Micromax has beaten Samsung to be the top smartphone maker in India, according to a latest report from Canalys. The homegrown smartphone maker has achieved the heights in Q4, 2014, mainly due to shift of mobile phone users upgrading to smart phones.
As per the report, Micromax is responsible for 22% share of total smartphone market in India while Samsung is just behind with 20%. The company’s flagship line of products has very effectively targeted the US$150 to US$200 (Rs 9,000 to Rs 12,000) segment, with products such as the Canvas Nitro and Canvas Hue”.
“Micromax has been quicker than its competitors to improve the appeal of devices, for example, by including a wide variety of local languages on its Unite phones. Lava, another domestic vendor, has launched devices that cater to the preference for greater battery life – in this case a couple of days. But vital to success is selling these handsets at low price points to appeal to the bulging mid-level income market in India.”
said Canalys Analyst Rushabh Doshi said.
India shipped a total of 21.6 million in Q4, 2014, up 90 percent year-over-year. 23 percent of these smartphone shipments were priced under US$100 (INR6,000). Almost double that number, 41 percent of devices, were in the US$100 to US$200 bracket (INR6,000 to INR12,000).
Karbonn and Lava became the third and fourth smartphone vendors in India. A CounterPoint Research last year had revealed that Micromax had beaten Samsung as the leading smartphone maker in Q2, 2014.