Qihoo Taps Small Handset Makers for 360-branded Smartphones
Investor Journal, 12/17/12
Chinese Internet firm Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) recently partnered with Shanghai-based handset manufacturer Uniscope Technologies to release a Qihoo-branded Uniscope "Xiao C" ("Little C") smartphone on Qihoo 360's official website, priced at RMB 999. The Android 4.0 smartphone has a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and 4.3-inch IPS HD touchscreen. Gu Xinhui, deputy chairman of Uniscope, said Qihoo 360 has strong mobile app and marketing resources, allowing the company to reap profits as well as increase Uniscope brand awareness.
Qihoo 360 and Shenzhen-based OEM manufacturer CZC Technology jointly released a custom-branded smartphone, the Deovo V5, in October. Tao Xun, CZC's marketing director, said that over 150,000 units have been sold in six batches over the last two months. Amoi Technology's custom-branded Qihoo 360 smartphone has the highest total sales, exceeding 400,000 units to date.
Industry sources earlier claimed that Qihoo 360 and Nokia planned to launch a custom-branded handset, but Nokia later dismissed the rumors.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "Qihoo 360 to Unveil Quad-Core TD-SCDMA Smartphone" MD 10/09/12 issue and "Nokia Denies Rumors of Qihoo 360-Branded Smartphone" MD 12/07/12 issue.
Keywords: enterprise-branded handset Tao Xun Gu Xinhui handset smartphone wireless Nokia UniScope Qihoo 360 Amoi Technology CZC Technology QIHU Deovo V5 handset vendor pricing
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