Cheaper smartphones: Lenovo set to challenge Samsung, Micromax, Nokia & Apple in India

NEW DELHI: The competition in India's smartphone space could hot up further with Lenovo likely to emerge as a real threat to major players Samsung, Micromax, Nokia and Apple post the Chinese major's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, with consumers likely the biggest beneficiaries of cheaper devices with better features.

"We have ambitions of being a leading player in the PC+ space and Motorola Mobility will give us patents and technical talent that will be very relevant and helpful in emerging markets including India," Lenovo India's managing director Amar Babu told ET.
The Chinese smartphone maker - the world's largest personal computer maker - is one of the strongest brands to come out of China. It would like to replicate its success in India, among the world's fastest-growing smartphone market. With Motorola in the kitty, the company can push the throttle on branding and gain traction in emerging markets like India, say analysts.

India's fragmented smartphone market is dominated by global major Samsung and home-bred handset makers Micromax and Karbonn, who together accounted for over 60% of the smartphone market during the July-September period in 2013 when nearly 13 million smartphones were sold. Lenovo and Japanese consumer major Sony, along with some 24 others, made up for around 29% of the smartphone market, research firm IDC said.

With Motorola Mobility now in its kitty, Lenovo could offer innovative features on cheaper smartphones, forcing competitors to follow suit, say analysts. Microsoft recently said that its acquisition of Nokia's devices business will give the integrated company scale which could allow it to lower prices of its smartphones in India, a cost-sensitive market.

"The strategy is simple, we build scale in China and expand to the rest of the world," Babu said. "Our China business has grown 120% year-on-year last quarter, and they have 40 models. I need to make sure that I am picking and choosing the right models, customise and localise them before bringing to the Indian market." This, he added, will allow Lenovo to bring quality products at competitive prices, while the increasing scale could open up the window of beginning manufacturing in India.