Alibaba invests in Chinese mobile technology developer Meizu
Alibaba, one of China’s largest e-commerce entities, will be investing $590 million into a Chinese smartphone developer, called Meizu. Through this investment, Alibaba aims to generate more support for its new mobile operating system, known as YunOS. The new operating system is meant to compete with Google’s Android. Alibaba is expected to leverage its considerable influence in the mobile and e-commerce space to make the new operating system popular, but its partnership with smartphone developers may determine the ultimate fate of YunOS.
Investment will promote new mobile operating system
Meizu is relatively small when compared to other Chinese smartphone makers, such as Huawei, but the company has a strong following in the country. The developer is released new smartphones that are somewhat less expensive than those being offered by other companies, which has appealed to a large number of consumers in China. Meizu is expected to release more smartphones that are equipped with YunOS later in the year, but the company is not expected to focus exclusively on the operating system.
Meizu may be able to compete with larger smartphone makers thanks to Alibaba’s backing
Backed by Alibaba, Meizu could pose a threat to other smartphone makers. Competition may be fierce, however, especially due to the relative youth of YunOS. Though Alibaba has taken care to develop a working and reliable mobile operating system, many consumers are very comfortable with both Android and iOS. Alibaba does have the trust of many consumers in China, however, so the company’s mobile operating system may manage to find some traction.
Alibaba continues to show strong support for mobile technology, encouraging device adoption among consumers throughout China
Alibaba has played a major role in the promotion of mobile technology and services. The company has helped make mobile commerce more accessible and popular in China, providing consumers with a way to purchase products online in a convenient fashion. Alibaba has also shown that it can compete with other large companies, such as eBay and Amazon.
