the study of impact of brand equity on preferences for mobile brands

8/6/2019 The Study of Impact of Brand Equity on Preferences for Mobile Brands

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The Study of Impact of Brand Equity on Preferences for Mobile Brands

1. Introduction

In the competitive market branding is still utilized as strategic marketing tools that provide

additional value for company products and services, because brands are accepted as a

fundamentally effective factor on consumer behavior. The strength of a brand¶s effect on

consumer behavior is represented by the concept of consumer based brand equity. For that

reason brand equity defines as a valuable resource of competitive advantages for companies

because it is considered as an antecedent of some beneficial market components such as market

share, profitability, price premium, extension capacity etc.

Consequently, the companies strive to create, maintain, and increase brand equity by optimally

designed marketing strategies. But it is a challenging problem to decide true combination of

strategies that will be utilized. This point is also crucial for mobile phone sector because of the

intensively dynamic structure of the market with frequent introduction of new modified brands

that have a short life cycle.

Market trends show that the homogeneity of product has increased; meaning that few functional

differences between key competitors currently exists in most highly competitive markets. This

decrease in product differentiation is considered to be the direct result of high levels of

competition that exists within today¶s markets, as well as the technological advances of

production and distribution methods. Because these advances have diminished the ability of

technological innovations to offer sustainable competitive advantage and have made product

differentiation extremely difficult.

As a direct consequence, Branding has emerged as a significant feature of contemporary

marketing strategies and is now considered a key organizational asset. The symbolic values

associated with brand names have become the basis for product differentiation, with leadingstrategies attempting to emulate key factors that are conductive to key behaviors associated with

consumer purchasing patterns. several research have shown that consumer perceptions and attitudes -

measured collectively, and commonly described as consumer Brand Equity - have a direct relationship to

a brand's market position and business results.



Brand equity is the marketing effects and outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name

compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. Fact of the well-

known brand name is that, the company can sometimes charge premium prices from the consumer . And,

at the root of these marketing effects is consumers' knowledge. In other words, consumers' knowledge

about a brand makes manufacturers and advertisers respond differently or adopt appropriately adept

measures for the marketing of the brand. The study of brand equity is increasingly popular as some

marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets a company has.

Brand equity is one of the factors which can increase the financial value of a brand to the brand owner,

although not the only one. Elements that can be included in the valuation of brand equity include (but not

limited to): changing market share, profit margins, consumer recognition of logos and other visual

elements, brand language associations made by consumers, consumers' perceptions of quality and other

relevant brand values.



The Benefits of a Strong Brand Equity

Here are just a few benefits of creating a strong brand equity:-

y

A strong brand equity influences the buying decision and shapes the ownershipexperience.

y Branding creates trust and an emotional attachment to product or company. This

attachment then causes

y companies market to make decisions based, at least in part, upon emotion-- not

necessarily just for logical or intellectual reasons.

y A strong brand equity can command a premium price and maximize the number of units

that can be sold at that premium.

y Branding helps make purchasing decisions easier. In this way, branding delivers a very

important benefit. In a commodity market where features and benefits are virtually

indistinguishable, a strong brand will help customers to trust on company and create a set

of expectations about its products without even knowing the specifics of product features.

y Branding will help to "fence off" customers from the competition and protect market

share while building mind share. Once company have mind share, its customers will

automatically think first when they think of such product category.

y A strong brand equity can make actual product features virtually insignificant. A solid

branding strategy communicates a strong, consistent message about the value of

company. A strong brand helps to sell value and the intangibles that surround its

products.

y A strong brand equity signals that you want to build customer loyalty, not just sell

product. A strong branding campaign will also signal that you are serious about

marketing and that you intend to be around for a while. A brand impresses a firm's

identity upon potential customers, not necessarily to capture an immediate sale but rather

to build a lasting impression of company and its products.

y Brand equity builds name recognition for your company or product.

y A brand equity will help you articulate company's values and explain how can a company

competing in market.



Trends in Indian Market for Branded Handset

In 1996, mobile phones first entered India. After nearly 15 years and with almost 20 millionhandsets sold per month, the country has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets in the

world. India¶s telecom policy has been modified to favour the indigenous mobile handset

companies.

Earlier people visiting any mobile store asked for a Nokia or a Samsung handset. Some took

these international brands as a benchmark for comparing other handsets. But things have

changed. People are now asking for local brands. The Indian mobile phone market is flooded

with new handsets every week.

