要在擁擠且競爭激烈的智能手機市場建立一個沒人知道的新品牌好像是件傻事，但中國通訊設備大廠中興(ZTE)還是以大無畏的精神在旗下創(chuàng)立了“努比亞(Nubia)”；這個在2012年10月底誕生的新品牌定位高階市場，目標是在中國與美國兩地打出知名度與銷售通路。 中興的手機業(yè)務近幾年來欣欣向榮，是根據(jù)電信營運商規(guī)格打造手機、并在營運商通路販賣；而即將在近期發(fā)表最新款智能手機X6的努比亞，則是將產(chǎn)品的未來握在自己手中，所憑借的是在電信領域累積數(shù)十年的技術經(jīng)驗與專業(yè)。 據(jù)了解，努比亞已經(jīng)找到一個合作伙伴提供新型DSP組件，為即將上市的X6智能手機添加媲美專業(yè)攝影機的功能；此外還與高通(Qualcomm)協(xié)商，開放Snapdragon 800繪圖處理器(GPU)核心的一個接口，好讓努比亞以自定義協(xié)議與GPU通訊。努比亞的X6還有一個特色就是單一款手機支持中國所有通訊頻段，用戶只要換SIM卡就可以通話。 雖然對努比亞來說，前方的道路仍然充滿艱險、不保證其努力一定會獲得成功，這個新品牌的經(jīng)驗以及學習曲線，或許可作為未來其他中國智能手機業(yè)者的借鏡。 努比亞首席執(zhí)行官倪飛(Ni Fei)在日前接受了EETimes美國版編輯的專訪，他表示，努比亞自2013年秋天就嘗試進軍美國市場，而且已經(jīng)小有斬獲。而努比亞母公司中興在美國 電信營運商之間已經(jīng)是眾所周知，且在市場營銷方面砸下重金，讓中興成為美國職籃休斯敦火箭隊(Houston Rockets)的官方智能手機伙伴。

努比亞首席執(zhí)行官倪飛(Ni Fei)，手下放著的是尚未發(fā)布的全新旗艦智能機努比亞X6
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除了透過亞馬遜(Amazon)在線商店直接向美國消費者販賣努比亞智能手機，倪飛也打算說服美國的電信營運商搭售該公司的產(chǎn)品，但他表示：“我們與美國電信業(yè)者的洽談并不順利；”主要是彼此之間在認知上有很大的差距。 倪 飛指出，美國電信營運商都知道中興的廉價手機，但卻發(fā)現(xiàn)努比亞的定位是高階品牌：“這讓他們產(chǎn)生一些認知上的不協(xié)調(diào)，但我們無法改變他們的想法，畢竟沒人 知道努比亞?！辈贿^對他來說，這并非不可能的任務，蘋果(Apple)也沒有先跟電信業(yè)者建立關系，而是透過直接面對消費者建立了品牌知名度。 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第2頁：2014年的機會與挑戰(zhàn) 第3頁：即將上市的X6和中興自己開發(fā)的手機芯片WiseFone

相關閱讀：
• 獨家報道：中國正通過品牌產(chǎn)品戰(zhàn)略崛起
• 中興推全新手機品牌nubia，目標智能機銷量全球前三
• [圖文報道]中興發(fā)布新旗艦Nubia Z5S，傳承招牌功能全網(wǎng)通Oxeesmc

