New handset entrants take 17.5% share
02-04-2010
Lookalike phone boom to spread to smartphones
India's mobile handset market remained flat in 2009 with sales of 101.54 million units, mainly due to lower sales in January-June, according to research firm IDC India
Nokia had the largest share of 54.1%, followed by Samsung (9.7%) and LG (6.4%).
The market showed signs of revival in the fourth quarter (October-December) to record a year-on-year (4Q 2009 over 4Q 2008) growth of 2.3 per cent at 28.36 million units.
New vendors grabbed a combined market share of 12.3% in unit volumes. The number of such new vendors in the Indian market grew to 28. Their share was 17.5% in October-December. In contrast, in Jan-March 2008, there were just five new vendors with a market share of 0.9%.
According to Naveen Mishra, Lead Analyst, Mobile Handsets Research, IDC India, "The mobile handsets market got even more crowded and fragmented at the lower- and mid-market segments with the rise of 'copycat' models that have looks and aesthetics resembling those of high-end smartphones. These 'copycat' look-alikes are often available for as little as one-tenth of the average sales value (ASV) of a smartphone"
"This trend is expected to continue and the market will witness launch of more look-alikes following the launch of aspirational value smartphone models by major vendors. The adoption of these look-alikes is expected to be higher amongst the student and young executive segment whose purchase decisions are often driven by peer group and lifestyle influences as well as affordability" IDC said.
India's mobile handset market remained flat in 2009 with sales of 101.54 million units, mainly due to lower sales in January-June, according to research firm IDC India
Nokia had the largest share of 54.1%, followed by Samsung (9.7%) and LG (6.4%).
The market showed signs of revival in the fourth quarter (October-December) to record a year-on-year (4Q 2009 over 4Q 2008) growth of 2.3 per cent at 28.36 million units.
New vendors grabbed a combined market share of 12.3% in unit volumes. The number of such new vendors in the Indian market grew to 28. Their share was 17.5% in October-December. In contrast, in Jan-March 2008, there were just five new vendors with a market share of 0.9%.
According to Naveen Mishra, Lead Analyst, Mobile Handsets Research, IDC India, "The mobile handsets market got even more crowded and fragmented at the lower- and mid-market segments with the rise of 'copycat' models that have looks and aesthetics resembling those of high-end smartphones. These 'copycat' look-alikes are often available for as little as one-tenth of the average sales value (ASV) of a smartphone"
"This trend is expected to continue and the market will witness launch of more look-alikes following the launch of aspirational value smartphone models by major vendors. The adoption of these look-alikes is expected to be higher amongst the student and young executive segment whose purchase decisions are often driven by peer group and lifestyle influences as well as affordability" IDC said.
