Phone pirates 'upgrade' to make copycat tablets

    Updated: 2011-08-17 13:57

    By Zhang Zhao (China Daily)

      Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

    Phone pirates 'upgrade' to make copycat tablets

    Apple's iPad has more than 70 percent of the tablet market in China, but its share is dropping in the face of fierce competition from other brands and "white boxes". [Photo / China Daily] 

    Falling prices for real smartphones is putting such pressure on copycat cell phone makers that many are moving into China's tablet computer market.

    Apple's iPad continues to dominate with more than 70 percent of the market, but its share in China declined 5.14 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to a report by Analysys International, a provider of information and services for China's IT market.

    Part of the drop is due to the array of legitimate competitors lined up against Apple in the booming tablet sector, including personal computer giants such as Lenovo, Asus and Acer, and global telecommunication equipment makers ZTE and Huawei.

    But the southern city of Shenzhen is home to more than 1,000 tablet computer manufacturers, many of them smaller companies making copycat products commonly known in the industry as "white boxes".

    Research by consulting firm DisplaySearch shows that 1.9 million white box tablet computers were sold in China in the first quarter of this year, more than triple the figure of the previous quarter.

    But increasing sales does not mean a promising market ahead for pirate companies, said Yang Qun, an analyst with Shenzhen Warring Strategy Public Relations Consultants.

    "Most of the tablet computer makers in Shenzhen today were previously making copycat cell phones," said Yang. "They have the same approach to tablet computers as how they did (to cell phones)."

    "The only thing they do is to launch a price war and then everybody is stuck in the mud."

    In Huaqiangbei, an area in Shenzhen known for its many consumer electronics shops, one white box tablet computer with a seven-inch screen and Android operating system is priced at only 359 yuan ($56).

    Many others are priced between 400 and 600 yuan.

    But a similar Samsung tablet costs more than 2,500 yuan. And even those made by Chinese companies such as ZTE and Huawei are also priced around 2,000 yuan.

    "A tablet computer costs at least 290 yuan at the factory. Adding the distribution costs, it won't have any profit if it is priced below 400 yuan," according to the Southern Metropolis Daily, which cited an industry insider who "has close relations with tablet computer makers".

    "The copycat products have no advantages in brand and distribution compared with branded products. And the low cost of the hardware means they do not have satisfying performance," said Yang. "When the branded products reduce their price, the copycat products will be elbowed out of the market."

    Yang said makers of knockoff products actually have another choice - narrowing their target market and developing their own brands.

    "I know one such company that integrated a cell phone's function into a tablet computer," he said. "It is five times more profitable than ordinary copycat products and its price is only one-fourth of a Samsung."

    Related Stories

    Chinese tablet PCs peel away at Apple 2011-06-03 11:08
    A tablet to cure PC headaches 2011-05-27 10:42
    Ringing the changes 2011-08-08 10:30
    China's innovation drive in 'post-Shanzhai' era 2011-03-11 14:18
    国产精品无码日韩欧| 最近中文字幕2019高清免费| 一本久中文视频播放| 国产乱人伦Av在线无码| 熟妇人妻中文av无码| 中文字幕乱码中文乱码51精品 | 中文人妻av高清一区二区| 狠狠躁狠狠躁东京热无码专区| 最近完整中文字幕2019电影| 精品久久久久久无码免费| 人妻无码αv中文字幕久久琪琪布 人妻无码第一区二区三区 | 无码国产成人午夜电影在线观看| 国产品无码一区二区三区在线蜜桃| 中文字幕人妻丝袜乱一区三区 | 久久99久久无码毛片一区二区| 亚洲综合av永久无码精品一区二区| 无码中文av有码中文a| 无码日韩人妻AV一区二区三区| 日韩人妻无码中文字幕视频| 无码AV动漫精品一区二区免费| 亚洲国产综合精品中文第一区| 日韩精品无码人妻一区二区三区| 久久久久无码精品国产不卡| 亚洲gv猛男gv无码男同短文| 岛国无码av不卡一区二区| 在线亚洲欧美中文精品| 久久久久综合中文字幕| 国内精品久久久人妻中文字幕| 久久亚洲精精品中文字幕| 亚洲精品成人无码中文毛片不卡 | 国产中文欧美日韩在线| 色综合中文综合网| 日本aⅴ精品中文字幕| 人妻中文字幕乱人伦在线| 日韩欧群交P片内射中文| 无码中文字幕乱在线观看| 一本大道香蕉中文在线高清| 在线天堂资源www在线中文| 国产精品99久久久精品无码| 亚洲欧洲日产国码无码网站| 无码人妻一区二区三区在线视频|