HTC eyes 8% share of affordable smartphone market in India

NEW DELHI: Mobile phone maker HTC is ramping up its presence in the affordable category (Rs 8,000-15,000) in the country with the introduction of new devices, including 4G-enabled, to gain share in the heavily contested smartphone market in India.

The company, which faces stiff competition from Indian and Chinese handset makers like Micromax, Lava and Xiaomi, is confident of garnering 7.5-8 per cent share of the affordable smartphone category in next six months.

"We will broaden our price play horizons at both ends. India is an important market for us. If HTC has to do good globally, India numbers have to be positive," HTC President (Global Sales) Chia-Lin Chang said.

He added that going ahead, all new products will be 4G-compatible.

Speaking at the launch of its mid-range One A9 and budget Desire 828 smartphones, Chang said the company will look at launching devices priced below Rs 10,000.

"We are looking to start from about Rs 8,000. We are hoping to gain 7.5-8 per cent share in this category (Rs 8,000-Rs 15,000) in the next six months," he said.

Currently, HTC has less than 5 per cent share in the mid-range smartphone segment as it does not have devices in the sub-Rs 10,000 category.

It claims to have about four per cent share in the overall smartphone category.

"In India, 65 per cent of smartphones sold are below the Rs 10,000 price point. Till now, we didn't participate in that market... If we can capture 2 per cent of the budget phones sold in India, we will have a huge growth momentum in India taking our global revenues higher," Chang said.

India is one of the world's fastest growing smartphone market.

According to research firm IDC, smartphone shipments in India jumped 21.4 per cent in the July-September 2015 quarter to 28.3 million units, buoyed by a three-fold jump in demand for 4G-enabled devices.

Talking about the devices launches, Chang said the prices will be announced closer to the availability, which is expected to be in the next two weeks.

The HTC Desire 828 will feature 5.5-inch display, 1.5GHz octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB memory, 2,800 mAh battery and 13 MP camera.

The A9 features 5-inch display, 3GB RAM, 32GB memory, 2,150 mAh battery and 13 MP camera.