Misfit Wearables raises USD 40 million from Xiaomi, other Chinese firms

Misfit, which claims to make the biggest-selling activity and sleep tracker in China, said on Tuesday it has raised new financing from Xiaomi, e-commerce company JD.com Inc, and venture-capital firms GGV Capital and Shunwei.
             
GGV partner Hans Tung will join Misfit's board of directors. Shunwei partner Tuck Koh will become a board observer. Both are Xiaomi investors.
             
Misfit, best known for its activity tracker Shine, is the latest startup to gravitate toward Xiaomi, which has been seeking to build a hardware ecosystem that extends beyond its smartphones and into wearable technology and home appliances.
             
Xiaomi has built ties with a litany of Chinese gadget makers through investments or strategic partnerships. But the deal with Misfit would be the first instance of the company investing in a U.S.-based wearables company as it pursues its ambition of becoming a global brand like Apple Inc.
             
The relatively small size of the investment could reflect the wariness with which Chinese companies approach U.S. acquisitions.
             
From Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, many of the largest Chinese tech companies have expressed caution about provoking already simmering anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States through flashy deals, though Lenovo Group Ltd has been successful in carrying out multi-billion-dollar buyouts.
             
Three-year-old Xiaomi has become one of the world's largest smartphone manufacturers by dint of cheaper but critically acclaimed devices modeled on those of Apple. It now sports the $13 "Mi" wristband, while Chief Executive Lei Jun has promised a full lineup of wearables.
             
The Misfit investment comes just a few months before Apple's smartwatch is expected to hit the Chinese market. The wearable graced the cover of Vogue China last month, a move regarded as highly strategic given the growing purchasing power of female luxury consumers in China.
             
Led by Chief Executive Sonny Vu, Misfit is based in Daly City, California, but has a data science team in Vietnam. Its early investor and advisor John Sculley is Apple's former chief executive officer.
             
A Xiaomi spokeswoman declined comment. JD.com, GGV Capital and Shunwei could not be reached for comment.

Source: News and Tech News 

Celkon launches Windows smartphone at Rs 4,979

Murali Retineni, executive director of Celkon Mobiles, said 'Win 400', the first Windows phone from Celkon's stable, runs on Windows Phone 8.1 operating system (OS).

"Our plan is to bring more smartphones on the Windows platform. The next in line will be a 5-inch Windows phone, which is currently in the testing stage," Retineni announced in a press conference.

Celkon currently holds a 4 percent share in the Indian smartphones market and is aiming at taking this to between 7 percent and 8 percent by March 2015, he added.

Rajiv Ahlawat, director (mobility), Microsoft India said 'Win 400' would be their most affordable offering. "We would like to develop a larger portfolio of Windows phones in association with Celkon," he said.

Ahlawat said Microsoft is aiming to develop with its partners an ecosystem in India which would place it in a much bigger position in the next six to 12 months.

The new handset features a 4-inch high-definition display, powered by 1.2-gigahertz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chip set and backed by a 1,500-mAh lithium ion battery. It sports a 5-mega pixel rear camera with LED flash and a 1.3-mega pixel front-facing camera.

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60 percent of smartphone users vulnerable to hacking: Study

The study also found that 60 per cent of smartphone users and almost half of tablet users are vulnerable to hacking as these devices have no protection against malicious software.
  
These can be anything from phishing emails, which could result in a fraudster taking over an online account, to 'session hijacking' attacks where a user's web browsing is interrupted, monitored or even hijacked, Yorkshire Post reported.
  
Many smartphone and tablet devices users have no protection against 'malware', software designed specifically to damage or disrupt a system.
  
This is despite nearly half using mobile phones for internet banking and one in three for online shopping.
  
"This year has proved a tipping point for smartphones and tablets," said Ori Eisen of Experian, a global information services company, which published the study.
  
"The rapid rise in demand for online banking and retail combined with very little security on devices has created a massive opportunity for cyber criminals leaving many people and businesses extremely vulnerable," said Eisen.

Source: News from Tech News

India important market for Lenovo; to co-exist with Motorola

In January this year, Lenovo had announced that it will acquire Motorola Mobility for USD 2.9 billion from tech giant Google, one of the largest acquisitions by a Chinese tech firm. Google, itself, had bought Motorola in 2012 for USD 12.4 billion.
   
"India is one of the most important markets for Lenovo. Lenovo and Motorola combined are third in the Indian market after Samsung and Micromax... We will continue to sell Motorola handsets online and Lenovo in offline stores," Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing told reporters in a conference call.
   
He added that while the dual brand strategy will be for emerging markets like India, the company will use the Motorola brand in mature markets like the US.
   
In India, Motorola sells its devices in partnership with eCommerce major Flipkart. Its range in the country includes Moto G, Moto E and Moto X as well as the Moto 360 smartwatch. It has recently unveiled the second generation of Moto G and Moto X smartphones.
   
India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. According to IDC, 63.21 million units were shipped to India in Q2 2014. Samsung had a 29 per cent share, followed by Micromax 18 per cent and Karbonn at 8 per cent. Motorola had 5 per cent share.
   
"We will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lenovo and remain headquartered in Chicago's Merchandise Mart while maintaining offices around the world, including in Silicon Valley," Motorola Mobility President Rick Osterloh said.
   
The iconic Motorola brand will continue as will the Moto and DROID franchises that have propelled growth over the past year, he added.
   
With the completion of the acquisition, Lenovo has added nearly 3,500 employees globally, including about 2,800 in the US.
   
"This partnership has always been a perfect fit. Motorola brings a strong presence in the US and other mature markets, great carrier relationships, an iconic brand, a strong IP portfolio and an incredibly talented team. This is a winning combination," Yuanqing said.
   
Liu Jun, Lenovo Executive Vice President and President of Lenovo's Mobile Business Group will be the Chairman of the Motorola Management Board.

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