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China’s ambitious handset makers face tough sell in U.S.

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LAS VEGAS – LG Electronics executive Frank Lee bounded onto a Las Vegas stage this week to show off a new phone for the U.S. market, the 6-inch G-Flex, which boasts a curved screen.

Two hours later, in another room at the same hotel, Huawei Technologies’ Richard Yu unveiled the razor-thin Ascend Mate II, bragging it had a battery life of nearly two days.

There was one key difference between the two product launches at the Consumer Electronics Show: the South Korean G-Flex will be sold through three U.S. carriers – T-Mobile U.S. Inc, AT&T Inc and Sprint Corp. The Chinese Ascend Mate II? None, at least not yet.

In two years, China’s three biggest handset makers – Huawei, ZTE Corp and Lenovo Group Ltd – have vaulted into the top ranks of global smartphone charts, helped in part by their huge domestic market and spurring talk of a new force in the smartphone wars.

Chinese companies took up more showspace at CES than ever before, eager to tout their products to the world’s largest electronics market. Still, analysts said it will likely take years for the Chinese to make headway in the United States, where arguably the only Asian brand to have succeeded is Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

Aside from their struggles to get onto store shelves – U.S. carriers sell nine-tenths of the country’s handsets – Chinese handset makers continue to grapple with low brand awareness, perceptions of inferior quality, and even security concerns.

“The talk last year was premature,” said Frank Gillett, an analyst with Forrester Research. “It’s one thing to have the product. It’s another thing to have all the relationships, build the distribution channels and do the marketing.

“We’ll maybe start to see things kick in in 2015.”

In the third quarter of last year, ZTE and Huawei accounted for 5.7 percent and 3 percent of all phones sold in the United States, respectively, trailing Apple Inc’s 36.2 percent and Samsung’s 32.5 percent, according to IDC.

While Samsung was able to use Google Inc’s Android software to offer a viable rival to the iPhone, that path now is too well trodden with many brands offering Android phones.

“It’s a tall order to climb into this market and gain significant share now, simply because they’re coming in after habits are established, technology is established and brand names are established,” Gillett said.

THE CHINESE ARE COMING

It’s not for lack of trying. Karen Chupka, one of the organizers of CES, said more than 1,800 Chinese companies turned up this year. She did not provide a comparison.

Huawei and ZTE occupied prominent – and pricey – positions at the center of one of the cavernous halls. Huawei said it doubled the size of its booth in two years, and even parked a Mercedes sedan on the floor to attract participants.

For Huawei and ZTE, the push into handsets came amid a general slow-down in their bread-and-butter business of selling networking equipment to telecoms companies.

Frustrated by accusations on Capitol Hill that national security would be compromised if Chinese networking equipment were installed in the United States, they have sought to double down on handsets for American consumers instead.

“That’s a cloud over Huawei’s ability to operate here,” said Endpoint Technologies analyst Roger Kay. “Huawei suffers from something that Lenovo is also smeared with, but Huawei is tarred even worse than Lenovo ever was” in part because of persistent reports about its ties to the Chinese military.

Compared to many other markets where consumers buy phones at full price for use on pre-paid plans, 92 percent of Americans buy heavily subsidized devices through carriers, IDC says.

“The key to success in the U.S. is the carriers,” ZTE USA President Lixin Cheng told Reuters this week in Vegas. He pointed to a nearby stack of papers. “That’s my schedule.”

“I’m meeting all the carriers’ C-level executives.”

ZTE unveiled late last year the Grand S, an unlocked phone that arrived in the U.S. market to mixed reviews. This week, the company unveiled a successor device, the Grand S II.

Billed as the world’s slimmest smartphone, Huawei’s Ascend P6 debuted to mostly positive reviews last year but was never picked up in the United States.

T-Mobile said it carries Huawei and ZTE devices, and Sprint said it sells a ZTE device. But these phones are not easily found in stores nor are they promoted on the carriers’ websites.

AT&T and Verizon did not respond to requests for comment.

THERE’S HOPE

Still, some analysts think the Chinese firms may have a better shot if the U.S. wireless operators change how they sell handsets. T-Mobile made waves last year when it said it would eliminate contracts for customers who pay full price for phones, and its bigger rivals followed suit with similar offers.

