smartphone Archives - Inside Retail Asia
Smartphone smuggling ring busted
Hong Kong Customs has smashed a suspected cross-boundary smartphone smuggling syndicate this week.
Pepsi smartphone planned for China
A Pepsi smartphone will soon be launched in China after the US beverage giant teamed with an unnamed technology manufacturer.
Flipkart to use Singapore image search tech
Indian online marketplace Flipkart has adopted image search technology developed by ViSenze in Singapore.
Kodak makes comeback
Kodak – the famous photography brand almost killed off by the digital revolution – has made a comeback. In a digital form, of course. Kodak has unveiled a new smartphone at this week’s CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, the product of a joint venture with specialist mobile device maker Bullitt Group. Called the Kodak IM5 smartphone it’s a 5″ high definition Android-based smartphone its makers describe as being “as easy to use as it is smart”. Not surprisingly, photog…
Oppo opens Singapore flagship
Chinese mobile phone brand Oppo has opened a flagship retail store in Singapore. The store, located in Suntec City, is aimed at building brand awareness and engaging with existing and potential purchasers of Oppo phones. Oppo is one of the fastest growing smartphone brands in Asia, gaining rapid awareness, empathy and traction with younger consumers. It was one of the first Chinese smartphone developers to introduce a 1080p resolution screen and amongst its more unique innovations was a si…
[:en]Asians love shopping by mobile [:zh]亚洲区对手机购物的热衷
[:en]Mobile shopping is on the rise in Asia Pacific in step with the growing number of smartphone and tablet users. Reports say smartphones and tablet computers are expected to further fuel the growth of online retail sales in the Asia Pacific to more than $400 billion a year by 2018. According to Euromonitor, smartphone users in Asia Pacific will increase from around 390 million in 2013 to nearly 700 million by 2017. Meanwhile, tablet and other portable computer users will ri…
China leads global mobile commerce
Consumers worldwide are increasingly using multi-platform devices, especially mobile, to enhance their in-store shopping experience. And China leads the way in terms of m-commerce with 76 per cent of smartphone users making a mobile purchase in the last three months, says global marketing and technology agency DigitasLBi. That’s more than double the 35 per cent in the US, UK, Germany and Singapore, it says. DigitasLBi says half of survey respondents worldwide agreed the use of smartphon…
Five key consumer trends in 2014
What trends will consumers be buying into in 2014? Global research house Mintel has identified five key trends set to impact the consumer market across Asia Pacific. Internationalism Whether to share joy, like the global celebration of the UK’s royal baby, or to remember, in the case of the passing of esteemed leaders like former South African President Nelson Mandela, the global community has become close-knit. Connections are heightened by the immediacy provided by technology; each …
Thai mobile retailer to double revenue
Thai mobile retailer Jay Mart is bullish about trading prospects, expecting to achieve 27 billion baht ($815.9 million) revenue by 2017. That’s double this year’s expected 13.5 billion baht ($408 million). Capitalising on the increasing demand for smartphones, Jay Mart plans to increase its store count from 255 to 300 by the end of the year. It also expects to sell 1.7 million handsets this year, up from 1.2 million last year. Jay Mart’s net profit in the first nine months of 2013 wa…
Smartphone sales surge in SE Asia
Intensifying demand propelled Southeast Asia’s smartphone sales volume by 61 per cent in the first nine months. The ongoing trend of upgrading from basic mobile phones to smartphones, particularly in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets has further deepened smartphone penetration in the region and driving robust sales of the popular gadget, finds GfK. In the first three quarters of this year, consumers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines have…
Xiaomi to open 18 shops
China’s smartphone maker Xiaomi is to open 18 shops before the year ends – but not to sell phones. The 18 bricks-and-mortar stores will only offer accessories such as phone cases, batteries and cables and serve as pick-up outlets for online orders and as repair hubs for damaged devices. Xiaomi’s mobile devices are currently sold through e-commerce and partner carriers. Xiaomi VP Li Wanqiang expects to hit a revenue of more than 1 billion yuan (US$164 million) from selling accessories th…
HTC China in massive expansion
Taiwanese phone maker HTC is planning to massively expand its Chinese footprint. HTC says it aims to have 4000 stores across China by next year from 3000 currently. “Our expansion plan will first target dozens of tier-one and tier-two Chinese cities, as a faster approach to help us reach consumers,” said Jack Tong, president of HTC’s China and North Asia operations. “In a highly competitive market, we should not only focus on our products but also try to reach out to customers in every …