MANILA – November 1, 2013 – Local brands are not exactly the most popular when it comes to smartphones, with many still captivated by the coolness factor of the iPhone 5S or Galaxy S4.
Indeed, brands like Cherry Mobile, Star Mobile, and MyPhone still have a ways to go before they can inspire the same excitement as Apple or Samsung, but according to Star Mobile consumer marketing head Katrina Tioseco, the local smartphone is here to stay.
"Worldwide, Samsung and Apple have 51 percent of the smartphone market. 49 percent is up for grabs," Tioseco said at the recently-concluded Mobile Marketing Conference last October 24.
According to Tioseco, local smartphone brands have an equalizing effect, mainly because of their affordability.
"In the Philippines, we democratize technology. You don’t have to be so affluent or so rich to be high-tech," Tioseco said. "We’re giving high technology to people who otherwise would not be able to afford it."
Tioseco was joined in a panel discussion on the smartphone phenomena by MyPhone marketing head John Chica, who shared Tioseco’s view on local smartphones.
Both Chica and Tioseco agreed that being a local brand allows them to include features that are more "Filipino." For instance, Chica explained, they’ve included a TV feature on one of their models, because their target market likes watching television.
Chica also talked about a feature called Theft Apprehension and Asset Recovery Application (TARA), which renders the handset useless through a full system shutdown when it is stolen. The application, which is the first of its kind and Filipino developed, also has an alarm function that sets a "Magnanakaw! Magnanakaw!" siren on stolen handsets.
With these features, the biggest challenge for local smartphones according to Tioseco is clearly not quality, or lack of innovation, but brand image.
"There’s still that stigma that we’re the ‘China phone,’" Chica pointed out.
Still both Tioseco and Chica remain optimistic about the outlook of local smartphone brands.
"Who doesn’t like a challenge?" Chica said. "It’s really exciting to be in the mobile industry right now."
Meanwhile, Tioseco shared, "It’s so exciting right now because of the way that mobile is changing lifestyles."
