China’s ZTE Targets iPhone
China’s ZTE Corp. plans to ramp up competition in the crowded U.S. smartphone market with higher-end gadgets and closer ties with carriers, aiming to become one of the world’s top three smartphone brands.
The telecommunications equipment maker is starting with about a 5 percent market share in the U.S., a reputation mostly for budget phones, and fierce competition from companies such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. But success in the U.S. and China is key to its ambitions, Executive Vice President He Shiyou said in an interview, adding that ZTE hopes the U.S. will leapfrog China to become the company’s No. 1 source of smartphone revenue.