These days, market is flooded with high performance handsets from leading brands. There are

innumerable options available and to select the best handset we need to compare mobile phones

and then select the most suitable one.

Technology has taken a tremendous leap in last few decades. The transformation and growth of

our progressive lifestyles is solely attributed to the technology. Today we enjoy great comfort

and style. Technology has leaded us to a lifestyle wherein everything is fast, easy and

comfortable. It has revolutionized the way we interact and communicate with the people. The

biggest benediction of technology in the last decade is the advent of mobile phones.

These devices have gained immense popularity and today every individual needs a contract

phones. From being a fashionable gadget to the most essential requirement, the mobiles have

influenced our lives in tremendous manner. Over the years mobile technology has grown multi-

fold. Mobile industry has become one of the most progressive domains of the present times.

Great innovations and advanced research is the prime reason behind the immense success of

mobile telecommunications in relatively short span of time. Mobiles have become our most

desirable and wanted gadget. No one can do without a mobile phone. All want great handsets

with which we can have loads of fun and entertainment along with ease of communication.



Top five mobile phone manufacturers, by 2010 global sales (according to international

Telecommunication Union)

Rank Vendor Unit shipments Market share

1 Nokia 453.0 million 33.3%

2 Samsung 280.2 million 20.6%

3 LG 116.7 million 8.6%

4 RIM 48.8 million 3.6%

5 Apple 47.5 million 3.5%

Others 413.8 million 30.4%

Total 1360 million 100%

Source:

(International Telecommunication Union)



According to the analysts from IDC, the global mobile phone market grew by almost 20% compared to Q1

of last year. This is mostly due to the skyrocketing in smartphone sales, especially in emerging markets

all over the world.

The 20 percent difference in units shipped amount to some good 61.3 million handsets. It's a record

number and a huge leap, proving that the mobile phone business is out of the financially challenging

woods.

According to the IDC, the smartphone market grew in the Asia/Pacific, Africa, Latin America and Middle

East regions, boosting the number of overall shipments.

Smartphones are quickly gaining ground over feature phones and demand for them will keep increasing.

But IDC is skeptical about feature phone extinction as there's still high global demand for them.In the US and Canada smartphones, like the iPhone, Blackberries and Android devices were the top

selling phones in Q1 2011. The iPhone 4 and HTC Thunderbolt were the most wanted gadgets there.

The market in Western Europe was good for Android and iOS too, as they were the main focus of buyers

attention.

Check out the top 5 chart with detailed information on units shipped and market share percentage over

the course of the last year.

Manufacturer Q1 2011

Shipment

volumes

Q1 2011

Market

share

Q1 2010

Shipment

volumes

Q1 2010

Market

share

Year-to-year

change

Nokia 108.5 29.2% 107.8 34.7% 0.6%

Samsung 70.0 18.8% 64.3 20.7% 8.9%

LG Electronics 24.5 6.6% 27.1 8.7% -9.6%

Apple 18.7 5.0% 8.7 2.8% 114.9%

ZTE 15.1 4.1% 10.4 3.3% 45.2%

Others 135 36.3% 92.2 29.7% 46.4%

Total 371.8 100.0% 310.5 100.0% 19.8%

Nokia still remains at the top of the mobile food chain, although it did lose some 5.5% of market shareyear-to-year. LG also gave up some ground with its market share going from 8.7% down to 6.6%, but this

will probably change as its new 3D-capable devices hit the shelves in mass numbers.

Apple doubled its market share due to their consecutive record quarter.



The report says the Finnish firm is followed by Samsung with revenues of Rs 5,720 crore and the

company captured market share of 17.2 pc. The company grew by 21.7 pc in FY2010-11 from Rs 4,700

Companies Market Share in

Q1 2011

Revenue

FY 2010-11

Revenue

FY 2009-10

Nokia

Samsung

MicroMax

BlackBerry

LG



crore it did a year before. Samsung's success can be attributed to its rich product portfolio on various

popular operating systems like Windows, Android and Bada. The company's entry level smartphone

'Wave' and 'Galaxy S' have been hugely successful during the period. For FY2010-11, the company's 3G

phones contributed 5 pc of its entire sales, adds Voice&Data, specialty publisher CyberMedia·s flagship

journal for the telecom industry.

