Bottom line: Skidding sales in China's oversaturated smartphone market are long overdue, and could claim Gionee as a first major victim by year-end.

The inevitable is finally happening, and China is showing signs of smartphone burnout. The latest government data is showing that first-quarter smartphone sales in China plunged 26 percent, which is one of the largest drops I can ever recall. In this case we can't really blamed the usual seasonal effect, since this is a quarterly number that incl...

Bottom line: Xiaomi's taking of the India smartphone crown and attendance at a major trade show next week are aimed at boosting its profile in the run-up to its IPO. 

UPDATE: After publishing this earlier this morning, a source in Barcelona informs me that Oppo is indeed attending and is holding a press event to show off their newest products. Headline and photo caption changed to reflect Oppo's attendance, but the rest of the original post remains the same.

Bottom line: The absence of Oppo and Vivo from the world's top telecoms trade show in Spain this week reflects their overwhelming reliance on China sales, while Xiaomi's absence from the show could be ...