Thaindian News

Panaji, Oct 13 (IANS) The demand for low-cost Chinese cell phones in India may come down soon, said an official of mobile phone maker S Mobility here Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Panaji, associate vice president (Operations) of S Mobility Zulfi Ali Bhutto said that cheap China-made cell phones promising several applications currently comprised 10 percent of the total mobile phone market in India.

“Currently they occupy 10 percent space in India’s cell phone market. Chinese-made phones sell 10.2-10.3 million pieces in India annually. But that is soon set to change once the market consolidates in the next few years,” Bhutto said.

Bhutto said that the Chinese phones appealed to the lower strata of the Indian cell phone market and suggested that once the well-known phone brands offered phones at competitive rates, the consumer switch from cheap and unstable China-made phones was inevitable.

“Those opting for China-made handset are different consumers. I don’t see a threat in that. We see that China handset market will also be phased out in some time as the brands have begun consolidating their position,” Bhutto said.

Bhutto said that S Mobility, earlier known as Spice Mobiles, was currently ranked at number four in the mobile handset market in India and was vying for the number two position by 2015.

“Nokia, Samsung and Micromax occupy the top three slots, respectively. S Mobility is ranked at number four currently, with a five percent market share,” Bhutto said.