China’s web companies want to go mobile. And to that end, many are creating their own phones that carry their own mobile platforms, serving as a vehicle and a showcase for their own apps and services. The likes of Xiaomi, Baidu, Alibaba (with its Aliyun OS), and Shanda are pioneering this, and many more will follow.

So let’s take a look – see our colorful graphic below – at five homegrown mobile platforms from China that are packaged in their own hardware. The afore-mentioned four web companies are on the list, and I’ve thrown in Meizu as well, since it has transformed itself so well in the past couple of years, and is building an ecosystem of its own too. Scroll down below the table for a summary of why they’re significant, and why both local and global handset makers – from ZTE to HTC, Huawei to Motorola – should be very, very worried about the consumer familiarity and brand pulling power of these affordable smartphones.

After all, telcos and old-skool handset makers have a tendency to fill their smartphones with bloatware and other crap. But these new devices from the more savvy web companies come brimful of apps that look great and which you’d actually want to use for, say, music-streaming, group messaging, or cloud notes syncing.

Here’s our table, comparing the five hot phones spec-by-spec:

Meizu MX (dual-core)

Looking at the cheaper dual-core model, not the newer 4-core version, the Meizu MX was launched with Android 2.3 and Meizu’s attractive Android UI skin, which will soon by updated to the more evolved Flyme OS that Meizu is building as its ecosystem. As such, it has the Flyme cloud backup service and its own app store. Here’s a review of the MX dual-core from Engadget.

Shanda Bambook phone

Launched on June 6, the Bambook smartphone is the first ever phone from Shanda (NASDAQ:SNDA; FRA:RZP), makers of the Bambook e-reader. It’s also based on Android – though the older 2.3 – and comes with neat cloud apps and supports Shanda’s Yuncheng e-book market.

Aliyun OS – represented by the Haier Zing

Aliyun OS is the big play for mobile and mobile commerce from Alibaba, the country’s e-commerce giant. Launched last summer, it is not based on Android, places an emphasis on web apps, and is also loaded with useful – and mostly cloud-oriented – apps. It’s a tough sell, though, up against so much competition. Earlier this month, Haier (SHA:600690; HKG:1169) stepped in as a new hardware partner with the cheap Haier Zing.

Xiaomi M1

Xiaomi has had the biggest sales – and social media – success with its first-ever phone, the M1, generating huge buzz and really selling people on the idea of a good-looking, well-localized way of enjoying Android. Now looking the oldest of the bunch, Xiaomi is surely due to unveil a new version later this summer. It is also due Android 4.0 – replete with MIUI overlays – soon, and I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten an official update from MIUI (also a Xiaomi venture) yet. See our video review of the Xiaomi M1.

Baidu Yi – represented by the Changhong H5018

Baidu’s (NASDAQ:BIDU) Android-based OS is a showcase for its many social and practical apps, and it now has two very different phones to carry it. At the higher end is the Dell Streak Pro D43, while a cheaper option comes in the form of the newer Changhong model which costs a mere 850 RMB ($135). Admitedly, its lower specs – it’s the only one in the line-up to have a sub four-inch screen – make it look a little odd in this company, but I reckon it has more of a chance of gaining traction than the Dell model.

Note that the brand-new Qihoo AK-47 (such a dumb name) is excluded for now, but will be featured when we update this table later in the year. Netease might have its own contender by then too. Stay tuned!

Chinese phone-maker Meizu has just wrapped up a social media marketing campaign that saw it literally reaching out to new fans – and handing out 48 free Meizu MX phones that were delivered personally to winners all over China.

And now there’s a nice, little road trip-esque video (embedded below) with laid-back trippy music to commemorate that ‘Dream Carriers’ social media marketing campaign. All folks had to do to be in with a shot of winning was follow the new ‘Meizu Mobile’ Weibo account. It saw that account go from zero to over 400,000 followers in the space of a few weeks – though some have unfollowed thereafter. All the action took place in April, and Meizu has released the video of the whole thing this week. The short film sees Meizu’s young couriers taking planes, trains, and cabs to deliver the device right into the hands of the selected followers.

Next month, the upstart phone-maker will unleash its MX Quad-core phone on the public, which is powered by the Samsung Exynos processor that can also be found in Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy SIII.

