Siemens takes Xelibri to China after good start in Hong Kong

Germany's Siemens will launch its Xelibri brand handset in China this week to gauge demand for the quirky mobile-phone in the world's biggest market.

The Xelibri, which targets the fashion-conscious, will be distributed in 100 mainland cities on Thursday after its launch in Hong Kong and Singapore last month.

The handset, which has a different shape from traditional mobiles, is sold through department stores and trendy outlets.

Xelibri brand president George Appling said China Cable Telecom and Cell Star had been appointed as mainland distributors and talks had been held with United States coffee chain Starbucks to sell the phones in China.

'It is an overwhelming target group: fashion-conscious, stylish people - those are the kind of people we are targeting,' he said.

Xelibri got off to a good start in Hong Kong, where it was launched on June 6 in six outlets, including Seibu, Sogo and Cafe Deco. Over three weeks, an average of 300 phones, priced between $1,688 and $3,368, were sold each week.

Mr Appling said the handsets appealed to users who treated phones as fashion accessories. He said customers often bought the handsets on impulse and picked phones that matched their clothes on the day.