A couple of tie-ups from the hot smartphone space are making headlines these last few days, with up-and-comer Xiaomi and fast-fading global giant Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) both looking to Internet partners to boost their prospects. The first of the tie-ups will see Xioami partner with leading Internet portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) to sell Xiaomi’s second-generation smartphones online. Meantime, Nokia is tying up with Jingdong Mall, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, in a bid to reverse its downward slide in the world’s largest mobile market.
Tag Archives: Apple
LeTV Joins Set-Top Box Wars 乐视网加入机顶盒大战
The latest “me-too” war is brewing on China’s vibrant but crowded Internet with word that online video specialist LeTV is rolling out a new set-top box product that will allow consumers to surf the Web on their TVs. This new product roll-out comes just a month after up-and-coming smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its own set-top box product, and not long after PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) also entered this space that looks promising but has yet to find a major audience. (previous post)
News Digest: December 20 报摘： 2012年12月20日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) Reaches Final Privatizing Agreement, Deal to Close in Q2 (Chinese article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad Mini, iPad 4 Receive Chinese Network Access Permits (English article)
- Xiaomi to Sell MI2 Handsets on Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Platform (English article)
- LeTV (Shenzhen 300104) Launches Set-Top Box Costing 399 Yuan, Challenges Xiaomi (Chinese article)
- LG Electronics (Seoul: 066570) Says No Plans to Leave China Mobile Phone Market (Chinese article)
Qualcomm Charges China Mobile TD 高通TD芯片面世将照亮中移动业务前景
This may look like something only a techie can appreciate, but the recent start of production by leading global chipmaker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) for cellphone chips using a homegrown Chinese technology looks set to provide a major boost to dominant Chinese telco China Mobile (HKEx; 941; NYSE: CHL). This latest development comes as big and important news for TD, the homegrown technology being used by China Mobile in its 3G and 4G networks.
News Digest: December 18 报摘： 2012年12月18日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Resume Investment Talks – Source (English article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 First Weekend Sales in China Top 2 Mln (Businesswire)
- Gateway In Merger Negotiations with HK-Listed Affiliate of China Development Bank (Businesswire)
- Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat User Base to Reach 300 Mln in Early 2013 (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) To Launch Dual-Use Business Service For LTE in HK (Chinese article)
News Digest: December 15-17 报摘： 2012年12月15-17日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 15-17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Regulator: Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) China’s Kindle Store Violates Regulations (English article)
- US Drops China’s Alibaba’s Taobao, Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sougou From ‘Notorious’ List (Chinese article)
- iPhone 5 Gets Chilly China Reception, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Shares Drop 3.8 Pct (Chinese article)
- Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) COO Du Hong to Become CEO – Source (Chinese article)
- Huawei’s US-Based Telecoms Infrastructure Unit Cuts More Than 100 People (Chinese article)
Apple Tarnished on Late iPhone Arrival iPhone 5姗姗来迟 苹果在华形象蒙尘
Note: Since first writing this posting, Apple has announced that it sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in the 3 days after the product’s launch. (company announcement) The announcement appears aimed at quieting negative reports of a weak product launch, though some Chinese media are saying many of the sales may have gone to vendors who plan to re-sell the phones. The original article is below.
Chinese media are blaming it on the weather, but no matter how you look at it the launch for Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 in China was pretty much a flop. I tend to blame the disappointing launch last Friday on a number of other factors, most notably ineptitude from China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) that probably cost them millions of yuan in lost sales. At the end of the day, perhaps half the people who buy this kind of trendy product do so as much based on hype than any other factor, since there are many other phones in the market with very similar functionality to the iPhone. But its hard to sustain hype for 3 months, which is how long it took Unicom and China Telecom to get permission to formally launch the iPhone after the product’s high profile global launch.
News Digest: December 14 报摘： 2012年12月14日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- iPhone 5 Hits China As Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Market Share Slips (English article)
- Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) China Adds Kindle Store Channel (English article)
- Sinopec (HKEx: 386) Enters E-Commerce, Sells Gas, Goods Online (Chinese article)
- Spreadtrum Communications (Nasdaq: SPRD) Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend (PRNewswire)
- LDK (NYSE: LDK) Solar Announces Arbitration Award (PRNewswire)
Lenovo and Microsoft: A New Love Affair? 微软可能结盟联想？
Just a day after I ridiculed a new mobile phone alliance between Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762) (previous post), we’re seeing signs of another new China tie-up between the world’s largest software maker and PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) that looks much more intriguing. Whereas the Unicom alliance looked set to fail for a number of reasons, this new potential love affair between Microsoft and Lenovo could stand a better chance of success because it contains strong incentives for both sides. What’s more, each company is the global leader in its main product area, but both are still minor players in the mobile computing category that is likely to become the wave of the future for computer makers.
News Digest: December 1 报摘： 2012年12月1日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad mini & iPhone 5 Arrive in China in December (Businesswire)
- Yum (NYSE: YUM) Warns Of China Q4 Sales Drop As Macro-Economy Bites (English article)
- China Approves Wanxiang Plan To Buy US Battery Maker A123 (English article)
- ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) Announces Q3 Results (PRNewswire)
- Xiaomi Invests $1.8 Mln To Buy 10 Pct of Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) Cloud Unit (Chinese article)
Unicom, China Telecom in iPhone Race 联通与电信争夺大陆iPhone 5首发
More than 2 months after Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) launched its latest iPhone, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) are locked in a race to see who can offer the product first in China, in what looks more like a sad comedy of ineptitude than anything else. I usually save most of my criticism in the telecoms space for Unicom, the nation’s second largest mobile carrier that has spent most of the last 2 years more focused on a series of non-stop management reshuffles rather than any attempts to do real business. But this time I also have to save some criticism for China Telecom, China’s smallest mobile carrier, which also has looked equally inept in this latest iPhone launch.
