mobility issue march 2014

www.mobilityindia.com

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MARCH 2014 Vol. 10 Issue #10Monthly Magazine

Mobility Special

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Mobility Analysis Guest Column Mobility Personality

Dell empowers consumers with latest family of tablets

Tablets Drive Productivity Ahead

Overcoming longer battery life, challenge for smartphones

“99% of all mobile threats target Android Devices”

2 Mobility Mar. 2014

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www.mobilityindia.com 3Mobility Mar 2014

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ContentContentContent

Mobility News 7-8

Cover Story 16Global News 9-10Samsung unveils Galaxy S5 Sony Introducing Xperia M2Nokia welcomes android developersASUS showcases lineup of Mobile

Guest Column 11&14Overcoming longer battery lifemHealt Driving Connected

Mobility Product 30Lava launches its much awaitedpremium smartphone

Mobility Personalty 3199% of all mobilethreats target


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Smartphones, Today, Offer A Big Financial Opportunity For Companies and Partners

S. rajendranChief Marketing Offi cer, acer India

ManIT SInghManager - Communications, amtrak Info System

Mobility Analysis 12-13Tablets Drive Productivity Ahead

Mobility Review 32-33

Moto X – Compact and Stylish

Best Budget Android Phone SM3512

DigiTAB by SmartLink – Multi Task on the Go

Simmtronics - The dynamic tablet XPAD Turbo

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The future of smartphones is surely bright, but there will be challenges and it will mostly come from the battery battleground. The next major battleground for all portable computing devices is battery life. All

high-end smartphones can now do just about everything we need them to do.

Performance is there or thereabouts for all phones, and your OS of choice will be dictated largely by personal preference and the availability of apps and media. But which of us can honestly say they are happy with the battery life of their handset?

This means travelling with adaptors and spare batteries where possible, and rationing your use of your phone, which negates the point of having a great smartphone. The trouble is batteries are measured in terms of physical size of cell - and was all want slim and light handsets. So although battery capacity will continue to increase, improvement in battery life will come from two other trends.

Swapan Roy (Editor)[email protected], [email protected]

What is the Future of smartphones?

MOBILITY Voice

Samsung Introduces New NX30 and Galaxy Camera 2

Samsung Electronics has announced two additions to its industry leading range of Digital Imaging devices, the NX30 and the Galaxy Camera 2. The NX30 is a professionally-inspired compact system camera delivering high quality images

with faster than ever performance. The Galaxy Camera 2, the latest device in the award winning Galaxy Camera line-up, combines the quality imaging of a high end camera with the sharing capabilities and intuitive interface associated with the most up-to-date smartphones.

Samsung NX30: Image Quality at the Core High quality images with rich color are guaranteed with the advanced 20.3MP APS-C CMOS Sensor. Featuring a unique Tiltable Electronic Viewfi nder (XGA, 2,359K-dot resolution) the NX30 makes it easier than ever to discover a new perspective. Whether crowds are obstructing the shot or a more creative angle is desired, the 80 degree tilt means that different viewpoints are simple to achieve. With the ability to move from side to side up to 180 degrees, and upward and downward up to 270 degrees, the NX30’s 76.7mm (3.0-inch) Super AMOLED Swivel and Touch Display offers fl exible angles which are especially useful for self-shooting, whether for stills or video capture.

Smart Connectivity, Tag & Go: Building on the successes of Samsung’s market leading SMART CAMERA technology, the NX30’s NFC and Wi-Fi capabilities offer the next-generation of connectivity, making it is easier than ever to take advantage of a host of intuitive sharing features.

EDITORCHOICE

Editor : Swapan RoyChief Editor : Manoj JhaAsst. Editor : E.J. Jawahardatham

Design DeskArt Director : Anit Kumar

Acct. & FinanceFinance : Sandip Sarkar

Marketing & SalesMarketing Manager : Tridip DeyMarketing Executives : Pratap Biswas Tenzin Kunkey S. Dutt Raj KumarCirculation Manager : P. BiswasProduction : Ashish Ghosh Ashok PaulSystem Manager : Ajay Biswas

H.O.: Delhi / Editorial Offi ceRoy Mediative A-23, 1st Floor, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110020 (INDIA) Mob: 09810380882, 09811346846Ph: 91-11-41602841, 40536384-87

Editorial Front

Redg.Off.: 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Branch Offi ce:Mumbai: E-mail: roy@ mobilityindia.comKolkata: 105/12B, Dum Dum Road, Sil Colony, Kolkata-74Contact: 09330922965; 09903392620E-mail : roy@ mobilityindia.comOrissa: Krushna Nagar, 5th Lane, Lalji Palli, Berhampur-760008 (Orissa) (India)Contact : Raj Kumar-09338410809 Email : [email protected] [email protected]

Mobility monthly News Paper, Printed, Published & Owned by Swapan Roy at 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Printed at Pushpak Printer, C-96, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi-20. Retail selling price of News Paper Rs. 20/-. Annual subscription Rs. 240.

Editor : [email protected] roy@ mobilityindia.com Marketing : [email protected] [email protected] Info : [email protected] : subscription@ mobilityindia.com

Web : www.mobilityindia.com


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Mobility NewsSamsung Launches Galaxy Tab3 Neo and NotePRO series

HP India introduces its New Voice Tab Series

Samsung has unveiled the new Samsung NotePRO tablet series, setting a new standard of mobile excellence,

equipped with innovative and meaningful technology. The Galaxy Tab3 Neo, a sleek and light-weight tablet was also launched at the Samsung Southwest Asia Forum 2014. Sporting two powerful devices – the Galaxy Tab3 Neo and Galaxy NotePRO, Samsung’s Galaxy tablet portfolio redefines what a tablet can do.

“We created the Galaxy NotePRO and Tab 3 Neo series to kick off a year in which Samsung truly establishes its leadership in the tablet market,” said Mr. Vineet Taneja, Country Head – Mobile & IT at Samsung Electronics, India.

LG Launches World’s First Curved, Flexible Smartphone in India

XOLO Launches Q1100 with Android JB v4.3

LG Electronics officially launched its flagship curved smartphone LG G Flex in India. LG G Flex, the latest

device in LG’s premium G Series, is the first smartphone that is designed to fit the palm of the hand and follow the contour of the face. It incorporates proprietary innovations from other LG companies in the form of never-seen-before display and battery, and also boasts of a new User Experience (UX) that takes advantage of its curved form factor. According to Mr. Soon Kwon, M.D., LG India,“Curved flexible displays are a groundbreaking technology that enhances consumers’ viewing experience by many degrees. LG’s latest offering G Flex combines innovation and technology along with sleek, curved design that not only delivers a more comfortable grip and fit, but offers better voice and sound quality. G Flex represents a new era in the smartphone space where curved and flexible displays are no longer a sci-fi fantasy.”

The LG Flex will be available in India starting February 2014 and is priced at MRPRs. 69,999/-

Hewlet t -Packard India introduces

its newly s HP Slate6 Vo i c e Ta b a n d H P Slate7VoiceTab, plus four new mobile devices which are buil t for enhanced performance and maximum mobility.

T h e H P S l a t e VoiceTab series are slim and light tablets w i th vo i ce ca l l i ng capability(1), powered by a quad-core processor running on Android 4.2.2 (Jellybean) Operating System and offer 3G(2) connectivity with Dual SIM convenience. HP Slate6 VoiceTab (15.2 cms) diagonal and HP Slate7VoiceTab (17.8 cms) diagonal come with power-packed entertainment features such as dual front firing stereo speakers, front and rear HD(3) cameras. The VoiceTabs have 16GB built in storage expandable to 32GB via MicroSD card. Speaking at the event, Rajiv Srivastava, vice president and general manager, Printing and Personal Systems, HP India said, “India’s next generation needs next generation tools – the HP Slate6 VoiceTab and Slate7VoiceTab are engineered for the way they multitask and stay connected. These devices deliver performance people can trust – it’s more than a tablet and smarter tha. HP today announced the talented and successful Indian film star, DeepikaPadukone as its brand ambassador. Speaking about the association with HP, DeepikaPadukone said, “I feel proud to be a part of the HP family. HP products are innovative, performance-driven and easy to use especially when on the move. This is exactly what I want from my devices. I have been using the new HP Slate6 VoiceTab for some time now and think it’s a must-have for anyone who wants performance and style.” HP Slate6 VoiceTab is priced at MRP INR 23688.5 and HP Slate7 VoiceTab is priced at MRP INR 17287(4).

XOLO announced the launch of XOLO Q1100. It comes with a large 5 inch HD IPS display with One Glass Solution (OGS) display technology. It runs on Android v4.3, and an even sweeter Jelly Bean that offers enhanced user friendly UI, latest openGL ES 3.0 support for high performance graphics and many more features like optimized location and sensor capabilities.

Powered by a 1.4 GHz Quad Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU along with 1 GB RAM, the XOLO Q1100 provides an unmatched CPU performance and extremely smooth smartphone experience. With its 8 GB internal memory and external memory that can be expanded up to 32 GB, the XOLO Q1100 offers enough space to store your favorite games, apps, music, videos and lots more which makes it a perfect entertainer. Its Adreno 305 graphics engine with 450 MHz clock speed offers real life gaming experience with its high resolution texture and minute details. With its advanced gaming performance, XOLO Q1100 lets you experience and enjoy heavy HD games without any lag. XOLO Q1100 also comes with exclusive Snapdragon apps like Audio+, Qualcomm Quick Charge and Battery Guru. Snapdragon Audio+ offers high quality audio and a rich surround sound. Its Quick Charge feature charges a mobile up to 75% faster than the usual conventional technology. Qualcomm Snapdragon Battery Guru enables optimization of battery life without the need of disabling any functionality. It doesn’t require any inputs from user to configure and learns the way you use your device and reduces any unnecessary background activities.

The XOLO Q1100 is priced at Rs. 14,999 and will be available in black color.


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Mobility NewsD-Link exhibits Innovation, Introduces DSM-260

Intex launched Aqua Curve for Style Conscious Yout

D-Link has introduced yet another innovative product, DSM-260, a

wireless media streaming device that enables you to play movie, music, game, presentations, etc from your Smartphone/ Tablet/ Laptop onto a big screen like TV/ Projector or Home theatre in 3 simple steps.

With the advent of smartphones, tablets and other connectivity devices, people are constantly hooked to their favourite music, watching movies, playing game and also working on their presentation even while on the go. However, in situations like these, sharing content with friends/ colleagues/larger audience is a gruesome task. D-Link DSM-260 is the perfect sharing solution, as it easily allows you to stream content from any handheld device to a bigger screen with ease.

Gionee Launches the World’s Slimmest Smartphone, ELIFE S5.5

STK Accessories UK launches ‘Groovez’

Gionee launches world’s slimmest smartphone, the ELIFE S5.5,

named after its biggest feature - a 5.55mm slim smartphone. The ELIFE S series is a new product category developed through Gionee’s deep understanding of customers’ desire for a slim and powerful smartphone to also act as a fashionable accessory. The ELIFE S series products incorporate an emphasis on design without compromising the hardware and software of a smartphone to create a whole new user experience.

Arvind R.Vohra, India Head - Gionee Smartphones, said, “Gionee ELIFE S Series will focus primarily of design and style moving forward from its predecessor ELIFE E series that focused on camera and build quality. ELIFE E7 has witnessed an unprecedented popularity in India within a month of its launch and we believe that the S series will add another dimension to our portfolio”

STK Accessories, a division of the UK-based Santok Group, recently announced its entry in India. The company has forayed into Indian market

with a line-up of ‘Groovez’, unleashing a triple treat on the personal audio market. The roll-out signals a growth strategy to create a diverse line of products that deliver on the brand promise to provide studio-mastered sound wherever you go. The STK product line includes a broad range of trendy and jazzy Zip earphones, Bluetooth headphones and speakers, Power and everyday accessories that are developed to meet the needs of consumers and retailers alike, providing a perfect blend of quality, functionality and accessible pricing.

Sharing his excitement Mr. Jay Pau, CEO said “We’re extremely excited to launch our products in India. At STK Accessories, consumer needs is given the utmost priority. We are confi dent that with the launch of our fi rst product line-up ‘Groovez’, we will be able to touch the right chord with the Indian choices.”

