A new trend has appeared in the mobile phone market in China – a smartphone launched at a retail price of just $100 US – a considerably more cost effective option than those previously released by Chinese mobile phone manufacturers. The Shuidi handset, which has been produced by Chongqing Guohong Technology Development, was released at a product presentation meeting held in Beijing and the mobile phone boasts cutting edge technology such as the Android 2.3.5 system as well as the 800Mhz processor capability. This, combined with the retail price that the phone is being sold at – via the Chinese shopping website 360buy.com – seem set to cause a considerable flurry of interest in China itself, as well as abroad, and may have far-reaching influence on the worldwide mobile phone industry. After all it’s not every day you can find cheap mobile phones like this with such high quality and specs.
Already there are predictions that the Shuidi handset may become a popular alternative to ones produced by companies such as Apple amongst consumers in markets outside of China, because the Chinese mobile phone provides all of the functionalities mobile phone enthusiasts have come to expect from models like the iPhone, but costs a great deal less. Research into what consumers value most in a mobile phone has indicated that the most important factor for most mobile phone users is the practical usefulness of the device, rather than issues such as brand name value and the luxuriousness of the phone. This would suggest that there would be a significant international market for a phone offering the same functions at a much lower cost.
The smartphone handsets produced in China already account for approximately 50 percent of the overall domestic market share, with this overall market dominance by phones made in China likely to grow further thanks to the Shuidi handset. However this may prove to be the mobile phone produced in China that rivals the iPhone and other popular phones produced by the top manufacturers, when it comes to the markets in America and Europe.
Recent Comments