Indian Market Potential Attracting Big Smartphone Making Brands

Inida is proving to be quite an attractive smartphone market for giants like Google to kickstart  major projects like Android One, suggesting the country's potential for more in the near future.

The latest release of Android One project by Google in India has brought the second most populous country under focus. Xiaomi is a good example of  smartphone success in a market outside China. Looking at the common elements of these launches, all companies have competitively priced their handsets to attract the budget-conscious lot.

Android One

Google started off the Android One project as a key to connect the next five million people with smartphones. In order to attract the consumers, rightly pricing the Android One smartphones was the key factor. The project was announced during the Google I/O keynote earlier this year, which offers low-cost Android phones with high-end computing. By choosing India as the launch market for Android One, Google has prioritized India more than any other emerging country around the world.

"For us Android One was a journey to try and reach the next 5 billion people. And India accounts for a substantial portion of the share. Android One was conceived deeply with India in mind," Sundar Pichai Senior Vice President, Android, Chrome and Apps at Google, said during an exclusive interview with NDTV.

If the project succeeds, more tech companies will be inclined to follow Google's lead.

India's potential for budget phones

Indian buyers have shown great interest in budget smartphones, especially when they are packed with high-end features. Google can take cues from the profound success of Xiaomi, China's renowned smartphone maker. The phone maker made its first international debut in India in September with the launch of Mi3 smartphone. Xiaomi received an astonishing response for its smartphones.

Xiaomi limited its smartphone availability through Flipkart and quickly gained fame for its Tuesday flash sales. The smartphone stocks of  up to 20,000 units for Mi3 and 40,000 units for Redmi 1S, company's budget smartphone, last for mere seconds. The company has failed to meet the customers' demand.

According to a report by Wall Street Journal, India is the fourth largest market for smartphones and has a great potential for growth as only 10 percent of over 900 million cell phone users have smartphones.

Microsoft also expanded its affordable smartphone range with Nokia X series, aimed at emerging markets like India. While all major platforms have bowed down to the demand for budget phones, Apple has sustained its premium product range throughout the world.