Will customs let xiaomi through. How to get a Xiaomi smartphone from China without customs clearance problems

Meizu M5

All the fuss with customs restrictions began with the order of Xiaomi Mi5, but the de facto distributor "covered" the supply of all models that are officially shipped to Russia. The youngest of them is Redmi 4A.

What this Redmi is, enthusiasts are well aware - this is the only one in the modern Xiaomi model line that truly budget smartphone. That is, not when “we are creating an inexpensive mobile phone, but just in case, there are eight cores in the processor, a metal case, 3 gigabytes random access memory and hefty

battery". Redmi 4A has only the "vital" bells and whistles for a new smartphone - 4 cores / 2 GB RAM, LTE, HD display, 16 GB internal storage. For all this, depending on the color of the case, the Chinese are asking 5500-7000 rubles.

The alternative will not be to the taste of all enthusiasts (the more you know smartphone models, the less choice seems), but it is.

Even slightly cooler eggs of the characteristics, and even the design of the iPhone are absolutely free. Display 5.2 inches (and more bright and contrast), HD, eight Cortex-A53 cores in the processor, this time MediaTek MT6750. Not as respectable as Snapdragon, but MediaTek's eight low-frequency cores are better than Qualcomm's four high-frequency ones. Meizu's speed is noticeably higher, and there is a 3/32 GB option for those who are willing to pay a little extra.

The case is about the same in quality, but in black it looks very expensive - much more presentable than the black version of Redmi 4A. Yes, and a fingerprint scanner is present, unlike the similarly priced Xiaomi.

The “victims” in comparison with Redmi will be the volume of the sound in the headphones and the volume of the speaker (it’s generally a problem), which can only partially be brought back to normal using engineering menu. In terms of the quality of shooting on cameras, smartphones are approximately equal, but Meizu has no expanse for firmware lovers (and MediaTek too, hee hee) - “put on” old smartphone some Android 9 after a couple of years, you certainly won’t be able to. But there is a global multilingual firmware that does not have to be Russified through “hard-to-reach places”, as is the case with Meizu smartphones for the Chinese market.

Replacement options for Redmi 3S, 3X, Redmi 4, 4X

Same thing with different sauce. Models with a 5-inch HD display, a Snapdragon 430 processor, unprepossessing cameras and 4100 mAh batteries. Not much, in fact, differs, except for the design of the cases and the fact that Redmi 3S / 3X are “elite” modifications of the third generation of Redmi, and Redmi 4 and 4X are fourth-generation medium-equipped options.

So that life does not seem like honey to newcomers to the Xiaomi world, all these smartphones are also available in two versions - with 2/16 and 3/32 GB of memory. But the junior equipment is still more popular, because instead of the “luxury”-Redmi 3S, it is much more reasonable to take the Redmi 4 Prime with a much faster processor and a Full HD display. All these models are Chinese

sellers today estimate at 8500 - 11000 rubles, depending on the color, modification and impudence of a single seller. From here we will dance.

Be mentally prepared for the fact that you will not find a smartphone comparable in terms of autonomy and openness to flashing at a similar price, you will have to make compromises.

Meizu U10

In this article, the number of Meizu will certainly set you on edge, but there is nowhere to go. Because, minus Xiaomi, this is one of the few manufacturers that, unlike all sorts of Elephone and Doogee, produce high-quality smartphones without "childhood diseases", but still do not ask for impressive amounts for them, like Lenovo and Huawei.

So, Meizu U10 is a "clone" of Meizu M3/M3s mini in a glass-metal case. Gurus will say that it would be wiser to counter the mid-range Redmi trim levels with Meizu's symmetrical answer - M5s, but this model is so "neither fish nor fowl" and self-quoting M3s mini that it is better to prefer the U-series. Moreover, the smartphone is very beautiful in black.

Everything that was said about the Meizu M5 is also true for the U10, with the only difference that you get not 5.2, but exactly 5 inches of the display and unsightly autonomy (“would last until the end of the day”) in exchange for a much more humane price - about 6700-8000 rubles for models with 2/16 GB on board. The quality of the display, cameras and speed are about the same as Redmi in the title, the sound is worse, the autonomy is worse (alas).

Well, or you can still buy the M5s, it’s already doing well with autonomy, and the body is metal. It's time to give Meizu a medal for the ability to "spread" the same model into several families, in the best traditions of the classic Zhiguli.

ZTE Blade V7

No need to grin, gentlemen geeks - let ZTE release not the most functional and hassle-free smartphones for its price, but after Oukitel or Leagoo you will understand that it can be worse.

ZTE tried to sell this model in Russia, but to pay 16 thousand rubles for a smartphone in which the proprietary shell periodically “hiccups”, and the case is cheap even in appearance, there were few who wanted to - they were all taken away by Huawei and Samsung.

But for 10 thousand - quite an option! Albeit a little "curve" in color reproduction, but still Full HD display, eight-core processor MT6753, good front-camera and "one-day" autonomy. In terms of sound quality, GPS / GLONASS reception level, design and speed of the system, autonomy, the smartphone is inferior to Redmi, but the display and front camera are cooler, the rear camera is similar in quality to Redmi, and application performance is also not bad. An equivalent alternative if you don't need custom ROMs or super stamina.

Replacement options for Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime (Pro)

Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime

If you should miss any of the Chinese Xiaomi “banned” in Russia, then Redmi 4 Prime is one of the best smartphones of 2016, and generally an all-time cool “state employee”. If only because the same combination of a capacious (4100 mAh) battery, display clarity (Full HD) and processor performance (Snapdragon 625) in one model is still

so far no one offers. And, by and large, 11-12 thousand in Chinese stores versus 16 thousand in Russian retail no longer look like an exorbitant overpayment, but let's not be like the capital's tired colleagues, for whom 4 thousand rubles is not money. Let's look for alternatives.

