China's mobile brands nurture global ambitions

• Tags:
• Haier,
• Brands,
• Globe,
• Amoisonic

Winston Chai CNet Asia

Published: 11 Jul 2003 09:10 BST

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Handset brands like Amoisonic and Haier may be unheard of outside China, but a report suggests these phone makers can now give the likes of Nokia a run for their money.

According to a study by Portelligent, a US-based market research firm specialising in consumer electronics, Chinese handset makers have what it takes to compete both in domestic and export markets around the world.

This conclusion stemmed from an in-depth analysis of 17 handsets from 11 Chinese firms including Amoisonic, Ningbo Bird, Capitel, Eastcom, Haier, Kejian, Konka and Legend, the company said in a statement.

"Having done detailed 'product teardown' analyses of over 100 mobile phones from around the world in the last three years, we were favourably impressed by the design of these Chinese products, and by the capabilities of the handset makers behind them," said David Carey, president of Portelligent.

"While still a step behind the major multinationals, Chinese handset makers are rolling out competent products with very competitive manufacturing costs. The rate of progress demonstrated by the Chinese producers and their potential threat to the current pecking order in worldwide handset market share should not be underestimated," he stressed.

The firm said 2G (second generation) and 2.5G phones from the mainland performed well on most counts and are comparable to those produced by major multinationals. In particular, a pen-like GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) phone -- from Haier -- P5 -- which features a built-in laser pointer and voice recorder, stood out as a novel design concept, it added.

Portelligent's study also found that Chinese mobile phone makers tend to "mix and match" components rather than using a complete chipset and design from a single supplier.

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