More changes may be underway: at CES this week, T-Mobile offered to pay termination fees for users who switch over, essentially offering more freedom to move than before.

Huawei and ZTE could make headway if carriers slash subsidies and more consumers are willing to pay full price, giving them an edge over high-end phones. But they may not see meaningful gains for at least two years, said ABI Research analyst Michael Morgan.

“They are already setting themselves up for where the puck is going to be tomorrow, when price becomes visible to the consumer again,” Morgan said. “There’s the crack in the armor for them to sneak through.”

Just as essential is marketing, something Chinese firms have less experience with than their foreign rivals. Huawei last year uploaded a tongue-in-cheek video of a man asking people around New York’s Times Square to pronounce “Huawei.” Most failed.

And “ZTE apparently has zero brand presence. No one knows who ZTE is,” Kay said.

In Vegas, Huawei touted figures showing brand recognition has doubled worldwide in the past year. But the least progress was made in the United States and Japan, where its brand awareness rose 5 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

The Chinese firm has been marketing directly to consumers only in the past three years, sponsoring European sports events and music events, such as a recent Jonas Brothers tour.

ZTE signed a deal with the Houston Rockets basketball team and released a Rockets-branded phone. Yet it will be hard-pressed to match Samsung’s 2013 marketing budget of $14 billion, greater than Iceland’s economy.

“Our approach is grassroots, not like many tier-one brand names,” Cheng said. “They’re burning hundreds of millions of dollars of your money – consumer money – to build their brand.”

Some think Lenovo stands the best chance of cracking the local market, given its longer track record here and a more established brand in the United States, courtesy of its 2005 acquisition of IBM’s PC division.

Lenovo itself expressed an interest in October in Blackberry, but the deal was reportedly nixed by Canadian regulators. Lenovo USA president Gerry Smith declined to discuss specific deals but said Lenovo will “continue to look.”

Kevin Restivo, an IDC analyst, said the Chinese contenders were making the right moves but it would take time.

“The Chinese smartphone makers have grown by leaps and bounds,” Restivo said. “But there’s a lot of heavy lifting in order for them to approach Samsung as far as status, brand and market share in the U.S. It’s very early days.”

– REUTERS

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ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue Partners EPRON, EL-AS Tech, WEE-Eco

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In efforts at spicing up the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, the management of ITREALMS Media has partnered with E-waste Producer Responsibility Organization of Nigeria (EPRON) membership organisations for a day-long collection scheme of small electronic waste on Friday, December 15, 2023.

The EPRON members aligning their partnership with 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue are EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited and WEEE Eco-Friendly.

ITREALMS’ day-long collection scheme is part of the commemoration of 2023 international E-Waste Day (IEWD) within the ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue with the theme “You Can Recycle Anything with a plug, battery or cable” at Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road, Lagos.

Revealing this collaboration, the Group Executive Editor, ITREALMS Media, the organisers of the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, Sir. Remmy Nweke, urged mobile device enthusiasts to come along with their devices that have reached their end-of-life to the venue for proper disposition by professionals who would also be on grounds to address some topical issues.

The collection of small electronic wastes especially mobile phones and like-devices, would be carried out by EPRON member organisation, EL-AS Tech Enterprises Limited as facilitated by ITREALMS Media group as part of this year’s ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue on Friday, December 15, he added.

He disclosed that the exercise would commence at Welcome Centre Hotel by 9am till close of work hours the same day.

Nweke pointed out that the collection of small e-waste items would include mobile phones, pointers mouse, earpieces, rechargeable torches, phone chargers, to name a few.

Further, he said, that this initiative has become time-serving because some people may have missed any other opportunity before now for the year-long campaign, hence this awareness on e-Waste has to be continuous, “ITREALMS came up with this scheme.”

Nweke beckoned on Nigerians, especially mobile phone users, to leverage the opportunity in disposing of their mobile devices they no longer use, of course in exchange for a voucher or gift item.

In her reaction to this year’s day-long small waste collection, EPRON Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi, described the initiative as commendable, expressing confidence it would intensify the collection of end-of-life devices for proper disposition.

