Budget smartphone maker Micromax
leapfrogged South Korea's Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd to become the leading
supplier in India's booming smartphone
market for the first time in the fourth
quarter, research firm Canalys said.
In a report issued on Feb. 3, Canalys
said Micromax , based near New Delhi,
accounted for 22 percent of smartphone
sales in India in the October-December
quarter, ahead of Samsung's 20 percent.
In total, 21.6 million smartphones were
sold in India in the period, a 90 percent
surge from a year earlier.
India, which has the world's second-
highest number of mobile phone
accounts after China, is the third-bigges
market by number of smartphones sold.
Low-priced smartphones are the top
sellers in a country where many buyers
are upgrading from feature phones.
Micromax's performance was partly due
to its "continuing appeal to mobile phon
users upgrading to smartphones",
Canalys said. It estimated nearly a
quarter of smartphones sold in India in
the fourth quarter were devices priced
under $100 (roughly Rs. 6,100), while 4
percent of devices sold were in the $100
$200 (roughly Rs. 6,100 - Rs. 12,200)
range.
Micromax and Samsung were followed b
two other Indian budget smartphone
brands, Karbonn and Lava, by number o
handsets sold in fourth quarter, Canalys
said.
http://m.gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/micromax-beats-samsung-for-top-spot-in-indian-smartphone-market-report-657022
