India's Smartphone Sales Surge To 44 Mn In 2013

The end-user shift towards mid-to-high screen size products will be amplified by the declining prices and availability of feature-rich localized product offerings," it said.

In the overall phone market, Samsung was the market leader with a 19 percent share in Q4 2013, followed by Micromax (13 percent), Nokia (12 percent), Karbonn (10 percent) and Lava (6 percent).

In the October-December 2013, vendors shipped 15.06 million Smartphones compared with 5.35 million in Q4 2012. There was a spike in Smartphone shipments by smaller domestic vendors such as Lava and Intex in the quarter.

"Growth in the Smartphone market is being propelled by the launch of low-end, cost competitive devices by international and local vendors which are further narrowing the price gaps that exist between feature phones and Smartphones," IDC India Senior Market Analyst Manasi Yadav said.

International vendors have understood the importance of creating a diverse portfolio of devices at varied price points and are striving to launch cost competitive devices that cater to every segment in the target audience, IDC India Research Manager Kiran Kumar said.

The 5 inch-6.99 inch screen size Smartphones accounted for about 20 percent of the overall market in Q4.

The overall mobile phone market stood at 67.83 million units in Q4 2013, up 16 percent year-on-year.
Read Also:
DU Undergrads Develop App For Offbeat Languages
Nexus 8 Powered by Android 4.5 To Be Release in July