Built-in Chinese GPS technology in Vietnam’s Bphone a great concern
Built-in Chinese GPS technology in Vietnam’s Bphone a great concern
While Vietnamese tech enthusiasts have raised their eyebrows at a built-in Chinese satellite navigation system in the made-in-Vietnam Bphone, the latest scandal to hit the self-proclaimed ‘best smartphone in the world,’ experts say it is not an issue.
The Bphone, made and designed by Bkav, a Hanoi-based Internet security firm known for the antivirus software of the same name, supports three GPS (global positioning system) technologies, namely A-GPS, GLONASS and Beidou, according to the firm’s shopping site.
A-GPS (or Assisted GPS) is a global positioning technology whose development was accelerated by the U.S, whereas GLONASS is a Russian GPS system with global coverage.
Beidou, in the meantime, is a Chinese satellite navigation system that has been operating under a limited basis since 2000, whereas its global coverage is under construction.
Some Vietnamese netizens have posted these tech specs on social networks and called for a boycott of the Bphone because of the presence of the Chinese satellite navigation system, apparently referring to possible security threats the technology can cause.
Last year, Vietnamese smartphone users were advised to beware of Redmi Note, a smartphone brand made by Chinese Xiaomi Inc, as the device was found having a built-in function that covertly collects personal data and transfers it to the phone maker’s server in China.
But this time, local tech experts said the built-in Beidou system in the Bphone, which had a lavish launch ceremony in late May and is slated for official release on Tuesday, is not an issue.
The Bphone’s Beidou comes with the CPU Snapdragon 801 quad-core 2.5GHz by Qualcomm, a U.S. chipmaker that has preinstalled the Chinese GPS technology in its products since 2012, according to its website.
The move is to make the Snapdragon CPUs compatible with China’s 3G TD-SCDMA network for products meant to be sold in this market, the chipmaker said in a press release in 2012.
And Bphone is thus not the only smartphone to have the built-in Beidou.
Other big names such as the Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy Note 3/ Note 4, Sony Xperia Z3+, and Microsoft Lumia 640XL all support Beidou, besides GPS and GLONASS.
“Speaking of technology and usability, the more technology standards a device supports, the more advantages it brings to users,” Pham Hong Phuoc, a seasoned Vietnamese tech pundit, said in a piece on ICTNews.
“Using a smartphone supporting Beidou is more convenient than GPS when you are in China,” he wrote.
If Bkav wants to sell its flagship device not only in Vietnam but also other markets, having many GPS technologies is a plus, according to the tech expert.
“It’s good for Bkav, especially when their Bphone will not only be sold in Vietnam,” he said.
The problem here is only that Vietnamese users tend to worry about anything related to China, Phuoc said.
“Vietnamese users are afraid they will be watched over by Chinese satellites via Beidou,” he elaborated.
Bkav said on its website that Beidou is only installed in the international version of the Bphone. Those devices meant for the Vietnamese market will only support GPS and GLONASS.
But many users still doubt this.
“Who can be sure the Vietnamese version will not support Beidou?” a reader named Nguyen Trung Kien wrote to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
Phuoc thus suggested that “Bkav provide an option so that users can disable Beidou on their devices,” as removing the technology may affect its sales in other markets.
The Bphone was unveiled at a 2,000-attendee event in Hanoi on May 26. Bkav claimed it is the very first “truly Vietnamese made” smartphone, which consists of more than 800 components provided by over 80 suppliers across the globe.
The devices will be officially available for purchase tomorrow, only on vala.vn, the company’s online shopping platform.
A 16GB Bphone sells at VND9.99 million (US$455), whereas the 64GB and 24k gold plated 128GB editions fetch VND12.96 million ($595) and VND20.19 million ($927), respectively. All prices are exclusive of taxes.
Bkav and its CEO, Nguyen Tu Quang, have been strongly criticized for overstating the device and comparing it with the world-famous Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy handsets.