ZUK Z2

Hand on heart - there is no full-fledged replacement for Redmi 4 Prime. Any analogues will either be slow, or not so hardy, or without a Full HD matrix (that is, they will smell like an “economy class”). But if you arm yourself with the idea of ​​a model (a powerful geek budget non-phablet), you can find analogues.

For example, the most “exclusive” right now (because Lenovo is burying this subsidiary brand) is a glass smartphone with a 2016 flagship processor, Snapdragon 820, and a Full HD matrix at the core. Exciting? Very! Against this background

The Redmi 4 Prime smartphone is a “brake”, especially since Xiaomi looks cheaper even after the Chinese screwed a design in the style of the spectacular Redmi Note 4 to the younger model. Yes, and the cameras in the ZUK Z2, although not masterpieces in themselves , but certainly better than the despondency that roams in compact Xiaomi state employees starting from Redmi 3.

But there are no freebies even on Aliexpress (or “especially on Aliexpress,” as buyers of fake flash drives would say), so read the shortcomings of the Beetle right away, and don’t say that we didn’t warn you:

• The case is glass and very slippery, so any " broads" becomes more likely and, more importantly, "deadly" for the body panel, even if the smartphone falls on its "back". Scratches on the case also appear very quickly even without any extreme sports. In Redmi 4 Prime, everything is much better with durability.
• With firmware, everything is rather gloomy - new smartphones do not always come with a Russian language pack, flashing this model is quite "dreary". Although, in terms of the degree of "dirty perversions", nothing compares to modifying the USB cable in order to "fill in" the global firmware in Redmi 4A. Everything is relative, but be prepared to modify the smartphone software yourself.
• The brightness of the display is so-so. Using a smartphone on the street is painful.

By and large, ZUK Z2 is such a “degraded” and more affordable Xiaomi Mi5, but in the absence of fish among the search for replacements for Redmi 4 Prime, it is good in its own way.

Huawei nova

Perhaps, officially imported Huawei will be the main "gravediggers" of Xiaomi in Russia, if there are no smartphones at prices from Aliexpress on the market. But with foreign models, not everything is so simple - the Chinese carefully “castrate” Huawei and Honor for the Celestial Empire in such a way that they do not operate 4G (and sometimes 3G) frequencies in foreign markets. Therefore, it is better to bypass the very attractive Honor 5C and 6X on Aliexpress. Or not to bypass, but before that, find the only workable version of the Chinese modifications and make sure that it has multilingual firmware installed. Why live like this?

Therefore, better grab a rare species - Huawei smartphone with a Qualcomm processor! The Chinese are importing American chips with their Kirin if you don't know. Huawei nova started as a mid-range mobile phone with an emphasis on glamor and your endless selfie beauty (when automatics remove pimples from the "face" of the face, widen the eyes and mask the double chin) at a not very adequate price, but now it has fallen in price on Aliexpress to about those the same 12 thousand rubles that they ask for Redmi 4 Prime. For a smartphone with 3/32 GB of memory with exactly the same Snapdragon 625 processor, no longer budget case materials and incomparably cooler cameras - a good exchange, isn't it?

By and large, nova is inferior to Redmi 4 Prime only in terms of speaker quality, sound in headphones and autonomy. All other functions in it work at the same or higher level. And of course don't wait LTE support Band 20 in models for the Chinese market, but standard B3 / B7 are available in absolutely any modification. You can take it without looking.

Replacement options for Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro/Note 4/Note 4X

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

A hardy 5.5-inch phablet with a very fast processor by the standards of "state employees" - this is the whole Redmi Note, of any generation. Among the people, of course, most of all we love Redmi Note 3 Pro with its Snapdragon 650, good endurance and reliability, but the more beautiful Redmi Note 4 with a ten-core MediaTek, which eats up charge indecently quickly, but “heaps” in benchmarks, is also to many liking. Redmi Note 4 with a Snapdragon 625 processor is, frankly, not that interesting, but it is just the golden mean between the first two models. One way or another, we are talking about smartphones with a Full HD display, a powerful processor, so-so cameras and good autonomy at a price of 10-12 thousand rubles. There are not as many alternatives as we would like, but they do exist.

Meizu MX6

When the MX6 appeared on Russian market and they asked for 28 thousand rubles for it, the first thought was - “who needs you at all?”. For almost 30 thousand, it was already possible to aim at much more thoroughbred and faster models, and a beautiful “shovel” with a cheap processor without outstanding features did not impress anything against this background.

But the Chinese sell the same Meizu for 12 thousand, and these, as they say in Odessa, are two big differences. Because the display in Meizu is slightly brighter than in Redmi Note 4, the processor is the same, and the cameras are much better. Autonomy is approximately at the same level as that of Xiaomi, the sound in headphones without adjustment is better than in Redmi, with adjustment it is worse. There are no problems with firmware (that is, there are, but they are easily solved), the ranges of Russian cellular networks LTE is supported at Band 3 and Band 7. You can take it.

LeEco Le S3 X522

Offering a Xiaomi fan to buy a LeEco instead is like giving a pink Volga to an American muscle car lover. But after Smart Orange unwraps your package at customs, you may change your mind.

In general, LeEco has not been feeling very well lately - just look, it will “give oak” due to the fact that the costs of promotion were significantly higher than the profits from sales of mobile phones and TVs. Specialists who had previously joined the company from JD and Lenovo “ran” from the Russian LeEco - is the trend clear?

