 "Micromax leads Indian surge in phablet-crazy smartphone market")
A new IDC report shows that local smartphone players in India are steadily gaining ground over global giants like Samsung. The report, which deals with the Indian smartphone market for the second quarter of 2013, shows that companies like Micromax and Karbonn now feature in the top five smartphone brands in India. Other brands like Lava, Intex and Celkon have also been doing well.
While Samsung still has a strong hold on the market, with a market share of 26 percent, Micromax has now climbed the ladder and accounts for 22 percent of the total Indian smartphone market. This is a significant gain for the smartphone maker who laid claim to 18.8 percent of the market in the previous quarter. Karbonn comes in at third place, accounting for 13 percent of the total market in the country. The data shows vendors were able to ship a total of 9.3 million smartphones in the second quarter of this year. This is up from the 3.5 million units registered in the second quarter of 2012. What is noteworthy is that the 5-inch to 6.9-inch phablet category has grown almost 17 times year over year, with the category now accounting for 30 percent of the smartphone market in the second quarter of 2013.
An interesting fact revealed by the new data shows that both Nokia and Sony control 5 percent of the total Indian smartphone market. Nokia, which was the market leader in India for quite a while, seems to now be struggling to keep up with both the international brands as well as local price warriors.
New report shows local Indian smartphone players gaining (Image credit: IDC)
According to the report, Micromax has crossed the two million unit mark in shipment. And the bulk of sales have been attributed to the rising popularity of phablets. Micromax, with its Canvas series, seems to have made quite an impact in that category. The other company featuring in the top 5 listing, Karbonn, has also registered steady increases in sales over the last quarter. The company is best known in the market for its A series of smartphones as well as the Titanium range, sales of which are currently picking up in the price-sensitive market.
The biggest player, Samsung, has been able to garner huge sales on the back of its recently launched Galaxy Star smartphone, according to the report. Samsung’s mid-tier smartphones have played a big role in moving the needle for the company. Also adding heft to the sales figures is the performance of high-end smartphones like the Note 2 and the Galaxy S4 which have been backed by a range of cash-back, zero percent interest and EMI schemes.
Nokia, on the other hand, is now all about its line of Windows Phone Lumias. The report states that the Nokia Lumia 520, currently the most popular Windows Phone in the world, has helped pick up the pace for the Finnish company.
Additionally the report also that India should overtake the US by 2017 to become the second largest smartphone market in the world, after China. The report shows that the Indian smartphone market has been able to almost triple its shipments year over year when compared to the same period last year.
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