Huawei smartphones gain popularity in UAE

Huawei smartphone sales in the UAE and other parts of Middle East have been robust in the first three quarters of 2015, Sandeep Saihgal, regional vice-president for consumer business group, told Khaleej Times during an interview.
Record sales at the recently concluded Gitex Shopper in Dubai is indication of the acceptance of Huawei products in the UAE and the wider region, Saihgal added.
Huawei's new Mate S smartphone and W1 smartwatch received a phenomenal response at Gitex Shopper 2015. The company managed to triple product sales compared to last year.
The new smartphone and smartwatch made their UAE foray on the first day of Gitex Shopper's silver jubilee edition. The Middle East launch of both devices was held a few days before the eight-day shopping extravaganza in Dubai after the global launch in Berlin, Germany, on September 2.
Declining to give exact figures, Saihgal said the company had brought a fair amount of smartwatches to Gitex Shopper and all were sold. As of now, both the devices are only available in the UAE. There is only a limited stocks of watches left at retail outlets, he informed.
Saihgal said: "The Middle East is a very strategic market for our business. We strive to grow and offer our customers products that impact and enrich their lives. In designing the Huawei Mate S, we wanted to develop a smartphone that offers a personalised experience with the power of touch. We once again took a revolutionary approach and reimagined how people interact with their devices, adding innovative features that enhance ease of use, functionality and creativity."
"With the Huawei Watch, we have created a bespoke timepiece that offers consumers varied preferences in technology, fashion and lifestyle, while maintaining technological innovation," he added.
Huawei has adopted a long-term approach to research and development (R&D) investment by allocating over 10 per cent of its sales revenue for R&D every year.
These insights highlight that the mobile phone market overall has rapidly shifted from feature phones to smartphones and the UAE is one of the leaders in the Middle East in terms of mobile penetration, Saihgal said. The outlook for smartwatches is promising and they will possibly edge out regular watches in the long run as they get trendier, he added.
Saihgal said the smartwatch segment will take time to establish itself. Citing the examples of a wrist band, health band and talk band, he said since the smartwatch incorporates all these features, it can phase out the other devices.
The company witnessed a 48 per cent year-on-year growth in device sales in the Middle East in the first half of the year.
Globally, Huawei became the third-largest smartphone maker in the second quarter of 2015, according to data from IDC. This is due, in part, to its ability to gain market share in the MEA where smartphone growth exceeds that of any other region.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com