Low-cost phones outsell pricy Apple devices

Demand for low-cost smartphones in China continues to highlight the difficulties faced by US mobile manufacture Apple (AAPL.NASDAQ, APC.FRA) as it moves to further penetrate the world’s biggest market for the devices, Bloomberg reported. Phone maker China Wireless Technologies (2369.HKG), which makes Coolpad phones, is outselling the iPhone as a wave of price-sensitive consumers floods the market. The Coolpad 8060 has a retail price of just under US$100, which is less than 20% of the cheapest iPhone price. “Apple, with its current stable of products, is unlikely to rank high as long as the general level of affluence in China is low,” said Magdalene Choong, an analyst for Philip Securities. China Wireless vaulted to third-largest smartphone retailer in China from sixth in the third quarter of 2012, while Apple fell to sixth place from fourth in the same period, according to telecoms research firm IDC.