7/28/2011
--Alibaba Group unit to introduce smartphone with Alibaba operating system later this month
--Move brings Alibaba into competition with Apple, Google and Microsoft in the smartphone operating-system market
--Operating system could direct users to other Alibaba services
BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said Thursday a partner will launch at the end of July the first mobile phone in China to use an operating system developed by Alibaba, kicking off competition with Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in the smartphone operating system market.
Alibaba Group unit Alibaba Cloud Computing plans for the operating system to support other devices, like tablets and mobile phones with larger screens in the coming months, it said in a statement. The operating system is "fully compatible" with applications based on Android, Alibaba said, without elaborating.
The operating system seems to mark a new direction for Alibaba Group, as the company has made software before but is best known for operating online-commerce websites.
The first phone using the operating system will be made by Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co., also known by the name of its K-Touch handset brand, and sold for CNY2,680 (US$416), Tianyu Chairwoman Rong Xiuli said at a briefing. Alibaba is talking to other handset makers about pre-installing the software on their phones, it said.
Many software and handset makers have offered their own operating systems partly so buyers will also use--and pay for--applications that work on those systems.
Similarly, Alibaba could use its operating system to promote apps for online commerce, potentially boosting other Alibaba Group units such as Alibaba.com Ltd. (1688.HK), which operates websites connecting buyers and suppliers, and consumer-focused commerce websites Taobao Marketplace and Taobao Mall.
Alibaba's operating system makes use of "cloud-based" services such as applications that a user can access on a remote server, instead of downloading them to the phone. Available services will also include e-mail, mapping and data storage space on a remote server, Alibaba said.
Alibaba's move comes as top Chinese search provider Baidu Inc. (BIDU) has hinted it could also be developing a mobile operating system. Baidu says it aims to develop software that lets users of devices like smartphones perform a wide range of online activities by typing commands into a search box.
Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
--Move brings Alibaba into competition with Apple, Google and Microsoft in the smartphone operating-system market
--Operating system could direct users to other Alibaba services
BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said Thursday a partner will launch at the end of July the first mobile phone in China to use an operating system developed by Alibaba, kicking off competition with Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in the smartphone operating system market.
Alibaba Group unit Alibaba Cloud Computing plans for the operating system to support other devices, like tablets and mobile phones with larger screens in the coming months, it said in a statement. The operating system is "fully compatible" with applications based on Android, Alibaba said, without elaborating.
The first phone using the operating system will be made by Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co., also known by the name of its K-Touch handset brand, and sold for CNY2,680 (US$416), Tianyu Chairwoman Rong Xiuli said at a briefing. Alibaba is talking to other handset makers about pre-installing the software on their phones, it said.
Many software and handset makers have offered their own operating systems partly so buyers will also use--and pay for--applications that work on those systems.
Similarly, Alibaba could use its operating system to promote apps for online commerce, potentially boosting other Alibaba Group units such as Alibaba.com Ltd. (1688.HK), which operates websites connecting buyers and suppliers, and consumer-focused commerce websites Taobao Marketplace and Taobao Mall.
Alibaba's operating system makes use of "cloud-based" services such as applications that a user can access on a remote server, instead of downloading them to the phone. Available services will also include e-mail, mapping and data storage space on a remote server, Alibaba said.
Alibaba's move comes as top Chinese search provider Baidu Inc. (BIDU) has hinted it could also be developing a mobile operating system. Baidu says it aims to develop software that lets users of devices like smartphones perform a wide range of online activities by typing commands into a search box.
Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
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