Taobao, the mainland's leading internet retailer, aims to make online shopping in the country more mobile next year, with the launch of handsets custom designed for e-commerce.
The company has joined with network operator China Telecom Corp and handset makers TCL Communication Technology Holdings and Lenovo Mobile Communications Technology to launch Taobao.com-branded mobiles in February.
The three handsets will be available through Taobao.com, department stores and other retail outlets.
The internet-ready models will come pre-installed with proprietary software applications Taobao Shopkeeper and Portable Purchasing developed for use by the retail portal's vendors and buyers.
Privately held Taobao, a unit of Hangzhou-based internet conglomerate Alibaba Group, developed the applications which provide search, price comparison and messaging functions.
'This will provide Taobao's more than 145 million users with convenient mobile e-commerce features and improved customer support,' the company said yesterday.