Also read: 200 pc increase in Android malware samples

Homegrown handset company Micromax captured #3 slot among V&D100 Top 10 mobile handset brands

for FY2010-11. The company grew 43 pc during the fiscal to register revenue of Rs 2,289 crore from Rs

1,602 crore a year before, and grabbed a market share of 6.9 pc.

For the first time ever since Voice&Data started tracking Indian mobile handsets business, Canadian

firm Research in Motion·s brand BlackBerry ranked among top 5 mobile phone brands in India.

Positioning itself at #4, the Blackberry garnered revenue of Rs 1,950 in FY2010-11, up 61.2 pc from Rs

1,210 in FY2009-10. Its entry level smartphone saw more sales in the fourth quarter than all otherthree quarters put together. The company grabbed a market share of 5.9 pc.

Taiwanese handset maker HTC saw a growth of 99 pc, the highest, among all the brands surveyed by

Voice&Data. HTC's revenue for FY2010-11 grew to Rs 450 crore from Rs 226 crore in FY2009-10 and

holds 1.4 pc market share.

Most other Indian brands including Lava, Intex and Zen have shown almost a flat growth.

The mobile phone analysts at Voice&Data expect the partnership with Microsoft and Nokia to be a

game changer for the two companies post their expected launch of WP7 phone in the next 6-12

months. The price conscious Indian consumers could benefit in the current fiscal as domestic handset

players like Maxx, Karbonn and Micromax roll out made in India handsets from their own

manufacturing plants.

As the 3G services extend nationwide, the 3G phones would see a much bigger traction triggering

entry of more 3G enabled phones at affordable prices, concludes Voice&Data study.The mobile data

card market grew at 52.3 pc to Rs 1077 crore with Huawei and ZTE garnering Rs 630 crore and Rs 374

crore from this segment. The fixed phone market shrunk by over a quarter to post revenues of Rs 228

crore, with the public sector telephone instruments maker ITI·s revenues slipping below Rs 10 crore

mark to Rs 8 crore.



0RELOHKDQGVHWVDOHVLQ,QGLDWRWRXFKPLOOLRQLQ*DUWQHU

June 19, 2011, New Delhi: The number of mobile users in India is increasing

by leaps and bounds and this furitated the growth of mobile handset industry. Experts are saying

that India might experiecne the sale of around 220 million mobile handsets in 2011 alone as per the

latest estimates from global research group Gartner. India, one of the fastest growing handset

markets in the world, has millions of mobile phone users whose count are rising every month. As per

current trends, Gartner has projected that about 220 million handsets are expected to be sold in

India in 2011.

³Huge growth is expected in terms of mobile phone users in the coming months. The share of low

end devices (in the total handsets sold) is high,´ Gartner¶s Principal Research Analyst Anshul Gupta

told media.

Around 175 million handsets were sold last year in India. As many as 50.7 million mobile devices andthree million smartphones were sold during the first three months of 2011, Gartner estimates

showed.

In the wake of substantial growth, the competition has also increased, especially with rising number

of local and Chinese brands. Local and Chinese brands alone account for over 50 per cent market

share.

Gupta noted that there are more than 150 brands in the Indian market.

³Price competitiveness and value for money devices from local and Chinese players are giving a

tough competition to big global brands,´ Gartner said. Latest figures from the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (Trai) showed that mobile subscriber base in the country rose to 826.93 million at

the end of April 2011.

NOV25



Mobile Handset Market in India: Current Scenario & Future

Prospects

FeaturedAdd comments

The Indian mobile handset arena, at present, appears fully packed with numerous options to look at, with models

varying from the cheapest across the world, the Vodafone 150 (VF 150) sold for INR 799 (USD 18) featuring only the

basic attributes of a cell phone, to the likes of iPhone that feature some of the most sophisticated technologies. At

the first look, this reflects the focus the domestic market is receiving from some of the world·s leading handset

players such as Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, which are betting high on the fast-growing demand

for mobile handsets across the country. The same understanding has exactly been the trigger behind the flood of

new handsets launched in the past couple of years, as players struggle to capture a larger pie of this hot cake.

