Chinese Smartphone Maker Expected to Surpass Apple

Chinese Smartphone Maker Expected to Surpass Apple

Lei Jun, the head of Xiaomi, one of the fastest-growing smartphone companies in China, gave full of praise – and a little hint of envy when asked about Steve Jobs.

“When Steve was alive, he was the best,” Mr. Lei said during a recent interview. “Nobody could surpass him. Nothing could surpass the iPhone.”

Apple and its late co-founder was never late when it comes to a number of challengers including China, a country that analysts expect will overtake the United States this year as the world’s largest market for smartphones.

Xiaomi’s marketing strategy has been to ride on the back of the “cult of Apple” and of its creator, said Wei Wuhui, a technology industry expert at Shanghai Jiaotong University.

“Many Chinese consumers have come to idolize the Apple brand, and Xiaomi has been there to provide a similar product at a much cheaper price,” he said.

Fans and critics have been known to refer to the Xiaomi smartphone as the “Chinese iPhone.” In one of Beijing’s many China Unicom stores, Xiaomi was described by a sales representative as “the little brother of Apple” which is an effective way to attract customers.

“Xiaomi is the real fake,” Oliver Jin, a university student in Shanghai who hopes to buy a Xiaomi, said the contrary however.

Apple launched its first store in China last 2008 and started selling the iPhone in the country in 2009. It initially had plans to open 25 stores by 2012 – but only six Apple Stores are in operation in mainland China. One of the company’s problem in the country have been the sale of fake iPhones to copycat vendors who set up unlicensed “Apple Stores.”

Posted by James Fried on Tuesday October 30 2012, 3:01 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0