Here’s Meizu’s Dream Carriers video with English subtitles (or readers in China can see the same video in your language over on Youku):

Chinese phone maker Meizu has just announced that its new Meizu MX Quad-core will launch in June, thereby becoming the first smartphone to rock Samsung’s (005930:KS) own Exynos A9 quad-core processor. It’ll also mark the first appearance of Android 4.0 on Meizu’s phones, overlaid with its own Flyme OS and app store.

Samsung’s Exynos A9 CPU is small – 32nm – and so will use up less power when you’re on the move. Meizu reckons it can save “up to 20 percent” of your juice. To make that go even further, the upcoming MX Quad-core will have a fairly sizable 1700mAh battery. Samsung has said it’ll generally run at 1.5GHz, but Meizu didn’t specify in its announcement today.

Other MX Quad-core standout specs include a high-res 4-inch screen – at 292 PPI – that’s close to the pixel intensity of the iPhone 4S or its Android brethren, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Plus, there’s an eight-megapixel BSI camera upfront. Upon its summer launch date, folks can choose from 32- or 64GB models which will be priced at 2,999 RMB and 3,999 RMB (US$475 and $633) respectively in an unlocked state. Separate Hong Kong prices have been set at HK$3,099 and HK$4,099.

The phone will hit Meizu resellers and its official stores in June. To prep for the launch, Meizu is today making its current MX model a bit cheaper.

Meizu will also get the satisfaction of stealing thunder from Xiaomi, the other Chinese upstart manufacturer that’s trying to make powerful yet affordable Android smartphones. Not to mention beating Samsung to market using the Korean giant’s own processor.

Chinese phone-maker Meizu has today announced that 100 million apps have been downloaded from its own Flyme store for Android apps. The lucky downloader – one Mao Zeying from Tianjin who snagged the QQ IM app at the opportune time – will get a prize of 10,000 RMB (US$1,580) worth of credit for the Flyme store. It comes just eight days after Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) major milestone when a fellow Chinese found himself to be the American company’s 25 billionth app store customer.

Meizu – whose current flagship is the MX – uses its own Android app store in China in addition to Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play Store [1], in a manner similar to many other Android smartphone makers operating in the country, such as Samsung and Motorola. The Flyme store was launched in November 2009 – and then got its current name late last year – and has a choice of over 10,000 fun and useful apps and games.

Commemorating the app store milestone, Meizu’s product manager, Eddy Lin, told the media:

Before launching the M9 in 2011, the Flyme Store had around 10 million downloads. One year later, we broke through the 100 million barrier. Following the release of the MX, the rate of new downloads is accelerating even more.

A Meizu rep declined to tell TiA precisely how many devices the store is installed upon, but suggested that it was in the millions. The company rose to fame – or notoriety – shortly after the launch of Apple’s iPhone with what looked like an iPhone clone. But now it’s getting on with creating some pretty powerful Android devices, pushed on by strong competition by newcomer Xiaomi with its cheap dual-core M1 device. Meizu is said to be working on a new quad-core Android model that will launch in a couple of months’ time.

Note that this method is better than taking a poll, as asking an invited audience for their opinions can be very self-selecting and reductive. So by taking these stats from popular product searches, we get a free-form and realistic view of what Chinese consumers are keen to buy with their own money. Of course, that doesn’t translate into sales, but it gives a good picture of which smartphones are the most likely to be parting cash from consumers.

So here, in reverse order, is the top ten:

10th. Lenovo A60

Lenovo (HKG:0992) smartphones won’t be too familiar to overseas readers, but they’ve been a low-end to mid-range mainstay in China for years. This A60 is one of the better efforts, with Android 2.3.3 and a 3.5-inch HVGA screen. Lenovo’s custom UI, with those huge round icons, is not exactly classy though. But it seems plenty of Chinese netizens are keen to read-up on the phone with a view to buying it. Afterall, with a China Unicom (NYSE:CHU; HKG:0762) subsidy, it’s a cheap ticket to the smartphone club, costing just under 1,000 RMB (US$158).

9th. Meizu MX

Another local kid makes the list, as Shenzhen manufacturer Meizu generates a lot of hype and excitement for its newest MX. The Meizu MX comes with a highly-customized Android 2.3.5 (which it now calls Flyme OS) which looks good on its 4.0-inch screen and is powered by its dual-core processor. The screen is higher-res than many others on the list, at 960 by 640 pixels. Starting at 2999 RMB for the 16GB version, this could be a headache for the more established brands in 2012.