Taking a look back to the past decade, when owning a handset symbolized a high status among people, the Indian

cellphone market has come up very strong, riding on the wave of rising wireless subscriber base, which recently

crossed 600 million mark in mid 2010, and consistent decline in the Average Selling Price (ASP) of handsets, which

has come down to INR 2500 (USD 50) in 2010. A few other key factors known to have contributed to this

phenomenal growth are rising disposable incomes, affordable SIM registration and airtime charges. All these

factors have assisted in owning a handset increasingly affordable to masses in the past 10 years. Additionally, with

the rapid advancements in the technological field, the introduction of innovative features with sophisticated

technologies that have potential to live up to the customers· growing expectations has become more of an industry

norm and a challenge for existing players to survive in the market.

Understanding the growing appetite of Indian consumers, a large number of local players such as Micromax, Spice,

LAVA, and Lemon have jumped into reap profits on the back of local advantage such as relatively better consumer

understanding. And, to everyone·s surprise, these players have also been successful in their drive as they now

enjoy a huge share in the domestic handset market. While the leader, Nokia is way above other players, in terms

of market share (volume), accounting for more than 50% of the domestic handset sales, the new players have

miraculously grabbed approximately 14% share of the overall market, as per the industry figures.

These are the companies which seem to have hit a jackpot in the domestic market in terms of volume sales, as

they now jointly stand at the 3rd spot in the Indian handset market, right behind the market leader Nokia, and

Samsung. The level of achievement for these players seems way higher when one comes to know that almost all

the global handset manufacturers are already present in the market. A key point which has enabled these players

to grow so fast is the level of innovation they have brought into the market, something which seems to have forced

even the leaders to follow. The trend is validated by the recent launch of dual-SIM handsets by domestic leader



NOKIA. It were these local players, which introduced such innovative and value-added features in mobiles, as the

one with nearly 30 days of battery back-up, and dual SIM card options.

Future Prospects:

Presently sprinting on a high speed track, the Indian handset market is poised to touch record levels by 2015 in

terms of volume sales. A major sales growth is expected to come on the back of rising disposable incomes, growing

demand for innovative features, applications, and offerings such as the ones recently introduced by local players

Micromax, KARBONN, and LAVA.

The mobile handset teledensity (handsets per 100 inhabitants) in India currently stands at nearly 45%, representing

a huge untapped market, especially the rural sector. The industry leader, Nokia seems to have felt the market

pulse as, during the period 2009-10, the company introduced more than 20 devices through a vast distribution

network of 200,000 retail outlets, out of which nearly 45% were based in rural areas. Moreover, with the urban

markets touching saturation levels, the focus is bound to shift towards rural sector, where customers are highly

price sensitive and most of the purchase decisions are taken on the POS (point of sale) only. Additionally, in the

rural sector, sales are primarily driven by factors such as easy affordability, quality, and at times easy-to-use

features.

The introduction of 3G services is expected to be another crucial growth driver in the domestic market as

it is expected to push demand for high-end handsets to new highs, especially for the ones with 3G feature.

This would certainly work in favour of handset manufacturers which are increasingly strained by the ever

declining handset ASP. The forecast is validated by the huge interest received from mobile network

operators during the recently completed auction of 3G licenses, reportedly generating a whopping INR

650 million for the government, as operators realise the untapped potential of these services across the

country. However, in contrast to the global counterparts, India, though being a developing nation, lags

way behind many developed nations, such as South Korea, Japan, and the US, where 3G entered almost at

the start of the 21st century. That¶s one of the reasons India offers a lot of potential for global handset

manufacturers in terms of both new and replacement handset sales, compared to the developed economies

where mobile teledensity ranges between 90%-100% and hence offer less scope for new handsets.

Hence, it can be inferred that as the country enters the 2nd era of revolution in mobile handset market, where

focus shifts from mere owning a cellphone with limited features to the one featuring all the advanced capabilities,

such as QWERTY keypad, 3G, and high quality camera, the high-end models, especially the smart phones, are

expected to witness a steep growth curve through 2015. On the other hand, despite the estimated growth in

demand for high-end handsets, it would not be illogical to forecast that the low-cost handsets would still account

for a majority share in the handset market in terms of volume sales, considering the fact that this categorycontinues to witness consistent decline in ASP, as majority of the new players are targeting this category with

innovative offerings.



Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the use of the product or service and

through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand is a symbolic

embodiment of all the information connected to the product and serves to create associations and

expectations around it. A brand often includes a logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, and sound,

which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality

Marketers engaged in branding seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand

experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain

qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique. A brand image may be developed by

attributing a "personality" to or associating an "image" with a product or service, whereby the

personality or image is "branded" into the consciousness of consumers. A brand is therefore one

of the most valuable elements in the purchasing process. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management. A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires

brand recognition. When brand recognition builds up to a point where a brand enjoys a critical

mass of positive sentiment in the marketplace, it is said to have achieved brand franchise. One

goal in brand recognition is the identification of a brand without the name of the company

present. For example, Nokia has been successful at branding with their particular logo punch

lines and specific functional products.

According to the Market intelligence firm IDC¶s India Quarterly Mobile Handsets Tracker, 4Q

2009 March 2010 release, Nokia had the largest share of 54.1% in terms of units sold during



calendar year 2009.The two Korean companies Samsung with a 9.7% share and LG with a 6.4%

share for the year end December 31, 2009 were at No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. The

combined market share of the local brands¶ share jumped from 3% to 14% compared to last year.

There were only five players in 2008. Now there are more than 30 different phone makers.

According to Prem Kumar, CEO, Fly mobiles, ³The Chinese phones are good as far as features

and looks are concerned but they fall flat on security, usability and servicing. The Indian

consumer is smart enough to realise the credibility and after sale support of global brands and

choose to stick to them.´ He also added that there are short terms brands available in the Indian

market but companies, which are here to stay and deliver the best are those who get into serious

consumer research and deliver a good product and support it with great services.There has been an increase in so-called ³copy cat´ models in the lower end market resembling

high end smartphones. Most of them are available at one tenth of the price of branded

smartphones. Nokia was not initially interested in dual sim handsets. But it realised the

increasing popularity of the dual sim mobile handset produced by the local brands. Now Nokia

has finally launched dual SIM mobile phones in India-C1 and C2.

Almost all the brands are focusing on two segments for volume sales: low-end bar-phone and

high battery capacity phone with loud music and video support. Major sales happen only

between the brackets of INR1000 ± INR 3000.´ People are looking for an economical phone

with great entertainment value.

Indian handset manufacturing companies are venturing into international destinations, too. Apart

from the SAARC territory, they are doing good business in places like Brazil, West Asia, South

America, East Europe and Africa. Indian handsets are attracting them as they are providing high

end technology at affordable prices.

The fast pace of development of technology makes research and product upgradation the key to

survival. Consumers¶ demands keep on evolving. ³We understand that smart-phone should play

the dual role of a mobile handset and a laptop for consumers.



Rural centric approach

Local brands are targeting the rural market first and then moving to the urban cities. They

believe that they have tremendous opportunity due to their cost factor and the multinational

brands concentrating more in urban cities compared to rural areas.

Local brands have come up with unique customised features to address the rural needs like

inbuilt mosquito repellant, fake currency reader, 30 day battery back up, cosmetic compact

shaped handset fitted with make-up mirror, Hindi QWERTY, charging by sunlight, GSM and

CDMA features on the same handset, etc.

Their marketing efforts are no less than big player. Many have roped in big Bollywood

celebrities and famous sportspersons. They are coming with innovative ways like selling

handsets from post offices. Retailers prefer the local brand more than the big guns as they reap

better profits.

Top five mobile phone manufacturers, by 2010 global sales (according to international

Telecommunication Union)



Top five mobile phone manufacturers, by 2010 global sales

Rank Vendor Unit shipments Market share

1 Nokia 453.0 million 33.3%

2 Samsung 280.2 million 20.6%

3 LG 116.7 million 8.6%

4 RIM 48.8 million 3.6%

5 Apple 47.5 million 3.5%

Others 413.8 million 30.4%

Total 1360 million 100%

Source:

(International Telecommunication Union)



Rank Vendor Unit

shipments Market share

1 Nokia453.0

million33.3%

Top 10 Mobile companies in India

India stands in the front row in the mobile phone business. Many companies are introducing

mobile handsets with different advanced features. On an average, nearly one crore people are

buying mobile phones. When comparison is between last financial year and the previous

financial year to it, Nokia Company belonging to Finland tops the market. Though it continues to

be the top most company in mobile handset business, it is noticeable that its share in the markethas reduced by 12%. At the same time, market share of Samsung Company has improved by

7.5%. Following table shows the representation of companies in mobile handset market (Based

on Voice and Data Survey, June 2010).

