The Indian mobile market has recorded a stupendous growth over the past few
years on the back of easy availability of low-cost devices, better network
coverage and affordable services. The up trend in growth is expected to continue
in the near future owing to lower teledensity, which currently hovers at around
30-35%. Moreover, there is a wide gap between rural and urban areas in terms of
mobile penetration. For instance, mobile penetration in urban areas stood at
around 70% in 2008, while in rural areas it was pegged at less than
15%-indicating the immense potential of the Indian mobile market for future
growth. Nationwide deployment of 3G telecom services will help the country to
bridge this huge gap. The mobile subscriber mark reached 600 mn in India
recently. Although 3G has had limited presence in India till date, the market is
bracing itself for an explosive growth in this segment once the private telecom
players start operations.
As per the figures of the Indian Cellular Association, 26 mn of India's 563
mn mobile phone subscribers have handsets that are 3G enabled. Indians who use
3G handsets outnumber the entire population of Australia by about 5 mn, Belgium
by 16 mn, Denmark by 21 mn, the Netherlands by 10 mn and Switzerland by 19 mn.
Now the 26 mn users use 3G handsets to get only 2G services.
Operators, who were successful in attaining 3G licenses in the auctions this
year, are preparing for the national launch of the service in India within the
next six months. Mobile phone vendors are a step ahead to provide 3G ready
phones that will be in great demand once the services pick up momentum. New
vendors like Intex Technologies, INQ Mobile and Karbonn are readying to take on
market leaders like Nokia, Samsung, LG and HTC in the 3G battlefield.
Giants Keep Prices Down
Samsung has announced the launch of its new 3G-enabled touchscreen phone
named, Star Nano S3370 in the Indian market. The phone supports 384 Kbps DL/UL
(3G-ready), pop-up SNS and offers quick download for multimedia content. As for
networking connectivity it offers quick access to MySpace, Facebook along with
other apps like GoogleTalk, Palringo Chat, AIM and YouTube.
Ranjit Yadav, director, mobile & IT, Samsung India Electronic says, “The
launch of Star Nano 3G is significant, as it represents our most affordable 3G
touchscreen handset as well as strengthens our portfolio of 3G enabled handsets
as the country gears up for the roll out of 3G services very soon.”
He adds, “The Samsung Star Nano 3G has been designed for Indian consumers to
experience an array of benefits such as video streaming, faster data /audio
downloads, faster Internet browsing as well as better sound clarity, once 3G
services are available in India.” The phone is priced at Rs 7,320 in India.
Strategizing along the same lines, LG Electronics India has launched LG Cookie
Plus, featuring one-touch social networking. The handset is priced at Rs 7,990.
The new model is part of the company's proposed launch of forty-four handsets
this year; fifteen out of which will be 3G enabled. The phone comes with custom
software hooks for social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
Mobile giant Nokia's new 3G enabled phone, C5 has been launched in India at a
market price of Rs 7,999. Being the latest in the C series, the emphasis here is
on providing an advanced and super fast social networking and mailing
experience. The Nokia Messaging Service provided in the phone enables access to
mails from Yahoo!, Gmail, Hotmail etc. Also, included is the Push E-Mail
service, wherein one can access up to ten mailboxes at a time. The phone
provides a fast paced Internet experience and enables users the facility of
quick access to Facebook and the option of updating their profiles online.
GoogleTalk is also available for those who want to stay in touch via chatting.
Powered by GPRS, there is support for MS Outlook too. Other applications include
Ovi Maps 3.0, Ovi Store, and Ovi contacts.
In February, Nokia launched its most affordable 3G handset in the country,
Nokia 2730 Classic. The phone, priced at Rs 4,499, comes loaded with a host of
features rarely seen on a device in this price range. The 2730 Classic packs in
Ovi Mail, Nokia Messaging, Nokia Life Tools, and full HTML browsing as well. It
also comes with a preloaded Opera Mini.
For the Love of Low-cost
3G launch is expected to create a new market segmentation. The shift would
be similar to what happened to PCs after laptops became popular. Cashing in on
this, Intex Technologies has started R&D on 3G handsets and will be coming up
with 3G enabled handsets by the end of the year.
INQ Mobile Internet phones, which are are renowned for their social
networking capabilities has launched mobile phones in India, in partnership with
Aircel. They are available in over 5,000 outlets in the country. According to
reports, 3G handsets in the UK constitute more than 50% of the total handsets
sold, while the numbers in the US are over 85%. The company expects the same
numbers here over a few years. The integrated INQ applications have Facebook,
Skype, Twitter, Instant Launcher, Traffic Controller, feeds, startup wizard and
static widgets. INQ Chat 3G phone is available at Rs 7,599 and INQ Mini 3G costs
around Rs 5,399 via Aircel.
Another low-cost mobile vendor that is making waves in the handset market in
India is Micromax. The company is now the third largest GSM mobile phone vendor
in India, after Nokia and Samsung, with a market share of 6%, according to
research firm IDC. The Rs 1,600 crore brand, which sells around 1 mn mobiles
every month, has presence in more than 500 districts through 70,000 retail
outlets.
