Handset market updates

Two industry leaders in their respective fields are preparing to enter the GSM market and begin producing their own brand handsets. Both Google and TaoBao are apparently close to launching their new handsets which will ultimately see them competing with their own clients for market share in the already competitive GSM market.

Google who already provide Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson with the Android software will look to tempt potential users with an array of features including a processor that is almost twice the speed of that used by Apple's iPhone 3GS. Dan Quinn from www.gsmLeads.com said "Google have a tradition of exceeding all expectations and the Google phone is sure to follow suit. It will be interesting to see who 's market share will suffer at the hands of the Google phone"

TaoBao, China's largest online marketplace is also rumoured to be planning the announcement of a new handset that will be co-branded by Lenovo Mobile and feature TaoBao's increasingly popular applications.

TaoBao have traditionally provided a sales platform for mobile phone manufacturers, so this move will see a complete change of direction as they get involved in the manufacturing processes. Essam Bischara, CEO of www.gsmExchange.com also pointed out "this move will put TaoBao in direct competition with other manufacturers advertising on their sister website Alibaba.com, so it will be interesting to see how they react".

It is going to be interesting to see what distribution option Google and TaoBao select; online/direct or via wholesalers. Manufactures using our gsmLeads.com are opting for the wholesale model and are using the gsmLeads.com platform to locate and recruit distributors worldwide. Over 100 Manufactures have already signed up to the gsmLeads.com service since launch a few weeks ago.