8th. Motorola Defy (ME525+)

Despite Motorola (NYSE:MMI) pushing some high-end business-oriented handsets in China, its cheaper phones are proving to be of interest too. This ME525+ runs Android 2.3.4, has a 3.7-inch screen, and costs about 1,900 to 2,200 RMB.

7th. HTC Wildfire S

And now things get a bit lame, with the ridiculously under-powered Wildfire S from HTC (TPE:2498) – known as the G13 in China – with its small, low-resolution screen that makes it obsolete and unable to run a lot of newer, funkier apps.

Despite running the older Android 2.2 OS, its small form-factor combined with the Sense UI makes this pretty popular around here. It costs about 1,300 on the grey-import market, but it’s a very bad deal via more official channels where it costs 2,000+ RMB.

6th. Samsung Galaxy SII

Samsung’s (005930:KS) new flagship – dubbed the i9100 around here – is the impressive follow-up to the best-selling original Galaxy S. In a recent analytics report, we found that the first version was now the most popular single Android phone model in China, usurping the HTC Desire. But, frustratingly, it seems Samsung might deny all those consumers an upgrade to Android 4.0, which ought to be the decent thing to do for a mere year-old phone. Shame on you, Sammie!

Anyway, Chinese consumers seem to like the TouchWiz UI and other local customization such as a Chinese app store which accepts local payment methods. The Galaxy SII is currently about 3,400 RMB on the grey-import market.

5th. Nokia N9

Halfway through the list, and we finally encounter Nokia (HEL:NOK1V; NYSE:NOK). This beautiful-looking device seems popular in product searches, though I’m very skeptical that this will translate to sales once people realise it runs a moribund OS – MeeGo – for which there are few games or apps. The 16GB models costs about 3,500 RMB in most gadget malls, although the official local price is a not-so-reasonable 4,888 RMB.

4th. HTC Sensation XE

HTC’s most impressive release this year was perhaps the Sensation XE, which launched in China last month with all the usual Beats ephemera such as branded in-ear headphones and better music software. Its 4.3-inch qHD screen was a welcome feature, as Android phones were so slow to rise to the challenge of Apple’s ‘retina screen’ iPhone. The 1.5GHz dual-core phone, complete with the updated Sense 3.5 UI, costs about 3,500 RMB on unofficial sales channels.

3rd. Apple iPhone 4

Daddy’s home! Yes, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) ubiquitous iPhone makes the list of popular product searches, but only in third place. With the iPhone 4S still not on sale here officially, it seems the older but aesthetically identical previous model is still in vogue. The 8GB model costs 4,000 RMB when schlepped over the border tax-free from Hong Kong, or 4,500 RMB direct from Apple or China Unicom.

2nd. Nokia N8

Grandpa’s home! Pull up a comfy chair, make a mug of hot chocolate, and get out the medication – because Symbian has just arrived on our list. The creaky old OS is still soldiering on in Nokia’s N8, which is proving popular amongst those who’re familiar with Symbian and its still significant catalog of apps and services.

There have been a lot of bad omens for Nokia in China this year, but the interest in the N8 is a ray of hope at a time when middle-income Chinese have been turning to Android smartphones and the iPhone. The N8 costs about 1,800 RMB.

1st. Xiaomi M1

Regular readers of PO won’t be too surprised to find the much talked about dual-core, Android-powered Xiaomi phone at the top of the list of searches in 2011. It launched with a bang and a breath-taking price tag – just 1,999 RMB – back in August of this year, and ends the year being talked about in the Chinese tech press pretty much everyday, snagging a supply deal with China Unicom, and attracting a further US$90 million in funding – some of which is coming from Yuri Milner’s own pocket.

In October, we dropped into Xiaomi HQ in Beijing to get a hands-on demo of the phone on the same day that it hit shelves across China; here’s the video:

[Hat-tip to QQ Tech news (article in Chinese) for collating the list data; Motorola Defy image from Whatmobile.net, and the Lenovo one from Zol.com.cn]

This is going to be a big month for the Chinese gadget manufacturer Meizu as it opens a flagship Hong Kong store in time for the launch of its dual-core Meizu MX phone on January 1st. And it all seems to be going to plan, as these photos show the store – located in the busy shopping area of Mongkok – pretty much ready to open its doors.

