Tag Archives: cellphone

PCs: Lenovo Kicked Out of Hang Seng Index

Bottom line: Lenovo’s ejection from the Hang Seng Index caps its long fall from grace over the last four years, and leaves the company in an increasingly deep hole that may be hard to emerge from.

Lenovo ejected from Hang Seng Index

Capping its long fall from grace, PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) has been officially booted from the Hang Seng Index, in a move that looks highly symbolic but also has some very real ramifications for this former high-flyer. It’s probably too early to relegate Lenovo to the history books, but we can certainly say the company is down for the count with this latest blow.

As someone who has followed Lenovo for most of its life as a listed company, I can provide my own view that the company is certainly facing a life-or-death moment in its lifetime that dates back more than three decades, making it one of China’s oldest tech names. I have called repeatedly for the departure of CEO Yang Yuanqing and introduction of some newer, younger blood to the company’s top ranks. But it doesn’t seem that Yang’s boss, Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi, cares too much what I think, as he has repeatedly stuck with this right-hand man throughout the company’s decline. Read Full Post…

CELLPHONES: Technology Issue Gives Xiaomi New Headache

Bottom line: Xiaomi’s newest technology headache, if true, could delay the launch of its fifth-generation phone, further sapping its momentum and making it difficult to reach its 2015 sales target.

Xiaomi reportedly hits technology glitch

The once invincible Xiaomi is starting to look increasingly mortal, with reports that the smartphone high-flyer may have to delay the launch of its newest model due to technical reasons. I’m not too knowledgeable on the technical issues in this instance, but the potential new delays for the release of the Xiaomi 5 appear to be related to fingerprint recognition technology that the company plans to build into the new models.

If these latest reports are true, the delays could put a big crimp in the Xiaomi’s ambitious sales plans this year as it attempts to maintain its breakneck growth. Maintaining that kind of growth looks increasingly difficult due to all the technical issues, combined with intensifying competition in Xiaomi’s core China market. That competition is causing the company to abandon the online-only sales model that helps it keep costs down, which will ultimately undermine its profit margins. Read Full Post…

Cellphone Sales Tumble, As Mobile Ads Zoom

Cellphone sales tumble in August

New sales data for August is showing that China’s cellphone market is rapidly cooling due to saturation, putting even more pressure on domestic brands that have engaged in a battle for share that has resulted in plummeting prices. At the same time, a separate report is showing that mobile advertising is zooming, in a development that’s almost certain to mean big headaches for companies like Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) that depend heavily on advertisers that traditionally targeted desktop PC users. The pair of trends both cast a spotlight on how quickly things can change in the tech and media landscapes, putting huge pressure on established companies to innovate and spend heavily to translate their leadership into emerging areas. Read Full Post…

Google’s Lenovo Buy Just Temporary

Lenovo shares to come under pressure for next 2 years

Media have been buzzing these last few days about a Hong Kong stock exchange filing revealing that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has acquired 6 percent of Chinese PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), implying the deal represents a vote of confidence by the world’s biggest Internet company in the world’s top PC seller. But anyone with any memory will recall that the transaction is just part of Lenovo’s payment for its recent purchase of Google’s Motorola cellphone division. What’s more, Google is almost certain to dump the stock once a lock-up period ends, putting pressure on Lenovo’s stock until that date arrives. Read Full Post…

Shanghai Street View: Mobile Control

Mobile scoundrels flood phones with spam

My first reaction to a report about Shanghai’s latest business scandal was one of disgust, as I read about scoundrels who use homemade radio devices to block mobile signals and send thousands of cellular spam messages. Anyone who owns a cellphone is well aware of the spam problem, receiving dozens or even hundreds of such unwanted text messages each month offering everything from restaurant discounts to rip-off investment schemes. Read Full Post…

All Eyes Turn to TV in TCL Comeback

TCL Corp’s (Shenzhen: 000100) latest results reveal its comeback story is still alive, although the focus has shifted from cellphones to its older TV business as the company refinds its footing in both areas. The latest results show that TCL’s profit more than tripled in the first half of the year to nearly $100 million, while its revenue grew a more modest 18 percent to about $4.2 billion. (English article) The driving force behind its profit growth was the TV business, TCL Multimedia (HKEx: 1070), which returned to profitability after a loss a year earlier and generally poor performance in recent years after its difficult purchase of Thomson Electronics’ TV business in 2005. Strong performance in emerging markets like Brazil and Indonesia were largely to credit, as TCL returned to its roots as an emerging market specialist. The cellphone business, TCL Communication (HKEx: 2618) underwent a similar steep downturn after its purchase of Alcatel’s (Paris: ALUA) cellphone assets around the same time, but came back last year with triple-digit gains on both the top and bottom line as it finally managed to leverage the Alcatel brand name to score major overseas deals. Not too surprisingly, the blistering growth for cellphones slowed quite a bit in the first half, with revenue up just 27 percent and profit up 50 percent. TCL’s charismatic chairman Thomson Li held a news conference to discuss the results, in which he chastised reporters for writing off the Alcatel and Thomson acquisitions as disasters. (Chinese article) I was one of those reporters who considered both purchases disastrous, but will admit that Li seems to have salvaged both deals, largely by shifting all of Thomson’s and Alcatel’s production to China while continuing to use their global brands to develop international sales. For now at least, the big story at TCL’s comeback seems to be shifting to the TV business and its future potential, while the cellphone business looks set for a rapid slowdown.