Like all leading players in the cell phone industry, Micromax also gets its
handsets manufactured from China. A zero-import duty on cell phones has helped
the industry proliferate. After a slew of phones targeted specifically at the
rural masses, the company made a shift towards selling handsets that comes with
features appealing to urban consumers such as music phones, qwerty and Internet
enabled handsets. The brand has been integrating different solutions into one,
to churn out mobile handsets that are unique and differentiated through the
features that they provide. One such offering has come in terms of 3G.
The company tied-up with MTNL to offer India's first operator branded 3G HSPA
handset in September 2009. The H360 is available exclusively to MTNL customers
at Rs 5,499. Speaking about this initiative from Micromax, Rajesh Aggarwal, MD,
Micromax says, “Delivering best of the technology and path breaking innovation
has always been our priority. We work towards bringing exclusive technology in
the hands of the masses. A 3G mobile is still considered an expensive piece of
technology, but H360 will break these rules.”
Talking about the adoption of 3G in India Aggarwal adds, “The journey of 3G
in India has just begun and there is a need for mass awareness of 3G. We are
thankful to MTNL and Qualcomm for having worked with us to enable us to bring
forth this product for the Indian 3G subscribers. We are confident that this
handset will redefine the 3G experience in India and with increasing awareness
and availability, 3G mobiles will gain mass popularity.
After launching its first mobile phone in India, Lava International is also
ready with its first 3G phone. But the company is waiting for mobile operators
to start 3G services first. Interestingly, Lava is planning to introduce one of
its 3G phone sets at a price in four digits. “At present, the prices of our
mobile phone sets range between Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000. Now, we are doing research
on smartphones and 3G phones. We expect that our 3G phones will be available in
a wide price range, with the lowest one costing less than Rs 10,000,” says
Praveen Srivastava, head, sales and marketing, Lava International.
In last nine months, Lava claims to have captured 3% share of the Indian
mobile industry. “In 2009-10, our turnover was around Rs 350 crore. By the end
of 2010-11, we want to increase our market share to 10%,” he adds.
Wynn Telecom, a part of SAR Group, is also aiming big in the mobile phone
space by launching new low-cost phones in the Indian market. The company plans
to invest around Rs 500 crore in the Indian market during the next two years, Rs
100 crore in FY 2010-11 on distribution and service network development, product
development, brand development and advertising and Rs 400 crore in FY 2011-12 on
technology development centers at India and China, acquisition of VAS and UI
software companies, setting up of manufacturing facilities in India and China
and marketing and advertising.
Arvind R Vohra, co-founder and MD, Wynn Telecom says, “Wynncom will be
focusing more on VAS and developing features, which would act as a
differentiator in the market. Moreover, the company will be targeting the youth
segment that are more tech-savvy and love to have more and more value added
services and applications on their mobile phones.”
“With our wide range of multimedia and youth-oriented phones, which are
smart, affordable, trendy and attractive, we are confident of penetrating into
the mobile phone market and capture 5% market share by December 2010,” he
further adds. The products will be marketed under the brand name Wynncom with a
price range of Rs 1,500-5,000.
Talking about his plans to offer 3G enabled phones in India, Vohra
elucidates, “3G is supposed to take off in India by September this year. We are
currently in the process of developing more phone models and we hope to take the
number to fifteen by August, this year. In these offerings, 3G enabled phones
will feature extensively. We understand that previously it were the dual-SIM
phones that were a craze in the market, hence, all our current offerings are
dual-SIM. But now, India is waiting for 3G with bated breath. The telecom market
in India will explode in the next few months when 3G operators start business
and we will be ready with our offerings when that happens.”
BlackBerry and iPhone
When talking about 3G enabled phones in the market, a special mention needs
to be made on BlackBerry and Apple iPhone. Both the companies are evolving
themselves and are offerings newer handset models that keep the high-end handset
market on their toes.
While iPhone 3GS has just arrived in India after some delay, and the world
has also just opened up to the fourth generation of the device. Emerging markets
are already struggling with gray market issues as people await with bated breath
for iPod 4G to arrive. Privately imported iPhone 4s are available in Beijing,
China for as much as ¥17,000 ($2600). That compares to a starting retail price
in the US of $199. Vendors were confident that customers would pay the hefty
mark-up price as the iPhone 4, which boasts high-definition video, video chat
and sharper screen resolution, is not expected to be officially launched in
China for at least another six months.
When it comes to gray markets, India is not far behind. Following the huge
prices setup by both Airtel and Vodafone for the iPhone 3GS in India, customers
rushed towards the gray market, where they could get the product for almost half
the price. The 16GB iPhone has been selling in India for as low as Rs
20,000-22,000, while telcos were offering it for over Rs 31,000.
Research In Motion (RIM) has recently launched its Pearl series. The two new
models introduced are the Pearl 9100 and Pearl 9105. Both share the same
internal hardware. 3G (HSDPA) makes its way into these, and just in time with
the end of the spectrum auctions in India. This is the first BlackBerry to
support Wi-Fi 802.11 'n' standard, along with 'b' and 'g'. A 1150 mAh battery
commits to give five-and-a-half hours of talk-time over a 3G network. The
pricing of these handsets has not yet been declared, but it is estimated it to
be in the Rs 20,000-25,000 price bracket, since their flagship Bold 9700 sells
for close to Rs 30,000 here in India.
Madhura Mukherjee
madhurak@cybermedia.co.in
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