But we do not buy a painting by a classicist artist in order to predict whether it will be valuable for several years ahead, so we will not delve into the jungle. Let's go deeper into new model LeEco - Le S3. Well, like a new one - this is such a “rethought” Le 2, from which custom (“amateur”) firmware is even suitable for the new model.

Slightly more advanced smartphone than Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro in terms of hardware - Snapdragon 652 (against 650 in Xiaomi), a slightly more elegant case and more bright screen. Disadvantages - sound quality in headphones, less endurance, amputated headphone jack (as an alternative, there is an adapter with USB Type-C). Well, the rear camera is worse. That is, not “so-so”, like Redmi Note 4, but “bad”.

But it's still a good smartphone, which "brings all the money" in benchmarks and in real use, and it costs only 9-10 thousand with full Russification and good performance. Who knows if the reliability of budget LeEcos has improved since Le 2, but outside of Xiaomi and Meizu in the same class of devices, a more sensible alternative does not come to mind.

Replacement option for Xiaomi Mi Max

I don’t envy fans of “shovel phones” - smartphones with a near-tablet display diagonal are already few, and Mi Max is one of the best among them and certainly the best in terms of price / quality / autonomy, if we are talking about

Chinese prices. But all this is lyrics, and here we have “counterfeit”, so here are options for large-sized quality smartphones worth 13-18 thousand rubles.

ZTE Nubia Z11 Max

An unpopular phablet, but in vain. Yes, it doesn't have the wow factor of the standard bezel-less Z11, it doesn't even have an audiophile chip like the 5.5-inch model. But this is the only model in the category "6 inches or more" at a price of up to 20 thousand rubles, which cannot be called a "budget bucket". Apart from Mi Max, of course.

ZTE Nubia Z11 Max

At the same time, you can’t call Nubia cheap either - it looks much cooler and more expensive than Xiaomi, the proprietary shell is also beautiful, the characteristics are about the same (Snapdragon 652, 4000 mAh, 4/64 GB), except that the display is smaller (6 inches exactly). The Russian language is already included in the firmware, there are no problems with frequency support, the quality of the cameras is about the same as in Mi Max, or even a little better. Autonomy is worse, but also not bad, and the main problem is a disgrace with software support. For a long time, owners were content with Android 5.1, and Android 6.0 was released when smartphones of the same age as the Z11 Max began to upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat! And in general, in the case of Nubia smartphones, there are plenty when the developers said “yes, this phone, we changed our minds!”, And users were left with nothing, sometimes even without custom firmware at all.

Recently, we talked about how Smart Orange LLC, which officially supplies Xiaomi smartphones to Russia, influenced the actions of Russian customs, as a result of which the latter began not to allow gadgets of this kind bought in Chinese online stores (for example, AliExpress) to pass at the border manufacturer for personal use:

Of course, we began to find the necessary loopholes in the laws for this pressure on human rights, but this does not change the essence.

At the moment, the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation has already “wrapped up” about 1,000 smartphones at the border, calling them counterfeit at the behest of Smart Orange (although they were not bought from “gray” sellers in Russia and not for resale), or encryption means not allowed by us. (Interestingly, if I bought a smartphone abroad on vacation, would they not let me on a plane with it?)

In response to lawlessness - a petition

Not wanting to endure such arbitrariness of our customs, the Russians created a petition against the ban on bringing Xiaomi devices into Russia. Of course, for personal purposes, and not "gray" resale. There she is, sign:

The petition has been sent to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation and the leadership of Xiaomi in China (Beijing Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd). We are also invited to boycott Xiaomi gadgets officially sold in Russia at shamelessly inflated prices. However, due to problems with customs, prices for “gray” deliveries of devices from this brand began to rise.

To date, the petition has already been signed by 12,387 people.

Result?

Only the blind still do not see that in Russia now only money and power rule. If the powers that be are not in the hands of some laws, they are increasingly ignored or changed with impunity. Therefore, whether there will be any sense from the petition - think for yourself. The FCS is not obliged to consider such applications from third party resources, in legal terms, the law does not require this from government agencies.

Push

I see two conflicting points here:

1. Prices for Xiaomi devices- really a reason for a boycott (and for the attention of the FAS, perhaps). Everything has a limit.

2. Another thing, all sorts of Chinese stores - AliExpress and the like. It turns out an interesting picture. In our country, state regulators are so revealingly fighting "gray" imports, supposedly so that part of the funds from officially imported and certified devices go to the Russian treasury in the form of taxes and other fees. However, at the same time, our authorities are not at all against the fact that billions and billions of rubles constantly flow away from us straight to China, enriching their economy at our expense. Stunning situation! We have only bans, fines, inspections and pressure on business, while the Chinese have a really wide tunnel to Russia. Withdraw money there through "Ali" without any "impossible" there! At the same time, our friends, relatives or acquaintances, who open offline or online stores here, then “sit” penniless and watch how their customers pay the Chinese. And try to touch this "Ali"! Will be under threat international relationships with China. But we can’t even buy goods for sale in China without having a contract with a factory, a foreign currency account, customs clearance at a wild cost and obtaining all sorts of “certificates”, which a small business simply cannot afford to do. And with these requirements, how can you still make affordable prices in Russia? Prices will be wild, but no margin. Why, one wonders, do they crush their own compatriots in our country and let citizens of another country live at their expense? Sad and hopeless.

