Meizu launches its first Meilan phone from $162

Chinese smartphone vendor Meizu Technology Co on Tuesday unveiled the first phone under its new sub-brand known as Meilan, in a direct challenge to its local rivals that have dominated the lower end of the market.

The 5.5-inch new phone will officially hit the market on December 30, going for a starting price tag of 999 yuan ($162.44), the company announced at a launch event in Beijing on Tuesday.

The announcement signifies a fresh move by the Zhuhai-based phone maker, in expanding its foothold in the domestic market where it has yet to impress mass consumers after making inroads in the smartphone business in 2006.

By contrast, Beijing-based Xiaomi Inc, a relatively latecomer which only started selling smartphones three years ago, has catapulted to the top spot in China's market for smartphones in the third quarter as measured by shipments, taking up 16 percent of the market, according to figures released in November by UK-based market research firm Canalys.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Beijing-based Lenovo Group were second and third on the shipment list during the third quarter with market shares of 14 percent and 13 percent, respectively, said the Canalys data.