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Vivo - a brand cannot be neglected

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Vivo might not be a very international brand, and should be the least well-known (relatively) manufacturer under the BBK Electronics family (Oppo, Oneplus and Vivo are under the same parent company). Yet, it WAS the 5th largest phone manufacturer some time in 2016 and 2017 (surpassed by Xiaomi in recent months). Its strong brand presence in China and India cannot be overlooked and scorned. How does Vivo make it??? Let's take a closer look. Background of Vivo: Vivo is a young company established in 2009. Together with its 'siblings' Oppo and Oneplus, they are owned by BBK Electronics (aka the parent company). Its products are sold mainly in China, India and Asian places like Malaysia and Thailand. It also appears on many World Cup 2018 advertisements because it is one of the sponsors.  Let's focus on the recent two years' development (2017 and 2018). 2017: the mundane X9/X9s/X9 Plus/X9s Plus In the first half year, Vivo performs just like a
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One year ago, I wrote something about the future of this company. One year later, now in the mid 2018, it seems that Xiaomi is doing better than my expectation. Besides phones, Xiaomi has been excelling in the smart band market (having the 2nd largest market share, only losing to Apple). Plus its wide range of related products like power banks, balance cars, rice cookers etc. A month ago, it is listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming one of the most anticipated IPOs in recent years. It gains high popularity in Asian countries. It has expansion plans in Europe. What're the next steps? Wow. Let's see. Xiaomi has risen to become the world's 5th largest smartphone manufacturer, surpassing the Chinese competitor Vivo in 2017. Its marketing and selling strategy is especially effective in India, kicking Samsung out of the first place of market share in the region. Surprises, praises, good work: The timely updates to the MIUI, really, are a differentiat
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Notch notch notch everywhere!

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2016 is the year of 4GB RAM, 2017 is the year of dual cameras and high screen to body ratio. These previous additions are generally well-received, unlike the very controversial 2018 'notch design' seen everywhere now. Notch should be the most-heard term in 2018 cuz each phone is classified into either yes-notch and no-notch. The most accepted definition of a notch design is that the upper left and right area contain no bezels, while the middle contains a long region of bezel to house the essentials like front camera, sensors, and earpiece. Whether the notch is beautiful or not is solely a question of personal preference. An objective, undeniable fact is that the notch DOES, to a certain extent, make the screen to body ratio more impressive. Let's take a look at the pioneers and variations of the notch and how they affect the front panel of the phone.  The 'founder' of the notch design should be the Essential Phone and the Sharp S2 announced in early
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Next Big Thing?

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It's on the cards that smartphones are evolving as time goes by. Besides enhancement in CPU, GPU, ROM, RAM and camera performance from year to year, manufacturers sometimes add special features to make their phones stand out. E.g. 2016 is the dual-camera year, 2017 marks the start of thin bezels (high screen-to-body ratio). So, what will be the next innovative technologies? (1) On screen fingerprint (95%) iPhone 5s can be considered the father of fingerprint sensor as android manufacturers all follow the footstep. Till now, very cheap budget phones like Moto E4, Xiaomi Redmi 4 are all equipped with fingerprint sensors. So, the next big thing is probably an on-screen fingerprint reader because this can save a lot of space. Nowadays, there are three main fingerprint sensor positions, namely front (e.g. iPhone, HTC, Samsung, Moto, Huawei), rear (Samsung S8, Google, LG) and side (Sony). No matter which position, the sensor is very explicit. That's why on-screen fing
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