More recently, Xiaomi was unknown to anyone in the global market for portable electronic equipment. Today, it is becoming the leader in sales worldwide, not without the help of the CIS countries, which, in fact, are the most frequent buyers their goods. That is why authorized suppliers of Xiaomi phones began to appear in countries such as the Russian Federation, Belarus, Ukraine and others.

So, in the spring of 2017, Smart Orange (a division of the RDC Group), which officially sells and services Xiaomi smartphones, launched its activities in Russia. It would seem that everything is fine and finally it will be possible to buy a good budget smartphone, bypassing all the difficulties of foreign purchases. But alas, not everything is as good as it seems.

Starting from April 2017, outrage began to appear on various Internet resources about the difficulties of crossing customs control with smartphones purchased by users in Chinese online stores. At the same time, employees of several customs control points (Ekaterinburg and Orenburg) simply withdraw and return, discovering that the package contains a Xiaomi branded phone.

The Federal Customs Service explains all these actions by the fact that it was at the end of March that they received a letter regarding the procedure for importing Xiaomi products, which states that Smart Orange is the only representative of the copyright holder in the Russian Federation from Xiaomi. Actually, she and a number of partners have the right to import Xiaomi products through the line of "portable phones".

Otherwise, the customs of Xiaomi goods is obliged to slow down and return to the seller. Even if we consider that the meaning of the idea is very noble and is to reduce the goods of "basement" production from the so-called gray markets, it is worth noting that the ban also affected officially ordered products from Xiaomi for personal use, and this, of course, caused an uproar.

Give gifts

Opinion of Smart Orange

This company confirmed the information about the application filed with the customs for Xiaomi smartphones, which they sell in the Russian portable electronics market. They are also ready to cooperate with affected users from such "sanctions" by offering discounts on the purchase of any Xiaomi smartphone in their network. After all, it is Smart Orange that can provide high quality products and their further professional service.

Positions of affected consumers

In addition to the fact that most users do not consider ordered smartphones for personal use through online stores as counterfeit goods, they also believe that Smart Orange's statement regarding the inadmissibility of entering these goods into civil circulation is illegal. In Yekaterinburg, a whole community “The Problem with the Orenburg Customs” was even deployed, in which “colleagues in misfortune” could exchange advice on resolving this issue and problematic points regarding the Xiaomi market in Russia.

So, the main reason for what is happening is the cost of imported mobile phones from China. The difference between the price of the same smartphone in an authorized point of the Russian Federation and Chinese internet store will differ on average by 30-40%. Wrapping up and maximum price gouging is the answer to the question about the rapidly growing popularity of Chinese products, which are issued through online stores.

Official suppliers of Chinese electronics and their next steps

Of course, most foreign companies have an intermediary company in the territory of the Russian Federation, but the problem of the "gray" sales market is relevant to any brand. Therefore, there are only two solutions to this question:

1. Establishing a ban on imported goods through unofficial sources (Xiaomi, Sony) and, accordingly, their stop, detention and return to the seller.
2. Providing the most affordable and high-quality service by trusted companies (Meizu).

Thus, choosing one of the options, companies create for themselves a certain status of a tough or loyal and high-quality intermediary with good products in the CIS countries.

Options for safely buying Xiaomi through Chinese online stores

And yet, Chinese online stores, which have established themselves in the world market as reliable sources of high-quality equipment with reasonable prices, do not allow the domestic user to calm down. Why do I have to pay at prices that are sold on the Russian market, if I can buy goods via the Internet?!

Many people ask this question, and the solution is simple - make purchases through online stores. But given the difficult situation with customs and the possibility of stopping to check the goods (detained only in 2 regions) with a further return to the seller, it becomes much more difficult to use the so-called "gray" market. However, there are several options for more or less secure cooperation:

• Ask the seller of such a product to send a smartphone through the Singapore Post, which operates through Vnukovo Airport, where the retention rate is very low. But do not forget about the growing urgency of this issue, which may entail detailed control throughout the country;
• Invite the seller to designate a parcel with a smartphone as a gift, a photo frame, or something like that. The event, although risky, since there is a scanner everywhere, is really working. Just do not indicate abstractly "phone". In this case, it will definitely be opened;
• Try to specify the phone of some other Chinese manufacturer. This is the most realistic option to avoid detention at customs. However, it is worth considering that more than 5% of all parcels are checked in detail by customs control officers, so there is still a risk;
• The easiest option is to buy new smartphone at a good discount from Smart Orange and join their fan club.

As a result, we can say that the procedure for buying smartphones in the Chinese Internet market will be relevant in any case. The only thing that intermediary companies like Smart Orange can do is to provide good quality with an appropriate price (without markups of 200-300%) for a popular product.

When a manufacturer is just going to success and world fame, he does everything possible to please the buyers of his branded products. This has been the case with Apple, Samsung, HTC and many other brands, but at some point they all lost touch with their audience and began to do what they want. Xiaomi decided to do the same, which simply banned the use of smartphones in Russia and other countries outside of China.

Unfortunately, the Chinese corporation Xiaomi can surprise not only with something good, but also with really bad things, one of which has been reported on official resources. According to brand representatives, from now on it is no longer possible to install the global MIUI firmware on any smartphone models that are intended for sale in the Chinese market. They can no longer be updated and reflashed.

When trying to install on Xiaomi smartphone for China, the global MIUI firmware with the Russian language built into it and Google services the mobile device will simply turn into a “brick”, that is, it will become impossible to use it. This also applies to global modifications of branded phones, on which it is no longer possible to install firmware for the Chinese region. The innovation affects all models released in 2018.

