Smartphone sales jumped by 34 per cent in third quarter of 2010: IDC India

In this period, 9.4 per cent of smartphones shipped/sold in India were based on Android, the mobile operating system owned by Google.

According to market intelligence firm, IDC India's Quarterly Mobile Handsets Tracker report, smartphone sales have jumped by more than 34 per cent in the third quarter of 2010. As compared to the third quarter of 2009, smartphone sales have increased by 295 per cent.

The report further points out that 9.4 per cent of smartphones shipped to India in the third quarter of 2010 were based on the Android mobile operating system (OS), as compared to 2.9 per cent in the same quarter of 2009.

The number of phone models with Android OS also increased to 19 in the third quarter of 2010, as compared to only two models in the same quarter last year.

"Overall, Indian smartphone sales are expected to touch 5.96 million units by end of 2010," says Naveen Mishra, lead analyst, Mobile Handsets Research, IDC India.

Eighty per cent of the total smartphone sales in India were below the Average Sales Value (ASV) of Rs 18,000 in the second quarter of 2010; this proportion increased to 90 per cent in the third quarter.

The mobile handsets market (including smartphones) grew by 3.6 per cent as compared to the second quarter of 2010; about 41 million handsets were sold in the third quarter. Overall, the market is expected to cross 156 million units by the end of 2010.

In terms of market share, Nokia had 31.5 per cent market share, while the Chinese brand G'Five emerged as the No. 2 player in terms of unit shipments and market share (10.6 per cent). Korean handset manufacturer, Samsung stood at No. 3 with 8.2 per cent market share.

"The mobile handsets market got even more crowded and fragmented in the lower and mid-market segments, with the further entry of new players offering innovative models at attractive price points to lure buyers," Anirban Banerjee, associate vice-president, research, IDC India mentions in an official communiqué.

"The propensity to adopt feature phones and smartphones is greatest amongst the youth and business executive segments, whose purchase decisions are often driven by peer group influence and workplace usage patterns, as well as larger disposable incomes and willingness to experiment with new technology platforms," Banerjee adds.