Intex introduced Aqua Curve, the latest model of its Aqua smartphone series. This nifty, dual-SIM smartphone comes with a black cobblestone back panel with Baby Skin painting in 3 vibrant colors- Red, blue and black; that give it an excellent touch feeling while holding. Aiming to be a suitable partner for youngsters who like to keep it hip and stylish, the phone is a classic mix of useful applications and appealing aesthetics.

Aqua Curve packs a 5-inch One Glass Solution based curved display featuring qHD (960 x 540 pixels) resolution making it the fi rst Indian handset to feature a curved display. The device delivers new mobile experiences without the encumbrance of a huge price tag. Self-obsession has a new defi nition as

this smartphone comes loaded with 2MP front and an 8MP rear camera that helps you take perfect selfi es with voice command, that you can directly share on your Facebook and Twitter accounts via Wi-Fi, EDGE and 3G supportability.

L a d e n w i t h exc i t i n g applications, “Shake Screenshot” is another interesting feature of this smartphone; where a user would just need to shake the

phone to take a screen shot of device screen safely and easily which can be directly shared with friends via social messaging platforms. The smartphone brings with it an integrated MP3 player, FM radio and Bluetooth features, along with a plethora of pre-loaded games to engage and entertain users on the go. The phone is bundled with the optimum power of a 1GB RAM, 4GB ROM and a quad core processor that clocks a speed of up to 1.3 GHz. The 2000 mAh battery on Aqua curve will support several hours of nonstop entertainment. It offers a talktime of 4.5 hours along with a standby time of 180 hours.


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Global NewsSony Introducing Xperia™ M2, the best smartphone technology in its class1

Samsung unveils Galaxy S5 to focus on what matters most to consumers

Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) has introduced Xperia™ M2, the 4G LTE smartphone that offers blockbuster entertainment and flagship experiences at a mid-range price point, thanks to a best-in-class processor, our display expertise,

a razor sharp 8MP camera with Exmor RS for mobile and Sony’s music and video entertainment.

“Xperia M2 is an ultra fast smartphone that offers brilliant specs and performance, reaching new audiences with a mid-range price. This is a great device for the customer looking for a smartphone that has it all,” says Calum MacDougall, Director of Xperia Marketing at Sony Mobile Communications. “It combines the best of Sony, bringing you our latest technologies complimented with a one of its kind, unique entertainment offer never before seen on a mid-range smartphone.”

A mid-range smartphone with the best technology in its class1

Xperia M2 showcases high quality technology at an affordable price. Sony’s OmniBalance design as found on Sony’s premium smartphone range, an ultra-fast processor and a large qHD display, combine to create brilliant all-round performance, whilst the unique Xperia camera, music and movie apps offer stunning entertainment experiences.

Entertainment everywhere, right out of the boxXperia M2 offers a world of media apps for seamless

entertainment, online and offline with Sony Entertainment Network5, paired with the best content offer available for a mid-range smartphone. Xperia M2 users will have the chance to enjoy the latest films out of the box with three digital downloads of the hottest blockbusters from Sony Pictures, such as Captain Phillips and White House Down. Through the Music Unlimited service, Xperia M2 users can access a catalogue of 25 million songs for free for 30 days, while the Video Unlimited service offers instant movie blockbusters on a smartphone6. A range of PlayStation®Mobile games will also be included.

The company’s 5th generation Galaxy S redefines how technology innovation enhances our lives

Samsung Electronics today announced the fifth generation of the Galaxy S series, the Galaxy S5, designed for what matters most to consumers. The new Galaxy S5 offers consumers a refined experience with innovation of essential features for day-to-day use.

“With the Galaxy S5, Samsung is going back to basics to focus on delivering the capabilities that matter most to our consumers,” said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung. “Consumers are looking for mobile tools that inspire and support them as they improve their everyday lives. The Galaxy S5 represents an iconic design with essential and useful features to focus on delivering the ultimate smartphone on the market today through people inspired innovation.”

The Galaxy S5 combines an advanced camera, the fast network connectivity, dedicated fitness tools and enhanced device protection features as consumers stay fit and connected in style.

Capture the moments that matterCapturing and saving precious memories is one of the most important smartphone features

today. The new Galaxy S5 offers superior camera functionality, featuring a 16 megapixel camera with an enhanced menu and user interface that allow consumers to effortlessly take, edit and share photos.

The Galaxy S5 offers the world’s fastest autofocus speed up to 0.3 seconds and the advanced High Dynamic Range (HDR), reproduce natural light and color with striking intensity at any circumstances. Also new Selective Focus feature allows users to focus on a specific area of an object while simultaneously blurring out the background. With this capability, consumers no longer need a special lens kit to create a shallow depth of field (DOF) effect.

The Galaxy S5 supports the fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MIMO, and supporting the large number of LTE frequency with LTE Category 4 standard. For consumers seeking an even faster connection, the Galaxy S5 now features Download Booster, an innovative Wi-Fi technology for boosting data speed by bonding Wi-Fi and LTE simultaneously. No matter where a consumer is, the Galaxy S5 will help ensure they have the fastest available connection.

Essential device protectionThe Galaxy S5 is IP67 dust and water resistant. It also offers a Finger Scanner, providing a

secure, biometric screen locking feature and a seamless and safe mobile payment experience to consumers. The Ultra Power Saving Mode turns the display to black and white, and shuts down all unnecessary features to minimize the battery consumption.

The device will be available globally through Samsung’s retail channels, e-commerce and carriers on April.

Neil Jones, Director of Global Devices and Applications, Hutchison Whampoa , “Hutchison is delighted to be partnering with Samsung to bring their exciting new flagship handset to market. The elegant design and innovative new features will help drive Samsung’s continued success in the smartphone arena.”

Patrick Chomet, Director Terminals Vodafone Group Services, “The Samsung S5 is an exceptional smartphone with a stunning display, outstanding features and innovative camera. We’re looking forward to offering the S5 with our popular RED plans, giving customers a formidable combination of ultra-fast access to videos, music and apps on our 3G and 4G network coupled with the benefits of a range of Vodafone services, such as Message +, Vodafone Cloud, Vodafone Wallet, Contacts and mCare.”


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Unveiling Fonepad 7 LTE and presenting ZenFone, Fonepad, and PadFone series, plus the stunning

new ZenUI user interface On the opening day of Mobile World Congress, ASUS debuted two all-new additions to the popular Fonepad line, Fonepad 7 LTE (ME372CL) and Fonepad 7 (ME175CG). ASUS is also showcasing the complete lineup of its latest mobile products, including the

ZenFone series, PadFone mini, and the new PadFone.Also displayed on PadFone mini and the ZenFone is ZenUI, the smart and intuitive new user interface exclusive to ASUS mobile devices. Customers and members of the media are invited to visit the ASUS product showroom and experience the complete lineup of ASUS mobile products fi rsthand. “We are excited to unveil our latest Fonepad models and present our complete lineup of phones in Europe during MWC 2014,” said Benson Lin, ASUS Corporate Vice President. “ASUS is always in search of incredible in everything we do, and will continue to provide consumers with amazing experiences through our mobile innovations.” The ASUS product showroom is located at booth 2M31 in Hall 2 of Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, and is available from 24th to 27th February. Fonepad - one uncompromising device, two new models The newest addition to the ASUS mobile lineup on display at Mobile World Congress is Fonepad 7 LTE (ME372CL), a 7-inch phablet with built-in LTE connectivity and phone functionality for consumers who want one uncompromising device to connect and entertain them. With blazingly fast data speeds, Fonepad 7 LTE delivers streaming video and music without a hitch and makes web browsing responsive and snappy. Dual front speakers and SonicMaster audio provide rich, immersive sound and are the perfect complement to Fonepad 7 LTE’s HD IPS (in-plane switching) display. Together, movies and games come to life. Fonepad 7 LTE?s Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz processor with Hyper-Threading technology delivers powerful multi-tasking and graphical performance for the latest apps and games, while being energy effi cient to provide all-day usage. Another new product for Mobile World Congress, Fonepad 7 (ME175CG) is a 7-inch phablet with built-in 3G connectivity and phone functionality that delivers best value for a mobile device. Fonepad 7 features an HD IPS display for a sharp, vivid picture and a high-performance Intel Atom Z2520 1.2GHz processor to ensure a responsive and smooth experience. Its 3G connectivity further enhances performance and makes web browsing, social networking, and video calls fast and fl uid.

Global News

Nokia welcomes Android developers; expands global developer footprint with momentum across Lumia and Asha

ASUS Showcases Lineup of Mobile Products at MWC

At Mobile World Congress, Nokia unveiled fi ve new affordable handsets including a new

family of smartphones debuting on the Nokia X software platform. Based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and backed by Nokia’s deep ties with operators, the Nokia X platform gives Android(TM) developers the chance to tap into, and profi t from, a rapidly expanding part of the

market. The launch builds on Nokia’s leadership in delivering innovation to more price points with its family of Lumia smartphones, and the latest momentum for Windows Phone.

“Today Windows Phone is the fastest growing mobile ecosystem in the world, and we continue to see incredible momentum with our Lumia smartphones,” said Bryan Biniak, Vice President and General Manager, Developer Experience at Nokia. “Now, with the introduction of the Nokia X family of devices, we’re delivering the same design, quality and innovation Nokia is known to lower price points to capture the fastest-growing segment of the smartphone market.”

Monetization, plus porting made easyWith billing agreements in more than 60

markets and with more than 160 operators, Nokia provides developers with access to one of the largest mobile operator billing network in the world, offering the scale and global reach needed to successfully monetize their apps and generate higher revenues.

“The reach of Nokia’s operator billing network provides developers with a powerful revenue driver - up to five times that of credit-card billing offered within other platforms,” said Amit Patel, Vice President, Developer Relations at Nokia. “Combined with Nokia In-App Payment, developers have the freedom to build on the model that works best for them.”

The vast majority of Android apps can be published to the Nokia Store as is. For those that require modifi cations, the Nokia X analyzer tool signifi cantly reduces porting time by identifying the required changes. To make porting even easier, developers only need to maintain one code base and distribute a single

application package fi le (APK) to target multiple stores.

At launch, leading g lobal apps wi l l be available for the Nokia X family of devices, including Facebook, LINE Free Voice and Messages, LINE Camera, LINE Bubble, Picsart, Plants vs. Zombies 2, Real Football 2014, Skype, Spotify, Swiftkey, Twitter, Viber,

Vine and WeChat, among others. And in a fi rst for Nokia customers around the world, BBM, a premier mobile messaging platform, will also be available on the Nokia X family of devices in addition to Windows Phone.

“BBM continues to provide a best-in-class mobile messaging platform with productivity, collaboration and community-building as cornerstones,” said David Proulx, Senior Director, BBM at BlackBerry. “We continue to see great enthusiasm for the BBM experience around the globe and we are thrilled to work with Nokia to preload BBM on devices beginning with Nokia X in select markets. We welcome Nokia X users to the BBM community.”

“LINE’s partnership with a global player such as Nokia is indeed an honor. Delivering LINE on Nokia X represents our commitment of ensuring that people around the world will experience the joy of communication through LINE on Nokia X smartphones,” said Shin Jung-ho, CEO of LINE Plus Corporation. “We are pleased to announce that LINE will continuously offer a variety of features to Nokia X platform to enhance users’ exciting experience in communication, social sharing, imaging, and gaming.”


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With consumer adoption of smartphones on a meteoric rise, people are seeking to

use mobile technology to better manage their healthcare, and to improve access and connectivity to their health providers.

At this point of time the major challenges faced by Healthcare industry are improving the quality of care and increasing efficiency of the system. Traditionally, Institutional providers, physicians, home health care providers, and patients have worked in silos and due to this, both efficiency of the system and quality of care have suffered. Smartphones and mobility in general, have opened up an opportunity for the healthcare ecosystem providers to address these challenges by using a connected healthcare framework.

