Baidu and Dell introduced Dell Streak Pro D43, the first ever mobile handset model with the Baidu Yi mobile platform built-in. Dell Streak Pro D43 Baidu Yi smart phone comes with different advanced and latest feature designed after the making complete analysis of the needs and demands of the customers. It’s worth noting that this dual-core 1.5GHz, quadband HSPA phone focuses on features and services tailored for Chinese users benefits, including some seemingly basic Mandarin voice control, contacts synchronization, Baidu Chinese input, Yi’s own app store and 100GB of free cloud storage that supports multimedia upload and secure file sharing.
Baidu Yi Adapted to the Needs of Chinese Users
Aside from the usual smart phone offerings such as world clock, alarm, e-mail, calculator, stopwatch, mobile credit recharge, notebook, photo album and so on, Baidu Yi also includes a calendar built in with a lunar calendar option for Chinese users benefits. As previously mentioned, D43 provides users with a great variety of Baidu mobile offerings, including Baidu’s fully-licensed music platform Baidu ting!, which provides users access to more than 500,000 songs for free download. Users only need to sign in once through any one of Baidu’s applications to enjoy customized signed-in access to all mobile Baidu applications on the phone. D43 users can also access the Baidu Yi store to browse through and download more than 50,000 applications.
It gives users immediate access to Baidu’s intelligent Box Computing search technology and powerful Cloud computing functions, as well as advantage Baidu applications such as the fully-licensed free music service Baidu ting!, Baidu Maps, Baidu Yi Reader, Baidu Shenbian, Baidu Browser, Baidu Spaces, Baidu Input-method editor, Palmtop Baidu, Postbar, and so on. The handset also has built-in smart dialing, incoming call location display, phone data monitor, call block, and anti-spam call functions.
Essentially, the Yi platform’s basically just another Chinese Android OS sans Google services. When you already reside in China and are cool with Baidu’s offering, then get a Micro SIM ready and look out for a China Unicom deal soon. With respect to network, D43 supports WiFi+3G+Flash+AP, China Unicom WCDMA 3G network, as well as Wi-Fi and portable hotspot function. Users can treat their Dell D43 very much like a wireless router.
Baidu’s Yi platform could be instrumental in maintaining the company’s dominant search market share in China, which stood at over 80% in November 2011. If the Android market opens up again in China, the Yi could be a differentiating factor in the Chinese mobile OS market, providing a mobile platform specially catered to language specifications within the country. This could provide benefit to Baidu’s search market share.
Besides, now that U.S. regulators have eased their stand on Baidu after removing it from the “notorious markets” piracy following a settlement between Baidu and major record labels like Sony, Warner Music and Universal for alleged copyright infringement, this should make it easier for Baidu to expand its international footprint.
The company’s Chinese operations contributed over 99.8% of its total revenues in 2010. Baidu’s businesses are still highly China-centric, and it needs to significantly adapt to international standards to have tangible revenues outside China. While Apple was trapping Americans into their infrastructure and using them as guinea pigs was okay, it is okay for Dell to focus on a market more than 3 times the size of America.
