back to article Home-grown Xiaomi crushes Samsung in world's biggest market

Chinese smartphone startup Xiaomi, whose turtleneck-clad CEO models himself on Steve Jobs (before Jobs died), has become the Middle Kingdom's largest seller of smartphones – outselling even former China top dog Samsung. "This is a phenomenal achievement for Xiaomi," said Shanghai-based Canalys Research Analyst Jingwen Wang, …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I guess everybody has forgotten that THEY ARE STEALING THE WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Smart as they are, just not smart enough to do it on their own.

    1. Shannon Jacobs

      Stop deluding yourself with silly propaganda

      Yes, China did steal some IP, and so did America, Japan, and everyone else. In fact, I think I can safely defy you to name any nation that hasn't been caught stealing IP, though of course it depends on how you define steal and IP and even "value".

      The current situation is that the Chinese and the Indians are churning out LOTS of highly competent engineers and even more adequately competent engineers to do the grunt work for the few great engineers. They have limitations in terms of existing resources, but that also means they have lower sunk costs and don't have to maintain or remove as much old infrastructure.

      The biggest problem facing America is actually YOUR attitude, which is part of the raging xenophobia that is making it harder and harder to attract the best talent to work in the States. Yes, America still has a monetary advantage, but not everyone is for sale, so I guess that qualifies as one of the candidates for #2 problem.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Stop deluding yourself with silly propaganda

        Quote

        Indians are churning out LOTS of highly competent engineers

        Are you taking the Piss? Do you actually work in India?

        My experiences in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata make me take issue with your statement.

        The people I encounter might be bright but they are frankly useless as an IT worker. They (being general) will do just as they are told no matter how stupid the requirement is. They won't question the clear stupidity of their superiors simply because their society does not work that way.

        I will accept that once they have worked for at least a year outside India they can become really good engineers but it required them to actually start thinking for themselves.

        Then there are the likes of TATA etc who are frankly scared to give their monkeys any skills because they will be off to the USA on an H1b as soon as they are competent.

        The 5 days it took one large Indian Consulting (with god knows how many certifications) company to sort out a frankly stupidly simple DNS problem (no reverse PTR record) is IMHO ample evidence that not all is rosy on the Sub-continent.

        1. No, I will not fix your computer

          Re: Stop deluding yourself with silly propaganda

          >>They (being general) will do just as they are told no matter how stupid the requirement is. They won't question the clear stupidity of their superiors simply because their society does not work that way

          While this is true to a great extent (from personal experience) - this cultural difference doesn't change the fact that there's lots of smart independent thinkers, put it another way, there's more elite graduates (passing with firsts, plus multiple degrees etc.) every year in India than there are graduates (of any type) in the US.

          This is just a numbers game, its a big country, you're more likely to meet the average Indian graduate than an elite one, but often the elite graduates aren't staying in low-level engineering jobs long, and many do stay in India where its lucrative for an above average achiever.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Smart as they are, just not smart enough to do it on their own.

      Cough....Huawei?

      And BTW, if US hadn't copied Jet engine and rocket engine tech, they would still be in boats. If Japan hadn't ripped off western tech, we'd still have music players the size of toasters around our necks; if we hadn't ripped off Japans tech, our cars would still break down every hundred miles and never start on cold mornings.

      So go learn some history, nothing new is ever invented, only old ideas are improved.

      1. john devoy

        Re: Smart as they are, just not smart enough to do it on their own.

        Aren't the germans considered the best at making cars that actually work rather than looking nice.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

    3. Kroneous

      Dude.... they're not stealing it, Western Corporations are giving it to them. Plus can you really own something, when they are concepts and have no physical properties? And Software Patents and Copyrights are totally different than Trade Secrets or Ideas in the first place. Many people the World over can have the exact same idea at the virtually the exact same moment. Who really owns it then?

      Method software patents are the worse. You mean to say..... you think people should have the right to patent a way of tying shoes? Because that's exactly what a Method Patent is. "The left lace is first crossed over the right lace. Next passed under the other lace and drawn tight. Make a bow w/ the left side.... etc.....". Come on.... they let's see you enforce that patent and keep everyone from tying their shoes that way!