ALTEN Calsoft Labs’ mHealth solutions, based on its Connected Healthcare Framework, provide the healthcare providers, physicians, and patients an opportunity to collaborate

in a meaningful way through the usage of Smartphones. Few areas where it creates a bigger impact are:

•Hospital Management Systems•Telemedicine Systems•Home care•Remote patient monitoring

Through its ‘Connected Device’ initiative, which is an integral part of its ‘Connected Healthcare Framework’, ALTEN Calsoft Labs is enabling the Medical devices to communicate smartly with internet and Smartphones and hence improving the value they deliver in detection & monitoring of diseases, and preventive care.

by Somenath Nag, Director – ISV and Enterprise Solutions, Alten Calsoft Labs

mHealth Driving Connected Healthcare

Guest Column


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Mobility Analysis

Tablets Drive Productivity Ahead

technology. Our focus would be in both the spaces of Consumer and Commercial,” he explains.

According to Manit Singh, Manager – Communications, Amtrak Info System, the Indian tablet market space is definitely promising as the users are highly acceptable to technology. It has been pretty much a while tablets have come into existence, the coming time will be of getting advanced with technology. “The recent reports do speak of the demand having gotten low comparing to previous years’ statements, but technology always paves its way to attracting the customers. With tablet PCs, and with us, we definitely have some promising plans by introducing uniqueness, hand-designed features, which are going to suit to various needs and requirements at both personal and professional manner to the customers,” he adds on. The growth path

Growing on the customers need for mobility and increasing their productivity as well, tablets are setting new course for growth now.

“As stated earlier, tablets are rapidly gaining user preference since they present the ideal mix of performance and portability. Thus apart from the Consumer segment, we also see good scope for tablets in the Commercial space in India especially in education, government, and SMB/SME/SOHO segments. We have The Tablet Landscape

According to S. Rajendran, Chief Marketing Officer, Acer India, Tablet PCs are swiftly closing the gap between smartphones and computers, becoming the device-of-choice for both consuming and creating content. “The growing app ecosystem, increased Wi-Fi proliferation, and development of mobile broadband networks such as 3G & 4G have resulted in tablets becoming the preferred form factor for accessing the internet on-the-move, perfectly fulfilling consumer needs

for lightweight computing and portable entertainment. Addressing consumer desire for portable computing, we recently launched the 8-inch Windows 8.1 powered Iconia W4 tablet in India. Buoyed by the increased tablet uptake in the Indian market, especially the education and enterprise sector, we see tremendous potential in the tablet market,” he explains. The Market Scenario

Last year was a challenging one for the entire PC industry, but there is a lot more optimism about 2014 fuelled by better positive consumer sentiments and stability in the exchange rates. Going forward, we anticipate good traction for tablets in both the consumer and enterprise segments. The global tablet market is expected to be 50% of the total PC market, and it is poised to ship 285 million units by the end of this year. In India on account of growing discernment by the consumer, poor usage experience with unbranded/white box Tablets, and stricter laws for compliance with safety standards we see a shift in customer preference for quality products from branded players.

As being put by S Rajendran from Acer, “this year looks very promising and we have a strong roadmap in place to tap the tablet PC market; with rising preference for tablet adoption, we expect the category to grow manifold. We have launched tablet PCs on both Windows as well as Android platforms on different form factors and have aggressive plans to further expand our product line up in this category. Our entire ecosystem is being tuned to address the tablet market and effectively deliver our promise of breaking barriers between people and technology. Our focus would be in both the spaces of Consumer and Commercial,” he explains.

According to Manit Singh, Manager – Communications, Amtrak Info System, the Indian tablet market space is definitely promising as the users are highly acceptable

When productivity becomes important, people look for ways and means to stretch the envelope and usage of tablets is increasingly become important in order to increase the productivity envelope for the consumers and the prosumers community.

The Tablet LandscapeAccording to S. Rajendran, Chief Marketing

Officer, Acer India, Tablet PCs are swiftly closing the gap between smartphones and computers, becoming the device-of-choice for both consuming and creating content. “The growing app ecosystem, increased Wi-Fi proliferation, and development of mobile broadband networks such as 3G & 4G have resulted in tablets becoming the preferred form factor for accessing the internet on-the-move, perfectly fulfilling consumer needs for lightweight computing and portable entertainment. Addressing consumer desire for portable computing, we recently launched the 8-inch Windows 8.1 powered Iconia W4 tablet in India. Buoyed by the increased tablet uptake in the Indian market, especially the education and enterprise sector, we see tremendous potential in the tablet market,” he explains. The Market Scenario

Last year was a challenging one for the entire PC industry, but there is a lot more optimism about 2014 fuelled by better positive consumer sentiments and stability in the exchange rates. Going forward, we anticipate good traction for tablets in both the consumer and enterprise segments. The global tablet market is expected to be 50% of the total PC market, and it is poised to ship 285 million units by the end of this year. In India on account of growing discernment by the consumer, poor usage experience with unbranded/white box Tablets, and stricter laws for compliance with safety standards we see a shift in customer preference for quality products from branded players.

As being put by S Rajendran from Acer, “this year looks very promising and we have a strong roadmap in place to tap the tablet PC market; with rising preference for tablet adoption, we expect the category to grow manifold. We have launched tablet PCs on both Windows as well as Android platforms on different form factors and have aggressive plans to further expand our product line up in this category. Our entire ecosystem is being tuned to address the tablet market and effectively deliver our promise of breaking barriers between people and

12 Mobility Mar. 2014 www.mobilityindia.com

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to technology. It has been pretty much a while tablets have come into existence, the coming time will be of getting advanced with technology. “The recent reports do speak of the demand having gotten low comparing to previous years’ statements, but technology always paves its way to attracting the customers. With tablet PCs, and with us, we definitely have some promising plans by introducing uniqueness, hand-designed features, which are going to suit to various needs and requirements at both personal and professional manner to the customers,” he adds on. The growth path

Growing on the customers need for mobility and increasing their productivity as well, tablets are setting new course for growth now.

“As stated earlier, tablets are rapidly gaining user preference since they present the ideal mix of performance and portability. Thus apart from the Consumer segment, we also see good scope for tablets in the Commercial space in India especially in education, government, and SMB/SME/SOHO segments. We have been active in higher education and K12, both in the government and private education space. With touch interface becoming the primary UI and the utility function of a device increasingly governing consumer decision making, we foresee exciting times ahead in terms of the tablet form factor gaining momentum,” Rajendran adds on. Innovation Tablets

Innovation is one of the biggest pillars on which tablets are moving fast in the market. And this is reflected in the way global vendors are adapting themselves to the ever changing market dynamics in the tablets space.

“We have an exciting mix of products to offer our consumers this year. Our product portfolio will have both Windows and Android platform based devices, in various innovative form factors on different hardware platforms. These are interesting times, the consumer has evolved and we are seeing a marked change in the buying behaviour of consumers across various segments. The consumers’ increasing preference for lightweight portable computing devices, coupled with the country’s younger demographics is fuelling the demand for tablets. The increasingly mobile corporate workforce needs devices enabling them to remain productive on the move. The tablet form factor is therefore gaining tremendous traction in the consumer segment as well as the enterprise sector. Tapping this need, we recently launched the 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablet – the Iconia W4, an industry first in the Indian market and we have received extremely positive feedback from customers across segments,” Rajendran explains.

“To catch hold the interest of customers, it is important to offer something that is unique. With high competition and a lot of options being

available in the market, it is very important to hold a point of differentiation. Being at par to the technology is not enough, by informing the customers the right use of these devices and making the best use of it definitely attracts customers’ attention,” Manjit Singh from Amtrak Info adds on. Applications on Tablets

“There are a plethora of consumer-centric applications already available to users in the market. From a commercial standpoint, we see customers demanding enterprise-specific applications. The platforms we offer are quite capable of scaling up to the demands in the Commercial segment. And we have seen some large enterprise wins on Acer Iconia tablets both on Android and Windows in the last few months,” Rajendran adds on. “We have always believed in and created an entire solution with our devices which includes applications for all individuals. A hardware when fitted with unique applications makes it highly valuable, otherwise, it is an open-ended technology which is just larger to the size of your mobile phone or maybe just smaller to the size of your laptop. Applications really help the users make the best use of their tablet PCs. There are millions of applications available on all platforms, these, if rightly embedded by uniquely designing for the tablet users, will define the proper use of tablet PCs,” Manjit Singh from Amtrak explains. Tablets in Enterprise

Enterprise adoption of tablets will primarily be driven by suitability of the devices to provide robust performance, security, manageability and

compatibility with enterprise class applications. The lightweight form factor and ease of use have driven a lot of enterprise companies to adopt tablet PCs in the workplace. We already see a buzz regarding tablets amongst our existing customers from BFSI, Corporate & SMB segments. We have started making inroads into the commercial segment, with some major initial wins from key verticals. Our Windows based tablets also provide an option for Windows 8 Professional version which will be an added advantage for business users. The education vertical is also witnessing tremendous traction, as a number of leading institutions are encouraging their students to use tablets as a learning device. Moreover, some State Governments are also supporting this adoption through their election manifesto based orders as well as e-Governance initiatives in the Education space.

Manjit Singh from Amtrak says that the enterprise community highly demands customized solutions with tablet PCs. “There can be n number of possibilities for tablets to participate in and provide solutions. Tablets for sales force, data collection, remote content push, virtual meetings, cloud, etc. are some of the examples which can be solved by the presence of these devices. Yes, we strongly work around the enterprise segments by providing solutions to various customized requirements. We are currently working on some large quantity enterprise requirements which are ready to become success stories,” he adds on.

“To catch hold the interest of customers, it is important to offer something that is unique. With high competition and a lot of options being available in the market, it is very important to hold a point of differentiation. Being at par to the technology is not enough, by informing the customers the right use of these devices and making the best use of it definitely attracts customers’ attention.”

“The increasingly mobile corporate workforce needs devices enabling them to remain productive on the move. The tablet form factor is therefore gaining tremendous traction in the consumer segment as well as the enterprise sector. Tapping this need, we recently launched the 8 inch Windows 8.1 tablet – the Iconia W4, an industry first in the Indian market.”

S. rajendranChief Marketing Officer, acer India

ManIT SInghManager - Communications, amtrak Info System

Mobility Analysis


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Overcoming longer battery life, challenge for smartphones

In today’s anytime, anywhere connected world, mobile phones have evolved from being devices merely for communication purpose to add a plenty of functions and

features, such as Internet surfing, video calls, music player, games console and HD camera, to name a few. In addition, the screen size of the phone with rich graphics display has also increased. All of these essential features raise the basic question – is the mobile phone adequately powered by a battery that can last long? If we analyze a cross-section of smartphones in the market, based on the customer experience, the answer will be a definite “no”.

The common complaint of smartphone users these days is that the battery does not last beyond afternoon after being fully charged in the morning! Yes, it is a genuine concern because packing adequate battery charge into a device, which has so many functions and applications, is a major challenge.

Let us take a smartphone user experience as a case study assuming that he/she is a gadget freak having downloaded all the latest applications. Apart from routine data connection, which silently consumes power to stay connected to the Internet, applications, such as Whatsapp, games, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Voxer, WeChat, Skype,

Youtube, Zomato, Linkedin, Flipboard, Hangout, too drain the battery power. Further, if the smartphone user is a news-freak, then RSS feeds from popular news portals will consume more battery power.

Not many are aware that background functions of Google Apps, such as Playbooks, Play Music, Play Services, Google+, Google Maps and Google Search too consume battery power unknowingly. Further, smartphone users tend to convert their handsets into portable video and music players, listening to music stored on the device or via FM radio. In other words, the smartphone would be performing all other functions beyond just a normal voice call or text messaging!

Many smartphone users have a simple answer to this – that is to turn off the data connect ion wh i le a t work because emails and Internet can be accessed from the laptop or desktop. But not many are comfortable doing that because it means disconnecting from the social network platform as well.

These days, the approach is to getting devices to perform more and more complex functions without using more power and getting batteries to deliver more.

One of the ways is the chip-level design to bring down the usage of batteries. What consumes a lot of power in a smartphone is having a lot of stand-alone, single-function chips, rather than one or two highly integrated ‘system on chip’ solutions, which are commonly referred to as SoCs.

