“Our first offering, Optimus Me smartphone, will be launched in June,” said Vishal Chopra, business head, mobile communications, LG Electronics India. The other brands to follow are Optimus 2X, Optimus 7, Optimus Black, Optimus Pad and Optimus Star, he said. The smartphones, imported from South Korea, will be in the price range of Rs 8,990 to Rs 32,000.
“Smartphones will be a new engine of growth for the company and we will be investing in adding production lines to the existing seven in Ranjangaon,” Chopra said. Last year, the company manufactured seven million handsets. It major competitors include Nokia, Blackberry, Samsung and HTC.
“The smartphone market in India is expanding rapidly while the market for basic mobile phones of Rs 2,000 and less is shrinking rapidly,” Chopra said. He said the growth in the Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 segment was low. The growth is higher in Rs 10,000 plus smartphones, he said.
“Since the last quarter of calendar 2010, there has been a trend of high-end mobile phone buyers shifting to smartphones as their prices have fallen due to competition,” Chopra said. LG, which registered 7 per cent growth in smartphones in the October-December 2010 quarter, has seen 18-20 per cent growth in the current.
“With accelerating growth in smartphones, we see a huge opportunity,” Chopra said. And with prices of high-end smartphones falling, they would be available at under Rs 4,500 after a year,
he added.
The company on Wednesday launched a limited edition Optimum One phone with the World Cup logo engraved on it, targeted at cricket enthusiasts.
“With a total of just 3,000 units, the phone is loaded with cricket applications like live scoreboard on the screen, best catches, sixes, among others,” Chopra said. It is priced at Rs 12,990 apiece, Rs 1,000 more than when it was launched in November 2010.
He said the company, the official mobile sponsor of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, will spend Rs 40 crore on advertisements and cricket merchandise.
“Smartphones will be a new engine of growth for the company and we will be investing in adding production lines to the existing seven in Ranjangaon,” Chopra said. Last year, the company manufactured seven million handsets. It major competitors include Nokia, Blackberry, Samsung and HTC.
“The smartphone market in India is expanding rapidly while the market for basic mobile phones of Rs 2,000 and less is shrinking rapidly,” Chopra said. He said the growth in the Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 segment was low. The growth is higher in Rs 10,000 plus smartphones, he said.
“Since the last quarter of calendar 2010, there has been a trend of high-end mobile phone buyers shifting to smartphones as their prices have fallen due to competition,” Chopra said. LG, which registered 7 per cent growth in smartphones in the October-December 2010 quarter, has seen 18-20 per cent growth in the current.
“With accelerating growth in smartphones, we see a huge opportunity,” Chopra said. And with prices of high-end smartphones falling, they would be available at under Rs 4,500 after a year,
he added.
The company on Wednesday launched a limited edition Optimum One phone with the World Cup logo engraved on it, targeted at cricket enthusiasts.
“With a total of just 3,000 units, the phone is loaded with cricket applications like live scoreboard on the screen, best catches, sixes, among others,” Chopra said. It is priced at Rs 12,990 apiece, Rs 1,000 more than when it was launched in November 2010.
He said the company, the official mobile sponsor of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, will spend Rs 40 crore on advertisements and cricket merchandise.
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