Corporate China | Weibo: OnePlus tries smartphones, NQ sprints
Does the world really need another cool and trendy smartphone maker from China? At least one entrepreneur seems to think the answer is yes, with the launch of a new brand called OnePlus at an event last week in Beijing. Normally I wouldn't give too much attention to this kind of launch, since everyone in China is rushing these days to try and copy the trend Xiaomi, which itself is trying to copy the success of global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). But the fact that such a new company like OnePlus could attract so much attention for its event, including a blogosphere plug from global chip giant Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), is making me hedge my bets that perhaps this could be a company to watch.
Meantime, mobile security software maker NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) was also making waves in the microblogging realm, as its chief executive trumpeted a new tie-up with US wireless carrier Sprint (Nasdaq: S). NQ watchers will recall that the company's shares tumbled last fall after it came under attack by notorious short seller Muddy Waters for allegedly inflating its numbers. I said at the time that the sell-off was probably a bit too extreme, and word of the company's latest big-name tie-up comes as its shares slowly claw their way back from last year's lows.
I had to do a little research to find out more about this new company, and learned that its founder is Liu Zuohu, another ambitious China techie who almost certainly wants to challenge the better-known Lei Jun, Xiaomi's co-founder and chief executive. OnePlus won't roll out its phones until the second quarter, but the company says it's aiming for an underserved higher end of the market, which is underscored by its choice to use pricey chips from Qualcomm. Liu's credentials include his previous stint as a top executive at Oppo Electronics, another Chinese electronics maker that he recently left to start OnePlus.
The reports I read didn't name any of Liu's backers, though it's clear that one is Qualcomm due to Shen's presence at the launch event. Qualcomm's promotion of this new brand is also clearly self-serving, since many of the lower-cost smartphones coming out of China these days use cheaper chips from names like MediaTek (Taipei: 2454) and Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD). Still, I do concur that most of the new smartphones coming out of China are clustered between the low and middle end, and that there could be room at the middle-to-upper range for a new player that can deliver a well-designed product. We'll have to wait until next quarter to see if OnePlus is that company.