With growing usage, it is imperative that smartphones need more battery power. Lenovo P780, which is powered by a mammoth 4000mAh battery, provides a talk time of up to 43 hours, so you can use your smartphone how it is meant to be used, without worrying about battery drainage. Another smart and innovative feature of Lenovo P780 smartphone is USB On-The-Go. This new technique, very rare in the smartphone segment enables charging the smartphone by connecting it to another

phone.The market indications

are favorable – the more a smartphone can do with consuming less of power, the greater the chances of it gaining more number of fans.

Contributed by Sudhin Mathur , Director

Smartphones, Lenovo India

Guest Column

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Smartphones, Today, Offer A Big Financial Opportunity For Companies and Partners

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With communications becoming much more than just a necessity, today’s handsets are becoming smarter day-by-day and a greater number of smartphones being sold in India than probably anywhere else in the world. hence, whether it is vendors or channel partners, distributors or large format retailers, the time is right for profiting from this smartphone rush.


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Cover StoryThe Market OpportunityAs being expressed by Keshav Bansal, Marketing Director,

Intex, “We entered the smartphone segment in the year 2012 to offer superior quality mobiles at affordable prices for sustainable business growth. The fact that we have grown by 300% in the handsets category, year-on-year, bears testimony to our growing focus on smartphones. The mobile vertical presently accounts for about 65 percent of our overall turnover, which is expected to be around Rs. 2000 crore, compared to nearly 40% of Rs. 1069 crore in total company revenues last year. The smartphone market is growing manifold due largely to the shift from feature phones to smartphones. We are aggressively capitalizing on this trend by marketing smartphones in innovative ways. Last year, we launched two flagship smartphones for high-end users, with a key focus on technical specifications and hardware configurations. With our offerings, we aim to provide our esteemed consumers an optimal mix of quality and price. As a result of the success of two campaigns we executed last year, we have achieved a three-fold increase in the sale of our smartphones. This year, we are planning to roll out three major campaigns and 3 TVCs, with Farhan Akhtar agreeing to feature in two of them,” he adds on.

According to Sachin Rai, Head, Sales & Marketing, Mobile Division, Sony India, the market for mobile phones has been booming in India, and has emerged as one of the fastest-growing and revenue-intensive segment in the consumer electronics space. “Mirroring the trend, smartphones as a category is growing the fastest for Sony. Our focus on smartphones segment was renewed last year with the launch Xperia range of smartphones in India which received tremendous response from our customers, helping us achieve a 10% share in the smartphones business in FY13. This year, we would continue to make an aggressive pitch in this category in India, with a line-up of over 30 smartphones, including colour variants, in the pipeline. In addition to smartphones, we are also planning to launch a host of exciting and innovative smartphone accessories. Our aim is to help

our customers get more out of their smartphones and truly enjoy the ‘One Sony’ experience,” he adds on.

Arvind R. Vohra, India Head - Gionee Smartphones & Director, Syntech Technology Pvt. Ltd. says that Gionee focuses primarily on the smartphone segment and it is our constant endeavour to provide value for money along with providing best in quality smartphones to our customers. “With our own R&D, manufacturing and design centres, we ensure that we provide the best-in-class hardware along with integrating our customized UI called AMIGO which has seen 2 versions till now in ELIFE E6 & E7, respectively,” he explains.

According to Sudhin Mathur, Director, Smartphones, Lenovo India, “First, we want our smartphones to be easily available to the customers. From the reach perspective, the smartphone strategy is to ensure that our products are available through large and small retail format outlets, operator channels, IT channel partners and online channel partners. Lenovo is focusing on expanding its reach in the country to drive sales of smartphones. By the year

2014 end, we will extend our reach to Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities across the country. The smartphone market in India is undergoing a rapid metamorphosis in terms of consumer preferences. Lenovo entered the Indian market with a wide offering of smartphones at highly affordable prices targeting a larger audience. We devise our strategy only after studying the changing dynamics of the smartphone market in India, be it the consumer mindset, user categories, the growing subscriber base, the preferences of the urban and rural markets, or the price consciousness. Our ultimate goal is to differentiate ourselves and strengthen our position in the Indian smartphone market through innovative products,” he explains.

Ashish Gupta from Blackberry India says that BlackBerry follows a focused approach and wants to drive effective engagement and brand interactions with its primary audiences—the ‘urban youth’ and the ‘prosumer.’ “Our strengths lie in creating cutting edge devices that offer superior user experience coupled with great security. We therefore will continue to offer innovative products and services that

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“We seek to engage the consumer base with a power package which allows them to seamlessly navigate the internet with the best of hardware devices. Karbonn has been associated with vodafone and airtel for their internet packages. Brand Karbonn enjoys the benefits directly from the incredible distribution strength of its two parent companies. as part of our strategy to massify technology, we have established a strong presence through retailers of various sizes to reach out to the deepest pockets of the country. The belief is that without this reach and presence, marketing money spent is ineffective. apart from inventory management in this channel, Karbonn also focus on various programs and promotional offers to energize the channel, including the use of new media like Led screens for branding etc. Finally, retailer training is an important part of ensuring completeness in the consumer purchase experience.”

ShaShIn devaSareKarbonn Mobiles


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create the WOW experiences, without diluting our core proposition. We will continue to offer products & services for the urban youth, prosumer as well as for the first time smartphone adopters,” he adds on.

According to Hari Om Rai, CEO & MD, Lava International, “Currently Lava brand share in smartphone market is 3.2% by volume. We plan to take this to 7% by May’14 and 12% by end of the year. As a brand, we are now focusing on the growing market of young conscious set of consumers who understand technology and aspire to own high end smartphones and tablets but at the same time expect value for their money and hence wish to purchase devices that offer a strong proposition in terms of aesthetics, features and price. This requires us to position ourselves differently and take off from the platform established over the last four years of our journey.

To offer a great user experience and bring in differentiation in our products, we are focusing on multiple areas—reliability through design quality (industrial design, mechanical design, software design and hardware design), component quality & process quality and superior sensorial experience in touch, sound and sight. Going forward, we are also going to build mechanism through which we will be able to offer an enhanced software experience and add value based on usage behaviour of the consumer. With the launch of Iris Pro series, we are directing all our efforts to create a premium imagery of the brand,” he adds.

As per Anand Narang, Director Marketing, Huawei, “At Huawei, we firmly believe in technology leadership and innovation to provide differentiated value to our customers. We have deep consumer understanding and capability to make handsets with inspirational designs, intuitive UI, better chipsets, efficient battery backup and faster data throughput.

Our focus at Huawei is on offering “smart devices at smart pricing” strategy. On the smartphone front, we are catering to the needs of today’s demanding consumer who needs quality products with a touch of style. In our Ascend smartphone series, Ascend P6, the world’s thinnest smartphone, has been awarded ‘Europe’s consumer smartphone of the year (2013-14)’ by EISA. We are all set to repeat our success in the Indian handset market as well. In India, we want people to get comfortable with Huawei brand by customizing the product according to the Indian market. We have good products, good

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technology and good after sales service and we would be focusing on creating awareness and preference and availability across India.”

As per the views expressed by Shashin Devsare, Executive Director, Karbonn Mobiles, at Karbonn the focus is on ‘Massifying Technology’ where the brand endeavours to connect the masses with its technologically innovative value-for-money mobility solutions. The brand with its cutting-edge industry partnerships entails to bring the top innovations in the mobility world in terms of processing and user experience to the consumers, thus affording a 360-degree smartphone experience at a fraction of the cost.

“Through its smartphone portfolio our brand seeks to become a market leader in the flourishing budget smartphone segment of the country. This segment is currently the most dynamic constituent of the Indian telecom sector in terms of market size, growth and consumer attention, all of which Karbonn aims to strategically capture with its smartphone range. The smartphone market in India

is currently ranked fifth in the world with over 67 million smartphone users in 2013, just behind China, United States, Japan and Brazil. The Indian smartphone market, whose growth rate is pegged at being the fastest in the world after Taiwan, is right now the biggest opportunity market in the world because of the sheer size of the Indian telephony market. Market analysts point out that with a slew of innovations and consumer-reach efforts, the market has achieved nearly 35+ million shipments in 2013, which is remarkably higher than the 19+ million shipments achieved in 2012. In Q3 2013 Karbonn’s market share in smartphone segment was 11.2%,” he adds on.

According to Indrajit Sabharwal, MD of Simmtronics Semiconductors Ltd the main idea is first to create a brand identity in the smart phone category by providing affordable yet feature rich experience to the customers. “Smart phone market today is at around 44 lac handsets per month. More than 60% is the entry level segment smartphones. Our focus is to quickly get into this slot with our sound distribution network. We are planning to get into the higher segment soon, which is dominated by big brands and then again our aim is to offer affordability and rich features. The smartphone opportunity is really huge as the market is poised at 44 lacs per month and is set to cross 50 lacs in the next quarter itself. We have just launched our products in the last one month and have received very good response from the market. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to reach the

“We entered the smartphone segment in the year 2012 to offer superior quality mobiles at an affordable price for sustainable business growth. The fact that we have grown by 300% in the handsets category, year-on-year, bears testimony to our growing focus on smartphones. The mobile vertical presently accounts for about 65 percent of an overall turnover, which is expected to be around `2000 Crores, compared to nearly 40% of `1069 Crores in total company revenues last year. The smartphone market is growing manifold due largely to the shift from feature phones to smartphones. We are aggressively capitalizing on this trend by marketing smartphones in innovative ways. Last year, we launched two flagship smartphones for high-end users, with a key focus on technical specifications and hardware configurations. With our offerings, we aim to provide our esteemed consumers an optimal mix of quality and price.”

KeShav BanSaLMarketing director, Intex

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top 5th to 6th slot by the end of this year,” he adds on. As per the views of Arvind Bali, CEO, Videocon Mobiles, Videocon’s

focus in the smartphone segment is to deliver cutting-edge technology and innovative products at a value-for-money pricing.

“At Videocon Mobiles, the stress is on providing cost-effective alternatives to higher-end devices without compromising on the end-user experience or on quality. We are confident that this will enable us to capture a higher share in the smartphone and tablet categories. The Indian market will always be a price conscious market, and so we too are addressing this market keeping in mind the price-to-technology expectations of the Indian consumer. As mentioned earlier, our constant endeavour is to ensure no compromise in quality or user-experience in our smartphones even though they are priced more attractively to ensure wider affordability,” he explains.

According to Yuan Kang, CEO Terminals, ZTE India, terminals is one of our topmost priority for India and also globally. “We have had a strong foothold in the Indian market being the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for various leading telecom operators like BSNL, Reliance, etc. Last year we forayed into the open smartphone market and are sure that in the long run we will witness huge success owing to the large existing customer

base and high top of mind recall with the Indian customers. We are also innovating and customizing devices for the Indian market, just to ensure that we meet the precise needs of the Indian customers. Our initial launch has been in the entry level smartphone market—the mass market. ZTE has a rich portfolio of smartphones—from entry- to mid- and high-level and very soon we will announce our smartphones for the premium segment Indian customers,” he explains.

The Smartphone PositioningThe Indian smartphone market has a diversified consumer

base. Against such a backdrop, it is imperative for vendors to be present across the price chain.

“At Intex, our approach involves covering the market from both ends and hence our Cloud and Aqua series offerings. While the Cloud series caters to mid- and entry-level smartphone users, the Aqua range has been designed in keeping with the needs, preferences and consumption patterns

of a more evolved user. Given the massive uptake of 2G and 3G as a platform for accessing the Internet across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, there is an excessive market requirement for devices that can meet the burgeoning demand for data. In such scenario, ‘massification’ of products is the best policy in this ever-evolving smartphone market,

anand narangdirector Marketing, huawei

“Our focus at huawei is on offering “smart devices at smart pricing” strategy. On the smartphone front, we are catering to the needs of today’s demanding consumer who needs quality products with a touch of style. In our ascend smartphone series, ascend P6, the world’s thinnest smartphone, has been awarded “europe’s consumer smartphone of the year (2013-14)” by eISa. We are all set to repeat our success in the Indian handset market as well. In India, we want people to get comfortable with huawei brand by customizing the product according to the Indian market. We have good products, good technology and good after sales service and we would be focusing on creating awareness and preference and availability across India,”

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which is spread across a potential base of more than 900 million mobile phone subscribers. To keep swift pace with the changing needs of the end user, a brand should have the bandwidth to adapt to this change and make its customers happy through sophisticated, new-age offerings,” he explains.

