Chinese EBay Rival Unveils Branded Mobile Phone

Chinese EBay Rival Unveils Branded Mobile Phone

China's biggest online auction and retail Internet site plans to stamp its brand on a new mobile phone, the first time it's name will be put on a device, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Taobao.com plans this week to announce the IT service, which will be co-branded by Lenovo Mobile and come with a pre-installed application, the source said Wednesday. The handset is part of ongoing efforts by the IT company to "develop the wireless market," including by drawing more mobile users to Taobao, the source said.

Taobao, where users can buy items from each other or in online stores, is owned by Alibaba Group, which also operates Yahoo China and other top e-commerce Web sites in China, including business-to-business sale platform Alibaba.com. Use of Taobao has soared as more Chinese turn to IT connectivity to buy everything from phones and laptops to makeup and toasters.