%.

Take care, and definitely factor in this potential extra expense when having products delivered, as otherwise cheap phones can skyrocket in price when extra hurdles are applied, thus negating any cost advantage.

8. Setting up

So you've done it! Every hurdle has been cleared, except making the phone usable. On the setup screen, change the language to English (or your lingo of choice).

This daunting step completed, there remains the issue of installing the Google Play store should it not be present - and should it be possible. On Xiaomi devices this can be accomplished by downloading an app from the Xiaomi store, on others it can require full on flashing.

Round-up

Buying phones from far-flung locales can be a highly rewarding process. If done correctly, you can end up with a powerful, beautiful device with an impressively low price point.

If anything goes wrong however, it can mean that your lovely slice of eastern delight ends up a very decorative paperweight.

Two tenets above all hold true: exercise whatever amount of common sense you may possess judiciously, and become the forum lurker you were born to be, as there is no better source of information than someone who has already made a purchase.

Article continues below

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Source: 8 things you need to know when buying a Chinese smartphone

Oppo F1s release date in India: Selfie-centric smartphone to have 16MP front camera

Sensing the craze for selfie camera, Oppo is all set to launch yet another selfie-centric smartphone called the Oppo F1s. The Chinese mobile phone makers will announce the handset in India earlier next month.

Oppo has sent out a press invitation for the launch event of the Oppo F1s. The event will start at 12:00pm on Aug. 3. Nothing much has been heard about the handset but reports have claimed that it will mount a 16MP front-snapper as seen in the Oppo F1 Plus that was released in India in April this year. The device is also expected to feature a fingerprint sensor on the home button.

The Chinese smartphone maker appears to be happy with the sales of its devices from F-series that focuses on selfie camera. The Oppo F1 that was released earlier this year, and its upgraded version Oppo F1 Plus reportedly received positive response from consumers.

It may be mentioned that the Oppo F1 Plus sports a 5.5-inch HD super AMOLED display with 1,920x1,080 pixels (401 ppi pixel density), features fingerprint sensor and a full metal body, measures 151.8x74.3x6.6 mm in dimension and weighs 145 g.

Under the hood, it has a MediaTek Helio P10 processor, an Android 5.1 Lollipop–based ColorOS v3.0 operating system, a 64GB internal memory expandable up to 128GB, a 4GB RAM, a 13MP camera with f/2.2 aperture and LED flash, a 16MP front-snapper with 78.1-degree wide-angle lens, 1/3.1-inch sensor, PDAF (Phase Shift Auto Focus), f/2.0 aperture, ISOCELL technology and Beautify v4.0, and a 2,850mAh battery with VOOC flash charge technology.

The Oppo F1s is a successor of the F1 (with smaller screen, perhaps 5-inch) but its specifications are expected to be similar to that of the Oppo F1 Plus.

Source: Oppo F1s release date in India: Selfie-centric smartphone to have 16MP front camera

Karbonn Mobiles reveals its ambitious plans, should rivals be worried?

Despite facing fierce competition from domestic as well as Chinese smartphone companies, Karbonn Mobiles seems all set with plans to increase its market foothold in the country, as per the company's executives.

The company hopes to gain some more market share by launching a slew of products over the next few months, now that its new manufacturing facility in the state of Haryana is up and running. Plans of expansion in other countries are also in the pipeline.

When asked about the increasing threat Chinese smartphone companies are posing to local manufacturers by launching cheap, 4G-enabled devices, the company's executive director Shashin Devsare said that "the success is going to be for that particular brand which understands the pulse of the consumer and not the one which brings the cheapest phone."

According to Devsare, Karbonn's customization for Indian users in its devices along with local manufacturing would give the company the required edge over Chinese smartphone brands. In addition, to increase presence in the country, the firm is also planning to introduce more accessories.

TOI Tech has learned that Karbonn will also be launching TVs in the next few months. The TVs will be manufactured in its Noida facility.

Furthermore, the company's managing director Pradeep Jain added that they will launch 8-9 smartphones in the next 4 months as well.

