Samsung races ahead of competition in Indian smartphone war with 40% share

Tuesday, 3 July 2012 - 6:07pm India News Bulletin Desk

Samsung Galaxy Note

Image: Wikimedia Commons (by Rwxrwxrwx)

Samsung has left its competitors, including Nokia, far behind in the smartphone war in India as it captured more than 40% share in the first quarter of 2012, a study revealed.

Korean manufacturer Samsung, already the leader in the smartphones segment in India, has gained 40.4% share between January and March. Samsung’s closest competitor, Nokia held 25.5% of the market share and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion had 12.3% share, the study by CyberMedia Research showed.

In the same quarter, smartphones accounted for almost a quarter of total handset revenues. Total mobile phone sales in India crossed 50-million mark in the quarter, registering a 9.1% growth, the study further revealed.

In the first quarter, Samsung launched seven new smartphone models for the Indian market in the quarter, propelling its uptake. A wide price range of between Rs. 7,500 to Rs 27,000 also helped it cater to a broader user group.

The study also noted Indian mobile handset providers were widening their offerings running on Google’s Android operating system over Apple’s iOS.

However, Nokia, maintained its lead in the entry-level and feature phone segment.

The Finnish manufacturer also retained leadership in the overall mobile phone market in India with 23% share, followed by Samsung at 14.1%. Domestic provider, Micromax, based in Gurgaon, Haryana, was third with 5.8% share of Indian mobile phones segment.