First LeTV smartphones sell out in minutes

 

The Chinese video streaming company LeTV has sold out its first batch of smartphones on Tuesday. Online customers snapped up the 200,000 LeTV S1 and S1 Pro phones within four minutes. The company says it plans to sell over 3 million phones in 2015.

The Le Superphones were sold out as soon as they were released online. Priced at 1,499 RMB and 2,499, the two models have done well for a start.

"The 10,000 LeTV S1 pro's sold out one second after release, and the 200,000 S1 and S1 pro's sold out in 3 minutes and 46 seconds. Le Superphones will redefine the mobile experience with their unique eco system which help them become an industry leader," said Lemobile President Feng Xing.

The company says it wants to sell three million phones this year, and nine million next year. Up to now, LeTV's business has been online video streaming, but it seems confident it will quickly pick up market share and compete with domestic players like Huawei and Xiaomi, as well as global giants like Apple and Samsung. The secret weapon, it says, is the LeTV ecosystem, which delivers premium content across screens on different devices.

China is now the world's NO 1 smartphone market with more than 500 million users, twice as many as the second biggest market, the US.

"Le Superphones are being promoted as a new kind of smartphone with a unique ecosystem, but I think consumers need to be better informed and shown what makes this concept different. Maybe they should do more promotions so we can experience how it's different from traditional smartphones," said a worker.

"I like how I can watch more online content with its eco system. I use the same brand of TV at home, and I like how I can use the Le superphone as a remote control," said a customer.

The new player is also ambitious, with plans to sell its superphones around the world. Next they plan to enter the US market, where LeTV has opened offices in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.