Besides concentrating on hardware, Jain said the firm will be looking into the field of artificial intelligence. Karbonn might incorporate its AI technology in future devices, the integration of which will bring better e-commerce experience for users. Also confirmed is that the tie up will be an exclusive one between the company and the e-commerce website. Jain however, did not reveal much details.

As for virtual reality, Karbonn has already launched a VR headset that comes bundled with its Quattro L52 handset. However, the executives also said the company will bring exclusive VR content in the future and the same will be customized for Indian users. This year, Karbonn is looking at 15-20% market share in India. For now, the firm says it has only 10.5% market share. Not only in India, but the global market share will also see some growth as the firm will enter two new countries - Africa and Russia, in January and March of next year respectively. It plans to launch both existing and new models in these regions. These handsets will be customized based on the countries they will be launching in. As for India, the company confirmed that it would launch Android One smartphone(s) in Q1 of next year as well.
Source: Karbonn Mobiles reveals its ambitious plans, should rivals be worried?

Samsung sues Huawei in China over patent infringement

Samsung has sued Huawei for allegedly infringing on six of its patents, seeking damages of ¥161 million ($24.1 million) and pushing for Huawei to end production and sales of the Mate 8 and select Honor phones. The lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing battle between the two companies in China.

In May, Huawei filed a lawsuit against Samsung in which it said that the South Korean manufacturer used its 4G communications, operating systems, and user interface software patents without a prior license. At the time, Samsung said that it would "take appropriate action to defend its business interests," including launching a counter-suit against Huawei.

Earlier this month, Huawei responded once again with a new lawsuit to the tune of $12 million, claiming that Samsung infringed on its patents on recent devices like the Galaxy S7 edge.

It looks like today's litigation from Samsung is its way of countering Huawei's claims from earlier this month. In a statement to Reuters, a Samsung spokesperson said:

Despite our best efforts to resolve this matter amicably, it has regrettably become necessary to take legal action in order to defend our intellectual property.

WIth both brands ready to tussle it out, it looks like this is the beginning of yet another lengthy patent litigation in the smartphone segment.

Source: Samsung sues Huawei in China over patent infringement

Is China Stealing Jobs? It May Be Losing Them, Instead

Rising costs have also significantly altered China's competitive position compared with the United States.

In a 2015 study, the Boston Consulting Group said the costs of manufacturing in China's major export-producing zone were now almost the same as in the United States, after taking into account wages, worker productivity, energy costs and other factors.

Without the lure of large cost savings, more American companies are "reshoring," or moving factories back. In a separate survey of large United States manufacturers conducted by BCG last year, 24 percent said that they were actively shifting production home from China or were planning to do so over the next two years, up from only 10 percent in 2012.

"It just makes economic sense," said Hal Sirkin, a senior partner at BCG. "The U.S. right now is in a very favorable position."

That means more jobs for American factory workers. Half of the respondents in the BCG survey said they expected the number of manufacturing workers they employed in the United States to increase over the next five years.

And it is not just the United States that is taking jobs away from China. Rising costs are driving many companies in a variety of sectors to relocate business to a wide range of other countries. In the most recent survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China, a quarter of respondents said they had either already moved or were planning to m ove operations out of China, citing rising costs as the top reason. Of those, almost half are moving into other developing countries in Asia, while nearly 40 percent are shifting to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Many of the factories moving away make the products often found on the shelves of American retailers.

Stella International, a footwear manufacturer headquartered in Hong Kong that makes shoes for Michael Kors, Rockport and other major brands, closed one of its factories in China in February and shifted some of that production to plants in Vietnam and Indonesia. TAL, another Hong Kong-based manufacturer that makes clothing for American brands including Dockers and Brooks Brothers, plans to close one of its Chinese factories this year and move that work to new facilities in Vietnam and Ethiopia.

Other companies with an extensive presence in China may not be closing factories, but are targeting new inv estments elsewhere.

Taiwan's Foxconn, best known for making Apple iPhones in Chinese factories, is planning to build as many as 12 new assembly plants in India, creating around one million new jobs there. A pilot operation in the western Indian state of Maharashtra will start churning out mobile phones later this year.

