Google Inc chose India to introduce yesterday the first of a series of lower-cost smartphones under its Android One initiative, a bid by the company to win over the “next billion” users in emerging economies.
The handsets, starting at 6,399 rupees (US$105), are entering what already is the world’s third-largest smartphone market behind China and the US. However, it is also the fastest-growing: Demand is exploding as first-time handset buyers, as well as those making the transition from low-tech feature phones, rush to buy ever cheaper and more sophisticated devices.
Google said it aims to take Android One elsewhere in South Asia in the coming months and to markets like Indonesia and Philippines.
Photo: Reuters
The world is increasingly going online through smartphones, said Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president for Android, Chrome and apps, as he introduced the line of phones in New Delhi. He added, “We’re making it easier for our partners to build phones that are not just great to use, but also affordable.”
Vishal Tripathi, principal analyst at the research firm Gartner in Mumbai, said the project was “a novel move to enhance user experience at the lowest end of the pyramid through controlling both the hardware and the software — and, if successful, Google could have a winner on its hands.”
Google joined with Indian device makers, Micromax, Karbonn and Spice, and the phones are to be sold only by the country’s biggest online retailers — Amazon India, Flipkart and Snapdeal.
India’s smartphone market is expected to double by 2018. The International Data Corp, a research firm, said smartphone shipments grew 84 percent in the second quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year. More than 18.4 million smartphones were shipped in the quarter.
The Android One program gives Google an opportunity to dominate the mobile market in emerging economies. The devices are to come bundled with its search engine and other apps, which will have advertising.
The phones are by no means the cheapest in the Indian market. Just two weeks ago, local device maker Intex introduced a US$35 smartphone with an operating system from Mozilla’s Firefox, a rival to Google’s Android.
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