Windows Phone is still nowhere to be seen in China

Back in September I wrote:

As a side note, Nokia says their largest market thus far for Windows Phone has been China. I saw a woman with one in Hong Kong today (just one), but I have yet to see with my own eyes any pedestrians on the mainland walking around with one. Where are all of these supposed Chinese Windows phones?

Just read this from Computer World about Nokia in China:  

In China, things are even worse. The Financial Times reports that Nokia made a deal with with China Telecom for the carrier to sell a customized version of Nokia's Windows Phone Lumia, so you would expect that to help sales boom. That didn't happen. The Times says that Nokia sold only 4.6 million phones in China for the fourth quarter, compared to 14.7 million in the fourth quarter a year previously. This massive drop in sales occured even though the Chinese market is going like gangbusters, and will be the world's largest for smartphones in 2012.

I will repeat my same statement from September - Where are all these Windows Phones they're supposedly selling? (single digit millions is a small number in a country of a billion people, but it's not an invisible number) I was shocked/fascinated to see a Lumia 920 next to me in the subway the other day. It was bright red and in the possession of a girl about a foot taller than me. Part of the fascination was because outside of electronics retailers I hadn't seen a Windows Phone in the wild for months. 

Guessing it's difficult to sell many Windows Phones when the below is a typical type of advertisement from China Telecom. That's 14 (extremely) cheap Android phones, one lone Nokia Windows Phone, and one I-look-like-an-iPhone-so-believe-me-that-I-work-just-like-an-iPhone phone.

Advertisement at a bus stop in the high-tech district of Nanshan, Shenzhen. 

So why didn't I end up buying a Lumia 920 as I was originally thinking about doing in my September post? The sad fact is the phone is a tank of a phone. I had heard this stated in reviews but when I finally got a chance to see and hold one in person... man, it's an absolute tank, both in size and weight. 

Baby got back. 

Why can't Android and WP phone makers produce high end phones that aren't bricks or phablets. There must be people out there like me who aren't built like the Hulk and don't carry around a purse and want to easily use their phones one handed while walking around. That's the main reason I stuck with the iPhone. 

HTC has a "solution"...

Today's Big Stories for October 16, 2012

1. How China's Self-Made Women Billionaires Earned Their Fortunes

Just eight women rank among the 100 wealthiest people in China, according to the Forbes list of China’s 100 richest, published last week. Of those eight women, two inherited their fortunes. The other six are self-made billionaires – a pretty impressive statistic, considering that just 7 of the 45 women on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans built their own fortunes.

What’s amazing is how young, relatively speaking, most of the Chinese women billionaires are. Five out of the six are in their forties. Their youth speaks to the incredible growth of capitalism, and the growth of the economy, in recent decades in China.

An interesting read.

2. China and Its Trade Practices Are Coming to the Debates

Many Asia experts say Mr. Romney’s comments are indeed tough. They begin with a pledge to brand Beijing a currency manipulator on his first day in office, and end with promises to increase America’s

already formidable military presence in the western Pacific and sell new American fighter jets to Taiwan. Analysts say such moves would amount to a profound shift in a policy toward China that has remained remarkably constant for decades across Republican and Democratic administrations. And they would be virtually certain to upend relations with Beijing’s leaders.

Why don't any of the candidates have the guts to tell the American public the truth - that access to China's middle class is good for American businesses and (as posted below) Chinese businesses are more and more investing in the US. 

3. Coffee Chain Brands Expand In Retail Downturn

International coffee chain brands are rapidly expanding in the Chinese market against the background of a retail industry downturn.

Howard Schultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUC) said earlier this year that though Chinese economic growth has slowed, he is still confident in a stable market and that by 2015, 1500 Starbucks outlets will be open in mainland China. Costa, from Italy, is trying to get a foothold in shopping malls by cooperating with Beijing Huanglian Group (600361.SH). Costa owns about 200 outlets in China now, and plans to take one-third of the share of the Chinese coffee market by opening 2500 outlets by 2018. Paul Smith, CEO of Costa Asia, has even said he will "resign if he cannot beat Starbucks in China".

