Warc, 16 July 2014
NEW DELHI: India is set to become a major smartphone
battleground as Chinese maker Xiaomi launches a range and Google is reported to
be preparing significant backing for low-cost Android One phones which will be
produced by local manufacturers.
Xiaomi launched three phones pitched at each of the three
broad categories in the market – flagship, mid-market and low-end – and
anticipate India rapidly becoming an important market.
"We see India as a huge opportunity for us," said
Hugo Barra, global vp, Xiaomi, in remarks reported by the Economic Times.
"We have just started here but India has the potential to be our largest
market outside of China, maybe next year."
The company plans to sell its products online, having
partnered with ecommerce business Flipkart, and rather than spend heavily on
advertising is looking at social media as the way it will get its message out.
Some observers were sceptical of this approach, arguing that
while the company enjoyed plenty of free press in China that would not
necessarily be the case in India. Further, a business model that saw the price
of handsets kept low while the company made its money on the sale of
accessories and applications was unlikely to work in India where people were
reluctant to pay for extras.
In contrast, Google is said to be ready to invest in a Rs
100 crore push to promote Android One phones. The Times of India reported that,
in "an unprecedented push by a tech company", Google would lend its
support to those device makers who were committing to its software platform,
including Micromax, Karbonn and Spice.
It further speculated that the launch of the $100 smartphone
would take place in October when Sundar Pichai, svp/Android, Chrome & Apps,
is due to visit the India.
"The smartphone market has become so competitive that
you can't sneak into it, you need to enter with a splash" observed Santosh
Desai, MD & CEO of Futurebrands India. "With launch cycles getting
shorter, you get only one chance to make an impression," he added.
Data sourced from Times of India, Economic Times, The Hindu;
additional content by Warc staff
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