Arvind Vohra from Gionee says that in India, Gionee smartphones is available from a price range of Rs 6500 up to Rs 29999 for our premium offering ELIFE series. “We currently have 15 handset models ready in the Indian market and we plan to launch around 10 more smartphone models in 2014. Gionee’s primary focus has been to provide the best quality hardware, integrated with best optimization of the software for a great user experience. Since our entry, we have been offering the finest quality smarthphones for Indian consumers yet providing value for money across our range,” he adds on.

Sudhin Mathur, Director, Smartphones, Lenono India explains, “Lenovo has a clear strategy, i.e. a combination of innovative

products, an efficient business model and a robust team to create a mark for the brand in the Indian smartphone market all set drive our volumes, sales and market share. We had undertaken a soft launch towards the end of 2012 in specific regions to assess the consumer response. As the feedback was positive and encouraging, we decided to introduce our global portfolio in India in 2013. The market is expected to grow rapidly and we believe that consumers will value our differentiated offerings. We will create a significant impact in this competitive market since our smartphones are unique and distinct in several ways.”

As far as Blackberry is concerned, India continues to be one of the key markets with a focus on both the ‘urban youth’ and young working professionals. “Our BB OS7 devices have enjoyed huge popularity in India, while our BB 10 devices continue to see increasing acceptance. Since the youth is one of key drivers of smartphone adoption in the country, we continue to innovate and introduce products and services that keep them engaged. We have also partnered with more than a dozen Android OEMs to preload BBM Channels, including LG, Micromax, Zen and Spice from India. Over

250,000 BBM Channels (a mobile social networking platform) have been created by global user base since the launch of BBM Channels on BlackBerry; BBM is the most secure mobile messaging service for use in regulated enterprises. We have recently made BBM Channels available on Android and iOS as well. While we continue to reach out to the growing young population in urban areas, we also continue

to address the smartphone needs of Tier 2 and 3 markets that have a huge pie in the smartphone revolution of India. And we continue to enjoy the dominant position in the Indian enterprise market. The BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) has seen more than 1000 installations in India which is significant considering that we’ve only launched it last year. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES

10) and BlackBerry 10 smartphones have been the first in market to receive NATO certification, and have set a benchmark in the industry through our mobile device management, mobile application management and security features. Some of our key Enterprise customers include Essar Group, Financial Technologies, Indiabulls Delhi and Havells,” Ashish Gupta from Blackberry adds on.

Hari Om Rai from Lava International says that the Indian smartphone market today has products that cut across multiple price brackets. We segment this market as per price and consumer needs, identify our TG in each segment and position all our products, communicating the consumer the benefits they offer. Ultimately, it will be a combination of product offering, service and brand that will help us extract volume & value share out of this market. We have already shared our plans on the product front above.

“On the brand side, we are focusing on ATL, digital and BTL mediums as part of a 360-degree effort. BTL activities enhance Lava’s visibility at the retail level where the final purchase decision is made. These include aggressive deployments of shop-in-shop counters, signage, POS (point of sale) material and so on. Digital medium on the other hand, acts as a very strong influencer for our TA. We have started by focusing on revamping our corporate website, social media marketing, SEM, SEO to connect with the TG directly. We will also have a continuous presence on TV & shall take a strategic call on different properties that we will keep on associating with at regular intervals

aShISh guPTaBlackBerry

“India continues to be one of the key markets with a focus on both the ‘urban youth’ and young working professionals. “Our BB OS7 devices have enjoyed huge popularity in India, while our BB 10 devices continue to see increasing acceptance. Since the youth is one of key drivers of smartphone adoption in the country, we continue to innovate and introduce products and services that keeps them engaged. We have also partnered with more than a dozen android OeMs to preload BBM, including most recently Lg and also Micromax, Zen and Spice from India. Over 250,000 BBM Channels (a mobile social networking platform) created by global user base since launch of BBM Channels on BlackBerry; BBM is the most secure mobile messaging service for use in regulated enterprises. We have recently made BBM Channels available on android and iOS as well. While we continue to reach out to the growing young population in urban areas, we also continue to address the smartphone the needs of tier II/III markets that have a huge pie in the smartphone revolution of India.”

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of time. For instance, Lava partnered with IIFA & KBC last year. We will continue to invest in this medium this year as well.

Coming to service, while we have invested in establishing a 900 strong service centre network, there is room for improvement. To be able to become the first global consumer brand from India, consumer satisfaction with after sales service is of prime importance to us. We have taken some strategic measures in this regard, the results of which shall be visible in the coming months.”

According to Anand Narang from Huawei, the company is building a broad portfolio of products in India catering to the varied tastes of consumers here. India is a unique market wherein some consumers are price sensitive while others demand latest technology and premium materials in their mobile phones.

“We aim to cater to both sets of audiences. We have four series of products. Our Y series is designed for youth for whom pricing is an important factor and therefore all the products in the Y series fall in the price range of Rs 5000–10000. Then, we have the G series which is the Gold series which falls in the mid-price range of Rs 10,000–20,000 offering bigger and better screens, quad-core processors and wider range. The P series is the

Platinum series which offers stylish, fashionable designs for the style conscious consumers and falls in the price range Rs 20,000–30,000. And, above Rs 30,000 is the Diamond series (known as D series) that offers latest in technology like LTE 4G speeds, world’s fastest multi-media smartphones for the technology-seekers. In India, we are focusing on three major tasks, First, boosting our brand value through our flagship and star products. Second, strengthening

channel and distribution to extend our presence in thousands of retail stores and lastly, to extend our product portfolio, offering a series of entry- to mid- to high-end products targeting specific consumer segments based on our strong consumer understanding,” he adds on.

Indrajit Sabharwal from Simmtronics says that as a company, Simmtronics has always been driven by providing value propositions to our end

consumers. “We surely will follow the same and try to give value adds to our consumers in terms of features, service and also physical value adds with our quality products. We have done so in tablet division and within a span of a year we are the third largest tablet manufacturers in the globe. Hence it gives us lot of confidence to follow the core values of our organization in our new projects as well,” he adds on.

“Currently Lava Brand share in smartphone market is 3.2% by volume. We plan to take this to 7% by May’14 and 12% by end of the year.as a brand, we are now focusing on the growing market of young conscious set of consumers who understand technology and aspire to own high end smartphones and tablets but at the same time put value on their money and hence wish to purchase devices that offer a strong proposition in terms of aesthetics, features & price. This requires us to position ourselves differently and take off from the platform established over the last four years of our journey. going forward, we are also going to build mechanism through which we will be able to offer an enhanced software experience and add value based on usage behaviour of the consumer.With the launch of Iris Pro series we are directing all our efforts to create a premium imagery of the brand”

harI OM raICeO & Md, Lava International

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The Size of Smartphone PieIndia is poised to become the second biggest smartphone market

in the world after China. The country is expected to add around 207million new smartphone users this year, according to Mediacells, a market insights company.

IDC, another market intelligence firm, has indicated that the biggest slice of the smartphone pie lies in the availability of low-cost devices that target users who are upgrading from feature phones to smartphones.

“Looking at domestic handset players in India, Intex mobile business has grown consistently over the last five years, capturing close to 5% of the mobile handset market share in the overall handset industry, and close to 10%- 11% among Indian brands. In the smartphones category, Intex has a present market share of 4%-5% in the overall category. In addition to its Aqua and Cloud range of smartphones, Intex has launched around 20 running models in its smartphone range and plans to maintain the same,” he adds on.

Explaining about the size of Indian market, Arvind Vohra says that the Indian smartphone market has witnessed a growth of 85% in 2013 with over 900 smartphones launched across brands. “The growth is likely to witness up to 200% increase in the Indian market by 2015. Since its entry in India in early 2013, Gionee smartphones has already achieved 2% market share by revenue and plan to acquire 10% market share by 2015 which should make us one of the top 5 brands in India,” he adds on.

Arvind Bali from Videocon says that the Indian smartphone market is estimated to be nearly a 67 million smartphone devices which is growing on an exponential rate on a year-on-year basis. India currently is the fifth biggest smartphone market in the world behind China, United States, Japan and Brazil; and based on the current growth rate India will become the number three market in the upcoming years.

“The Indian market has also achieved a phenomenal record of 35+ million smartphone shipments in the past year which is nearly double of the 19+ million smartphone shipments that it achieved in

2012. Videocon’s marketshare in the smartphone segment has been in the region of 3% last year, and will grow to around 5%-7% during the current year,” he adds on.

vAccording to Yuan Kang from ZTE, the company foresees tremendous opportunities in the Indian smartphone market. “Smartphone sales in India increased by 166.8% making it the

world’s fastest growing smartphone market in the last quarter of 2013, according to Gartner. The mobile handset market in India is expected to show steady growth through 2016 when end user sales will surpass 326 million units according to Gartner, Inc. We might be slightly late in the smartphone segment but we have the right kind of strategy, a differentiated product line and a unique service

model in place, to offer to our Indian customers. We are sure to emerge as a key player in the smartphone segment in the years to come,” he explains.

Go to Market with SmartphonesIntex is a rising star in India’s emerging smartphone market.

The company, which was initially sales-driven, transformed its organizational objectives, keeping ‘Marketing’ as the company’s prime focus. “To drive focused campaigns towards the booming smartphone market, we roped in Farhan Akhtar as our brand ambassador for Intex mobile business and successfully executed two 360-degree marketing campaigns with him for Aqua i5 and Aqua i7. In our endeavor to bring revolutionary products in the Indian market, we introduced industry first features in Aqua i7 and India’s first “True Octa-Core” smartphone through a strategic alliance with Media Tek. In addition, Intex has entered into various strategic alliances with key players in the entertainment and sports industries to strengthen its audience connect. Recently, Intex tied up with Sanjay Leela Bhansali productions for the biopic Priyanka Chopra-starrer, Mary Kom. We have partnered with Tata Docomo to provide bundled offers to our customers. We are currently in talks with major telecom players to roll out affordable data services on Intex products. Furthermore, we have been playing an increasingly active role in youth festivals around the

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“With our own r&d, Manufacturing and design centres we ensure that we provide best in class hardware along with also with integrating our customized uI called aMIgO which has seen 2 versions till now in eLIFe e6 & e7 respectively. In India, gionee smartphones is available from a price range of Inr 6500 upto Inr 29999 for our premium offering eLIFe series. “We currently have 15 handsets ready in the Indian market and we plan to launch around 10 more smartphones in 2014. gionee’s primary focus has been to provide the best quality hardware integrated with best optimization of the software for a great user experience. Since our inception we have offered the finest quality of smarthphones for Indian consumers yet providing value for money across our range”

arvInd v. vOhraIndia head - gionee Smartphones& director, Syntech Technology


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India was one of the fastest growing countries worldwide in terms of smartphone adoption in 2013. According to the International

Data Corporation (IDC) in 2013 the smartphone market surpassed 44 million units shipped, up from 16.2 million in 2012. This surge has

been mainly powered by home grown vendors which have shown a tremendous and consistent growth over the past 4 quarters of 2013.

The overall phone market stood at close to 257 million units in CY 2013 – an 18% increase from 218 million units in CY2012. CY2013 also witnessed a remarkable migration of the user base from feature phones to smartphones primarily due to the narrowing price gaps between these product categories.

The India smartphone market grew by 181% year over year (YoY) in the fourth quarter of 2013 (4Q13). According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) APEJ Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 15.06 million smartphones in 4Q13 compared to 5.35 million units in the same period of 2012. 4Q13 grew by almost 18% Quarter-on-Quarter.

The shipment contribution of 5.0inch-6.99inch screen size smartphones (phablets) in 4Q2013 was noted to be around 20% in the overall market. The category grew by 6% in 4Q13 in terms of sheer volume over 3Q13.

