China Mobile launches own-brand smartphones

Lingxi, the Chinese version of Apple Inc's Siri service, will be installed on the new China Mobile smartphones. A year ago, China Mobile struck a $214 million deal to acquire a 15 percent stake in Anhui USTC iFlytek Co Ltd, a Chinese company that develops software and apps related to voice input services.

"Lingxi is a highlight of China Mobile smartphones," said Li Lin, a marketing manager with iFlytek. Compared with Siri, Lingxi is more localized and has partnered with third-party service providers such as Dianping.com and douban.com to offer helpful daily living information for customers, Li said.

"You can ask Lingxi to make a phone call, send a text message or find a nearby restaurant," Li explained.

The other benefit for China Mobile in its launch of own-brand smartphones is that it helps the carrier to expand and strengthen coverage in county-level markets.

"In tier five, tier six cities, which most mobile phone companies fail to reach, China Mobile can successfully sell smartphones through its powerful distribution channels," Yan from IDC said. Those areas are usually remote from bustling cities and have less intense market competition, he said.

Kevin Wang, an analyst with the research firm IHS iSuppli, said China Mobile's move will help reinforce its branding, but he said that he doubted the smartphone business will be a major revenue driver for the company.

"Foreign telecom operators such as AT&T and Vodafone have offered own-brand products for many years, but the own-brand smartphone proportion they sell is still small," Wang said.