Baiduworld: x2c strategy, mobile search, Phoenix Nest

Li Mingyuan, GM of Baidu's (Nasdaq: BIDU)
e-commerce division, announced the internet
company's new, x2C-based e-commerce strategy
at today's 2009 Baidu World Conference, as well
as Baidu's new "Feng Ming (Phoenix Call) Plan,"
"Fangzhou (Ark) Plan," and "Bretton Woods Plan."
Li says the "Ark" plan and "Bretton Woods" plan
primarily target the "C" (consumer) portion of
Baidu's market; the former aims to create a complete
online shopping experience, while the latter relates to
Baidu's ongoing efforts to perfect the credit system
for its "YouA" B2C platform. The "Phoenix Call" plan
is a portion of Baidu's x2C strategy, primarily
targeting the "x" part of the equation. Under the plan,
YouA will attract a number of online stores and
individual brands, as well as enterprises capable of
providing superior products and services.

Ren Xuyang, VP of marketing and business development,
said that mobile internet is Baidu's next strategic focus.
Baidu's current mobile offerings are based on existing
products such as its online search and SNS, which it
modifies for use on handsets. Baidu has established
strategic relationships with China Unicom and
China Telecom to pre-install Baidu's search services on
handsets from vendors including Nokia, Samsung and
Lenovo.

Baidu unveiled its intelligent search engine, called the
"One Box" (Chinese name: Frame Calculator) at the
Technology Innovation Conference on August 18,
TechWeb reports. Baidu CEO and Chairman Robin Li
said that the new function returns links to the most
appropriate applications and content providers rather
than returning literal word-matches. For example, if a
person searches for "uplifting mp3," the engine will
return links to music providers, Li said.