Huawei Ends Qihoo 360 Smartphone Partnership
Sohu IT, 9/06/12
Chinese telecom equipment and terminal manufacturer Huawei has terminated its smartphone partnership with Chinese online security software developer Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU). On his Sina Weibo microblog account, Huawei senior VP Richard Yu said that the company would continue its strategy of high-quality handsets. "Our product costs are slightly higher because of this," Yu said, "so we are unable to meet CEO Zhou Hongyi's demands for lower prices. The Huawei Ascend will go on sale September 6 exclusively through Huawei, and will not be one of the Qihoo 360 handsets."
Editor's Note: New Express reported today that Qihoo 360 had divulged sales figures for its handsets to reporters. The Amoi Big VBO has sold more than 50,000 units to date; the Haier Super Battleship (Haier W910), more than 60,000 units. The Alcatel AK47 has sold more than 10,000 units, for total sales of over 100,000 Qihoo handsets. For more background on this topic, please see "Huawei Unveils New Ascend Smartphone" MD 9/04/12 issue.
Keywords: enterprise-branded handset sales volume Amoi Big VBO Zhou Hongyi smartphone wireless Huawei Qihoo 360 Richard Yu QIHU Alcatel AK47 Huawei Ascend Haier Super Battleship handset pricing handset vendor