Bottom line: TCL Corp looks like a good investment bet based on a comeback for its TV business, while its cellphone business looks set to slow sharply after a strong comeback last year.

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TCL Comeback Gains Momentum with Italy Deals TCL牵手意大利 复苏之势获动力

Youku, TCL Discover Hollywood in New Tie-Ups 优酷、TCL双双联手好莱坞大品牌

TCL on the Comeback Trail With Samsung Tie-Up TCL与三星结盟 重振旗鼓

Apple on a China Roll, Ambushing Nokia, Lenovo 苹果伏击诺基亚和联想 在华发展势如破竹

What a difference a couple of years makes. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), a tiny player in China as little as two years ago, has suddenly become a new dominant force in both China’s computing and cellphone scene, taking on traditional market leaders Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V.HE) in their respective spaces. The US maker of wildly popular iPhone cellphones and iPad tablet PCs officially surpassed Lenovo in terms of total China sales in the quarter through June (English article), while it also picked up share on Nokia, whose China sales plunged 41 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to research firm Gartner (English article). At this point, Apple looks nearly unstoppable in China, with companies scrambling to import more iPads to meet ever-growing demand and the country’s leading mobile carrier, China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) on the cusp of signing a landmark deal to offer iPhones in China that will run on its 3G network. The pirates have been making iPhone and iPad look-alikes for a while now, and even retailers are getting in on the action with a recent headline-making knock-off Apple store opening up in southwestern Yunnan province. (English article) Apple’s sudden surge in China, the world’s biggest cellphone market by subscribers and the second biggest PC market, must be coming as a shock to both Lenovo and Nokia, neither of which has strong offerings in the smartphone or tablet PC space to fend off the attack. If Apple continues to surge, which seems likely, look for Nokia and especially Lenovo to see their China business start to weaken in the next 1-2 years as each looks on powerlessly at China’s new fascination with this innovative US tech giant.

Bottom line: Apple’s sudden surge in China will spell headaches in the next 1-2 years for Lenovo and Nokia, which each lack strong offerings to counter popular iPhones and iPads.

真是三十年河东三十年河西!两年前在中国还势单力薄的苹果公司(AAPL.O: 行情)突然间成了中国电脑和手机行业新的主导力量,向传统的市场领头羊联想(0992.HK: 行情)和诺基亚(NOK1V.HE: 行情)分别发起了挑战。截至六月份的第二季度,苹果在华电脑总销量正式超过联想,同时还夺取了诺基亚的市场份额。据市场研究公司Gartner的数据,诺基亚2011年第一季度在中国的销量骤降41%。目前,苹果在中国的发展势如破竹,各大公司竞相争取进口更多的iPad,以满足中国不断增加的需求。中国移动(0941.HK: 行情)(CHL.N: 行情)接近签署一项具有里程碑意义的协议,在华引进使用其3G网络的iPhone手机。而盗版厂商们则一直在生产与iPhone和iPad酷似的电子产品,就连零售商也加入了“山寨”行列,云南昆明的“高仿真”苹果零售店就是典型案例。苹果在中国的突然崛起无疑令联想和诺基亚深为震惊,而後两者在智能手机和平板电脑领域均无强势产品可以进行反击。如果苹果继续高歌奋进,且这一趋势似乎也很有可能,诺基亚,尤其是联想未来1-2年在中国的业务肯定会缩水,因两者面对中国人对苹果产品的迷恋却无能为力。

一句话:苹果在中国的突然崛起会在未来1-2年内让联想和诺基亚头疼不已,因後两者均缺少可以抗衡iPhone和iPad的强势产品。

Related postings 相关文章:

Apple’s COO Comes Calling on China Mobile 苹果首席运营官造访中移动

Apple Takes A Second Look at China for iPad 2 苹果重新考虑中国市场

Unicom Takes on Apple, Google, Microsoft … I Don’t Think So 联通想挑战苹果、谷歌、微软……?我不看好