And though China remains by far the largest exporter of clothing to the United States, it is facing more competition from lower-cost rivals in Asia. Last year, China's market share of apparel exports to America declined, while countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh gained, according to a March report from the Fung Business Intelligence Centre, a Hong Kong-based research outfit that specializes in supply chain and sourcing issues.

"It's not like China is an attractive location for all low-cost jobs," said James Zimmerman, the American Chamber's chairman in Beijing. "China is moving up the value chain, which will mean an adjustment."

Chinese workers are also facing job losses because of the country's stumbling economy.

The rate of growth has dropped to its slowest pace in a quarter-century, hurting many industries. Manufacturing — which accounts for about a fifth of all urban employment in China — has been hit especially hard. Officially, China's job market is weathering the downturn surprisingly well, with government data showing unemployment of only 4 percent.

Some economists, however, belie ve the employment situation is not as rosy as official statistics suggest. A June report from Fathom Consulting, based in London, estimates that unemployment and underemployment in China will reach 12.9 percent this year — triple the level in 2012.

Leland Miller, the chief executive of China Beige Book International, a research firm, says the job market hit a critical inflection point late last year, as the weakening economy finally started to bite. His figures show hiring began to plunge in the fourth quarter of 2015, and though the situation stabilized in recent months, probably because of greater government stimulus, Mr. Miller believes the improvement is not sustainable.

Factory workers in China, already suffering, may face even tougher times ahead.

Many industrial companies are burdened by excess capacity, and downsizing may be unavoidable. In February, China's minister for human resources and social security estimated that 1.8 million w orkers could lose their jobs in the steel and coal sectors alone.

"If anyone is claiming that China is still enjoying a healthy or robust jobs market," Mr. Miller said, "they have no idea what they're talking about."

Continue reading the main story
Source: Is China Stealing Jobs? It May Be Losing Them, Instead

Samsung Electronics Co. has sued Chinese smartphone maker Huawei for allegedly violating six of its patents

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Samsung Electronics Co. has sued Chinese smartphone maker Huawei for allegedly violating six of its patents.

The South Korean company said on Friday that it chose to take legal action to defend its intellectual property despite trying to resolve the dispute amicably.

Samsung would not say where the lawsuits were filed. South Korea's Yonhap News said Samsung sued Huawei in Beijing for infringing on patents for smartphones worth 80.05 million yuan ($12 million).

Huawei filed lawsuits against Samsung in May in the United States and China, accusing the South Korean company of violating 12 patents for mobile devices and networks.

Samsung and Huawei are two of the largest makers of smartphones based on Google's Android system. Samsung is the world's largest smartphone supplier and Huawei is the third after Apple.

Source: Samsung Electronics Co. has sued Chinese smartphone maker Huawei for allegedly violating six of its patents

Qualcomm Shows China Progress While Intel Stokes Server Fear (1)

(Bloomberg) -- Qualcomm Inc.'s second-quarter results show the chipmaker is overcoming hurdles in China, while rival Intel Corp. faces fresh headwinds in servers -- the key to its profit.

San Diego-based Qualcomm, the biggest maker of semiconductors that run smartphones, reported earnings and gave forecasts that beat analysts' estimates as it gets paid more licensing fees in China and gains market share there. Intel posted growth in its data center business that fell well short of its own targets, creating concern momentum in that profitable unit is slowing.

The two companies, which dominate their respective markets but have made few inroads onto each other's turf, have struggled to grow as the PC market has collapsed and smartphone expansion slowed. 

Qualcomm late Wednesday said it's performing better than the slowing phone sector, particularly in China, and is overcoming resistance by phone makers in that country to paying for its patents. Intel, which had benefited from the explosion in mobile internet through its server business, said that business grew 5 percent in the quarter, compared with a target of double-digit percentage gains for the year.

"Intel has some explaining to do," said Kim Forrest, an equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. As more companies switch to buying their computing power over the Internet and give up equipping their own data centers, Intel should be seeing a commensurate uptick in demand for server chips from cloud providers, she said, adding that "the last quarter was a bit light in the data center group too."

Missed Target

Intel executives faced multiple questions on a conference call with analysts about how the company will get back on course in servers. Corporate purchases of these computers will improve in the second half, a new design will help with average selling prices and the company has "signals" from customers that an increase in orders is on the way, the executives said on the call.