The overall mobile phone market (Feature Phones and Smartphones) stood at 67.83 million units, a 16% growth YoY and a meagre 2% growth quarter over quarter (QoQ).The share of feature phones slid further to make 78% of the total market in 4Q13, with the market showing a decline of 2% in 4Q13 over 3Q13.

The fourth quarter of 2013 witnessed a spike in the smartphone shipments by smaller homegrown vendors like LAVA, Intex which have shown tremendous growth in the past couple of quarters.

“The growth in the smartphone market is being propelled b y t h e l a u n c h of low -end, cost competitive devices by international and local vendors which are further narrowing the price gaps that e x i s t b e t w e e n feature phones and smartphones”, said Manasi Yadav, Senior Market Analyst with IDC India.

“The 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 “ comments Kiran Kumar, Research Manager with IDC India.

Top Five Indian Smartphone Vendors: 1. Samsung, 2. Micromax, 3. Karbonn, 4. Sony and 5. Lava. IDC anticipates the growth in Smartphone segment to outpace the overall handset market growth for the foreseeable future. The end-user shift towards mid-to-high screen size products will be amplifi ed by the declining prices and availability of feature-rich localized product offerings. Vendors who are able to differentiate their of ferings at af fordable prices w i l l m a i n t a i n a competitive edge and secure a strong position in the mobile phone market in CY 2014.

Rapid Growth in Smartphones Offsets the Slum in Feature Phone Sales: IDC

Manasi Yadav, Senior Market Analyst, IDC India


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country to evolve as a more youth-driven brand by strengthening our connection with young people, who will be our core target audience groups, going forward,” Keshav Bansal of Intex adds.

As being put by Sachin Rai from Sony India, “From the marketing perspective, we have made intensive investments across various channels as part of our integrated marketing strategy. In FY13, from our overall marketing budget of Rs 650 crore, Rs 300 crore was allocated on promoting smartphones, including the leverage of brand ambassador Katrina Kaif. We are also strengthening our partnership with sister companies like Sony Entertainment and Sony Music to deliver ‘The Best of Sony’ experience from not only hardware but also from a content point of view,” he adds on.

Gionee’s marketing spends for Yr 2013 was 45 crore and the brand plans to spend about 90 crore in 2014. “Gionee India has also achieved close to 2% market share by value since its India entry in early 2013. Gionee plans to open 250 brand stores in 2014 across India along with increasing its in-shop promoters from 2000 in 2013 to 4000+ in 2014 and also increasing presence in over 2500 shop-in-shops,” Arvind adds on.

Sudhin Mathur, Director, Smartphones, Lenono India, says that in order to reach out to a wider audience, Lenovo has its presence in all key large retail format outlets, operator channels, IT channel partners and online channel partners across the country. “Going forward, we will enhance our marketing initiatives to ensure that we have stronger brand recall among the Indian consumers. Within a year we have launched 11 smartphones in the price range of Rs 5,000–30,000. Our focus is on constant innovation and improved design and we ensure that our wide range of smartphones have the best of features that meet the specific requirements of our varied target audiences. Lenovo India has already partnered with leading mobile phone dealers to reach out to the customers in the best way possible. The growth potential in Tier 3 and 4 markets is highly encouraging and we are implementing various strategies to further expand our presence in these regions and also introduce newer models of smartphones,” he adds.

BlackBerry has been and continues to be an iconic brand. Over the

years, BlackBerry has shown significant movement and has evolved from being just a smartphone to positioning itself as a versatile and ubiquitous brand. “We practice an approach of positioning our products in the market by doing some distinct marketing activities. This helps us to drive awareness and highlight the aspirational value of our products and services. Our focus has always been to

create deeper engagement with our customers and a call to action through innovative means. What this means is that customers can expect to see more from BlackBerry during their shopping experience versus reading about us in ads. We’re with them at the point of purchase to help them make an informed decision,” adds Ashish Gupta from BlackBerry.

Hari Om Rai from Lava says that depending upon the product proposition, different sets of activities are done as part of the GTM for each product. “For best-in-class products, we go for a 360-degree campaign that includes ATL, BTL and digital. Digital and BTL are key strategic channels for us in our go to market strategy for smartphones. BTL activities enhance Lava’s visibility at the retail level where the final purchase decision is made. These include aggressive deployments of Shop in Shop counters, signage, POS (point of sale) material, so on and so forth. Digital medium on the other hand, acts as a very strong influencer for our TA. We have started by focusing on revamping our corporate website, social media marketing, SEM, SEO to connect with the TG directly. To directly engage with our audience, we have been constantly developing innovative contests/applications around key product launches to keep the users engaged. We shall continue to invest in digital and hopefully that will reflect in increasing engagement with our customers and consumers alike.

With the launch of Iris Pro series, we are undertaking several strategic promotional initiatives to position the Iris Pro range in the premium smartphone segment. We have recently launched an innovation led outdoor campaign in metros, increased engagement on the social media platform, deployed signage across retail stores and associated with properties like IIFA & Kaun Banega Crorepati.”

Shashin Devsare from Karbonn, “As far as go to market strategy is concerned, Karbonn’s marketing strategy for the smartphone

“In order to reach out to a wider audience Lenovo has its presence in all key large retail format outlets, operator channels, IT channel partners and online channel partners across the country. “going forward we will enhance our marketing initiatives to ensure that we have stronger brand recall among the Indian consumers. Within a year we have launched 11 smartphones in the price range of rS. 5,000 – 30,000. Our focus is on constant innovation and improved design and we ensure that our wide range of smartphones have the best of features that meet the specific requirement of our varied target audiences. Lenovo India has already partnered with leading mobile phone dealers to reach out to the customers in the best way possible. The growth potential in Tier 3 and 4 markets is highly encouraging and we are implementing various strategies to further expand our presence in these regions and also introduce newer models of smartphones”

SudhIn MaThurdirector, Smartphones, Lenovo India

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segment revolves around the tenet of ‘Massifying Technology’. Karbonn therefore focuses on creating cutting-edge industry partnerships to maximize the user experience. Be it processor partnership with Broadcomm, Qualcomm and Mediatek; network partnerships with Vodafone & Airtel; entertainment partnerships with Hungama, Saavn and Youtube and gaming partnerships with Gameloft and India Games; Karbonn entails to offer a smart mobile experience to consumers.”

Arvind Bali from Videocon says that Videocon’s mobile phones are well accepted on account of the quality and after-sales service standards that the company has delivered. “And hence our go-to-market strategy is based on these fundamentals – high quality, latest technology, affordable pricing, backed by prompt post-sale service standards. There is growth in almost every price band in smartphones, broadly with MNC brands working in the higher bands, and Indian players in the lower price segment,” he adds on.

Yuan Kang from ZTE says that the company’s go to market strategy is simple and straight forward – to introduce best in class products to meet the growing needs of our customers. “All our products have been customized with India specific innovations. For instance, few of our products; in their Indian version, have been launched with higher camera capability, dual SIM and other such customizations. Apart from this, we have also innovated around our after sales service and support. We are the only smartphone vendor that has set up 214

service centers across India, even before our launch, and promises ‘at-your-doorstep’ after-sales service for customers who do not want to visit the service center,” he adds.

The Rise of LFRsIntex is evolving in this category with time. We are developing

business capabilities with hyper-markets, standalone stores and cash and carry outlets. Some of our associations include Easy Day, Auchan, Vishal Mega Mart, Reliance Market, Best Price, Carrefore and Tata Croma.

Gionee has par tnered with United Telecoms Ltd, United Teleservices, UT Electronics, Vishal Video & Appliances, Priyanka Communications & Trust Marketing ensuring our reach across the

4 zones.

Lenovo India has partnered with top national distributors, such as Ingram Micro and Advance Computers, who understand the Indian market and can connect our consumers with the appropriate products. Sudhin Mathur from Lenono adds, “We have been able to reach out to more and more

consumers across the country, including the Tier 2 markets, through our retail network of 1200 Lenovo Exclusive Stores (LES) and other leading multi-brand stores and Large Format Retail (LFR) stores namely Sangeetha, Univercell, Croma, E-Zone, Reliance Digital, The Mobile Store and many more. Lenovo India will continue to strengthen

“We have had a strong foothold in the Indian market being the OeM (Original equipment Manufacturer) for various leading telecom operators like BSnL, reliance etc. Last year we forayed into the open smartphone market and are sure that in the long run we will witness huge success owing to the large existing customer base and high top of mind recall with the Indian customers. We are also innovating and customizing devices for the Indian market, just to ensure that we meet the precise needs of the Indian customers.”

Yaun KangCeO Terminals, ZTe India

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the retail channel network; increase the number of exclusive retail stores and invest in brand and talent acquisition.”

BlackBerry works closely with all Telecom channel partners in India to address needs of the Enterprise and the Prosumer segment. BlackBerry’s engagement is strategic in Nature – with compelling propositions from Aircel, Airtel, Idea, Reliance, Tata Do Co Mo and Reliance. We engage directly with all LFR partners – and Blackberry devices and services are offered across the country via these partners.

Lava has a single layer distribution model wherein partners are directly controlled and managed by Lava, unlike other players in the industry. This is a tougher model to implement but helps control the price and also in maintaining a direct relationship with the partner.

“We have 900 distributors throughout the country and hence it would not be fair to name just the top five. As far as LFR segment is concerned, Lava offers a very strong proposition to the retailers in terms of price stability, direct billing and after sales service. Price stability ensures that the prices of the products sold through LFR are similar to the prices of the same products sold through other channels. This works in favour of LFR and consumer, ensuring a higher conversion from consideration. Next, all modern trade billing is 100% direct from the company which offers higher ROI for the retailers. Last, any defective handset is replaced immediately by the retailer post a QC at our service centre. We also invest in in-store branding at such outlets to extract consumer’s mindshare and work deeply with the store managers/cluster managers to ensure that we have the required market intelligence to place right product at the right outlet,” Hari Om from Lava is quick to add on.

Shashin Devsare from Karbonn says that the company’s aim remains to provide a unique user experience to the consumers and through its association with Telecom partners. “We seek to engage the consumer base with a power package which allows them to seamlessly navigate the Internet with the best of hardware devices. Karbonn has been associated with Vodafone and Airtel for their Internet packages. Brand Karbonn enjoys the benefits directly from the incredible distribution strength of its two parent companies. As part of our strategy to massify technology, we have established a strong presence through retailers of various

sizes to reach out to the deepest pockets of the country. The belief is that without this reach and presence, marketing money spent is ineffective. Apart from inventory management in this channel, Karbonn also focuses on various programs and promotional offers to energize the channel, including the use of new media like LED screens for branding, etc. Finally, retailer training is an important part of ensuring completeness in the consumer purchase experience,” he explains.

The Growth ChartA growing body of research findings from IDC indicates that India

currently has around 40 million smartphones that are expected to surge to 155 million in 2017. A large portion of this growth is expected from new users who are planning to trade their feature phones for smartphones, for the first time. Tier 2 and 3 markets would be the biggest growth drivers as consumers in these cities are becoming more aware and looking for smartphones that offer the latest features and the grooviest apps at attractive prices. In the context of these trends, the demand for entry-level and mid-segment smartphones is becoming rampant.

“Smartphone category has witnessed unprecedented growth over the last 2 years in India with over 85% increase compared to previous years. Dual-SIM, large screens, high performing processors, increasing use of camera features due to rise in social media reach and price range of Rs 10,000–15,000, multimedia content have been the major factors and reason for the rapid rise. Recent report suggest that consumers are more liable to get attracted to brands that can offer the best integration of these features and yet provide value for money,” Arvind from Gionee adds on.

Hari Om Rai from Lava says that the smartphone is a rapidly changing consumer product. This product category has seen more advancement in the past decade than any other product category. Smartphone is soon becoming a ubiquitous accessory. So much so that it makes us think that smartphones have been here from time immemorial.