{pagination} 中 國另一個智能手機品牌小米(Xiaomi)──被認為是中國的蘋果──也是一樣，這個品牌主要是靠因特網(wǎng)與中國本地的網(wǎng)絡社群擴展市場并打響知名度。 不過努比亞畢竟不是蘋果，甚至在中國市場也還沒站穩(wěn)腳步。倪飛表示，2013年努比亞的旗艦智能手機Z5銷售量：“非常少；而且很少有消費者直接到我們的官網(wǎng)訂購智能手機。” 不過在2013年11月，努比亞發(fā)表了兩款新機Z5s與Z5s mini，透過中國最大的在線購物商城京東販賣；這兩款新機總計在京東獲得了350萬支的預購，上市第一個星期就賣出了50萬支，在該線 上商城的銷售排行榜名列第一與第二，“比iPhone還受歡迎；”倪飛表示，“隨著努比亞品牌知名度上升，直接透過努比亞官網(wǎng)的產(chǎn)品銷售量也開始起飛。” 2014年的機會與挑戰(zhàn) 倪飛認為2014年對努比亞來說有兩件大事，第一是京東預計在今年公開上市，如此雙方能相輔相成；第二則是中國移動(China Mobile)的4G LTE網(wǎng)絡布建，這家中國最大的電信營運商光是在今年就預計向所有的手機供貨商伙伴采購1億支4G LTE智能手機。

努比亞首席執(zhí)行官倪飛(Ni Fei)
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倪飛表示，蘋果已經(jīng)與中國移動建立新合作關系，他估計中國移動所采購的LTE智能手機中，有三成是來自蘋果與三星(Samsung)，而其余的七成則是來 自中低階智能手機供貨商。而努比亞的產(chǎn)品與蘋果、三星并不完全在同一個級別，因此仍有機會在中國移動估計有7,000萬支的LTE智能手機采購量中分 一杯羹。 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第3頁：即將上市的X6和中興自己開發(fā)的手機芯片WiseFone

相關閱讀：
• 獨家報道：中國正通過品牌產(chǎn)品戰(zhàn)略崛起
• 中興推全新手機品牌nubia，目標智能機銷量全球前三
• [圖文報道]中興發(fā)布新旗艦Nubia Z5S，傳承招牌功能全網(wǎng)通Oxeesmc

{pagination} 在第一代Z5系列智能手機成功上市后，努比亞稍后將在本月發(fā)表的新產(chǎn)品是一支“phablet” (屏幕約6吋)；倪飛強調(diào)，發(fā)表新機對努比亞來說很重要，能保持該品牌在消費者心目中的新鮮感。而為了讓新產(chǎn)品與其他高階智能手機差異化，努比亞特別強 調(diào)其技術實力(基于母公司中興的多年經(jīng)驗與身為電信設備領導供貨商的地位)，以及對各家電信業(yè)者的熟悉度。 倪飛表示，即將上市的X6將配備“非常強大的攝影功能”以及“單機能就支持不同電信業(yè)者所采用的不同網(wǎng)絡頻段”，消費者只要換SIM卡，就能用同一支手機使用全世界所有電信業(yè)者的網(wǎng)絡服務：“我想我們是第一家能提供這種功能的智能手機業(yè)者。” 倪 飛進一步解釋，就算是智能手機內(nèi)所使用的芯片組具備多模功能，也并不一定表示該款手機能支持所有頻段：“首先，因為手機外型強調(diào)纖薄，當手機的背蓋以及 各個側(cè)邊都是金屬材質(zhì)時，你必須知道該在何處以及如何放置天線，以支持所有不同的頻段；你還得知道RF的設計，才不會有干擾的問題。” 并 非每一家中國電信業(yè)者會樂意看到智能手機供貨商給予使用者在頻段選擇上的自由度，而且只要換SIM卡就好；不過倪飛表示：“這才是消費者最終想要的?！?而且中國第三大(用戶數(shù))電信業(yè)者中國電信(China Telecom)，也表示將標準化其智能手機、讓手機支持所有的調(diào)制解調(diào)器與頻段：“這對他們來說沒有損失?！? 努比亞的X6將配備Sony的1,300萬畫素CMOS影像傳感器，可支持高畫質(zhì)影像拍攝；此外倪飛表示，其攝影機應用程序提供對焦、曝光與白平衡獨立控制，只要輕觸屏幕上的控制功能，用戶就能實時調(diào)整每一張照片并預覽。 為了實現(xiàn)實時圖像處理功能，倪飛表示努比亞是與一家不能透露名稱的伙伴合作，為新產(chǎn)品添加了支持媲美專業(yè)相機功能的DSP。此外他還親自前往高通美國總部，與該公司洽談開放一個Snapdragon 800的GPU核心界面，讓努比亞能用自定義的協(xié)議與GPU通訊。 倪 飛也談到了中興自己開發(fā)的手機芯片 WiseFone ，表示該款整合了LTE調(diào)制解調(diào)器以及CPU的處理器是采用 28nm制程技術，但其他技術細節(jié)則未透露。他指出，努比亞近期并未打算從高通Snapdragon改用WiseFone，但有一個備用計劃也不錯：“我 們認為它會是個開始?！? 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Judith Cheng 參考英文原文：ZTE's Bid to Go Upmarket via Nubia，by Junko Yoshida

