Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) highly anticipated iPhone 6 could face an uphill climb in China when it gets released next week, at least based on the first figures I’ve seen for how much the model will cost. According to the latest reports, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), the nation’s second largest carrier and Apple’s oldest partner in China, will sell the new iPhone 6 for a starting price of 5,288 yuan, or about $860. That would be significantly higher than the price tag of $750 that many believe will be the iPhone 6’s starting price when it goes on sale in the US later this month. Read Full Post…
It’s become a sort of rite of passage for CEOs of major tech firms to visit China after moving into their job, which looks set to happen again with a September trip to Beijing set for Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) new top executive Satya Nadella. Tim Cook traveled to China just 6 months after taking the reins from Steve Jobs as Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO in 2011, and has visited the country several times since then. Even Twitter’s (NYSE: TWTR) CEO Dick Costolo visited Shanghai earlier this year, just months after the social networking giant’s New York IPO, despite saying earlier that China wasn’t a market where his company could do business. (previous post) Read Full Post…
You know a company is starting to mature when it becomes the subject of headlines beyond its control, which is what we’re seeing in the case of 2 of the latest news bits involving smartphone sensation Xiaomi. In the brief 4 years since its founding, Xiaomi has proven itself a master of marketing, able to keep its name constantly in the headlines through a strategic series of news leaks, sensational sales figures and other media savvy tactics. The latest headlines themselves are relatively benign, one involving a new gaming tie-up and the other involving a minor scandal related to pirated products. Read Full Post…
Cost-cutting pressure is putting a squeeze on China’s 3 big telcos, creating an unusual set of conditions that could claim smartphone giants Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) as victims. The latest signs of trouble for the world’s 2 largest smartphone makers comes in the form of an article in the English language China Daily newspaper, calling on China’s big 3 mobile carriers to stop offering packages with Samsung and Apple smartphones and instead only offer models from domestic manufacturers like Lenovo (HKEx: 992), ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) and Huawei. Further evidence of the pressure the telcos are feeling comes in an unrelated report, which has the trio denying reports that they’re preparing massive layoffs. Read Full Post…
Apple promises to safeguard data on Chinese servers
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has emerged as a rare voice of reason in the war of words between China and the west over cyber security, with word that the global tech giant has decided to host some of its users’ personal data on Chinese-based computers. Apple’s move was almost surely a business decision first and foremost, providing its Chinese users with speedier services. But the move also sends a signal that other western companies should consider following, reflecting Apple’s belief that using Chinese infrastructure doesn’t pose a risk to compromising a company’s private data. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 16-18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
US Approves Sale Of IBM (NYSE: IBM) x86 Server Unit To Lenovo (HKEx: 992) (Businesswire)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Begins Storing Users’ Personal Data On Servers In China (English article)
Smartphone makers Xiaomi and Huawei are learning tough new lessons this week, reflecting intense competition in the overheated market where a feisty field of Chinese players are vying for a place alongside global leaders Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Samsung (Seoul: 005930). In Xiaomi’s case, the company has become emboiled in an embarrassing new gaffe in Taiwan involving collection of personal data. Meantime, Huawei’s Honor line of smartphones, which it’s trying to position as an mid- to upscale brand, is rapidly moving into the bargain bin with word that it has slashed the price on a new 4G model to just 799 yuan, or $130. Read Full Post…
The following is the 7th and final part in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
WeChat builds an ecosystem
While China might be behind the US in many key areas of Internet development, it is quite advanced in the use of smartphones as the primary device for accessing the Internet. Tech guru Mary Meeker’s 2014 Internet Trends Report showed that China has more than 500 million mobile Internet users, accounting for 80 percent of its online population, the highest level worldwide. With the nation’s smartphone prices in freefall and high-speed 4G access expanding, it’s likely that a majority of Chinese people will be on the mobile Internet in the next 5 to 6 years. Read Full Post…
Update: Since originally writing this post, several reports have appeared saying Apple’s name wasn’t included on the latest government procurement list because it failed to submit the necessary paperwork.
I really didn’t want to write again about another major multinational getting bashed in China, but it seems hard to ignore the latest reports that gadget giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has formally joined the list of companies being banned from selling to the government due to national security concerns. At this rate, Chinese government agencies won’t be able to buy technology products from any foreign companies soon, and will be forced to do all their buying from domestic firms. That’s somewhat ironic, since many of those domestic firms are far less experienced than big global names like Apple and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), and thus are far more likely to unknowingly design products with major security flaws. Read Full Post…
I recently wrote how smartphone price wars may be claiming one of their first major victims in ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), and now we’re getting word that crosstown rival Huawei may also be getting crunched in the ongoing battle for supremacy at the low end of the market. The latest reports cite Huawei’s mobile device chief saying the company is formally ducking out of ultra low-end smartphones in its home China market, in what can only be seen as a major retreat for one of China’s biggest tech companies. Read Full Post…
The aggressive duo of Huawei and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) may be consolidating their spots on the global smartphone stage, as domestic rival ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 00063) shows signs of stumbling. Those are my major takeaways from the latest quarterly smartphone results released from industry research firm IDC, which show big sales and market share gains for Huawei and Lenovo in the second quarter of this year. ZTE, meantime, appeared to be moving in the opposite direction, falling further in the ratings after briefly surging last year. Read Full Post…
