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Vodka, Tschaikovsky and now YotaPhone
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VLAD Martynov, chief executive of Moscow-based Yota Devices, is betting on big sales and a high profile in China after the Russian government presented a YotaPhone as a “national gift” to Chinese President Xi Jinping last year.
The YotaPhone recently made its official debut here in the world’s biggest smartphone market.
“When people talk about Russia, the words that first come to mind now are vodka, Tchaikovsky and YotaPhone. This is a breakthrough,” Martynov told Shanghai Daily in a private interview.
Tagged as a high-tech renaissance for Russia, the dual-screen YotaPhone features an additional back screen with e-ink technologies for reading, short messaging, email notifications and even selfies. In short, the phone has a Kindle on the back supporting serious reading, an eye-friendly display and up to a week of stand time for the battery.
The design and technologies have conferred a sort of celebrity status on YotaPhone, enhanced by super fans like Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Russia-designed and China-manufactured YotaPhone to Xi as the symbol of cooperation between the two neighbors.
Since the debut of the first generation YotaPhone in 2013, sales have spread across Russia to Germany and Britain. To date, the company has sold 4 million units of the 4G devices, a considerable figure for a Russian start-up but a limited number compared with vendors like Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi.
To become a true global player, Martynov said he is banking on the Chinese market, with its more than 1.1 billion mobile users. He also plans to kick off YotaPhone in the US in near future, he said.
“In the future, we expect more than 50 percent of YotaPhone sales to come from China,” Martynov said. “That is our most important market.”
Achieving that goal is no cakewalk. Yota Devices is tackling a market close to saturation and domestic and global rivals that have already made strong inroads.
The new YotaPhone 2, the second-generation model, has a starting price of 4,888 yuan (US$788) in China, almost double the average price of mainstream domestic-brand phones.
Will Chinese consumers be willing to pay the extra for the unique features like the dual-screen, integrated electronic paper display and energy efficiency?
Martynov, whose management career includes time with multinationals like Microsoft, said his company is up to the challenge. At the same time, he told Shanghai Daily that he is “impressed” by Apple’s simplified design, Huawei’s technology and Xiaomi’s Internet promotion.
In China, Yota Devices will focus on keeping its unique advantages in technology and design while adapting to local consumer preferences, he said.
Yota Devices is the only company that can integrate an electronic paper display into a smartphone. Therefore, YotaPhone offers something new to enhance the user experience and lifestyle status, Martynov said.
Target consumers are those aged between 20 and 35 — highly educated “trendsetters” willing to express their individuality, he added.
“After iPhone users switch to YotaPhone, they find the change totally worth it,” he said.
Yota is in negotiations to license its dual-screen technology to other firms, including Chinese vendors. It wants to establish an eco-system for dual-screen phones in China, creating a comfortable reading experience and visual protection. The back screen is designed to be gentle on the eyes.
The Yotaphone automatically displays information updates, even if the smartphone battery is fully discharged, which gives the phones a “second life,” said Martynov.
Top firms like LG, Amazon and Samsung have launched products with various screen innovations, but YotaPhone remains the most practical and beautiful smartphone in terms of screen innovation, industry analysts have said.
Yota Devices is cooperating with Chinese firms on manufacturing, marketing and creating local content and services in China.
In March, it had established a joint venture with JieLan Ltd to promote, sell and provide customer services for the new YotaPhone, which supports China Mobile’s TD-LTE 4G technology. At the same time, the company is offering monthly data packages and discounted prices in cooperation with China Unicom.
With a pre-installed package unique in China, YotaPhone users can enjoy popular mobile applications with localized content and adaption for the second screen, including a reading application offered by iReader and other popular tools like Wechat and Weibo.
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