相關閱讀：
• 獨家報道：中國正通過品牌產(chǎn)品戰(zhàn)略崛起
• 中興推全新手機品牌nubia，目標智能機銷量全球前三
• [圖文報道]中興發(fā)布新旗艦Nubia Z5S，傳承招牌功能全網(wǎng)通Oxeesmc

{pagination} ZTE's Bid to Go Upmarket via Nubia Junko Yoshida Nubia negotiates with Qualcomm to open up GPU interface SHENZHEN, China — Attempting to establish a brand that nobody's ever heard of in a market as crowded and cutthroat as the smartphone industry is a fool's errand, but one that Nubia, a newborn sub-brand of China's ZTE, has fearlessly decided to try anyway. Nubia is ZTE's vehicle to go "upmarket." Its mission is to establish a viable consumer brand and consumer channels -- in both China and the United States. This attempt represents a significant commitment by ZTE, whose mobile handset business has thus far thrived by building handsets according to operator specifications and selling them through operator channels. In designing Nubia X6, the company's unannounced smartphone scheduled for launch later this month, Nubia is taking its handset future into its own hands. The company's ace in the hole is its decades of technical expertise in telecom. Nubia has gone out of its way to find a partner to add a new DSP to enable professional camera-like features on its smartphone model X6. It also negotiated with Qualcomm to open an interface to Snapdragon 800's GPU core, allowing Nubia to use its own protocol to communicate with the GPU. In the X6, Nubia also designed a single handset that can support all modulation schemes in all frequencies -- simply by switching a SIM card. While the road has been treacherous so far for Nubia, with no guarantee of success for its efforts, Nubia's experience and learning curve could become the template for other Chinese smartphone vendors to follow in years to come. EE Times caught up with Ni Fei, CEO of Nubia Monday at his office in Shenzhen. It has been a year since we met him for the first time. Ni openly acknowledged that its Nubia push in the US market since last fall has yielded little results, despite ZTE's strong presence among the US operators and the company's marketing campaign to turn ZTE into the official "smartphone" of the Houston Rockets. Nubia CEO Ni Fei in Shenzhen. (Source: EE Times/Junko Yoshida) Besides selling Nubia smartphones directly to US consumers through Amazon, Ni's plan was to convince operators to carry his company's products. He said, "Our discussions with the US operators didn't go well," largely due to a huge perception gap. While the operators know ZTE for its low-cost phones, they saw Nubia pitching itself as the high-end brand. "There was a mismatch. We couldn't change their mind. After all, nobody knew who Nubia was," Ni said. But in Ni's mind, this isn't the Impossible Dream. Apple did it by going straight to consumers, he said, without any prior relationships with operators. And so did Xiaomi, often known as China's Apple, largely by leveraging the power of the Internet and going viral on social networks in China. However, Nubia is no Apple. Nubia hasn't even won its home front in China. In 2013, Nubia's flagship smartphone Z5 only sold "in very small volume," said Ni. "And very few consumers came to our website to buy our smartphones." Nubia's break didn't come until much late in 2013, when the company launched its two new models -- Z5s and Z5s mini -- in November through JD.com, China's largest business-to-consumer e-commerce company. JD.com got a preorder of 3.5 million units for Nubia's two new smartphone models combined, and actually sold 500,000 units in the first two weeks, said Ni. Nubia's new smartphones were ranked at number one and two in JD.com last November, "more popular than iPhone," he added. With increased brand awareness among Chinese consumers, "sales at our own Nubia website also got off the ground," Ni reported. Opportunities in 2014 Ni sees two things going for Nubia in 2014. First, JD.com is reportedly planning to go public this