
The first third-quarter smartphone sales data are out, revealing that Huawei retained its leading position in the fiercely competitive Chinese market. But the high flying Huawei also saw its share drop by more than one percentage point, indicating its momentum may be slowing. At the same time, other reports are saying that Meizu, the Alibaba-backed (NYSE: BABA) smartphone brand that isn’t in the China top 5, has signed on a small group of new investors in a deal that hints at a possible upcoming IPO.
Let’s jump right in with the big-picture numbers, which are coming in new quarterly data from TrendForce. According to that data, Huawei controlled 19.1 percent of the Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter, down from 20.4 percent in the previous quarter. (Chinese article) Total smartphone sales in China reached 168 million for the quarter. Read Full Post…