Every time I go into a Chinese Starbucks it's packed with people. China still has a lot of growth potential in this area - I was just in Korea and there were 2-3 coffee shop on every block.

4. ZTE Shares Dive On Q3 Warnings

Shenzhen-based ZTE and cross-town rival Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's second-largest telecom gear maker, are fighting weakened sales as some clients postpone spending on telecom equipment.

Both their outlooks have also been muddied by a recent US congressional report that urged American firms to stop doing business with them due to potential security concerns, but both have denied the report's allegations.

That US congressional report was devastating to both ZTE's and Huawei's American growth potential.

5. Yuan Rises To New High Against Dollar

The Chinese yuan traded at an intraday peak of 6.2654 against the dollar on China's spot currency market Friday, a record high against the greenback according to data provided by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), a development which likely signals the weakening value of the dollar rather than the start of another major round of appreciation by the renminbi, experts told the Global Times Sunday.

When I first arrived in China the exchange rate to the dollar was almost 8 to 1. Now it's approaching 6 to 1. Guess I should exchange those remaining dollars I have in my apartment to yuan.

6. Lumia 920T Leaks In China, Could Be Nokia's Ticket To A Huge New Subscriber Base

Corroborating earlier reports of a Lumia 920 that is compatible with China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network, the phone's settings screen mentions "CMCC", which is a reference to that operator -- although it's not clear whether the handset will also support the carrier's proposed LTE network. 

I will be very tempted to buy this phone if it works on China Mobile's new LTE network. I need to keep my current China Unicom phone number but am also interested in getting a China Mobile LTE device. This could be that device (finger's crossed). 

7. Chinese Investment In US Grows Despite Rhetoric

Despite calls for curbs on Chinese firms in the United States as the presidential election campaign heats up, mainland and Hong Kong investments in the US have nearly doubled this year and are expected to remain strong next year.

The value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by Hong Kong and Chinese companies in the US soared by 93.7 per cent to US$6.96 billion in the first nine months of this year, according to Mergermarket, an international publisher of deals data.

Your move, Apple

Very interesting Nokia announcements today which include the new flagship Lumia 920 Windows Phone. I'm especially intrigued with the camera technology and mapping features Nokia has built into the phone; they look great. In the Q&A after the announcement, Nokia responded to a question about the date of a Chinese release by saying they had nothing to announce at this point but obviously China is a very important market to them. As a side note, Nokia says their largest market thus far for Windows Phone has been China. I saw a woman with one in Hong Kong today (just one), but I have yet to see with my own eyes any pedestrians on the mainland walking around with one. Where are all of these supposed Chinese Windows phones? 

Anyway, Apple, it's your turn to impress me because for the first time in years I'm considering not upgrading my iPhone and instead sticking with the iPhone 4 for phone calls and iMessage (my main communication method with Mom) and buying the Lumia 920 as a secondary device for camera/photos/media consumption. I'm thinking yellow or red. 

Which phone to get?

I enjoy technology and enjoy dreaming about owning technology. I've been an iPhone guy and don't care at all for Android. While nothing will stop me from continuing to use my iPhone, I do like what Microsoft is doing with Windows Phone. Unlike Google with Android, Microsoft took their time (which unfortunately dented their marketshare) and created a unique and fresh os that in some ways surpasses Apple's iOS. I'd love to support the platform and thus am very interested in getting one once Windows Phone 8 is released later this year.

Samsung just announced a new Windows Phone 8 phone based on the Galaxy S III hardware. As I was reading the linked post and getting very excited, I realized I had completely forgotten about Nokia's September 5th event which will certainly be used to debut two or three new Windows Phone devices. 

I was pretty set on buying an iPhone 5 later this year but if Nokia announces a new Windows Phone 8 phone with a PureView camera, all bets are off. So, buy an iPhone 5 or continue with the trusty iPhone 4 and get the new Nokia PureView Windows Phone in addition? Hmm...

