The competition is fierce among smartphone brands. The camera and camera features are now a critical aspect in phone marketing. More megapixels, more cameras, and better software are key features when it comes to market strategies.
R&D is expensive so establishing partnerships with other manufacturers makes sense twice: Firstly, it saves on development resources. Secondly, it validates the brand and puts a prestigious halo around it. Just look at the last crop of partnerships: Huawei & Leica, Motorola & Hasselblad and Nokia & Zeiss. (I could possibly say Sony & Sony, but that would just be funny). Now Xiaomi wants in on the camera “old money” and seeking out a partnership.
Xiaomi just launched a survey on Weibo asking which company it should collaborate with. Of course, it does not mean that Xiaomi will hook up with the servery winner, but it may give some insights into the company strategy.
Xiaomi included Hasselblad, Canon, and Nikon in the survey. Hasselblad was the most popular brand among voters. But Canon and Nikon both make good lenses and are not “committed” to other brands yet.
Xiaomi is already taking a step forward by using Samsung’s newest sensors, and lenses from a “reputable” manufacturer can help them show off a complete camera haul-over. It will interesting to see how this move plays out and how seriously Xiaomi takes the survey. I wonder whether this was a fun experiment or if they have a long-term strategy in mind.
[Via Gizchina]
P.S. are you excited to see a Nikon camera pop-up on a phone as I am?
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