Company 2008-09(share in Percentage)

2009-10(Share in Percentage)

Growth/ Decline(in percentages)

Nokia 64.0 52.2 -11.8

Samsung 10.0 17.4 7.4



LG 4.5 5.9 1.4

Micromax 4.1 4.1

Spice Mobiles 2.0 3.9 1.9

Karbonn 3.0 3.0

Sony Ericson 6.0 3.0 -3.0

ZTE 5.6 1.9 -3.7

Huwaii 1.3 1.7 0.4

Motorola 3.5 1.0 -2.5

Othercompanies

3.1 5.9 2.8

Revenues of the Indian mobile handset market grew by 15% to touch Rs 33,171 crore in 2010-11

from Rs 28,897 crore a year back. In the 16th annual survey of 'V&D 100' (Voice&Data is

India's magazine on the business of communications providing vital information, statistics and

analyses on the business, technology and regulatory aspects of Indian telecom and

networking.)covered all the mobile handset companies doing business in India across categories

like feature phones, multimedia phones, enterprise phones and smartphones. Both multi-national

and Indian mobile phone firms were surveyed for this report.

Nokia remained the #1 player in handset business in FY2010-11 with revenue of Rs 12,929 crore

showing a growth of 0.2% over Rs 12,900 crore it did in FY2009-10. It lost market share in low-

end segments to home grown handset makers like Micromax, Karbonn and Spice whereas it's

high-end phones faced a tough competition from brands like Samsung, BlackBerry and HTC.

Nokia has lost market share due to the lack of dual-SIM phones in its portfolio. Dual-SIM

phones have become an increasing phenomenon among value conscious Indian consumers. For

FY2010-11, Nokia enjoys a market share of 39.0%.



The Finnish firm was followed by Samsung with revenues of Rs 5,720 crore and the company

captured market share of 17.2%. The company grew by 21.7% in FY2010-11 from Rs 4,700

crore it did a year before. Samsung's success can be attributed to its rich product portfolio on

various popular operating systems like Windows, Android and Bada. The company's entry level

smartphone 'Wave' and 'Galaxy S' have been hugely successful during the period. For FY2010-

11, the company's 3G phones contributed 5% of its entire sales, adds Voice&Data, specialty

publisher CyberMedia's flagship journal for the telecom industry.

Homegrown handset company Micromax captured #3 slot among V&D100 Top 10 mobile

handset brands for FY2010-11. The company grew 43% during the fiscal to register revenue of

Rs 2,289 crore from Rs 1,602 crore a year before, and grabbed a market share of 6.9%.

For the first time ever since Voice&Data started tracking Indian mobile handsets business,

Canadian firm Research in Motion's brand BlackBerry ranked among top 5 mobile phone brands

in India. Positioning itself at #4, the Blackberry garnered revenue of Rs 1,950 in FY2010-11, up

61.2% from Rs 1,210 in FY2009-10. Its entry level smartphone saw more sales in the fourth

quarter than all other three quarters put together. The company grabbed a market share of 5.9%.

Taiwanese handset maker HTC saw a growth of 99%, the highest, among all the brands surveyed

by Voice&Data. HTC's revenue for FY2010-11 grew to Rs 450 crore from Rs 226 crore inFY2009-10 and holds 1.4% market share.

Most other Indian brands including Lava, Intex and Zen have shown almost a flat growth.

The mobile phone analysts at Voice&Data expect the partnership with Microsoft and Nokia to be

a game changer for the two companies post their expected launch of WP7 phone in the next 6-12

months. The price conscious Indian consumers could benefit in the current fiscal as domestic

handset players like Maxx, Karbonn and Micromax roll out made in India handsets from their

own manufacturing plants.

As the 3G services extend nationwide, the 3G phones would see a much bigger traction

triggering entry of more 3G enabled phones at affordable prices.



The mobile data card market grew at 52.3% to Rs 1077 crore with Huawei and ZTE garnering Rs

630 crore and Rs 374 crore from this segment. The fixed phone market shrunk by over a quarter

to post revenues of Rs 228 crore, with the public sector telephone instruments maker ITI's

revenues slipping below Rs 10 crore mark to Rs 8 crore.

