(Yicai Global) Sept 25 -- Oppo Mobile Telecommunications will invest CNY200 million (USD29.3 million) to build an ecosystem of the Internet of Things while launching the Chinese phonemaker's first smart TV set next month.

The TV product, part of the company's Enabling Action 2.0 strategy that involves IoT technology, products, marketing, and sales channels, is an important entry point for device connectivity at home, the Dongguan-based firm said in a statement yesterday. 

Networking gadgets is no new idea. Since last year, Oppo has cooperated with Midea Group, Aux Group, and over 30 home appliance brands to release smart devices for entertainment, furnishing, sports, and health monitoring purposes, said Yi Wei, general manager of the firm's emerging mobile device business unit.

As fifth-generation wireless networks are becoming more common, TVs could become bigger versions of smartphones, an insider at the company told Yicai Global. Eventually, they will be transformed into smart homes' central control centers, which can enhance brand stickiness, the person added.

"In the era of integrating all things, there will be no more pure handset makers," Chen Mingyong, founder and chief executive, told Yicai Global in an interview earlier. Oppo will develop an open ecosystem for multiple devices while keeping its smartphones as the core of functionality.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine