Huawei showing the way forward for Chinese brands

How many of us have looked around the office and wondered not whether our colleagues use a smartphone, but rather what brand of smartphone they use, such is the omnipotence of this high-tech gadget.

If we went just one small step further we would probably be surprised to find out just how many now covet the latest Huawei smartphone, rather than an Apple, as might be expected.

If you are one of these Huawei smartphone users or want-to-be users, you are not alone. Last year the Shenzhen-based Chinese high-tech giant shipped smartphones to 108 million users around the world. It is now the world's third-largest smartphone producer, with an impressive share of 8.7 percent in the global smartphone market in the first quarter of 2016.