Guohong Shuidi Available at US$100; Chinese Mobile Phone Industry Reacts to Competition

BEIJING, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- On March 26, Chinese well-known company Chongqing Guohong Technology Development held a press conference in Beijing to announce the availability of a handset with extremely high cost performance, bringing a new challenge to China's mobile phone market. Called "Shuidi", the handset mainly targets the struggling young generation and has received a great deal of attention since its launch. It comes with high-end configurations that are commonly used in today's smart phones, and most importantly, it is sold at only RMB698 (approx US$100), which may trigger a price war in the Chinese mobile phone industry.

The ultra low price of US$100 is more like Guohong's active innovation than passive transformation and represents a strong response to foreign handset giants. In recent years, China's mobile phone market has experienced rapid development, and the emergence of smart phones has heated up the global market. Handset manufacturers pull out all the stops to grab a larger share of the huge Chinese market, which is home to one billion users. Some internationally recognized brands including Apple, Samsung and Nokia occupy more than 90 percent of the Chinese mobile phone market with high-end configurations. Apple and Samsung account for more than 50 percent of the entire industry in terms of revenue. The development of smart phones has encountered bottlenecks such as similar configurations, poor confidentiality and high prices. In order to differentiate themselves, China's domestic companies seek to beat foreign handset leaders with high cost performance.

It is known that the huge action taken by Guohong's Shuidi mobile phone follows full preparation. The company collected the usage patterns of 100 million users, and conducted tests and validations repeatedly. The US$ 100 low cost Shuidi is equipped with high-end smart phone configuration, the most popular Android2.3.5 system and 800Mhz CPU. With a concise and decent outlook, Shuidi has a charming 3.5-inch HVGA HD screen with wide angle and two cameras, and supports dual SIM cards on dual standby mode, catering for modern young people.

In addition, Guohong cooperates with a number of famous Chinese companies, staging a highlighted show of combination between the strong and greatly upgrading the vigour of Guohong's Shuidi. It can be inferred that the launch of Shuidi is a result of long-time hard work and accumulation of picks from China's various markets. For example, cooperation with 360.cn makes Shuidi possess of ultra strong cloud safe function; alliance with 360buy.com establishes the solid foundation for the mobile phone's availability through internet; and collaboration with multiple media agencies including sohu.com settles a worry-free environment for Shuidi to spread.

Since the beginning of the second half of 2011, China's mobile phone companies have been developing towards intelligentization in succession. TCL, Changhong, Lenovo, Hisense and Coolpad among other producers launched new products one after another, followed by capable Chinese producers including ZTE, Huawei and BBK (002251), as well as new powers including Meizu and Xiaomi, unveiling the curtain of Thousand RMB Smart Phone War. Guohong's Shuidi mobile phone, brave to appear during this fluctuant period in China, has its price reduced to record low across Chinese high cost performance mobile phone market.

As for the Chinese market in itself, 2011 to 2013 is a climax period for smart phones to upgrade. Can Guohong's Shuidi turn the tide and launch an effective attack against the foreign producers who occupy China's mobile phone market after all? Let us wait and see.

SOURCE Chongqing Guohong Technology Development