China Unicom will launch its own Linux-based smartphone before the end of the year. It needs to do this as it is facing slow revenue growth and a lot of extra competition.
For the moment it is called "uphone," the prefix "i" having already been taken.
Zhang Zhijiang, the head of China Unicom’s tech and research institute, said no price has yet been determined but the smartphone is being developed with Chinese network suppliers Huawei and ZTE, along with Chinese cellphone maker OKWAP.
PC World reports China Unicom is the country’s second-largest mobile operator with 162 million subscribers. It is also China’s sole carrier of Apple’s iPhone 4, which has been selling out in stores across the country since its launch in late September.
But it needs to look to the future and the Linux-powered uphone may be part of it.