      It's ridiculous to even think we can enforce all the real patents, let alone bogus ones or stolen ones, like Apple stole slide to unlock from Neonode N1m!

  2. Paddy 2

    In other unrelated news...

    Micromax beats Samsung, becomes India's No. 1 mobile vendor...

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tech/Tech-News/Micromax-beats-Samsung-becomes-Indias-No-1-mobile-vendor-Report/articleshow/39630245.cms

  3. PaulM 1

    Buy a phone that runs standard Android

    I will not be buying an Xiaomi phone because they have a custom User Interface (MIUI). I will stick with my Nexus 5. The problem is that when a manufacturer branches from the standard Android software build to produce a custom UI then this makes it unlikely that the phone will receive Android security updates. My tip for buyers is to buy a Nexus phone or one of the new Google One standard phones because they run standard Android. Samsung, HTC, Huawei and Xiaomi all think that customizing their UI helps to differentiate their phones in the market place and so improves sales. It does not.

  4. Simon 80
    Big Brother

    I wonder if....

    The Chinese Ministry for State Security have nobbled these phones in a similar manner that the NSA has allegedly nobbled American smart phones?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is it Game Over Samsung. Basically most people either want cheap Android handsets or premium Apple handsets - not expensive Android handsets. I have an iPhone and a Motorola G 4G and have used Galaxy handsets and just don't see the point. The iPhone is clearly better made, better supported and they hold their value - but you do pay more up front.

    If it had to be one phone it would be the iPhone but can see if you want a smartphone at a lower initial cost the Moto G makes a lot of sense. At least the iPhones keep a lot of their value or are supported for a long time so the total cost of ownership is probably lower than high end Android handsets.

    Almost every man and their dog is now churning out low cost Android handsets - good for the consumer but at zero or negative margins. I'm sure some low end handsets are sold purely for numbers (volume) and are effectively subsidised by the more expensive models. Problem comes when you can't sell the expensive ones any more.......

    1. P. Lee

      > most people either want cheap Android handsets or premium Apple handsets

      Not me. I'm fed up with Apple making things hard, but I want a nice handset too => nice android please.

      Ok, there is the qualifier "most" in the sentence, but that's a weasel word. Most people want a phabulous fone but are only willing to pay for a cheap one. Therefore, mostly cheap ones are sold. Apple purchasers don't fit into the "most" catagory.

      However, I want a good phone, not just the top of the range. I think the S5 is overpriced but I have yet to decide if that will push me to an S4 which is half price or the nexus (again, 1/2 price).

      Sometimes I'm happy to overpay to get particular features - the jury is still out, because what I really want is just 4G and a decent sized screen running android.

  6. ma1010
    Holmes

    BEFORE he died?

    Thanks for the clarification about the CEO modeling himself on Steve Jobs BEFORE he died. Without that, I would have thought he just laid around very, very still, saying nothing at all.

    1. Mephistro

      Re: BEFORE he died?

      And staying always in an urn!

  7. StimuliC

    China is just expanding it's protectionist stance

    Samsung are just subject to the same Chinese protectionist moves that have been played on Apple, Microsoft and Qualcomm etc. It's just that it is simply that it is less newsworthy and possibly Samsung don't want to admit that they are being pushed out by the Chinese Government to give preference to their own 'local' manufacturers.

    China would like everything sold in China to be made in China and the profits to remain in China!

    Samsung may just be S.O.O.L. in the China Market for the cheaper device models. The Chinese companies are going to sell a little higher specification device for the same price or cheaper than Samsung's models that they have been targeting the low end market with.

    It's a bit like "the phrase from League of Gentlemen"

    LOCAL PHONES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE!

  8. Tapeador
    Pint

    Dead Steve Jobs

    You've just given me the perfect idea for a Halloween costume...

    Is that going to lose me friends? (assuming I have any..)

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