BEIJING: China’s Xiaomi Inc took China’s smartphone crown in the second quarter after the Beijing-based firm replaced Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as China’s largest smartphone vendor, according to data from Canalys.

Xiaomi shipped just under 15 million units in the three months ended June, while Samsung’s 13.2m unit shipments just beat China’s Lenovo Group by around 200,000 units to take second place, said Canalys.

The three-year old Xiaomi, which closely apes many aspects of Apple Inc and its designs, also nabbed fifth place by global market share for smartphone makers in the second quarter, research firm Strategy Analytics showed last week.—Reuters

BlackBerry closes chapter on restructuring

BlackBerry Ltd has concluded a protracted and painful restructuring process and is back on a growth footing, according to an internal memo to all its employees viewed by Reuters.

“We have completed the restructuring notification process, and the workforce reduction that began three years ago is now behind us,” said the memo from BlackBerry’s Chief Executive John Chen that was sent out on Friday.

“More importantly, barring any unexpected downturns in the market, we will be adding headcount in certain areas such as product development, sales and customer service, beginning in modest numbers,” said Chen, who personally thanked those that have stayed with the company through the process.

BlackBerry has shrunk its workforce by roughly 60 per cent over the last three years as it attempts to reinvent itself.

Time Inc revenue falls on lower subscriptions

Time Inc, the largest magazine publisher in the United States, reported a 1.6 per cent fall in quarterly revenue, hurt by a fall in subscription revenue and newsstand sales.

Time posted a loss of $32 million, or 30 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of $75m, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $820m from $833m. Time’s publications include People, Sports Illustrated and its namesake Time magazine, and this is its first earnings report following its spinoff from Time Warner.

Published in Dawn, Aug 6th, 2014