The value proposition of the extra-large smartphones, also called the phablet, seems to have caught the fancy of the Indian consumer.
The segment sporting screen sizes between 5 and 6.99 inches grew 17 times year-over-year, accounting for 30 per cent of smartphones sold in the country in the second quarter of 2013, says a report from research firm IDC.
Meanwhile, the smartphone market almost tripled its shipments in comparison with Q2 of 2012, with 9.3 million units. Only 3.5 million units were sold in the same period last year. Overall, India recorded a 21 per cent growth YoY and a modest 4 per cent growth quarter-over-quarter for total mobile phones.
Even as the share of feature phones slid to 85 per cent of the total market, India continues to be the largest feature phone market in APeJ (Asia Pacific excluding Japan). China, however, consumes more smartphones.
In a release, Manasi Yadav, Senior Market Analyst with IDC India, said the growth in smartphones is driven by consistent performance by local vendors who accounted for more than half of the total market in this period.
Her colleague and Senior Market Analyst with IDC's Client Devices group, Kiranjeet Kaur, said the key for growth in India, like in other emerging markets, is a low-priced phone equipped with a large screen and dual SIM slots. "Topped with an attractive sub-US $200 price tag, these smartphones are highly attractive," she added.
But Samsung is still the largest smartphone vendor with a 26 per cent market share, powered primarily by its newly launched budget phone, the Samsung Galaxy Star. Micromax improved its position as No. 2 spot, growing to 22 per cent from the 18.8 per cent in Q1 and also crossed the 2 million units mark in shipments. The third place was held by Karbonn, followed by Nokia and Sony.
