New Delhi: When it comes to a big market forcing a crash in the price line, India showed its might in the smartphones arena during 2014 with companies launching a plethora of affordable devices, but it also embraced the pricey new models of iconic iPhone with equal enthusiasm.
In the new year, the Indian smartphones market is expected to further consolidate its position, before emerging as the world's second biggest market in 2016. "Smartphones as a category is growing at a phenomenal pace. The Rs 5,000-15,000 category is exploding and we expect this trend to continue in 2015," Nokia India Sales (Microsoft Mobiles Oy subsidiary) Managing Director Ajey Mehta told PTI. In 2015, there could be more "intense action" in the entry-level smartphone market as more companies launch affordable handsets, aimed at upgrading feature phone users, he added.
As per research firm eMarketer, India will exceed 200 million smartphone users, topping the US as the world's second largest smartphone market by 2016, largely on the back of growing penetration of affordable smart mobile devices. Hemant Joshi, a Partner at Deloitte Haskins & Sells, also said that the affordable devices may remain key going ahead.
"The focus will remain same on Rs 10,000-13,000 price range for mass market. The price of smartphones and tablets is definitely coming down. Also, there might be price drop of the LTE enabled smartphones as India is ready for a massive LTE deployment," he said.
According to research firm IDC, over 44 million smartphones were sold in 2013. Compared to that, handset makers have already sold over 59.3 million handsets in the January-September 2014 period. At the beginning of the year, IDC had estimated that total smartphone sales in the country would cross 80.5 million units in 2014. "Features and specification are something which can be matched anytime. It is the design, user interface (UI) and the market operating price at which the product can be made available, which will entice the consumer to make a choice," IDC Senior Market Analyst Client Devices Karan Thakkar said.
BlackBerry India Managing Director Sunil Lalvani is of the view that "digital" consumers are looking to do more and scout for a better connected experience both personally as well as professionally with enhanced productivity and collaboration functionalities.
"People transitioning or experiencing the initial stages of mobility will continue to adopt feature rich, popular devices, in India this in itself is a huge opportunity with in the rural areas," he added. Feature phones, despite falling sales volume, continue to command a lion's share of the handset market in India. In the July-September 2014 quarter, feature phones accounted for 68 per cent of the total handset sales in India.
