Brand is identity; from our sneakers to our coffee cup, we like to make sure our logos line up with our egos. And it’s especially true of the coveted digital sidekicks to China’s growing middle class; the smartphone. We know iPhones now outweigh other brands in China’s top tier cities, while Android still reigns dominant countrywide with homegrown startups like Xiaomi […]
Search results
Baofeng Sets Up Smart TV Brand To Take On Xiaomi and LeTV
China’s online video service Baofeng has established a joint venture with domestic animation company Alpha Animation and Culture, consumer electronics manufacturer 3Nod and Ririshun, the logistics arm of home appliance giant Hair, to develop a homegrown Smart TV brand Baofeng TV. The joint venture will mean the acquisition of Haier’s smart TV affiliate Tongshuai Chuangzhijia. Under the deal, Baofeng will […]
Qihoo 360: Another Smart Hardware Giant Wannabe After Xiaomi
Chinese internet company Qihoo 360 announced yesterday it would invest RMB200 million in a joint venture with Netcoretec, a Chinese networking hardware manufacturer founded in 2000. The move is obvious aimed at helping Qihoo 360’s WiFi router business. Last month the company announced a joint venture with Chinese smartphone maker Coolpad. The deals make it obvious […]
Huawei Hits 100M Shipment Goal As Samsung Is Set To Record First Ever Decline
2015 has been a tough year for smartphone vendors in China, with an economic slowdown taking its toll of country-wide sales. However some vendors have been more successful than others. Huawei reached one of its major milestones this quarter, shipping 100 million units in 2015, becoming the first Chinese vendor to do so, according to research firm […]
Avoid ‘Xiaomization’: Y Combinator, HAX Accelerators On Chinese Hardware
Hardware entrepreneurs should avoid what they call ‘Xiaomization’, said a panel on hardware startups including Y Combinator, HAX and early stage VC fund Yunqi Partners at TechCrunch Beijing this month. “We call ‘Xiaomization’ the phenomenon of innovative products being commoditized.”said Benjamin Joffe, general partner at HAX. Xiaomi is famous in the Chinese market for producing a dizzying range […]
China Now Exports Nearly 45% Of Asia’s High-Tech Goods
China’s share of Asia’s exports of high-tech goods has risen to 43.7 percent in 2014 from 9.4 percent in 2000, according to the 2015 Asian Economic Integration Report released by Asian Development Bank on Tuesday. Since 2000 China’s share in high-tech goods including consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment, medical and aircraft technology increased over 4.6 times. At […]
HTC Ejected From Taiwan 50 Index As Smartphone Slowdown Hits Home
It’s been a tough season for smartphone makers aimed at the China market and that’s something HTC can attest to. The Taiwan-based smartphone maker will be removed from the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s Top 50 Index, now shifting into the Taiwan Mid-Cap 100 Index. The company’s stock has dropped over two-thirds in the past year as smartphone […]
China’s Budding Android Console Market Is Already Getting Very Crowded
In July this year China completely lifted a 15 -year-old ban on gaming consoles, and the country’s budding developers have already tapped into the fastest way to the market: Android-based consoles. Producing an Android-based solutions, similar to Ouya’s US$99 console, allows companies to enter the market without waiting to develop their own systems, while maximizing China’s powerful manufacturing capabilities […]
Qualcomm Rallies With Further China Deals
Qualcomm Inc. has squared away another set of licensing agreements in China, sealing 3G and 4G patent deals with Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co. and appliance-maker Haier Group. The deals are a boost for Qualcomm in China, who have recently struggled to collect licensing fees in the country causing their stock to stumble in 2015. Qualcomm shares are […]
China’s Smart Hardware Landscape 4: A Tough But Unavoidable Market
Smart gadgets, knockoffs or not, will inevitably sell well in China. JD.com, China’s leading online retailer and one of the largest smart hardware distributors, reported a total of 8.66 million units of smart hardware sold in 2014. Total orders saw a 280% year-over-year increase to 6.75 million. Mi Band, a Fitbit Flex-like activity tracker developed by a Xiaomi-funded startup, […]