Samsung retains No.1 position in smartphone market - Times of India

CHENNAI: Samsung continues to lead the Indian smartphone market both in unit sales as well as value, while rival Apple was elbowed out of top five in the first quarter (Jan-March) of 2013. Apple has however made it to the top 5 in terms of value showing up its higher profitability side. International Data Corporation (IDC) report for January-March, shows that mobile phone market in India grew 24% in first quarter compared to last year. Android dominated the Indian smartphone market with a staggering 90% share, largely driven by sales in the low end segment. Apple has witnessed sales rise in the recent months due to discount schemes backed by an aggressive advertising campaign. However, the momentum appears to have slowed down. "Apple has always been a niche player in the country. Apple numbers in Q4 of 2012 were exceptional but their shipments actually saw a dip in Q1 of 2013 as per our numbers," said Manasi Yadav, senior market analyst at IDC. Indian players harping on the value for money preposition, especially Micromax and Karbonn, now hold the second and third spot in terms of unit shipments of smartphones. Micromax has nearly 19% of the market while Karbonn held around 11% in Q1. In terms of value Micromax held on to its No.2 slot with 9%, higher than Nokia, Sony and Apple. While Karbonn was sixth with a 4% share, "Their volumes are increasing quarter-on-quarter and they are giving tough competition to all the players. They are especially successful in tier-2 and tier-3 towns where brand names don't matter that much," said Yadav. Nokia occupied number four slot in smartphone shipments and number three in terms of value. Its Lumia series has been getting good feedback and its shipments are increasing every quarter, said Yadav. Blackberry sales remained stagnant or even declined by a small amount, she added. "Indian market is driven by low cost devices. They have also grown much faster when it comes to units," said Yadav. "Rupee depreciation will negative ly impact Micromax and Karbonn especially since their margins are lower, but their volumes are increasing. So they might maintain low pricing as it is their USP." via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEuj9hidNC7xVeeba0smC6-JpoAQA&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/hardware/Samsung-retains-No-1-position-in-smartphone-market/articleshow/20754190.cms

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