Global handset maker ZTE rises to fifth

Some cool Android smart terminals are not the only secret to ZTE's top five in global sales, and the clever cooperation and gaming with operators is the greater wisdom. Wen |CBN reporter Chen If you haven't paid attention to the global handset makers for a while, take a closer look at the global handset shipments in the first quarter of 2011-Nokia, Samsung and LG are still the same as they were two years ago, but Sony Ericsson and Motorola have already failed to replace Apple,　　And China's ZTE. Apple's list is no surprise, and ZTE's performance has been somewhat surprising.　　Although few people around you may be using the brand's mobile phone, data from market consultancy Strategy Analytics and IDC show that ZTE's handset shipments reached 15 million in the quarter.　　Overseas markets account for around 70% of all ZTE's handset terminals, and Huawei's 75% per cent sales share is done overseas. ZTE's independent brand, Android smartphone blade, has been in Finland for 8 consecutive weeks in September 2010, when Huawei began promoting the independent brand Ideos series of Android smartphones in Europe. He was the first in the smartphone sales of the UK telecom operator, Orange.　　Almost at the same time, ZTE's smartphone entered the US market and reached a deal with Verizon, the telecoms operator, to sell ZTE's other Android smartphone-salute, and the joint development of the first smartphone is about to be unveiled in the second half of the year. Two companies have chosen a common growth path-from low-end machines + OEM to high-end smartphone products + independent brands.　　In terms of handset terminal sales, ZTE is better than Huawei. Especially in the European market: in 2010, ZTE cooperated with almost all of Europe's operators to achieve more than 100% per cent growth in sales. ZTE's earnings figures show that the market share of ZTE's handsets in France, Britain and Germany accounted for 5.6%, 3.5% and 3.8% respectively. "This year we have achieved large-scale development in Europe."　　"ZTE Mobile phone product system Europe Operating department general manager Lin said."　　None of these ratios are high, but for ZTE, which has been selling mobile phones overseas since 2004 with the help of telecoms equipment, the data means it is finally getting started and trying to deal directly with consumers. As overseas operators dominate the business model of handset sales, the brand image of handset makers must maintain a delicate balance between the interests of telecoms operators and the preferences of consumers. In this regard, ZTE soon found the object of learning-HTC. "This company has brought us a lot of thinking shocks," Shiyou, ZTE's executive vice president, told the first financial weekly. With an Asian company and a OEM company, HTC relies on the reputation of its products and the long-term relationship with its operators to becomeThe image of "humble excellence" (quietly brilliant), a popular European smartphone brand, has been deeply rooted. ZTE also summed up the success of the Apple iphone. "One is the brand strength, the other is the innovation ability, the third is the supply chain, finally all pointed to the user experience". ZTE Mobile phone product System Chief Technology officer Kang Yulun to "first financial weekly" said.　　He said ZTE had no intention of duplicating the success of the iphone, but it helped the entire team understand the nature of smartphones. Kang Yulun led a research and development team of more than 4,000 people, with offices in Shanghai, Nanjing, Xian, Chengdu and Shenzhen, as well as Europe and the United States. But most of the research and development work is undertaken by the Chinese team, with less than 100 overseas teams responsible for tracking new technologies and developing localized product strategies. "Starting with mobile phones in 1998, research and development teams are expanding at a rate of 10% a year."　　"Kang Yulun said. Most of the research and Development Department is responsible for software system and hardware adaptation, as well as targeted application development. Mobile phone user interface (UI) design and interactive research is also part of the research and development department, but this kind of high-end work is partly outsourced to South Korea and Japan's mobile design companies.　　In order to meet the needs of operators, ZTE also needs to help operators to do some customization services. It's not enough to really make a smartphone cool.　　ZTE tried to negotiate deep cooperation with Google in 2010 when it launched its first smartphone based on Android. As the Android camp ballooned, Google launched the CTS (Compatibility test Suite) compatibility test to ensure the user experience on high-end smartphones while maintaining the stability of the Android system and its own commercial interests. Only the devices that pass the test can gain the right to Android's trademark and App Store Android harsh.　　