For the data center group, that was the third quarter in a row in which revenue gains missed the company's target. It's also the second consecutive quarter that growth in that unit has fallen below 10 percent, putting it well behind progress needed to reach its goal for the business this year.

"It's not slowing down in the long term," Chief Executive Officer Brian Krzanich said on the conference call. "It's going to be driven by the many more devices that are going to connect to the cloud."

The company's biggest customers -- companies such as Google and Microsoft Corp. -- order chips in large batches to build new data centers, then pause purchases while they make sure their infrastructure is working at full capacity. That results in "lumpy" demand, he said.

"You need a lot of growth in the back half and they're awfully confident, but I don't know," said Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. He doesn't believe that corporations will return to investing heavily in their own data centers. "In the best case, enterprise is flat but really it's probably down."

Intel shares fell as much as 4.5 percent, their biggest decline in a month. They were trading at $34.19, down 4.2 percent, at 9:54 a.m. in New York. Qualcomm gained as much as 7.7 percent, it's biggest increase in more than seven months.

China Crisis

The worldwide market for smartphones is on course to grow just 3.1 percent in 2016 following an expansion of 10.5 percent last year and a 28 percent surge in 2014, according to IDC Corp.

While Qualcomm isn't seeing anything to contradict that kind of outlook, according to Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf, it is doing better within that environment, particularly in China, the biggest national market for phones, he said.

In the chipset business, which provides the company with the majority of its revenue, Qualcomm did better than expected with Chinese phone makers who are grabbing a larger portion of their home market. At the same time, its attempts to persuade more of them to pay royalties for using Qualcomm technology are gathering momentum and fewer are holding out on money they owe it, the company said.

"It was a really strong quarter -- it was strong in both businesses, in particular the license business," Mollenkopf said by phone. "We got some money a little earlier than we would have thought."

Qualcomm is suing China's Meizu Technology Co., trying to force the phone maker to negotiate a license agreement for using the chipmaker's technology. That's seen as a test case for the ability of China's intellectual property courts to enforce such agreements. Qualcomm is prepared to pursue similar legal action against companies that continue to avoid paying what they owe or negotiate, President Derek Aberle said on Wednesday's conference call.

(Updates with opening shares in 11th paragraph.)

--With assistance from Emily Chang Brian Womack and Molly Schuetz To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr

©2016 Bloomberg L.P.

Source: Qualcomm Shows China Progress While Intel Stokes Server Fear (1)

16 Amazing Things Xiaomi Sells In China But Not India

Founded in 2010, Xiaomi shot into the fame by selling phones with high specifications at low prices in China. Their first phone, called Mi1, was launched in August 2011 with their own Android-based software MIUI. Since then, the company's fortunes have only headed north. In 2015, Xiaomi became the 5th largest smartphone maker in the world.

In the meantime, in 2013, Xiaomi began diversifying into products besides smartphones and tablets. Since then, the company has released numerous gadgets for home, personal health, entertainment, and transportation segments. Mostly, these products haven't been launched in India even though there is a high demand for them.

1. Mi TV

Xiaomi first launched their HDTV in 2013. The TV ran on the Android operating system and supported numerous smart applications. Currently, their cheapest TV has a 43 inch HD screen and costs 1799 Yuan (₹18,100 approx). They also sell the MI 70 inch TV with their home audio system.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Mi TV

They offer plenty of accessories with it, such as a subwoofer, game controller, Bluetooth headset, 3D glasses and more. Because of the quality of the TV and its accompanying features, it is among the most sought after products in India.

2. Mi TV Box

Xiaomi also sells digital set-top boxes that are encoded for high-quality streaming as well as Bluetooth and voice control. The box also offers gaming facilities with the help of a remote or a smartphone. The users can connect any kind of Bluetooth accessory, such as a keyboard, speaker, controller and more to the box.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi has struck deals with many content providers to host their content exclusively on Mi Boxes. This year, the company also launched an Android TV box based on Android Marshmallow 6.0.