Among those Xiaomi Redmi 5, Redmi 5 Plus, Redmi Note 5, Redmi 6, Redmi 6A, Mi 6X, Redmi S2, Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8 EE, Mi 8 SE, Mi Max 3, Mi MIX 2S, and a number of others . All their owners should unlock the bootloader as soon as possible, because this is the only way to correct the situation and ensure that the smartphone does not turn into a “brick” with the next update. You need to understand that many residents of Russia, Europe, India and other regions of the world buy Chinese phone models for a reason.

Smartphones for China usually cost 10-30% less than versions for the international market. That is why experienced users buy Chinese configurations and then reflash them to global ones. MIUI firmware. After that, such mobile devices can be fully used without any restrictions, which millions of people have done for many years. However, the other day, Xiaomi's decision greatly spoiled the lives of all such users.

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The environment shapes consciousness, and in Moscow this definition of historical materialism becomes literally visible. We are in the next stage of urban improvement, in which it is necessary to dig up the main streets, narrow the roads and create a million traffic jams. Someone is ready to endure this, someone is throwing thunder and lightning, wants to immediately get a comfortable city without intermediate stages, preferably in one night. I fell asleep, woke up, and here it is, the city of dreams. But I remembered this moment because of how our life begins to transform. It usually takes ten minutes to drive along the Garden Ring from Krasnoproletarskaya Street to Smolensky Passage on a weekday, given the heavy traffic. On Friday, the same journey took me fifty minutes! During this time it was possible to walk, and another ten minutes would have remained in reserve. Given the density of meetings, I understood that I would not have time to get to the restaurant, order food and still eat what was ordered. Therefore, I asked my friend to take a picture of the menu and send it to me so that he can order. By the time I got there, the food was ready and we were able to start eating immediately. I told this to friends as an illustration of the traffic situation, and in response I heard that they often do this now - and not with friends, but order food in restaurants remotely and indicate when they will be approximately. Such a service is gaining momentum, at least for regular visitors to expensive and not very busy places. The environment is changing our habits, and I am sure that restaurant applications will begin to appear in which it will be possible to leave such guaranteed orders, and the restaurants themselves will immediately write off money from the tied bank card, and there will be no risk for them that you will not reach and pay for your order. A new approach is being formed, which is dictated by changes in the traffic situation. And if you look around, there are many such examples of changes in our way of life, some are noticeable, some are still hidden from our eyes. I would be glad if you bring your experience in the comments, what did you encounter.

And let's start this issue with the topic of cross-border trade and the problems that may await buyers of a number of goods and brands.

Customs confiscates Xiaomi and Sony smartphones - we understand the reasons

When you have the “best” smartphone in the world, you need to buy it also at the best price, preferably in China. The stratum of those who buy smartphones from Xiaomi and other similar brands in Russia, ordering them by mail, is quite large. This is about 20-30 thousand people every month, plus those who make their own small business on this, buy smartphones for resale, in total Chinese smartphones about 65-70 thousand monthly will be typed in parcels. With an average price of $ 200 for such a smartphone, we can say that this is a significant piece of the pie. Moreover, the user does not pay any taxes on such devices, which makes it possible to achieve a very effective price in comparison with the Russian one, when the goods are on the shelves of local stores and the manufacturer or his representative is obliged to comply with the guarantee, pay VAT and cover other expenses. Economically, it is impossible to achieve the same price in China and Russia due to different device market, and the fact that goods, despite the same name and index, often differ in “little things”, the cost of production. For the Chinese domestic market, many goods receive completely different qualities, this applies to both components and assembly lines. On the level of common sense, we are accustomed to believing that they make goods for themselves better, in China, as a rule, everything is topsy-turvy, where goods for the local market are worse in quality than what is exported. Approximately the same story was in the USSR.

So, here's the plot of the story, our reader sent me the following tweet:

For ordinary buyers, buying phones in foreign stores has long become commonplace, but there are several pitfalls that people forget about. First, in Russia there is a FSB notification for encryption tools. This means that the manufacturer or its representative must send the name of the device model (smartphone or any other device) to the FSB and indicate that it does not contain any means of strong cryptoprotection. In turn, the FSB adds this model to the database used by customs. If you ordered a device for which there is no FSB notification, then the probability that it will not be delivered to you is maximum. An example of such a device is in the delivery screenshot.

An important point - customs at postal points does not have the ability to open all items, the check is carried out selectively. This is not even every tenth parcel, their number is much less. In large sorting centers, X-ray machines have appeared that can show the contents of the package, so today no one tries to send a phone under the guise of books, these days have gone forever. The actual postage is indicated.

But those who want to get a phone that does not have a notification, as a rule, agree with the sender to indicate the model that has this notification. Thus, these obstacles are bypassed. Very often, when buying the same LeEco, people indicate Russian model names, although inside there can be anything from LeEco. And then it all depends on whether there will be a random check on your parcel, how attentive the customs officer will be. As a rule, such parcels pass quietly.

Now the second situation, about which they wrote to me, sending back a “counterfeit” product. Let's analyze it using the example of Xiaomi, which became a pioneer in the fight against its own product, which it even managed to call counterfeit. So, in Russia not so long ago appeared official distributor Xiaomi, a company of the RDC Group. The subsidiary Smart Orange is responsible for sales, marketing and operation of the Xiaomi brand in Russia, all relevant rights are obtained from the parent company, the Chinese company that owns the brand.

The problem for the RDC Group is that the Xiaomi brand is popular in Russia in narrow circles of enthusiasts who know for sure that these smartphones are “better”, defend their honor in online battles, but are not ready to pay a price higher than the one that is delivery from China. And the difference between the Russian and Chinese prices can be an average of 30%, as you can see for yourself by looking at the official online store and the same Aliexpress.