Mrs. Faluyi, also urged Nigerians to take advantage of this day-long collection of small wastes courtesy of ITREALMS Media.

Recalling for instance that in October 2022, EPRON had partnered SLOT alongside some UN agencies for collection of small e-waste items in Lagos, including the United Nations Information Centres (UNIC), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).

This is even as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Aminu Maida and Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Prof. Aliyu Jauro, would both lead speakers at the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue slated for this Friday, December 15, in Lagos.

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iPhone 15: Things To Know About Apple’s Newest Model

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iPhone 15: Things To Know About Apple's Newest Model

Today, September 12, the tech corporation Apple will introduce the iPhone 15, their newest iPhone model.

According to a Forbes story, this model, which will be introduced at the company’s “Wanderlust” event in Cupertino, California, will be available in four variations: the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Here are five things you should know about the new iPhone 15 model.

1. The new model is made of titaniu, not stainless steel as some other Apple smartphone models, Senior research analyst at DIGITIMES, Luke Lin reports.

2. The Pro Max model will feature double the optical zoom on the iPhone 14 as it comes with a newly-introduced ‘periscope lens upgrade, performing 5-6x optical zoom.’

3. The Pro models will carry an A17 bionic chip expected to make it perform faster.

4. The iPhone 15 model will feature a USB-C charging port, the same port featured on some Android phone models.

5. Due to its titanium shell, the new model is anticipated to be more expensive to purchase. The following is the speculated price list, as reported by Forbes:
The iPhone 15 starts at $799, the iPhone 15 Plus at $899, the iPhone 15 Pro at $1,099 ($100 increase), and the iPhone 15 Pro Max at $1,299 ($200 increase).

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FG Partner With Firm, Set To Introduce 500 Autogas-Powered Buses

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FG Partner With Firm, Set To Introduce 500 Autogas-Powered Buses

In an effort to reduce the exorbitant cost of Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, the Infrastructure Bank Plc announced its collaboration with FEMADEC Group on Monday to offer 500 buses powered by autogas (Compressed Natural Gas).

Partners in the agreement claimed that the project was created to provide citizens with dependable, affordable, and environmentally friendly travel options, taking into account the negative effects of the nationwide increase in PMS costs.

Under Decree No. 51 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1992 Constitution, the Infrastructure Bank, originally known as the Urban Development Bank of Nigeria Plc, was founded in 1992 to promote the quick development of infrastructure throughout the nation.

In a statement issued in Abuja on its partnership with FEMADEC, the bank said, “The preliminary offer extended by TIB lays a solid foundation for the expansion of FEMADEC Group’s CNG bus fleet.

“With plans to introduce 500 CNG buses within the next five years, commencing with an initial batch of 50 buses in the forthcoming year, this proposal stands poised to instigate significant change.

“The acceptance of this proposition by FEMADEC Group, notably championed by Fola Akinnola, the Group Chief Executive Officer, is a testament to their zeal and dedication to this alliance.”

The bank described the partnership as a “pivotal endeavour that is primed to redefine Nigeria’s public transportation landscape, offering dependable, cost-effective, and ecologically conscious travel alternatives for citizens, while harmonising with the nation’s broader sustainability ambitions.”

“This partnership represents a remarkable stride towards a more ecologically aware future for Nigeria’s transportation sector, highlighting the shared commitment of both TIB and FEMADEC Group to sustainable advancement and progress.”

It said FEMADEC Group’s strides in operating Compressed Natural Gas buses, including the existing fleet of 20 CNG buses under LAMATA, underscored their unwavering dedication to ecologically sound solutions, a commitment predating the fuel subsidy removal.

“Their leadership within the CNG value chain is undeniable, and the new alliance with TIB underscores their foresight.

“This partnership seamlessly aligns with TIB’s sustainability objectives, echoing their resolute endorsement of the government’s net-zero and climate change agenda.

“The bank’s aspiration to champion Nigeria’s infrastructure progress is evident in its endorsement of pivotal initiatives like this, yielding expansive positive impacts on both the environment and society,” the bank stated.

The bank added that it would continue to make a significant contribution to the country’s growth as a leading financial institution committed to advancing effective and long-lasting infrastructure projects.

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