Rumor: Tencent Reinitiates Handset ROM Project
Sohu IT, 5/08/14
According to a source at Chinese internet and mobile services firm Tencent (0700.HK), the company has reinitiated its self-developed mobile ROM project, with work on the project beginning again in April. The new teams tasked with work on the new ROM will be based in Wuhan and Dalian, and will consist of both newly hired personnel and existing staff redeployed from other departments. Tencent CEO Pony Ma has reportedly indicated in a company meeting his desire to build a "half-closed" mobile OS that bundles together all of Tencent's existing mobile apps, and is closely integrated with Tencent's WeChat mobile messaging app as well as the company's WeChat Pay and Tenpay payment platforms. The ROM would be featured primarily on lower-end handsets retailing for less than RMB 1,000, with Tencent also offering subsidies and marketing incentives to larger manufacturers who pre-install the ROM on their mobile devices. The first handsets featuring Tencent's new ROM will reportedly begin to appear toward the end of 2014 and in Q1 2015.
In December 2013, Tencent was a major participant in second-round funding for San Francisco-based third-party Android ROM developer Cyanogen, and announced its intention to help introduce Cyanogen's Android-based ROM, "CyanogenMod," into the Chinese market. More recently, Tencent has also invested in Shenzhen-based wireless design and ODM handset manufacturer Cellon Communications Technology.
In April 2012, Tencent introduced a self-developed Android 4.0-based ROM, "Tita," but the development team responsible for Tita was subsequently dissolved in early 2013. In June 2013, Pony Ma stated definitively that Tencent would not enter the mobile handset market.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "Tencent Invests in Android ROM Developer Cyanogen" MD 12/20/13 issue.
Keywords: Pony Ma mobile OS wireless Android Tencent 0700.HK WeChat WeChat Pay mobile IM
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