It has been confirmed today that leading Chinese LBS Jiepang is teaming up with mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson to pre-load their Android app on four Android 2.3 smartphones in 2011, XPERIA Arc LT15i, XPERIA Neo MT15i, XPERIA Pro MK16i, XPERIA Play Z1i. It marks a milestone for Sony Ericsson as it is the first time they have co-operated with a LBS in the greater China region.
Sony Ericsson’s vision is to help their customers discover cool things around them by connecting their online and offline worlds. At a news conference, Sony Ericsson Greater China President, Magnus Ahlqvist, announced “Sony Ericsson smartphones in 2011 have a differentiated marketing strategy.” The brand aims to target younger consumers by giving them a richer communication and entertainment experience. Since this is also a goal of Jiepang, the partnership makes sense. Jiepang CEO, David Liu said “The Jiepang network is pleased with the Sony Ericsson in-depth cooperation. The Jiepang network applications has been extended from the smart phone into a high-tech way of life, compared to the original virtual online social interaction extended to the line and become real to touch. We hope that through this co-operation with Sony Ericsson, to bring consumers more innovative and fun entertainment communications experience. ”
It has also been reported that Jiepang will launch a series marketing activities with Sony Ericsson to promote new products. Both sides will continue to negotiate and build their partnership.
If you haven’t heard of Jiepang or LBS, it’s a mobile application that allows users to check-in to physical locations and share their experience. For example, I could check into the local Starbucks near my office, take a picture of a new flavour, say how much I liked it, then share that with my friends on Jiepang and other SNSs.