These days, market is flooded with high performance handsets from leading brands. There are

innumerable options available and to select the best handset we need to compare mobile phones

and then select the most suitable one.

Technology has taken a tremendous leap in last few decades. The transformation and growth of

our progressive lifestyles is solely attributed to the technology. Today we enjoy great comfort

and style. Technology has leaded us to a lifestyle wherein everything is fast, easy and

comfortable. It has revolutionized the way we interact and communicate with the people. The

biggest benediction of technology in the last decade is the advent of mobile phones.

These devices have gained immense popularity and today every individual needs a contract

phones. From being a fashionable gadget to the most essential requirement, the mobiles have

influenced our lives in tremendous manner. Over the years mobile technology has grown multi-

fold. Mobile industry has become one of the most progressive domains of the present times.

Great innovations and advanced research is the prime reason behind the immense success of

mobile telecommunications in relatively short span of time. Mobiles have become our most

desirable and wanted gadget. No one can do without a mobile phone. All want great handsets

with which we can have loads of fun and entertainment along with ease of communication.

These days a wide variety of phones are available in the markets. There are innumerable options

that simply confuse us.

In the highly competitive scenario different phone manufactures come with latest handsets from

time to time. From Nokia to Sony Ericsson, Samsung to LG and Motorola, there are lots of innovative handsets available in the markets. The highly advanced mobile phones have great

capabilities like Exclusive Music players, High end camera features, Bluetooth connectivity, fast

speed internet access and exciting games. The advancement in the sector of mobiles is extremely

fast. Every month, new innovations are introduced by one or the other brand. It is important to



compare mobiles and carefully examine the various options available in the market and then

select the most appropriate one.

It is extremely difficult to decide which device is better, as various brands come up with the most

innovative and sophisticated handsets. Be it Nokia n series or the Samsung U series, every phone

is truly marvelous. It solely depends upon the user's choice and preferences which highly

affected with the brand of the handset.



Mobile phone manufacturers in India have turned the telecom industry into one of the most

beneficial and lucrative markets for the global mobile manufacturers. Most of these mobile

phones support dual SIM which is a growing requirement for almost 30-40 per cent of the mobile

phone users in India. During IPL-3, the telecom industry saw a massive publicity with two main

manufacturers making the most of it including Maxx mobiles and Karbonn mobiles. These major

players advertised heavily during the third season of the Indian Premier League. The famous

sponsorship called µKarbonn Kamaal Katch¶ is simply unforgettable which works in favor of

Karbonn mobiles. It might sound astounding but there are 40 mobile manufacturers in India

offering varieties of mobile phones to the ever growing mobile population in India.

Some of the leading mobile phone manufacturers in India are Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic,

Samsung, Sharp, Sony Ericsson, HTC, Philips, Sonim Technologies, LG, Mitsubishi, BenQ-

Siemens, Micro Max, Karbonn mobiles and many more. Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and

Reliance continue to remain the leading players with Nokia acquiring 36 percent of the global

market share of the 40 players populating the industry. The cell phone manufacturers like Micro



Max and Karbonn are the new entrants who used IPL 3 as a platform to announce their presence

in the wide spread mobile phone market.

Mobile phone manufacturers in India are at logger heads with each company launching

innovative and exciting features every year to seduce the buyer. Looking at such an intense

competition among almost 40 manufacturers, each manufacturer tries to get an extra edge over

others and this calls for the introduction of new mobile phones. In order to beat the competition,

these mobile phone manufacturers are now producing world-class products at affordable prices.

Since the cellular phone market is looking to grow into a booming industry, for each player it is

important to outshine others and for this, unique features and great looks serve the purpose.

Micro Maxx mobile offers dual SIM handsets which are available at never heard before prices.

To meet the growing expectations of the users, Karbonn mobiles have come up with a perfect

blend of looks, features, technology and quality. The dual SIM phones launched by Karbonn

include K650, K770, K443, K300, K50 and many other exciting models. Dual SIM mobile

industry is growing rapidly in order to do away with the hassles of carrying two mobile phones

anywhere you go.

With so many options available in the market, people are choosing from a wide range of

affordable hand sets and the upcoming mobile phone manufacturers like Micro Maxx and

Karbonn are taking advantage of this. They have come up with some of the best hand sets at

reasonable prices which make them the preferred choice of the mobile users.

the study of impact of brand equity on preferences for mobile brands

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