It is difficult to explain to the buyer why it is impossible for an official business in Russia to sell at the same price, each person wants to get a favorable price for the goods, and all related issues are of little concern to him. As well as the quality of the goods, he considers the same, and attempts to explain that this is not so, he does not care. I especially like how people deliberately go for flashing devices at home, spend quite a lot of time on it, but feel that they have benefited. In order to decide on such experiments, it is necessary that the hands grow from right place, or the desire to save should outweigh everything.

The example of the same Meizu shows that properly selected sales channels in Russia can work safely in parallel with cross-border trade and not interfere with anyone. That is, there is a market for gray Meizu, as well as those that are officially imported. The difference in price between them is noticeable, but gray ones are sold much less, this market has not become massive, while the brand's distributor develops the business and makes it noticeably larger.

From the RDC Group, I personally expected exactly the same approach, but the company apparently considered that parcels with Xiaomi smartphones threatened sales in Russia, so they decided to limit them. For this, the company has legal grounds, since the Chinese Xiaomi granted all rights to the brand to its partner and wrote the corresponding letters to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation.

In turn, Smart Orange listed all partners who have the right to officially import Xiaomi smartphones into Russia. First of all, the company was not worried about individuals, but those who put this business on stream, wholesalers. But private individuals fell under the distribution by accident, however, they were also subject to restrictions. Now all individuals or companies that import Xiaomi smartphones and other devices to Russia in any way and are not on the list from Smart Orange violate the rights of the Xiaomi brand. This is the law and it works. Users have searched for a provision that allegedly exempts private parcels from these restrictions, but, unfortunately, this is not the case. Here is the lawyer's comment:

By virtue of par. 2 p. 1 art. 313 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, shipment in international postal items goods prohibited for shipment in accordance with the acts of the Universal Postal Union. In turn, the Universal Postal Convention (adopted in Doha on October 11, 2012) in paragraph 2.1.3 prohibits the shipment of counterfeit and pirated items.

Signs of counterfeit are determined by the country party to the Universal Postal Convention.

In particular, based on the interpretation of paragraph 1 of Art. 1515, paragraph 4 of Art. 1252 and Art. 1487 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as well as clause 15 of the Information Letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation of December 13, 2007 No. 122, the importation into the territory of the Russian Federation of goods marked with a trademark is in an independent way its use. According to Art. 1487 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, is not a violation of the exclusive right to a trademark, the use of this trademark by other persons in relation to goods that are put into civil circulation in the territory Russian Federation directly by the copyright holder or with his consent. Thus, the goods imported without the consent of the right holder, whose interests in the territory of the Russian Federation are represented by SMART ORANGE LLC, are counterfeit, since they violate the exclusive rights to the trademark of the right holder.

In this case, the above rules of law apply, and not paragraphs. 1 p. 2 art. 328 of the Labor Code of the Customs Union, because by virtue of paragraph 4 of Art. 15 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the universally recognized principles and norms of international law have the highest legal force in relation to internal legal norms.

The prohibition of such a method of using a trademark as the importation of goods marked with a Trademark into the territory of the Russian Federation is aimed at complying with the international obligations of the Russian Federation in the field of protection of intellectual property rights in accordance with Part 4 of Art. 15, part 1, art. 44 and pp. "o" Art. 71 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and does not contradict Part 1 of Art. 74 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation is guided precisely by such an interpretation, unofficially I was told by a customs representative that in this moment restrictions were only at a number of customs points, but they will apply to a larger number of points and will gradually work everywhere. Until the individual individuals will not go through litigation and cannot prove that such actions are illegal, no changes will be made. Winning a lawsuit against the FCS is quite difficult, plus it will take years, that is, by that time the whole point of this undertaking will be gone, since new restrictions on cross-border sales will already be in effect.

I did not manage to get official comments on the situation in Smart Orange, the topic is too delicate. However, I met with one of the employees of the company and, on condition of anonymity, he was able to tell the following:

• Restrictions on individuals were a consequence of the fight against wholesalers, but not an end in itself;
• As soon as these restrictions arose, the company considered that this was an interesting approach, and they plan to increase pressure on this market segment, they do not plan to make concessions.

The circumstances are such that people who buy and buy Xiaomi equipment in China are almost guaranteed to encounter problems when it is delivered to Russia by mail. While there is a gap when not all customs offices wrap up such shipments and there are a sufficient number of “lucky ones”, but their number will decrease more and more every day. The only way to lift the ban would be to withdraw the letter from Smart Orange, but that would open the door to wholesale deliveries, which automatically means that this is not possible.

What can I say? The company has the right to independently decide how to conduct business in other markets, including the Russian one. This means that the purchase of Xiaomi equipment turns into a kind of lottery, and the only guaranteed way is to buy it domestically. For example, Meizu is not going to follow a similar path, leaving this channel for those consumers who want to have a choice of which device to buy, Chinese or Russian. The same can be said about most companies operating in Russia. Of those who tried to learn from experience, I will only note Sony, a source in the customs said that she had prepared a similar appeal for a number of goods and the restrictions would be similar to those introduced against Xiaomi in private parcels and not only in them.

Those who are faced with this problem are already trying to find a way out. If your phone is stuck on the road or has already been sent back, try to get your money back from the seller. Those who are just making a purchase try to come up with a workaround, for example, simply indicate “smartphone” on the box, without the name of the manufacturer. This is an almost guaranteed check of the package, and then your “smartphone” will go back in the same way. It is also not worth inventing names, since there is no notification for fictional phones, and they will also be wrapped back.

