Yesterday Sony revealed a little bit about their strategy for the Indian market and how they plan to target the entry-level tier along with plans to explore a manufacturing facility in the country. HTC is indicating that they too plan to explore options to manufacture smartphones in the country and will look to India to serve as the “launch site” for some of their forthcoming global smartphones.
According to HTC’s president of global sales and chief financial officer, Chia-Lin Chang, “We have a third-quarter plan for our global launch in India to introduce a device which is specifically designed for the Indian consumer.” The device that is released will eventually become HTC’s global smartphone option for buyers. HTC’s plan to launch their next global smartphone in India, and possibly manufacture the device in the country, mirrors similar plans announced by Xiaomi.
Unlike Sony, which is targeting entry level phones in the sub Rs 10,000 range ($159 USD) as a way to gain market share in India, HTC says their new global smartphone will be in the Rs 15,000 – 20,000 range ($238 – $317 USD). Chang says part of the reason for pursuing the mid-tier of the market is to ensure HTC can continue to deliver a better user experience, notably by including 4G LTE support in the devices. HTC may include a sub Rs 10,000 device in their portfolio, which Chang says may include up to 10 new devices to be released this year, but that will not be the focus of their efforts.
According to research firm CMR, HTC is the second largest smartphone vendor with 4G LTE devices in India, claiming a 19% market share, behind Apple’s market leading 45% share. In terms of the overall market, HTC claims about 6% of the Indian market by volume with a target of 10% by the end of the year.
source: The Economic Times
via: Android Central
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