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Meizu's elusive founder returns to office as CEO amid resignations
As Chinese phone maker Meizu approaches its eleventh anniversary come March 14th, its notoriously reclusive founder Jack Wong made a surprise return -- in front of cameras, no less -- to his company's Zhuhai headquarters this weekend as CEO. Wong, who is now 40 years old, has apparently avoided setting foot in his office for years -- he even used to leave home just once a month to get his haircut, and he only held meetings with just a handful of key employees, according to our sources. During yesterday's recorded Q&A session, the slightly brash yet charismatic exec confirmed this odd little fact, blaming a series of events several years ago that led to exhaustion. But now he's ready to go full time again, instead of just occasionally posting on his company's online forum and designing prototypes at home. "I plan to lead everyone, lead Meizu, lead the whole team to make a new start, to a more extraordinary, more prosperous 10 years," Wong said in front of his employees.
Meizu teases three MX4G smartphones with giant screens
Meizu clearly isn't content to rest on its laurels. Just a few months after the MX3 first reached Chinese shops, the company's Jack Wong has teased a full range of MX4G smartphones that includes Mini, Uni and Pro variants. Wong isn't going into great detail at this early stage, but these will not be tiny devices -- even the Mini should have a screen that's at least five inches across, and he has already hinted that one or more variants will use a 5.5-inch, 2,560 x 1,536 display. The MX4G series may not ship for a long while; Meizu tends to launch flagships later in the year. Even if that's true, we suspect that many will like knowing what to expect so far in advance.
Apple's lawyers finally going after Meizu, or so it seems
C'mon, let's all color ourselves shocked at once. It'll be fun. We promise. If you've been calling the underside of a rock home for the past decade or so, you may have missed out on a Chinese outfit by the name of Meizu. For all intents and purposes, the company has done its darnedest to copy Apple in every respect, particularly with the software on its M8 and M9 smartphones. Strangely, we've never actually heard confirmation that Cupertino's best lawyers were breathing down Meizu's neck... until now. As the story goes, Meizu CEO Jack Wong's forum postings have been rather tense of late, and one in particular seems to explain why: Apple's all up in his grille. The details are hidden beneath a good bit of pent-up rage, but what is clear is a mention of Apple's lawyers and their "unreasonable negotiation tactics." In essence, Jack finds it absurd that Apple could claim rights to the touchscreen smartphone form factor, and while Apple could only serve a relative few in China, he (obviously) expects Meizu to serve far more. We won't pretend to be sad on Jack's behalf -- we mean, the guy had it coming -- but we can't shake the looming depression when thinking of a world with no future Meizu devices to chuckle at.
Meizu CEO: current M8 upgradeable to 3G, estimated cost about $190 to $220
We know, we know, it's gonna be awfully hard to part with the comfort of your current beloved Meizu M8, but trust us, change can be good. We've already heard reports of an Android-centric UI refresh, and now company CEO J. Wong has chimed in to outline a tentative upgrade plan for the upcoming M8 3G. Current users of the eerily familiar 8GB / 16GB device will need to pay approximately 1,300 RMB to 1,500 RMB (translation: about $190 to $200 US) for next year's model. Oddly enough, despite these estimates, he's not confirming any market selling price. Wong also adds the screen size has been expanded from the initially planned 3.54 inches diagonal to 3.6, with same 720 x 480 resolution. Keep saving your pennies, last we heard launch date was still (lightly) penciled in for March 2010.