Buying abroad has always been a kind of lottery, it's just that now the chances for the buyer have worsened, it's worth taking into account. If Xiaomi’s example proves to be effective, and the outrage on social networks quickly falls silent, as it usually happens, then other manufacturers may learn from this experience and begin to do the same. So you can consider this story as the first sign. It depends on the reaction of people and its strength whether such a business approach will continue.

The first quarter in the smartphone market - version from IDC

Arrived in time the data on who was well done in the first quarter of 2017 in the smartphone market, from IDC. Let me remind you that these are exclusively shipments to the channel, that is, in fact, the figures for wholesale deliveries, and not retail sales. We look at the table.

The first thing you notice is that the sales of both Samsung and Apple are stable, both companies look stable in terms of sales, they have reached the saturation point. To grow in sales, they need to make major changes to their product line, as well as how they position and promote their products. Both companies are experiencing the same difficulties, in particular, the flagships of both Apple and Samsung faced a drop in demand in China, the local market consumes local brands with great pleasure. Oddly enough, the reason for the drop in share in China is not that Chinese phones cheaper, flagships from Vivo, OPPO are comparable, and in the absence of a wide network retail stores that promote these products. It is impossible to find exact data on exactly how many stores were built by Vivo / OPPO (BBK Corporation) in 2016. Moreover, BBK Corporation does not have an exact number either, since many stores open as franchisees and purchase goods from local players, a kind of hubs. According to the most conservative estimates, Vivo had about 200,000 stores in China, while OPPO was far behind and was able to cover most of the country with only 150,000 stores. In 2016, there was a retail war in China, when the same BBK Corporation took over LeEco (LeTV) stores, offering better conditions and a kind of profit guarantee for local players who repainted their outlets depending on the choice of a particular brand. What is surprising here is that both OPPO and Vivo use the same approach, strategy, they have similar the lineup, but they do compete among themselves for the same stores and sellers. They do not come as a single offer, with a single control center represented by BBK Corporation. Marvelous? Not that word.

In the first quarter, there was a qualitative change for these two brands, it is associated with expansion to foreign markets in Asia, in particular, to India, it is not even worth mentioning other countries against the backdrop of India. Surprisingly, the same Vivo has fully adapted its Chinese strategy for India and has already achieved success in this. They go from small towns and settlements to large ones, open stores in countryside and only then enter the big cities. The result is already tangible, this strategy is working, and it is completely contrary to what we see in the approach of Apple and Samsung, they go to the market from the top down, first they open stores in big, rich cities and only then go down. The problem for them is that in the person of BBK Corporation they have received their antagonist, a company that eats the market from the other end, while having a comparable lineup with the same Samsung in the budget and mid-range segments.

The expansion of these Chinese companies will not last forever, they have already faced the problem of growth. Without access to other foreign markets, such as American or European, further growth cannot be expected. There is no doubt that BBK Corporation will try to do this. How far they will be able to do this remains an open question. So far, they are successful due to the fact that they work according to a well-established scheme in countries where it is applicable and where the costs of opening retail outlets are covered by the sellers themselves. In the same Russia, such a scheme will not work, here a completely different approach is needed. Can they learn it quickly? Not sure. But the fact that in 2017 and the first half of 2018 BBK Corporation can still grow is beyond doubt. Together with OnePlus, the company already overtook Apple in the first quarter of 2017 in unit sales, becoming number two behind Samsung.

Interestingly, Huawei has achieved significant growth due to the situation in China, the company adopted the strategy of BBK Corporation, which immediately yielded results. The key to success in China today is simple - maximize the number of retail outlets that sell your product. Against this background, Lenovo looks amazing, which was born thanks to this understanding, but in the process of transformation it forgot about it and became more European than Chinese. For which she was punished by the local market.

The last thing you should pay attention to is the sales of smartphones in the “Other” category. We do not see growth in this category, which perfectly characterizes the position of many B/C brands. They are having a difficult time as the market is very saturated. In foreign markets, Chinese brands also do not feel the best way, they are in a fever. On the example of Russia, this can be seen very well. The problem for them is that the same Samsung launched an increase in prices for components and the cost of production has increased markedly. The best illustration for this may be Samsung's quarterly report, in which record sales achieved through the division responsible for the components, and not at all through mobile devices. Samsung's quarterly revenue was $44.6 billion and operating income was $8.75 billion. Phone sales fell nearly 50% yoy, partly due to Note 7 write-offs. However, it was the components that made the quarter a record. But in the second quarter, the appearance of the Galaxy S8 / S8 + in the reporting will make this record a thing of the past, profits will rise markedly. The whole of 2017 promises to be successful for Samsung, and individual problems, for example, with TVs and their sales compared to LG's OLED TVs, will not be particularly noticeable. In the same LG, the first quarter is also successful, but the reason is exclusively in TVs, while the mobile division has been unprofitable for two years.

I'm wondering how in the same LG / Samsung reinvest the income received in new directions, what companies will do in the market and what they will get in the end. In 2017, they will make decisions to adjust their strategies based on the additional revenue generated.

Summing up the words about the market, I want to repeat what I said earlier. In 2017 we will see a stable market with moderate growth. Large companies will improve their positions, weak players may experience serious problems and begin to optimize their costs.