3. Mi Air Purifier

In 2014, Xiaomi ventured into home space with the launch of the MI Smart Air Purifier. The device can clear up a whole room in 12 minutes (406 cube metre of air in an hour) if it is set to the maximum setting. It cleans up substances such as dust, chemicals, formaldehyde, smoke odour and more. The users can control the purifier through an app too. This device costs 899 Yuan (₹ 9,050 approx).

Jeff Chiu/AP Xiaomi Air Purfier

4. Mi Band 2

Xiaomi's Mi band is the most sold wearable in India. Recently the company launched the second version of the Mi band with a screen and a heart rate monitor. The new band also shows notification and has music controls.

Xiaomi

5. Mi Lightening

Today, smart lightening is the most desirable appliance in the Internet of Thing space. Xiaomi sells smart lamps in three variants. The first one is the standard smart bulb with 16 million colors which costs 89 Yuan. The second variant is a table lamp, available for 159 Yuan, and the third one is the beautiful bedside lamp that costs 239 Yuan. All of them can be controlled by a smartphone.

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6. Mi Routers

Wifi solutions are now part of almost every home, so Xiaomi provides multiple solutions in the router range. The company offers pocket routers which cost 79 Yuan and provide 300 Mbps network in 64-metre range. It also offers powerful Gigabit routers that have 1 TB inbuilt storage capacity and a 100-metre range.

VCG via Getty Images Xiaomi Router

7. Transportation

Recently, Xiaomi launched a foldable electric bicycle called QiCycle in China that can run for 40-50 km on a single charge. You can also recharge the battery while pedaling the bicycle. Mi also offers an electric bicycle called YunBike C1 and a 1999-Yuan self-balancing scooter.

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8. Video camera

Dropcam is probably the leading name in the home security space. But Xiaomi has also released a competing product, a 111-degree wide-angle webcam with an ability to stream at 720p. Users can also make two-way video calls from the video camera.

Xiami

9. Smart Rice cooker

Rice is a staple in China and every house has a dedicated rice cooker. Xiaomi launched a sub-brand called Mi-ecosystem this year and introduced a smartphone-controlled rice cooker under that brand.

Xiaomi

10. Mi Smart Home

Companies such as SmartThings and Godrej make smart home kits that comprise a hub and sensors such as a temperature sensor, motion sensor and more. Xiaomi has also released a smart home kit in China that has more than 35 functions, such as switching off the fan when the window is open and switching on the light when it is dark. The smart kit costs 199 Yuan.

11. Mi Smart Kettle

When you want water for your cooking or coffee, Mi Smart kettle remembers how much hot water you want at a particular temperature.

Xiaomi

12. Mi Action Cam

In order to compete with GoPro, Xiaomi released Yi action cam which has an ability to record 1080p videos at 60 fps. The action cam is loaded with a 16 MP Sony sensor. Yi cam has motion stabilization, dual microphones, and a slow motion mode.

CNET

13. Mi Drone

Amongst other intriguing products, Mi Drone was one of the newest entrant in the gadget world. The 2499 Yuan drone has a 3 km flight range with a 27-minute flight time. It can be controlled by remote control or a smartphone.

Xiaomi

14. Mi Mosquito Repellant

The latest product by Xiaomi is a portable Mosquito repellant that costs ₹300. The device is highly portable, with a diameter of 4.6 cm, and weighs only 25 gm. The company claims that it can run for 15 hours if you attach it to a 10,000 mAh power bank.

Xiaomi

15. Mi Water Purifier

Mi Water purifier is another Xiaomi home product typically suited for an Indian market. The smartphone-controlled purifier can clean 1080 liters of water every day on a 1:1 purification ratio.

16. Health

In the health segment, besides the fitness band, Xiaomi also offers a blood pressure monitor, which is customized for Mi smartphones.

Xiaomi

It can also measure the heart rate, blood pressure, and average pulse. Another offering is a smart weighing scale with LED which also displays BMI and target weight. It also comes with an app which lets you sync your fitness goals.

All in all, starting out as a smartphone company, Xiaomi has now turned into a gadget giant. The company promises to bring its offerings to India at some point. Xiaomi Global VP, Hugo Barra, has said that because of restrictions in India these products will take some time to arrive. Consumers are waiting.

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Source: 16 Amazing Things Xiaomi Sells In China But Not India