Google even has to bear the "Android increasingly monopoly" query, a large number of non-front-line handset manufacturers in the more advanced version of the Android system licensing door. At the beginning of 2011, ZTE, together with Samsung, Motorola and HTC, became Google's first batch of Android2.3 authorized partners.　　Soon after a positioning flagship ZTE smartphone skate on time to carry the latest Android2.3 operating system. For such a high-end image, ZTE has to accept that there are no alternatives to certain things-the application chip can only have two main suppliers: Qualcomm and nvidia-they have unparalleled performance on dual-core microprocessors and low power. The spending accounts for about 20% of ZTE's smartphone costs. Nor can it be too much of a cost to pay for another vital piece of spending-display purchases account for a 20% of ZTE's smartphone.　　That is why the price of high-end Android smartphones, including Motorola and Samsung, is generally high. However, ZTE still insists that the middle and high-end smart handsThe price of the machine pulls down to 150 US dollars or even 100 US dollars-other mainstream firms usually offer more than 200 dollars.　　For a newcomer, nothing can capture the heart of an operator more than a cost advantage. As is often the case, telecoms operators in Europe and the United States sell smartphones by providing up to $ hundreds of trillion in subsidies for each handset, reducing operator profitability.　　If the operator can provide low-cost and no subsidy to the smartphone, it will be easier to become operators to promote the brand. Most of the world's smart-phone assembly plants and parts makers are in China, which means ZTE can buy inexpensive spare parts and achieve low-cost integration. ZTE's handsets, with the exception of chips and displays, have achieved domestic sourcing for almost all of its accessories.　　And almost every key component has more than 2 suppliers. ZTE did not produce a mobile phone factory to adopt a foundry model.　　In mainland China, a total of more than 10 manufacturers provide ZTE with core components and end products, mostly in Shenzhen, which is also home to ZTE's headquarters. Even so, ZTE still has to bear the necessary price.　　According to ZTE's 2010 earnings, the end of the period of business income growth of 37.15%, but 20.26% of the gross profit margin than a year earlier slipped 5.88%, if the removal of the Internet card products such as gross margin support, the mobile phone's gross margin is lower.　　"We are simply sacrificing some of the profits in exchange for the market," shiyou the first financial weekly. Low prices helped ZTE's smartphone capture a range of top telecoms operators. ZTE listed the world's 36 most influential telecom operators as the main direction, referred to as TOP36.　　As of 2010, TOP36 has established a 90% partnership with ZTE.　　The next step is to highlight the brand in the game with the operator--in the global sales system of ZTE handsets, China's 100% use of ZTE's own brand, overseas market 1/3 is the use of ZTE Brand, 1/3 using ZTE and carrier joint brands, and another 1/3 is the use of carriers or third-party brands. Shiyou said that ZTE's mobile terminal faced "two startups" in 2011, the core of which is to expand the scope of the ZTE brand.　　He found that companies like Apple and Samsung were particularly willing to spend their money on brands, even though their brands were investing more than ZTE's research and development effort, and the brand's input and return were clearly proportional. But it still relies on carrier strategy. "In Africa with operators, no one will pay attention to you." But if you work with the mainstream American operators, people will automatically pay attention to you, so our strategy is to catch large state operators.　　"Shiyou said.　　Their first step is to let small operators know that ZTE is the best partner, and then connect with the big carriers through small carriers and then pass them on to consumers through big carriers. "When the product becomes the star product, the small operator all hits ZTE Brand, those strong operator cooperates with me, I request it must use myBrand. We often use this method in Europe.　　"Shiyou said. For ZTE and Huawei, the issue before Nokia and Motorola came to them: in the process of becoming a mainstream handset manufacturer, it is necessary to deal with the balance between speed and effect, and to deal with the balance of market share and profit: The market share must be greatly improved-Nokia is so successful , and the profits can't be lower--that's how Motorola failed.