Russian President Vladimir Putin gave President Xi Jinping a Russian smartphone, the dual-screen YotaPhone 2, when they met in Beijing at APEC. (Photo : www.blogs.wsj.com)
Russian smartphone company YOTA Devices has officially launched on May 20, Wednesday, its new flagship YOTAPHONE 2 in partnership with China Unicom, the country's second largest telecom carrier, the Global Times reported.
Song Xiaodong, CEO of Hangzhou Jielan Information Technology Co., told the Global Times during a press conference in Beijing that YOTA tied up with China Unicom to sell YOTA's handsets through its online and offline stores as well as to China Unicom subscribers.
The Hangzhou-based company and YOTA Devices set up a joint venture in March to market and sell the YOTAPHONE 2 in China, according to a joint press release issued at the conference.
According to the report, the launching of the Russian smartphone came at a time when the country's smartphone market is said to be experiencing a slowdown.
But despite that, the company's CEO, Vladislav Martynov, expressed his confidence in the market.
"I see the smartphone market slowed down in the country because there were no innovative handsets launched in the last three years. Our phone is innovative, and I think we can speed up the replacement cycle," Martynov was quoted as saying.
Martynov highlighted the unique features of the YOTAPHONE 2 with its dual-screen, 4.7-inch e-ink display, which saves power and enable users to check notifications even if the normal touch screen runs out of power.
Further, Song said that e-book lovers are expected to be potential users of the YOTAPHONE 2.
The Russian phone is available for preorder in China through YOTA Devices' official website and domestic e-commerce marketplaces such as tmall.com at the price of 4,888 yuan ($788). Its price in its home market is 39,990 rubles ($780).
The price tag will not appeal to the majority of consumers in China, said Wang Yanhui, head of Shanghai-based Mobile China Alliances.
"The YOTAPHONE 2 features no distinctive features in comparison with local branded smartphones that cost around 1,500 yuan," said Wang.
The two companies said that the YOTAPHONE 2 will have a niche market among rich people in China. The phone made headlines in China after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave it as a gift to his counterpart President Xi Jinping during the APEC event in Beijing.