Nokia confirms China layoffs

Not good. I have a past classmate, a Korean man, who works for Nokia China. Hope this isn't affecting him. 

China articles I'm reading on April 20, 2012

1. Ford Doubling Production in China With New $760 Million Factory - Bloomberg

Ford Motor Co. (F), playing catch up in China, plans to build a $760 million assembly plant in Hangzhou that will double its Chinese output to 1.2 million vehicles annually.

---

“Ford got a late start in China,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for researcher LMC Automotive in Troy, Michigan. “GM has a lineup there that is more robust in Ford’s lineup. Ford needs to work on its brand image in China and expand its product offerings.”

2. China at Heart of Nokia's Troubles - Wall Street Journal

In an ocean of red ink, it is hard to know on what to concentrate. Nokia has always built its strength on its appeal in emerging markets, and while sales were down in all emerging markets, the vale of tears in China is a catastrophic blow.

3. More Chinese get US green card - China Daily

More than 87,000 Chinese-born people became legal permanent residents (LPR) of the United States in 2011, the second largest number among countries gaining green cards in the US.

Chinese-born people make up 8.2 percent of the total 1.06 million people gaining green cards in 2011, according to a report on new LPRs issued by the US Department of Homeland Security last week.

4. Overseas phone firms smarting over losses in market - China Daily

International mobile phone companies have begun selling low-priced smartphones in China as they struggle to turn the tide in their battle with their Chinese rivals.

Hands-on with the Nckia C6

As you may have guessed, the Nckia C6 is not an actual Nokia. It is a relatively cheap knockoff that attempts to closely copy the form and function of the real Nokia C6. Mobile phone knockoffs are very popular in China and hundreds of varieties of fake Nokias, iPhones, and Android phones can be found at any large computer market. This is a hands-on with one such model.

The C6 pairs a resistive touch screen with a slide out numerical pad (unlike the landscape slide-out QWERTY keyboard of the real C6). Under the screen are three physical buttons: Select, menu, and cancel. Removing the back cover reveals two SIM card slots and a 950mAh replaceable battery. Upon first touch, this phone is surprisingly nice to hold. The edges are gently curved and the phone has a good weight to it. The mechanical sliding action of the number pad is very smooth and stays firmly locked in place when not in use. 

The phone has a 3 megapixel camera on the back and a small front facing camera. After taking a few pictures, I unfortunately have to say that this advertised 3 megapixel count is a lie. The picture quality is the worst of any phone (or camera) I have ever used and the shutter is very slow. I was unable to test the front facing camera as no application utilizes it. 

Where the phone really starts to disappoint is with its slow software and resistive touchscreen. The software is modeled after both Symbian and iOS. The home screen and most supporting applications are similar to those of a real Symbian phone. These applications include a Wap interned browser, voice recorder, FM radio, QQ messenger (a Chinese instant messaging platform), ebook reader, and NES emulator. The unlock screen, phone dialer, and camera app closely mimic the iPhone's. 

The resistive screen is difficult to use and requires long nails and a lot of downward pressure to register any touches. The C6 does have an attached stylus but the short length of the cord renders it almost useless, especially when writing Chinese characters. Most users will probably opt to simply use their fingers to operate the touchscreen. 

Overall, this phone feels great to hold but the resistive screen, laggy software, and terrible camera make it a pain to use. The phone can be bought at most illegal phone and computer markets for around 500元 ($78). My suggestion is to save your money until you have 1200元 to spend on a real Nokia. 你不应该买这个手机!

[I apologize for the quality of the video below. The video is upside down, which apparently this is a known iOS bug. The image and sound also do not match up correctly. Not sure if uploading to Youtube (instead of Youku) would make any difference. Watch if you dare.] 

More photos of the Nckia C6 can be found here. 

NCKIA NSeries

Nokia body with iPhone lock screen and resistive touch screen technology. Fun to look at but certainly not a joy to use. 

Shenzhen, China