Frequency aggregation in Galaxy S8 / S8 + and an example of use in practice

Even during the deployment of 3G networks, I encountered an interesting phenomenon - there is always some grumbling, eternally dissatisfied user who claims that all these new technologies are of no use to anyone, they do not work, and everything around is a hoax. Moreover, he gives specific examples, for example, he says that in his city / village / metropolitan area, the operator cannot even provide normal EDGE, and you are talking about some kind of 3G speeds. And most importantly, we do not need to show these speeds, we will never see them in practice. There are many such people, and every time they come up in discussions when there is a story about new technologies. We even have a whole country nearby, in which most of the progressive population quite seriously argued that 3G is not needed, and Wi-Fi is enough for everyday life. That's how they lived, surviving from EDGE to Wi-Fi.

After the launch of 3G, and then the emergence and development of 4G, the deployment of LTE Advanced in Russia in many regions and cities, only a very narrow-minded person can say that new technologies and the speeds they provide are something unnecessary. We are not talking about some individual records, nobody needs them. We are talking about the ongoing evolution of communication networks, and this is very important point for all of us, the industry does not stand still, but develops.

My main operator is MegaFon, in Moscow it has an excellent 4G network, which works without any complaints, and is completely ideal for data transfer. I can be called a “heavy” subscriber, because in a week I get 20-30 GB of data through my phone, for the most part these are work files. And for me, the speed of access to the network, its reliability is critical. Difficult to sit and download from ftp big file for hours, as it was the other day in Vienna, where I encountered local network restrictions, after the first gigabyte they simply cut my speed, although there were no restrictions in the package, the reason was the local load on the base station.

After switching to S8 +, it seemed to me that the files are loaded faster, there was such a subjective impression. I attributed this to the perception of the new apparatus, and not to reality. Moreover, having run Speedtest a couple of times, I did not get anything extraordinary, ordinary numbers, quite comparable with S7 EDGE. In one of the conversations with the operator's engineer, he mentioned this, and he said the following: “Speedtest can not be used for these purposes, it will not show you the speed, since it uses a small file, in LTE Advanced it is good to test the speed on files of 300-500 MB to see the speed of uploading or downloading, and in this software the file is small, and you just won’t notice anything.” I was advised to put free utility“Connection speed”, as it shows the real speed at the moment. And here a new marvelous world has opened up, the download speed has really increased, and this is clearly seen in this utility. I tried downloading files from an ftp server, I admit that when downloading from other servers, the speed will be faster, but there was no task to achieve top speed. In Moscow, MegaFon already has about a thousand stations updated and supports frequency aggregation, which is in S8 / S8 +. In theory, the speed limit for devices is 450 Mbps, in practice it is about 400 Mbps, and in my case, on my server, about 380 Mbps. Good? Undoubtedly.

We even recorded a short video about it, as it seemed interesting to me when, without much fanfare and some special messages on your network, it becomes possible to transfer files very quickly.

Moaning about the fact that these speeds are not needed, there is no way to use them, and further down the list, you can. But why? Progress cannot be stopped, and the evolution of networks is good and right. Within a couple of years, such opportunities will become available to all residents of Russia in one form or another. Whether you need it is another matter. A good question, which directly depends on what you do and how actively you consume data. It is possible that an EDGE connection is enough for you, the only question is where you find it.

Tell us, what do you think, is it necessary for networks to develop? Or will you have enough of them in the form as they are today, for many, many years?

Vertu Constellation 2017 - first impressions

In June, the Vertu Constellation goes on sale, because of the sale of Vertu, the release was postponed from spring, and it falls on an unusual time. An overview of the device will appear in the coming days, but for now I will state a few impressions, however, we already had a first look at the model.

The price of this smartphone is from 301 thousand rubles in the basic version, that is, it is the most inexpensive Vertu of those that exist today, and this in absentia guarantees it the interest of the public. The first thing you pay attention to is the size, the phone turned out to be very massive and rather big - 161.5x77x10 mm, weight - 241 grams. It fits in a pocket, but it sticks out, you can’t call it thin, I even somehow lost the habit of such sizes.

Great skin, memorable appearance and, of course, the same call that you recognize from thousands. Perhaps that is why I always leave the bell on on Vertu, and do not switch to vibro. This sometimes creates funny situations, the other day this device rang in the subway, the whole car carefully looked at me and then the phone, which can play so loudly and melodiously. It is clear that this phone is not for the metro, but more and more often the owners of expensive cars lose the battle with Moscow traffic jams and go underground in a figurative sense. Although the well-known Moscow snobbery allows some people to spend hours in traffic jams, just not to get out of the cozy and artificial world outside. As for me, snobbery has already turned into folklore, and the majority simply began to live a quiet life in which there is no place for outright show off. Maybe it's age? Are there many young people around who have not passed this path? I don't know, but the feeling that all this is happening in different age groups, and this can only be welcomed.

You can scold Vertu for anything, but no one will deny that this device has its own unique look. I like Constellation for this, it is not to be confused with anyone on the market. The battery life is good, although I use it as a second phone for calls, to a lesser extent for everything else. During the work, we must thank the AMOLED screen, it is very, very good here.

Sound, screen, operating time and appearance are all pluses of the model. Minuses? He is exactly one - few people can afford to buy such a device. As a result, Vertu's discussions usually come down to a simple thing - who needs all this. The well-fed does not understand the hungry, and the opposite is also true.

I will not run ahead of the locomotive, I will write a review, and in it we will discuss specifications, as well as device positioning. It turned out to be good, but will the old Vertu audience return to such models? This question is the main one for the company, and not something from the field of technical achievements.

P.S. A day off is a day off, and therefore I want to wish you great weather, a charge of vivacity for the rest of the week. Let not only the sun warm you, but also the mood inside.