The Indian smartphone market is poised to be the second biggest battleground for mobile manufacturers in the coming years, and for the moment, Samsung seems to be continuing its dominance in the country. According to the latest IDC report, Samsung ended the third quarter of 2014 with a 24 percent market share in India, though local manufacturer Micromax encroached on the Korean manufacturer's share by capturing 20 percent of the market. Samsung and Micromax were followed by two other local manufacturers, Karbonn and Lava, indicating that major companies like Sony and HTC are finding it hard to attract too many consumers in the country.
In terms of overall smartphone shipments, the Indian market saw 23.3 million smartphone shipments, a 27 percent increase over the previous quarter and a 82 percent rise year-over-year. “The Indian smartphone market outshone other emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region in terms of quarter-over- quarter growth,” IDC said in a statement. “This is the second consecutive quarter of more than 80 per cent year-on-year growth for smartphones, reflecting robust end-user demand.”
It's going to be a tough battle for Samsung, as the company is still unable to compete with low-end/budget devices from other, usually local, manufacturers. But with devices like the Galaxy A3 and A5, the Korean manufacturer should be able to grab some of the mid-range market, while Tizen will hopefully help it tackle the entry-level segments.