year. "JD.com can use Nubia's momentum. But we also need JD.com for our success," said Ni. Second is China Mobile's 4G LTE factor. In its efforts to compensate for its spotty TD-SCDMA-based 3G coverage, China Mobile is rushing to roll out 4G networks. China's largest operator has pledged to buy 100 million units of 4G LTE smartphones from all its partners in 2014 alone. Noting Apple's new relationship with China Mobile, Nubia's CEO speculated that China Mobile would procure roughly 30% of LTE smartphones from Apple and Samsung, and the rest -- 70% -- from mid- to low-end smartphone vendors. Nubia, whose high-end smartphone aren't exactly in the same league with Apple and Samsung, still hopes to generate volume sales among the 70 million LTE smartphones China Mobile said it would buy. Meanwhile, Nubia isn't standing still after the success of its Z5 models. The company will introduce later this month a new phablet (screen size around 6 inches). The new model is important to Nubia, "to make noise" and to keep the Nubia brand fresh in the minds of consumers, Ni explained. Knows RF and chip designs To differentiate its new model from other high-end smartphones, Nubia is emphasizing its technology prowess (based on years of experience at ZTE as a leading provider of telecommunication equipment) and its familiarity with operators. The new X6, according to Ni, will come with "very powerful camera functions" and "a single handset body that can support all of the operator networks' different communication modulation schemes at different frequencies." Simply by swapping a SIM card, customers can use the same phone with any operators' network anywhere in the world, Ni said. "I think we are the first smartphone vendor to do it." Ni made it clear that even if a chipset used in a smartphone is multi-mode, it's not certain that the handset can support all frequencies. "First of all, a handset needs to be slim," said Ni. "When the back of the smartphone and all of its sides are metal, you must know where and how to place antennas supporting all the different frequencies. You also need to know your RF design, so that there will be no interference." Not every Chinese operator might be happy with a smartphone that offers subscribers so much freedom, allowing them to switch operators with just a SIM card. "But this is eventually what consumers want," said Ni. On the other hand, China Telecom, ranked in third in total domestic subscribers, is talking about standardizing its smartphones with those handsets supporting all modems at all frequencies, Ni explained. "They have nothing to lose." Nubia X6 comes with Sony's 13 Megapixel CMOS image sensor capable of taking high-resolution pictures. Even better, its camera application offers independent control for focus, exposure and white balance. By simply touching on-screen controls, a user can adjust each element and preview, on-screen in real time, his or her exact photo, Ni explained. To enable such a real-time image-processing, Ni explained that Nubia has worked with an unnamed partner to add a DSP that runs professional camera-like functions. Ni also went to San Diego and got Qualcomm to open an interface to the GPU core used inside Snapdragon 800, allowing Nubia to use its own protocol to communicate with the GPU. Ni also discussed ZTE's own chipset development. Called "WiseFone," the processor integrating LTE modem with a CPU is ZTE's home-grown smartphone chip, manufactured by using a 28-nm process technology. Without going into details, Ni said that while Nubia doesn't have an immediate plan to switch from Qualcomm's Snapdragon to its own WiseFone, it's good to have a back-up plan. "We think it's a start," he said. Nubia CEO with his hand covering its yet-to-be-announced Nubia X6. (He showed us the live demo with it, but he didn't want us to photograph it before the official launch.) (Source: EE Times/Junko Yoshida)