The company has just opened offices in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. LeTv (pronounced L-E-T-V) is a maker of mobile phones and smart TVs as well as a provider of a streaming service for speakers of languages originating from China.
In an effort to create attention to its impending cross sea expansion, LeTv courted some controversy this week by comparing Apple to Hitler. Tactful, maybe not, but it had the desired attention seeking effect. The company’s CEO, Jia Yueting, had to consequently explain himself, citing that he only meant that Apple was an “arrogant regime” that has embraced “tyranny”. He did however apologize, backing it up by saying he believes “open-ended technology ecosystems are more beneficial to consumers”. A practical example of when saying sorry is sometimes easier than asking for permission.
When you hear that the company is valued at $12 Billion, you wonder why you haven’t heard of them before. In China, they are big, very big, their streaming services attains in excess of 300 million views a month. Its current bestselling product is their Smart TV, breaking numerous Asian sales records in 2014. They will attempt to enter the US market by means of release of their Le Superphone which launched in China on 14 April 2015. Le Superphone is available in three spec inflated models, Le Superphone 1, the 1 Pro and the 1 Max. Models that vaunt a 21 megapixel camera, bezel-less screens and the 1 Max containing an epic octo-core processor. There’s no mention of which model will be released first nor when the Smart TV range will make it to US shores. Once traction is gained, the company will then make its streaming service available which will contain a mix of ad supported and subscription services, with 100,000 television episodes and 5,000 films worth of entertainment available. Platforms and devices supporting the idea of an ecosystem that the CEO spoke of.
LeTv have engaged the services of JD Howard, a former Lenovo executive to look-over this massive initiative. This is indicative of two things, a) LeTv is serious about the expansion and b) an experienced player like Mr Howard surely can see the potential of this expansion if he was able to move from an established brand that operated in the US, to a newcomer, quoted as saying, “Our ambition is to make a serious disruption in the smartphone industry”