Tencent Publishes Certimo™ Smartphone Ratings to 200M+ Consumers

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. and BEIJING, Feb. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mobile Experience Alliance, an open membership-based organization providing user experience ratings for mobile devices, joins Tencent,  a leading provider of comprehensive Internet services in China, in announcing the publishing of the first set of Certimo™ ratings for Android smartphones to hundreds of millions of users on Tencent's QQ.com network.  Certimo™ (www.certimo.org) is a new rating system for mobile devices that accurately reflects consumer experiences, empowering consumers to select their next smartphone with confidence.

The Next Era for Consumers of Mobile Devices—User Experience Ratings

With over 1 billion smartphones shipped globally last year[1], the mobile industry is investing in the creation of new mobile technologies and user experiences at an ever increasing pace. However, many smartphones have similar designs and features, and consumers are often confused about which phone is right for them. Compounding this challenge is the lack of reliable information to help consumers determine how smartphones will perform in the usage scenarios that consumers care about—their user experience. Consumers and stakeholders in the mobile ecosystem are demanding a consumer-friendly, unbiased and accurate user experience rating system. Certimo is the solution.

With Certimo, consumers have a trustworthy way to evaluate different vendors' smartphones through standardized measurements—including application performance, web browsing, messaging, multimedia, infotainment, display quality and battery life—all based on real-world operating conditions and use cases. Each user experience is rigorously measured and the ratings are independently certified by BDTI (Berkeley Design Technology, Inc.), the technology industry's trusted source for benchmarks, analysis, advice, and engineering. The first version of Certimo is available now and is designed to evaluate Android smartphones based on how consumers in China actually use their phones. Future versions of Certimo will be available for other regions and other device types.

"As our exclusive media partner in China, Tencent is the perfect partner to promote Certimo ratings to consumers in the world's largest smartphone market," explained Dino Brusco, General Manager of the Mobile Experience Alliance. "The Certimo ratings measure things that matter to consumers and are designed to truly empower consumers to purchase a smartphone that best fits their personal needs. The Mobile Experience Alliance invites all mobile industry participants to join in this endeavor."

The first Certimo ratings published by Tencent include user experience ratings for popular Android smartphones sold in China from manufacturers such as HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, OPPO, Samsung, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE. These ratings are available on the Tencent website (http://digi.tech.qq.com) and at www.certimo.org.

QQ.com's editor, Caitlyn Chen, commented, "Certimo provides an objective and accurate analysis of product characteristics based on user-experience, to provide an accurate and reliable basis for decision making. As the digital channel of one of China's largest Internet portals, Tencent Digital channel will leverage our media-oriented operation to bring the consumer benefits of the Certimo rating to China."

About the Mobile Experience Alliance (MEA)

The Mobile Experience Alliance (MEA) is an open membership-based organization for all key stakeholders in the mobile ecosystem with a shared vision of creating a consumer-friendly user experience rating system for mobile devices. Members of the MEA have access to the Certimo benchmark and rating system and all Certimo ratings are certified as unbiased and accurate prior to publication. Members may gain access to the Certimo benchmark tests in advance of their product introductions for internal use during their product development cycle.  Tencent Digital is MEA's exclusive media partner in China.

For more information, please visit www.mobile-xperience.com.

About Tencent
Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Every day, hundreds of millions of people communicate, share experiences, consume information, seek entertainment, and shop online through our integrated platforms. Our diversified services include QQ, Weixin and WeChat for communications; Qzone for social networking; QQ Game Platform for online games; QQ.com for information; as well as our eCommerce open platform. Our company was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 and went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. We seek to evolve with the Internet by investing in innovation, providing a hospitable environment for our partners, and staying close to our users.

About BDTI (Berkeley Design Technology, Inc.)
For over 20 years, BDTI www.BDTI.com has been a leading provider of independent technology analysis and benchmarks. BDTI benchmarks are used by leading electronic system and semiconductor companies and have become the most trusted benchmarks in the electronics industry.  BDTI was founded by U.C. Berkeley faculty and researchers, and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

[1] Source: IDC Press Release, January 27, 2014

For more information, please visit www.BDTI.com.

Media Contact
Dino Brusco
[email protected]
+1 (925) 954-1411

SOURCE Mobile Experience Alliance