Most of the growth is coming from the urban markets while Tier 1 and 2 markets are not far

behind in terms of smartphone user base. According to the recently announced Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights, there are 51 million

“Smart phone market today is at around 44 lac pcs per month. more than 60% is the entry level segement phones. our focus is to quickly get into that slot with our distribution. also we are planning to get into the higher segement which is dominated by big brands, then again our aim is of affordability and features in that segement too. The smartphone opportunity is real huge as the market is poised at 44 lacs per month and is to cross 50 lacs in the next quarter itself. We have just launched our products in the last one month and have received very good response from the market. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to reach the top 5 to 6 slot witin this financial,”

IndrajIT SaBharWaLMd of Simmtronics Semiconductors Ltd

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smartphone users in urban India today, an 89% increase from 2012, when there were just 27 million users. It also mentions that big metros have the highest penetration of smartphones at 23% in 2013 (10% in 2012). Penetration in Tier 1 and 2 cities stood at 13% in 2013 as compared to 6% in 2012. The growth of smartphones is driven by the range of low end to mid end devices introduced by both domestic and international players. Indian companies have an advantage in this segment as they can adapt faster keeping in mind local consumer needs and preferences.

What Future HoldsIntex says that its focus for the coming year will involve quadrupling

their market share in the overall handset industry. “We will continue to innovate and offer the latest technologies to our consumers at friendly prices. Our integrated marketing campaigns will be based on a blend of many above-the-line and below-the-line activities, with a major focus on engaging with our audiences and driving conversations through social media,” Keshav Bansal of Intex adds.

.Sachin Rai from Sony says that India is and will continue to be one of the key markets for Sony. “This year too, we will continue to deliver on our objective to combine the best of Sony for an outstanding user experience. We will continue to launch exciting new line-up, backed by a strong distribution and marketing strategy, to strengthen our position in the smartphone segment,” he explains.

Gionee plans to open 250 brand stores in 2014 across India along with increasing its In shop promoters from 2000 in 2013 to 4000+ in 2014 and also increase presence in over 2500 shop-in-shops. “We will be offering close to 15 phones in India this year including 10 smartphones and 5 feature phones. Through our well laid distribution channel and various marketing initiatives in 2014 we plan to increase the sales and recall PAN India in the coming year. The brand plans to spend about 90cr in 2014 for its marketing initiatives double than its first year of operation in 2013,” Arvind from Gionee adds further.

“At Lenovo, we are excited with the opportunities that exist in the Indian smartphone market and intend to leverage the potential with the launch of innovative smartphones across segments. With the recent launch of Vibe Z, we have extended our range of smartphones in the premium Vibe Series. Vibe Z which is an ideal combination of striking looks, exquisite design, captivating performance and cutting-

edge technology. We are sure that Vibe Z will steal the limelight and strengthen Lenovo’s presence in the premium segment of smartphones in India. We are looking at expanding our reach across the country in various regions through strategic partnerships with leading multi-brand stores and Large Format Retail (LFR) stores and with the introduction of a wider and stronger portfolio of smartphones across various segments in the next couple of years. Lenovo believes in offering superior quality devices backed by proven technology to the customers and we will continue to consistently innovate and introduce new models of smartphones with the best of technologies and in-demand features in India,” Sudhin Mathur from Lenovo adds on.

Ashish Gupta from Blackberry adds on, “As a company we have also learnt from the past and are moving forward with a great deal of optimism especially with the BlackBerry 10 platform and what it offers to both consumers and enterprise customers. In keeping with this, we’ve recently structured our business into four operational units. This structure will help us drive greater focus on services and software, while establishing a more efficient business model

for the devices business.”

Some of the key focus areas for Blackberry would be:• Enterprise Services: Increasing penetration of BlackBerry

Enterprise Service 10 (BES10) with over 30,000 commercial and test servers installed to date, up from 25,000 in September 2013. We remain a mobile device management leader with global enterprise customer base exceeding 80,000. In recent times, we’ve launched two enterprise solution centers in India in Mumbai and Gurgaon, further reiterating our commitment to the India market. India is the third country for BlackBerry to have such a set-up.

• Messaging: Over 40 million newly registered iOS/Android users in the last 60 days; more than a dozen Android OEMs to preload BBM, including most recently LG and also Micromax, Zen and Spice from India. Over 250,000 BBM Channels created by global user base since the launch of BBM Channels on BlackBerry; BBM is the most secure mobile messaging service for use in regulated enterprises. BBM Channels is available now on Android and iOS as well.

• QNX Embedded Business: QNX unveiled new technology in automotive and cloud services at the 2014 International

“at videocon Mobiles, the stress is on providing cost-effective alternatives to higher-end devices without compromising on the end-user experience or on quality. We are confident that this will enable us capture a higher share in the smartphone and tablet categories. The Indian market will always be a price conscious market, and so we too are addressing this market keeping in mind the price-to-technology expectations of the Indian consumer. as mentioned earlier, our constant endeavour is to ensure no compromise in quality or user-experience in our smartphones even though they are priced more attractively to ensure wider affordability,”

arvInd BaLICeO, videocon Mobile

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Consumer Electronics Show in January. In India, they are already in talks with key auto manufacturers about this technology.

• Devices: Company strikes joint device development and manufacturing agreement with Foxconn; initial focus of partnership to be development of a consumer smartphone for Indonesia and other fast-growing markets in 2014. “Lava aspires to be the 1st Indian brand to be amongst the top

global consumer brands. Our focus remains very strong on the Indian market, which we believe has an extremely huge potential.

“Currently we are selling about 1.1 million handsets per month and feel that a mobile phone can add tremendous value to a user’s life. Hence, we will be focusing on all 3 aspects – product, marketing and service. To bring in differentiation in our products, we are focusing on multiple areas—reliability through design quality

(industrial design, mechanical design, software design and hardware design), component quality and process quality and superior sensorial experience in touch, sound & sight. Going forward, we are also going to build mechanism through which we will be able to offer an enhanced software experience and add value based on usage behaviour of the consumer. On the brand side, we are focusing on ATL, digital and BTL mediums as part of a 360-degree effort. BTL activities enhance Lava’s visibility at the retail level where the final purchase decision is made. These include aggressive deployments of shop-in-shop counters, signage, POS (point of sale) material and so on. Digital medium, on the other hand, acts as a very strong influencer for our TA. We have started by focusing on revamping our corporate website, social media marketing, SEM and SEO to connect with the TG directly. We will also have a continuous presence on TV and shall take a strategic call on

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SaChIn raIhead, Sales &

Marketing, Mobile division, Sony India

“Mirroring the trend, smartphones as a category is growing the fastest for Sony. Our focus on smartphones segment was renewed last year with the launch Xperia range of smartphones in India which received tremendous response from our customers, helping us achieve a 10% share in the smartphones business in FY13. From the marketing perspective, we have made intensive investments across various channels as part of our integrated marketing strategy. “In FY13, from our overall marketing budget of `650 crore, `300 crore was allocated on promoting smartphones, including leverage of brand ambassador Katrina Kaif. We are also strengthening our partnership with sister companies like Sony entertainment and Sony Music to deliver ‘The Best of Sony’ experience from not only hardware but also from a content point of view.”

different properties that we will keep on associating with at regular intervals of time. For instance, Lava partnered with IIFA & KBC last year. We will continue to invest in this medium this year as well.

Coming to service, while we have invested in establishing a 900 strong service centre network, there is room for improvement. To be able to become the 1st global consumer brand from India, consumer satisfaction with after sales service is of prime importance to us. We have taken some strategic measures in this regard, the results of which shall be visible in the coming months.” Hari Om Rai Explains.

Talking about the future plans, Anang Narang from Huawei says that in today’s scenario, mobile phones are just not meant for calling but are in itself a style statement for a large number of users. “Mobile manufacturers are not competing on hardware anymore. So our focus for going forward in India would be to build experience for the users which is all about customization and relevance of innovation. Customization of smartphones helps users to keep their choice of apps handy. When it comes to relevance of innovation, India being the second largest mobile market, consumers here are evolving and their appetite for technology is increasing which means that the demand for phones that are sleek, stylish and power packed will drive the growth in this segment. In India, we want people to get comfortable with Huawei brand by customizing the product according to the Indian market. We have good products, good technology and good after sales service; and we would be focusing on creating a good brand image as well as well as available across Pan India,” he explains.

Karbonn’s future plans in the smartphone sector include:

• Continue with expansion of distribution and customer support presence in India: The brand is committed to expand its distribution and customer support presence across the country. By expanding its footprint pan-India, Karbonn endeavours to take technology to the masses and enable greater smartphone penetration.

• Focus on international expansion: In the current Financial Year, Karbonn intends to focus upon global expansion, and enter untapped markets in its effort to expand its international footprint. Currently Karbonn has a strategic presence across 15+ countries in South Asia, Middle East and Africa, which it intends to expand further by initiating country-specific product strategies and tie-ups.

• Continue to grow market share in smartphones & maintain dominance in feature phone markets: Karbonn will continue growing its market share in the smartphone sector by targeting 18+ demographic and young consumers who are looking for a cutting-edge device which answers all their smartphone needs. Also it seeks to maintain dominance in feature phone markets by introducing more feature-rich devices in this category.

• Deeper understanding of consumer need: Karbonn endeavours to understand the consumer better and deepen relationships with them by offering more with its innovative product offerings. Karbonn’s smartphone range is designed keeping consumer aspirations in mind, wherein the brand strives to offer cutting-edge products & technology to the consumers as per their needs.

ConclusionWhether it is a college going student or a corporate manager, a

house wife or an architect, armed with their applications and feature sets, Smartphones are surely becoming more and more important in all our daily lives and this is the right time for vendors and the channel partners to benefit from this smartphone revolution.


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Mobility Special

aLOK OhrIePresident & Md, dell India

“ Today, anywhere , anyt ime information access is the need of every user - for both professional as well as personal purposes. With the launch of this family of tablets, Dell sustains its endeavor to deliver superior technology and innovative mobility solutions to users, keeping in mind their individual needs. The Venue family completes our end-to-end device range, in addition to our exhaustive range of laptops, desktops, ultrabooks, All-in-ones and workstations,” said Alok Ohrie, President & Managing Director, Dell India.”

“Earlier partners were feeling that they were missing some revenue from products range, because we were not present in the tablet space. Now with the launch of these tablets, they have an opportunity to make good money.”

ShIShIr SInghdirector, director euC Marketing dell India

Dell empowers consumers with latest

family of tablets

Dell launched its latest family of tablets, the Dell Venue line of tablets, with four new ultrathin, built-for business tablet models

and personal tablet models for daily use.Dell has launched the Venue 7 & 8 tablets

which operate on the Android operating system for consumer usage like multimedia consumption and web browsing. In keeping with the popularity of Android garners across the world on mobile devices, Dell has made a conscious choice to adopt innovations that enhance the consumer experience. The Dell Venue 7 & 8 are feature-rich tablets offering features like a 17.78-cm (7-inch) PS HD display, which provide exceptional detail and the widest

viewing angle. Powered by Intel Atom processors the Dell Venue 7 & 8 deliver lightning fast web browsing and application performance. The Android-based Venue tablets also come preloaded with PocketCloud which allows users to search, edit and share data from any device, anywhere and come with the assurance of Dell Services like Carry in Service and Accidental Damage service on the Venue 7 & Venue 8, respectively.

In keeping with the evolution of the workforce, the increasing emphasis placed by end users on trends like Bring-your-own-device and the growing role of mobility, Dell has launched the Windows 8.1-based Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro tablets, a tempting mix of design, performance and responsiveness.

The Venue 8 Pro is the thinnest 20.32-cm (8-inch) Windows 8.1-based tablet available with advanced connectivity options and long battery life. The Dell Venue 8 Pro also keeps your work entirely secure with firmware TPM and Dell Data Protection & Encryption Security Tools available for every model. Powerful Intel Atom Quad-core allows leading compatibility, power and performance.

The Venue 11 Pro also comes with a swappable battery, and snaps into full-sized, durable keyboards or desktop dock options for an experience that comes close to full-fledged desktop computing.


