Taobao to launch customised mobile phones in 2010

By Aaron Back, Dow Jones Newswires Monday 14 December 2009

Handsets to come with applications enabling consumers to shop, shopkeepers to manage online stores.

Chinese online retailer Taobao.com will release three customized mobile phones early next year, in partnership with Lenovo Group Ltd., China Telecom Corp. and TCL Corp., a person with knowledge of the matter said Monday. The phones will come with applications allowing customers to shop and pay for goods, and shopkeepers to manage their online stores, said the person, who declined to be named. Taobao, based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, may be hoping to emulate the success of eBay Inc. in the U.S. in moving online shopping to mobile platforms. Following the launch of a popular application for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, eBay said last month customers will buy more than $500 million in merchandise on its site with mobile phones this year. Computer-maker Lenovo Group confirmed its partnership with Taobao, saying in a statement the Taobao-branded phone will come equipped with software allowing customers to shop on the e-commerce site. The Taobao phone released with China Telecom will run on the carrier's third-generation mobile network, said the person with knowledge of the matter. Taobao has also just released a downloadable application for other mobile devices, including the iPhone and devices that run on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile. Taobao is China's dominant e-commerce site, where individuals can buy goods from one another and directly from major retailers. Taobao parent company Alibaba Group is also the parent company of Hong Kong-listed business platform Alibaba.com Ltd. In the first half of the year, Taobao handled CNY80.9 billion ($11.8 billion) worth of transactions, nearly double the year-earlier figure. Last month, Lenovo said it plans to buy back its mobile phone unit for $200 million in cash and shares, signaling its intent to get more involved in China's burgeoning mobile Internet market. The company had sold off the unit in 2008 for $100 million to focus on its personal-computer business. China Telecom spokesman Jacky Yung said he wasn't aware of any collaboration with Taobao. TCL wasn't immediately available for comment.

By Aaron Back, Dow Jones Newswires Monday 14 December 2009

shop management software on the phone.