China Mobile launches own-brand smartphones

China Mobile Ltd officially entered the booming mobile terminal market on Friday as it unveiled its own-brand smartphone models.

The China Mobile M701, a 5-inch screen Android-based smartphone equipped with MediaTek Inc's 1.2-gigahertz quad-core processor, is priced at 1,299 yuan ($212). The China Mobile M601 is a 4-inch screen, dual-core Android smartphone that targets lower-end users with a price of 499 yuan.

The two smartphones are produced by original equipment manufacturers, Hisense Group and Shenzhen-based BYD Co Ltd, respectively. They will hit the Chinese market through China Mobile's online and offline outlets this month.

Li Yue, chief executive officer of China Mobile, the world's biggest telecom operator by subscribers, said the company has about 740 million customers.

Li said those customers usually change their mobile phones every 23 months, so at least 300 million new mobile devices are needed every year.

"China's mobile terminal industry has a very bright future," Li said, during a Beijing news briefing on Friday.

Analysts pointed out some additional implications for China Mobile's smartphone launch.

James Yan, an analyst with research firm IDC China, said China Mobile's move aims to create a platform that seamlessly integrates its current mobile services, such as the instant messaging tool Fetion, and other mobile applications.

"Chinese mobile carriers hope to decrease the risks of being a 'dumb pipe' and to relieve the pressure from Internet companies' challenges," Yan said.