Yota Company has agreed a deal to sell the dual-screen YotaPhone2 in China, completing what the company described as “one of the largest transactions in history” for the supply of Russian high-tech consumer electronics to China.
The Russia-based company has signed a distribution contract with state company Potevio, which will sell and provide marketing support for the Android-based smartphone. Potevio is among the three largest distributors of mobile electronics in China, selling 36 million devices in 2014.
Yota Company has already started selling the YotaPhone2 smartphone – the second version of the device that has an LCD front screen and an e-ink black screen – in 20 countries in Europe and the Middle East. Sales in China are expected to start this quarter, with sales in Latin and North America and Indonesia to begin “very soon”, the company said.
Yota Company CEO Vladislav Martynov also noted that the company created a special version of YotaPhone2 in China to support local LTE frequencies. This version also includes a package of the most popular mobile applications in China and social networks localised and adapted for the second screen.
Shan Zhao, VP of Potevio, said there are already signs of strong demand for the YotaPhone2 in China.
“Competition and segmentation in consumer electronics are quite high in China, experienced users have the opportunity to be among the first in the world to receive flagship leading manufacturers and be almost at a professional level to monitor trends in the industry of mobile communication devices," he added.