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Lava launches its much awaited premium smartphone series with Iris Pro 30 priced at `15,999

A super slim and elegant smartphone designed on the theme ‘Art Meets Smart’ combines intelligence and capability to deliver an

unmatched mobile experience for all

Key features of LAVA Iris Pro 30

• 4.7”IPSSharp™DisplaywithLCM500brightness,OGStechnologyandHD resolution (1280x720)

• Superslimdesignwith7.5mmthicknessandthinbezel• Lightestinthe4.7”ormorescreensizecategoryat114gms• FullLaminationtouchpanel,CorningGorillaglass• AndroidVersionJellyBeanv4.2withOvertheAirSoftwareupgrades• 8MPAutofocusCamerawithdualledflash&BSIsensor• 3MPFrontCamera• ContentAdaptivebacklightcontrol,2000mAhBattery

LAVA International Limited, a fast growing company in the mobile handset industry,

today unveiled its much awaited iris pro series by launching the premium Iris Pro 30 smartphone, which will be the India’s lightest smartphone in the 4.7” or more screen size category. The series is designed on the theme ‘Art meets Smart’ and comes with beautiful design & features exemplifying sleekness, elegance & quality. With the launch of the 1st smartphone under this series, Lava expands its portfolio of high end smartphones and provides users an excellent proposition.

Lava Iris Pro 30 is a high-end Android Smartphone with 4.7 inch HD IPS (312 ppi) display featuring OGS (one glass solution) that makes it one of the slimmest phones at just 7.5 mm thickness. This thickness has been achieved due to a combination of OGS, slim LCD, Full lamination, slim battery cover and an outstanding architecture integrating all the components. The LCD used is from Sharp™, a leading Japanese LCD manufacturer. This LCD possesses 500 LCM bright display, one of the best in this category. It weighs a mere 114 grams, making it the lightest phone in India in 4.7” or more screen size category. A high strength Corning Gorilla Glass makes the phone resistant to scratches. Full lamination eliminates air gaps between LCD and glass and makes it look perfectly black in sleep mode. This also renders more vibrancy to the images in non-sleep mode giving the phone an exquisite look and feel and an exceptional viewing experience to the user.

Equipped with an 8MP rear camera, 3MP front camera, Dual LED flash and BSI sensor the iris pro 30 camera give users an outstanding shooting experience along with features like face detection, four-directional

panoramic view and 1080p video recording at 30fps.

The Lava Iris Pro 30 is an equally good fit for gaming enthusiasts. With its 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor and SGX 544 GPU, the phone offers a lag free experience and renders excellent graphics for high-end graphic intensive games.

The phone packs a 2000mAh battery with CABC (Content Adaptive backlight control) technology that enables it to last 30% more compared to conventional smartphone batteries. The technology intensifies the black and reduces the shadow to increase the transmission of the LCD display giving a sharp image while turning down the backlight to save battery.

The phone comes with some innovative software features as well, such as flip to mute, lift to answer and call, video PIP, voice and face unlocking. The device is OTG enabled which allows it to directly read data from pen drives and receive inputs from keyboard or mouse.

Lava Iris pro 30 also comes with quad band support that enables it to work in Americas, Asia and Europe.

Mr. Hari Om Rai, Chairman & Managing Director, Lava International Ltd., said, “We are elated with the overwhelming response around the launch of much awaited Iris Pro 30. Lava Iris pro 30 is a ‘piece of art’ especially crafted for those seeking smartphones that combine exquisite beauty and unmatched functionality.

“With the launch of Iris Pro series, we have expanded our offerings in mid to premium smartphones category. Iris Pro 30 demonstrates our commitment to excel in offering the best possible user experience. We are very excited with the consistent growth of the brand in India, and are confident of scaling newer heights in 2014, with

our premium product portfolio”, he further added.

Lava Iris Pro 30 is a beautifully crafted, super slim, fast and easy-to-use smartphone that delivers effortless multitasking and better battery performance making life easier

and hassle-free. Priced at Rs. 15,999 Lava Iris Pro30 will be available across national retail chain stores, multi-brand outlets across India and online stores beginning 3rd week of January.

Mobility Product


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Q1. What is the importance of securing a mobile device?

T o d a y , p e o p l e a r e increasingly conducting online lives through mobile devices, be they smartphones or tablets, and while that is a good thing for convenience, it comes with a price. Mobile platforms are being attacked at an alarming rate, and while many of those attacks happen through bad or compromised apps, a lot of it happens through exploitation of mobile web browsers. That applies to all mobile operating systems, but especially to Android devices — attacks on Google’s operating software increased 163% from 2011 to 2012. We are still compiling data from 2013 but we can be almost certain that the rise has been very significant.

Much of the problem is that limited screen sizes make it difficult for users to determine when they’re engaged in risky behaviour. That’s particularly true when it comes to figuring out if a site is secure or not, something that’s highly relevant because already more than 20% of online shopping happens on mobile devices and that number is skyrocketing. But the icon of a padlock that pops up on secure pages used for payment information on laptop browsers is not as easy to see in mobile browsers, and that’s if users are actually looking for it, though many do not.

“99% of all mobile threats target Android Devices”

altaf halde, Managing director, Kaspersky Lab, South asia talks about the importance of securing the mobile devices and why it can help you increase your productivity many folds.

Mobility Personality

aLTaF haLdeManaging directorKaspersky Lab, South asia

Q2. So how can someone safely browse the web on your mobile device?

1. Practice app safety. Apps are a popular conduit for malware attacks on mobile platforms, so you must know that any time you download a bad app, your personal data could be at risk. Always download the latest, most secure versions of apps — including those used for browsing the web — and always carefully determine which permissions you allow.

2. Find the lock. Whenever you’re entering a page, that should be secure—if you are inputting personal or financial information—make sure you see the lock icon at the top of the screen indicating that the site is indeed using the mobile SSL protocol that encrypts your data, thereby assuring your safety. If you don’t see it or can’t find it, you’re probably better off waiting until you can get to a laptop or PC.

3. Use mobile security. Security suites aren’t just for your laptop or desktop anymore. Robust security platforms like Kaspersky Mobile Security for Android devices, block dangerous sites and defend against mobile malware.

Q3. With banking coming to mobiles and smartphone, is it completely safe today?

According to the Kaspersky Consumer Security Risks survey

conducted by B2B International with Kaspersky Lab in the summer of 2013, almost one third of users do not feel safe making e-payments on their smartphones or tablets. They do not trust the reliability of mobile device protection when shopping or banking online.

Android is the world’s most popular mobi le operat ing system and therefore is the most frequently attacked one by cybercriminals, which makes sense, since the more users to target, the easier it is for fraudsters to get illegal income. According to Kaspersky Lab, 99% of all the existing mobile malware samples are developed for Android OS. In 2012, the company’s exper ts found 35,000 malware samples for Android. In the first six months of 2013 that number soared to more than 47,000.

Fake Android apps for online banking operations, phishing attacks, and malicious attacks developed to intercept the data the user enters via the keyboard are some of the malicious tools that have often been used to attack the owners of Android-based devices.

One can hardly blame smartphone and tablet owners for being excessively cautious while

using financial services. However, despite the growing number of threats for Android, users can safely make mobile payments by protecting their device with a reliable security solution.

In order to prevent users of Android-based devices from falling victim to cybercriminals, including financial fraudsters, Kaspersky Lab has developed Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, an easy-to-use security solution with a variety of protection mechanisms capable of providing high security for mobile device owners.

The advanced malware d e t e c t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s incorporated in this solution prevent the installation of spyware which imitates banking applications, even if the program was downloaded from the official Google Play store. The integrated anti-phishing module detects and blocks fake banking, e-store and e-pay pages which fraudsters often use to trick victims into handing over login credentials and account information. Another special function of Kaspersky Internet Security for Android is the ability to check web links received via text messages, protecting users from malicious attacks via mass mailings of short messages often utilized by cybercriminals.


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Mobility Review

DigiTAB by SmartLink – Multi Task on the Go

Smartlink has entered the Indian Tablet Market with the launch of its 3 new tablets. The three models of Tablets, comprising the 7 inch DIGITAB, DT-LM711, 10 inch DIGITAB, DT-SS1078W and

the star of the show, the 7 inch dual SIM DIGITAB, DT-LM72T are all designed to help the next generation of mobile customers to multitask on the go.

The star of the show DIGITAB DT-LM72T is the lightest and most compact big-screen tablet you can buy, cramming a gorgeous 7-inch Display into a 1-pound design. You can easily use the DIGITAB with one hand when reading or surfi ng the Web. When it’s time to game or create content, you’ll appreciate the blazing 1.6GHz Dual core MTK8377 chip on the inside with 1GB Memory and with DUAL SIM options, you can have calling as well as high speed 3G data for browsing, online gaming and videos. It’s easy to see why it’s the top tablet.

Mobility Rating

Simmtronics - The dynamic tablet XPAD Turbo

A Dual-Sim 3G calling tablet with AndroidOS, v4.2.2 Jelly Bean processor for just Rs 7999, accustomed to fl ame the acoustics. There are very few tablets that are tech-savvy to be enriched with one SIM that is 3G and another SIM that is 2G, which is an additional advantage for users. This dual-core yet 1.2 GHz processor tablet is enriched with jelly-bean android version.

This sleek and slim tablet has features which make it easy to annotate, draw or take notes. It is also integrated with 2800 mAh Lithium Battery, which provides all day productivity. The tablet is priced at just Rs 7999, and will be available at all the leading stores selling Simmtronics.

Other a-la-carte features of this tablet are:• Wi-Fi , Wi-Fi Hotspot• HD Video Playback• 2800 mAh Lithium Battery• Connectivity features include- USB Port, Micro USB OTG Port,

Bluetooth• Audio Formats Supported- MP3, WMA, WVA, (APE, FLAC, AAC,

OGGBE SUPPORTED BY THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE)• Google maps support• 512 MB RAM• 1.2 GHz dual Core Processor • 4 GB Internal Storage, 32 GB Expandable storage capacity• Micro SD memory card slot type Mobility Rating

Indulge, access and execute information from anywhere

Three new models for different target group


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Mobility Review

Best Budget Android Phone SM3512

BSNL, in partnership with Champion, has launched two new budget dual-SIM Android 4.2.2 smartphones, the My Phone SM3512 and My Phone SM3513. Both the smartphones will be available starting Tuesday and have been priced at Rs. 3,225

(BSNL Champion My Phone SM3512) and Rs. 4,499 (BSNL Champion My Phone SM3513).

Notably, the BSNL Champion My SM3513 comes with almost same specifi cations seen on My Phone SM3512. However, the Champion My SM3513 supports 3G connectivity option, unlike the Champion My Phone SM3512.

The common specifi cations of the BSNL Champion My Phone SM3512 and BSNL Champion My SM3513 are: dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) support, a 3.5-inch display (unspecifi ed resolution), a dual-core processor (unspecifi ed chipset and clock speed).

The smartphones sport 3-megapixel rear cameras, and also house 1.3-megapixel front-facing cameras. Expandable storage up to 32GB is available, though inbuilt storage details are not yet known. The BSNL Champion My Phone SM3512 packs a 1300mAh battery which according to the company can deliver up to 6 hours of talktime and up to 350 hours of standby time. The smartphone supports EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi but does not support 3G connectivity.

Mobility Rating

BSNL Champion My Phone SM3512, Champion My Phone SM3513 budget Android phones launched

Moto X – Compact and Stylish

The Moto X is the fi rst handset to come out of the collaboration between Motorola and Google, although here in India we were

treated to the quite excellent Moto G before the X made it to our shores.

Google became Motorola’s owner and parent company over a year ago now, which had many thinking that Moto would make the next Nexus phone. Instead we got the Moto X, a compact, stylish handset with decidedly mid-range specs.

With an emphasis on battery life, contextual services and easy one-handed operation, it seems Motorola has the iPhone 5C (and to some extent the iPhone 5S) in its sights, not the big screen powerhouses like the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4. This puts the Moto X on par with the likes of the HTC One Mini and Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.

The Motorola Moto X has a dual-core processor and 720p screen, lower than the quad-core and 1080p combo that the HTC One and Galaxy S4 have taught consumers to expect from fl agships.

Google and Moto almost made a truly standout Android phone

Mobility Rating


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R.N.I. No. DELENG/2004/14198Postal Reg. No.: DL(S)-01/3442/2013-15

Date of Pub: 18 March 2014 | Postal Dt.: 27th & 28th of same Month/ Posted at NDPSO

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mobility issue march 2014

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