China’s 10 Most Wanted Smartphones – Great News for Android, Not So Much for iPhone

Smartphone growth and usage continued to accelerate in China in 2011 – but which phones do Chinese consumers most want to buy? QQ Tech looked at the most popular product searches for such devices on all the major search engines, and compiled this top ten list. The results are awesome news for Android – which runs on seven of the ten – and offer a glimmer of hope to Nokia. But the iPhone is not the one sitting on the throne.

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.