LIVE FROM IFA 2015: Gigaset, a company proclaiming itself as “Europe’s market leader in DECT [cordless] telephony”, announced its first foray into the smartphone space.

Gigaset has its roots in the cordless phone business of Siemens, the German conglomerate which previously had a significant presence in the mobile market, including mobile phones (sold to BenQ and subsequently closed) and infrastructure (offloaded to Nokia, via the Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture).

Charles Frankl, CEO, said: “At Gigaset we have the infrastructure and, most importantly, the people, ideas and technology to make a lasting impression on this highly competitive industry”.

Stealing a jump on its rivals with a Tuesday press conference, the company unveiled its high-spec ME series devices – in ascending order, ME Pure, ME and ME Pro. Availability in China and Europe has been promised for later this year.

Frankl said that the company’s entry into a market that has seen many established rivals falter comes “with confidence and focus”.

“We have more than 160 years experience in telecommunications and consumer electronics products. Like our competitors, we have adapted and evolved,” he said.

And one important feature for the devices is that “they are fully developed and manufactured in-house”. The company has manufacturing facilities in China and Germany and R&D centres in China, Germany and Poland.

Indeed, the company’s management of the production process was noted as a differentiator when compared with some vendors, who work closely with third-party manufacturers in China. “It gives us a different business model. People don’t appreciate that this gives us a lot more control points over our product,” Frankl said.

Unlike some other smartphone new-entrants, which are targeting the value segment, Gigaset is aiming high. Stated pricing for ME Pure is €349, for ME is €469, and for ME Pro €549.

New smartphones
ME and ME Pro are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processors with 3GB of RAM, while ME Pure is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 with 2GB of RAM.

ME and ME Pure have 5-inch screens, with ME Pro having a 5.5-inch display, at full-HD resolution across the board

Gigaset_MERangeME and ME Pro have 32GB of internal memory, with ME Pure having 16GB, and additional storage is also available via microSD slot. The microSD slot doubles-up for a second SIM.

The devices also support a Type C USB port, which the company said “means that smartphones can be recharged up to twice as fast as before while data transfer rates are dramatically increased”.

The company’s presentation also detailed its efforts in other areas of focus and differentiation for rival smartphone makers: camera and audio.

The ME series includes “sapphire-protected” cameras. ME and ME Pro have an 8MP wide-angle front-facing camera with two-tone flash, while ME Pure has the same configuration but with single-tone flash.

There are more differences when it comes to the main camera, ranging from 20MP (ME Pro) through 16MP (ME) to 13 MP (ME Pure).

Gigaset also said that all models include a dedicated Hi-Fi audio chipset and Dirac HD technology, optimised for music playback. The company said it is offering “high-quality in-ear headphones”, featuring flat ribbon cables that avoid tangled cords.

And the line also uses dual-microphones to provide “top voice quality even in noisy environments”. One microphone records and filters out background noise, while the second is optimised for speech.

Other features highlighted include a fingerprint sensor, infrared transmitter capabilities (with a pre-installed database covering 95 per cent of existing devices and the ability to learn others), and health features (on ME and ME Pro) which includes “a comprehensive collection of sensor modules, including a step counter and heart-rate monitor.”

Black and white versions will be available.

New markets
In its most recent results presentation, Gigaset acknowledged that it expects the cordless telephone segment to decline, leading to its investment in “new and promising segments and product groups”.

And while it said it anticipates positive contributions from its future smartphone business, “these figures will only become clear after we enter the market”.

With the company moving into a new segment, Frankl was keen to point out that in many markets the Gigaset brand has a solid presence. “We are not a newcomer as a brand, we are a newcomer in this field,” he said.

Although the scale of the IFA 2015 event shows Gigaset is serious about the smartphone market, it will take a phased approach to its rollout.

“We will roll this out in steps, into markets, into channels. There’s a plan for each market, and at the right point in time we’ll enter into that market. Some are easier. Some are more challenging. Some are essential, you just have to be there, some are maybe a little bit further down the road,” the executive said.

And the current Gigaset ME line has potential beyond its initial target markets. “We built the product not only for Europe, it has all the characteristics of an international LTE product for most markets,” the CEO noted.

But Gigaset is not going it alone, working with partner Goldin Fund, an affiliate of Hong Kong-based investment player Golden Group, which provided funds for “product development and marketing”, and which “bears the entrepreneurial risk of the market entry”.

Goldin Fund is also the majority shareholder of Gigaset.