The Meizu team knows it needs to up its game now, having been outpaced by the brand-new Xiaomi phone which has stolen Meizu’s mantle of making “China’s superphone,” or whatever the current hype decides to call these ever more powerful smartphones. The Meizu MX comes with a highly-customized Android 2.3.5 (which it now calls Flyme OS), but I get the feeling that Xiaomi will steal the march in first rolling out updates to the latest-and-greatest Android 4.0. Engadget’s Richard Lai got some hands-on time with the MX the other day.

Anyway, here’s the store, replete with the now de rigeur simple desks where punters can fiddle with the gadgets, which Meizu will be hoping can draw some free-publicity crowds and queues when it opens – almost certainly that’ll be before January 1st.

This lady is reportedly the store's manager.

[Photo source: various social media sites, via Candou.com]

China's sexiest phones: Xiaomi vs Meizu

Last week, few tech stories in China made more headlines than the announcement of Android-based smartphone Xiaomi, the first product by Xiaomi Tech. The tech specs of Xiaomi look quite competitive with a 1.5GHz dual core processor and a GPU with 64 MB of independent RAM, and despite the attractive price, it may cost just as much as an iPhone to make. Xiaomi boasts that it is “Designed for Tech Geeks,” running 200 percent faster than current mainstream smartphones and 40 percent faster than the top ones. The announcement was met with excitement and cheers.

However, not everyone was happy about Xiaomi. Remember Meizu? It’s the “other” much-hyped Chinese smartphone. Meizu’s founder Huang Zhang, more widely known as J Wong, was far from pleased to hear about Xiaomi. Soon after the announcement, J Wong said on Meizu’s forum in reply to a topic:

I am not afraid of him, but I am simply sick of him. He used to pretend to be interested in investing in Meizu and approached me through his guanxi with leaders of the High Tech Zone. He got me to tell him all about how Meizu was running — from phone design, production, supply chain, marketing and even financial operation. He totally got me with his “sincerity.” So do not talk about them, leave me alone, please!

The person he is referring to here is Xiaomi’s founder Mr. Lei Jun. J Wong subsequently banned all Xiaomi related discussions on his forum. In addition, Xiaomi’s Miliao (group messaging) app has reportedly been blocked on Meizu phones, and cannot be installed.

The two met in 2008 when Meizu was only making MP3 players and just starting out with its M8 smartphone, widely regarded as an iPhone knockoff. Mr Lei was a possible investor. And despite repeated delays of Meizu’s M8 and M9, Mr Lei Jun has more than once expressed his support and compliments for Meizu. On Aug 4th, 2010, before the M9 was shipped, Mr Lei said on Weibo:

I, along with all fans, am eagerly expecting the M9. Meizu is a dedicated company which I adore. I wish the M9 and J Wong success. Android is a ferocious marketplace, and the M9 will bear huge pressure if it comes out late.

It is widely believed the two gentlemen fell apart after Xiaomi announced the MIUI, its own user mobile user interface.

On Dec 14, 2010, J Wong posted on Meizu forums:

MIUI is a company funded by Lei Jun, including that browser, which seems to have been made out of the UC browser. After knowing all this, I feel regret for communicating with him on everything about Meizu. I even discussed the design doc of the M9UI with him. MIUI as a company is shameless, so please do not discuss anything about them here. Lei Jun made no formal response to this, but has since stopped mentioning Meizu on Weibo.

Some blogger in China called this the clash between two tech geeks. But some just believe that this is a self-promotion from J Wong, as he is to announce M9 MX before the end of 2011.

As for Mr. Lei and his Xiaomi, the outlook remains unclear. Despite the powerful specs and relatively affordable price, 1999RMB, not many people see a promising future for Xiaomi. Some say even if Xiaomi sells well, it can hardly be profitable. Xiaomi’s news buzz got badly hammered soon after its release when Google’s acquisition of Motorola’s mobile department took over headlines.

We’ll have to wait and see if either of these up-start mobile endeavors, Xiaomi or Meizu, can meet with any real success.