CES 2013 Should Be Renamed Chinese Electronics Show As Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo Flex Their Muscles

By Jimmie Geddes email: j.geddes@mobilenapps.com | Jan 16, 2013 11:09 AM EST

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2013 International CES (or CES 2013), which ended last week, attracted thousands of companies from all over the world to come and show off their products. Especially, this year, jokes have been making the rounds that the nation's largest consumer electronics show, or CES 2013 which concluded last week, should be called the Chinese Electronics Show, especially when it came to smartphone launches.

No other county had a bigger presence at the trade show than China. As Americans, we have gotten used to the "Made in China" label found on almost everything we own (the 'Made in China' label has even made its way to the American flag). Even as I look at the back of my iPhone 5, Apple clearly states "Designed in Cupertino, Assembled in China". Dell, HP - you name it, most products (if not all) of these tech companies are now 'Made in China.' However, the Chinese are not satisfied with just assembling products for American companies. Now, they are proudly showing off products made for themselves and look all set to compete with their American counterparts.

Especially Chinese smartphone manufacturers. They have stepped up their game with their new offerings. China wants to do more than just assemble electronics and had flexed their muscles at CES 2013 if the numbers of Chinese exhibitors, who showed off devices they created in hopes of gaining market share in the U.S. and other places around the world, are anything to go by.

Many people in the tech world also took notice of China's presences at CES this year.

"One of the things that strikes you (at CES) is the presence of the Chinese brands," said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst with the research firm IDC."

In the smartphone race, Chinese makers have also displayed several powerful and slim devices, though few are yet available in the United States.

"They've been ready for the US market for some time," said Ramon Llamas, also an analyst at IDC. "The problem is brand awareness, brand acceptance. It's easy to get washed away by something like Samsung and its Galaxy S III."

But it's only a matter of time before the Chinese firms grab a bigger share of the US mobile device market.

"Keep an eye on Huawei," he said. "Some of those devices are very robust. And ZTE has said publicly that the US market is a priority for them."

Huawei, ZTE, and Lenovo are all Chinese based companies and stole the show at CES 2013 with the announcements of their smartphones.

Huawei launched three smartphones. The Ascend Mate is a 6.1-inch phablet giving it the honor if the world's largest phablet as well as also offering the world's largest battery available in a smartphone, a 4,050 mAh. The Ascend D2 is Huawei's flagship Android smartphone; it features a 5-inch 1080p screen, 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, 32GB of storage, and a large 3,000mAh battery. It also launched the W1, its first Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

ZTE showed off its very impressive Grand S phablet. It features a 5-inch 1080p screen, 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, 13-megapixel camera, and is the world's thinnest 5-inch smartphone currently on the market at 6.9mm.

Lenovo also announced five new smartphones at CES in an attempt to make a move from the laptop and tablet world into becoming a serious player in the smartphone arena.

The S890 model sports a 5in 960x540qHD screen, 8Mp auto-flash camera and is packed into a 9.3mm frame which is 0.36 in wide.

The S720 sports a dual-core MTK CPU, super camera software, a 2000mAh battery, 4.5inch 960x540IPS display, 8MP rear camera and 1MP front camera.

The P770, which is powered by a 3500mAh battery, is available with a USB slot, 4.5inch 960x540IPS display, 5MP rear autofocus camera, and 1MP front camera.

The A800 has a dual core 1.2GHz CPU, a 4.5inch FWVGA display, 5MP rear autofocus camera and is powered by 2000mAh battery.

The IdeaPhone is an entry-level smartphone, has a 1GHz processor, 4-inch 800x480 display, and dual-SIM capability.

There's a saying, 'God made man. Everything else in made in China.' And, it appears that just like China proved to the world that almost anything can be built in China, they are now out to prove that electronic products can also be designed in China in ways that are very appealing to consumers worldwide. I wonder if Huawei, ZTE, or Lenovo will pull an Apple and add "Designed in China, Assembled in China" to the back of their smartphones? A food for thought.