Thaindian News

Bangalore, June 14 (IANS) Chinese telecom behemoth Huawei Technologies is setting up a product development centre in this tech hub to design, develop and test mobile handsets for the booming Indian cellular market, a senior company official said Tuesday.

“The development centre will design and develop the handsets to meet the specific needs of Indian users at different price points,” Huawei India Devices director P. Sanjeev told reporters at a launch preview of the company’s smart phones here.

Though the handsets will be manufactured in China, the products will be tested at the development centre and customised with features that are popular with Indian mobile users.

“As the second fastest growing market worldwide after China and ahead of the US, we see huge potential in India to make a difference with our unique products and services. With the third generation (3G) service getting popular, our smart phones will be able to meet the diverse needs of mobile youth,” Sanjeev said.

The Indian subsidiary of the $28-billion global major plans to unveil tablets and 3G-based phones in the second half of this year to cash-in on the migration taking place from 2G to 3G service in tier-1 and tier-2 cities across the country.

“We are targeting a market share of five-seven percent in the smart phones segment by 2013 though we are a late entrant in the Indian market, which is dominated by global brands,” Huawei India Device marketing director Anand Narang said on the occasion.

Branded ‘IDEOS’ and priced between Rs.8,999-14,999, the three Huawei smart phones are targetted at young professional and the generation next mobile youth.

“The premium-looking smart-phone (X5) with 5 MP flash camera and 720pixel HD (high definition) video-recording and playback features will keep entertainment at fingertips of young professionals, while the X2 sleek touch screen handset is meant for youth and on-the-go users,” Narang added.