It has been five years since Cheng Lixin came aboard to head the US operation of ZTE, the world's fourth-largest mobile phone maker and fifth-largest telecom-equipment maker. And the company has been growing ever since.

"Over the last five years, ZTE USA has experienced tremendous growth in the United State and our sales have increased 20 times. Now, over 20 million US consumers use our phone every day, and our phones are available across all carriers and major stores," said Cheng, CEO of ZTE USA.

Most ZTE smartphones sold in the United States are in the pre-paid sector of the mobile phone market, and ZTE ranks the fourth in terms of market share. Now ZTE's goal is to increase sales and become number three by 2017 after Apple and Samsung.

It hasn't been easy for ZTE to penetrate the US market and grow its market share. "This is a tough industry and market, and the United State is the most competitive market for consumers. One needs to work very hard, make sure you understand the market. Also, one has to love it with heart to devote mind to it," said Cheng.

Cheng said that ZTE smartphones aim to provide premium user experience at an affordable price. "We have positioned them as a high-quality brand for the US consumer," said Cheng.

ZTE USA has invested a lot in studying consumers, according to Cheng. "We have developed a program to conduct consumer research. Now we have over 6,000 users involved in our product definition, testing and feedback. From this consumer lab we learn what features are really valued, and this is where all our new ideas come from," he said.

In July, ZTE USA achieved a milestone on its Facebook - the number of fans ("Like") reached 100,000. "This means we are not only growing in the market, but also in the mind of the consumers," Cheng said.

Meeting what consumers want spurs ZTE's innovation effort. "We connect ambitious minds around the world, including the US, Europe and China, to develop innovative products. We have 10 innovation centers around the global," Cheng said.

In mid-summer, ZTE USA was on the verge of revealing its newest product in the US, Axon, a phone that would be a user's nerve center. Cheng was very excited about it:

"When the mobile phone was invented at the beginning, it satisfied our need to talk and message on the go; when the first iPhone came out, it allowed us to get on the Internet with one touch. Now comes smartphone 2.0: it becomes the nerve center of everything you do. It not only changes a consumer's behavior, but also understands the consumer's behavior. It gives the control back to the consumer."

According to Cheng, the Axon phone comes with 4K high-resolution video and a dual-lens camera with incredibly fast auto-focus. A user can refocus pictures after taking them and can easily do other manipulations. It also features two microphones and will be the first phone in the US with true high-fidelity sound.

"This phone is designed in the US based on consumers' feedback. We applied our global knowledge and experience, combined the best hardware and software together to create this phone," said Cheng.

Cheng called Axon "another strategy of ours. We came to the middle tier and now we want to break through into the higher tier of the market. Already this phone has generated huge interest in consumers. Over 100,000 people who visited our site expressed interest in having one. Its performance is on par with others costing twice as much."

ZTE created a separate website for Axon, and Cheng was very excited tosee that the new phone had generated a lot of buzz among consumers before its release.

Cheng said that ZTE wants to be a global leader in M-ICT (machine-to-machine/mobility and Internet communication telecom), and its development of technologies such as voice-control, motion-control, eye-scan to unlock the phone, the newly launched digital projector.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com