BARCELONA: Chinese handset makers will lead an onslaught on smartphone titans Samsung and Apple when the world’s biggest mobile fair opens today in Barcelona, Spain.
Offering big-screen, slick, slim smartphones at lower prices, Chinese manufacturers Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo will leverage the Mobile World Congress to chip away at the mighty duopoly, analysts say.
The handset battle is part of a broader revolt against a handful of companies with a stranglehold on the booming industry’s handsets, operating systems and microchips, they say.
Apple, as usual, is steering clear of the February 25-28 congress that draws 1,500 exhibitors to this Mediterranean city in northeastern Spain, and Samsung is not expected to launch its next big offer, the Galaxy S4, until some time after the show. That may leave the field clear for rivals to tout their ambitions for a slice of the smartphone market, which is set to grow to a record one billion handset shipments in 2013 according to a forecast by global consultancy Deloitte.AFP
