Surprisingly appeared on the homepage of US' most prestigious technology newspaper CNET, the smartphone "Designed by Bkav - Made in Vietnam" was identified as part of the technological revolution taking place in Vietnam.
"Meet the Vietnamese smartphone maker gunning to be the next Apple" is one of a series in Road Trip 2015 published on CNET's homepage on, July 31. During the time in Vietnam, Shara Tibken had a tour to one of Bkav's two factories, where nearly 100 workers are producing the first phone designed and manufactured in Vietnam.
Bphone is a high-end smartphone
CNET editor said Bkav has spent about 20 million USD with 200 engineers and over 4 years to develop the first high-end smartphone. The company designed everything from the mainboard to the software on Bphone. Bkav is carrying out its mission "be a part of a technological revolution happening in Vietnam", where foreign firms take advantage of cheap labor to assemble products. "That's why BKAV stands out; it's a homegrown company with the goal of building a pricey phone for locals. In some ways, it's following in the footsteps of China's Xiaomi, which built up global credibility for its low-priced smartphones by catering to its home market first".
A conner of Bphone factory (credit: CNET)
Bphone's customer attraction is its "Made in Vietnam".
"We want [to show] that Vietnam can do the high-grade products like America or Japan or Korea", said Bach Thanh Le, BKAV's vice president and chief information officer.
"Why do some people think that Bphone is not really a Vietnamese phoneBecause it's hard to believe that Vietnam can design and manufacture a world's leading smartphone". CEO Nguyen Tu Quang shared with the CNET editor.
A worker testing the Bphone's build (credit: CNET)
However, according to CNET, Bkav's difficulty is critical when Apple and Samsung "crazy fans" are everywhere.
Bkav sold 11,822 Bphone during the first go-around But sales is not the priority, Bkav's leader said. What important is to create a good impression for consumers. Bkav provides customers with a return policy within two weeks to give them a time to experience the product. This is a rare policy in Vietnam.
Bphone and its box
"You see, as Samsung and Apple have done, the global market is our goal", Le said. But "if we do not do well in the domestic market, we cannot achieve the basic requirements to continue to grow. Therefore, in the near future, we must convince the Vietnamese people to trust in Bphone".
CNET assesses Vietnam as a potential market for smartphones when there have been more than 24 million smartphones sold to, a population of over 94 million. The smartphone market in Vietnam will grow strongly in the coming years, this will be a good opportunity for Bkav and what Bkav is doing in the "race" to become Apple of Vietnam.
Source: VnReview.vn
