China's Letv is not letting a very public gaffe stop its entry into the U.S. market.
The company's CEO, Jia Yueting, last month compared Apple to Hitler in an ad that appeared on Chinese social network Weibo. He later apologized, and is likely hoping that the blunder won't thwart Letv's U.S. debut, which was announced today.
Letv will set down roots in Los Angeles and Redwood City (just 20 miles north of Cupertino), and expects its first offering—a smartphone and smart TV—to be available stateside later this year.
The Letv handset, dubbed Le Superphone, debuted today in China: Running the company's own operating system, Le Superphone uses a USB-C connection. No details were released about the smart TV set.
"In China, we have built a reputation around our applications, innovative hardware and massive library of high-quality streaming content," said JD Howard, general manager of International Mobile Business at Letv. "Entering the U.S. market, we'll focus on initial device and content offerings while continuing to build our U.S. ecosystem.
"This model is new to the U.S., but we have a blueprint for how this works and are actively looking for technology and creative partners to benefit from the strength of the full ecosystem effect," Howard said.
As noted by Wired, Letv is known best for its Netflix-like streaming service, though it has branched out into set-top boxes and smart TVs.
"Expanding to the U.S. is a natural progression of our business as we continue to aggressively pursue new services and markets," Yueting said in a statement.
The company intends to partner with or acquire local organizations to cater to U.S. consumers. But the first wave of online streaming will focus on mainland content for Chinese-speaking Americans.
"We believe that our open, vertically integrated ecosystem is the future of Internet experiences in the connected age and a stark contrast from closed systems that limit consumer choices and industry innovation," Yueting said.
But Letv users won't be confined to a smartphone screen or the living room: TVs, mobile devices, computers, tablets, and soon, electric cars, can plug into the ecosystem to access apps and services across all six screens.
"Letv is boldly reshaping the boundaries of media with our 'Six Screens/One Cloud' approach," Yueting added.
Back at home, Letv faces a big competitor: Xiaomi. But according to Bloomberg, China's top smartphone vendor is facing a counterfeit problem, which some might view as ironic since Xiaomi has been accused of ripping off Apple products.
Perhaps that's why Xiaomi has thus far kept its smartphones and tablets in China, and only plans to dip its toe in the U.S. market with headphones and fitness bands.