Google takes on Apple in race for China's smartphone market

China Mobile, the market’s largest telco provider, is set to launch two Android-based phones as early as next week, according to Western reports. It has reportedly secured deals for the Lenovo-built OPhone and HTC’s Magic which both use Android technology

The news comes one week after Apple was said to have signed a three-year contract with China Unicom to sell its 3G iPhone after a lengthy battle to introduce the phone in the market. The companies have suggested that the iPhone may go on sale later this month.

According to co-founder and CEO of TMS Frederick Saurat, the Android phones’ head-start is important because it means China Mobile and Google can eat into Apple’s would-be pool of smartphone users. They can also target application users and customers looking to equip their families with smartphones through family plans.

“This is also important to Google because mobile will be a priority as it cannot really make gains in the market in terms of a search engine. With Android mobile, it creates a new avenue for search and can elevate itself above Baidu and Yahoo,” Saurat added, noting that Google may be able to bank on China Mobile’s 45 million internet mobile subscribers.

The smartphone battle in China began when the Government approved the construction of a series of 3G networks that would bring fast-connecting internet to the market for the first time. China’s three main providers - China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom – bid for the TD-SCDMA, CDMA 2000 and WCDMA 3G standards and received licences for them in January, and then scrambled to sign distribution deals with the world’s largest handset makers.

Boosting its search share is vital for Google. According to China’s Data Center of the China Internet, Chinese search giant Baidu has boosted its share of the country’s search market to 81.9 per cent.