In India, Motorola replaces Nokia as the fourth largest smartphone brand

A report from researcher Canalys reveals that in India, Motorola is gaining momentum. At the end of June, the Lenovo subsidiary (assuming regulatory approval) was the fourth largest seller of smartphones in the country. In taking the fourth spot, Motorola leapfrogged over Nokia. The former shipped 955,650 smartphones in the three month period that ended in June, while the latter had 633,720 units in transit during the same time period. That is quite a reversal from the first quarter of 2014, when Nokia shipped 583,160 smartphones, compared to the 379,310 smartphones shipped by Motorola.

The surge in the second quarter allowed Motorola to top Nokia for the first half of the year. Smartphones shipped by Motorola for the January through June period totaled 1.33 million units as opposed to the 1.21 million for Nokia. For the last quarter, Samsung was the top smartphone manufacturer in India, shipping 4.4 million units. That compares to the 3.1 million and 1.07 million shipped by hometown firms Micromax and Karbonn, respectively. The Indian market for smartphones as a whole, grew 9% sequentially in the April through June timeframe.

Motorola's success in the region can be traced to the launch of the Motorola Moto G. The "value" priced model was the first offered by Motorola on its return to the Indian market in 2013. Motorola then launched both the Motorola Moto X and the Motorola Moto E in the country. After discounting the Moto G's price this week by 2000 rupees ($33 USD) for a limited time, the 8GB model costs 10,499 rupees ($172 USD). The 16GB model is priced at 11,999 rupees ($196 USD). Meanwhile, the Moto X is priced at 23,999 rupees ($393 USD) while the entry-level Moto E will cost you 6999 rupees ($115 USD).


source: EconomicTimes via WMPoweruser