Micromax A110 Canvas 2 the show stopper of 2013: The Mobile Indian Survey

As per our Annual Handset Hotlist of 2013, eight handsets each were from Micromax and Samsung; four were from Nokia; two from Karbonn, and one each from, Apple, Xolo and Karbonn.

In 2013, over 357 mobile phones and tablets were launched in India, which includes 60 odd devices from handset giants like Samsung, Nokia and Sony. But curiously, Micromax A110 Canvas 2 was the most searched smartphone in the country last year, as per the data collected by The Mobile Indian.

Canvas 4, another handset of Micromax, was the second most hunted handset last year, reveals the data collected by a study of online preferences of over one million people who visited the website (www.themobileindian.com) every month in 2013.

As per our Annual Handset Hotlist of 2013, eight handsets each were from Micromax and Samsung; four were from Nokia; two from Karbonn, and one each from, Apple, Xolo and Karbonn (see the chart below)

Operating system:

As the Handset Hotlist shows, in 2013, Android operating system-based devices were the most sought after. Out of the top 25 most searched handsets on www.themobileindian.com last year, 20 devices had Android operating system, while three were based on Windows Phones, and one each on the iOS and Asha platforms.

As the above graph suggests, is it quite evident that Android-based handsets are available in different price brackets and that is one of the most important parameters on which most Indian consumers make a buying decision.

Interestingly, of the three Windows Phones operating system (OS)-based devices that made it to the top 25, one is available for less than Rs 10,000, while another is available between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000. The third smartphone was available for more than Rs 20,000. In the above mentioned price segments as compared to one device from Windows Phone OS in each segment, Android had seven, eight and five devices, respectively (in the Handset Hotlist).

Camera:

Not long ago, consumers invested money in buying a standalone point and shoot camera but now phones have made them redundant. This is also reflected in the Annual Hotlist as all the top 25 phones that made it to the list had cameras. Ten mobile phones had an 8 megapixel resolution-based rear camera, nine had 4- 5 megapixel resolution, three had 3 megapixel and the remaining three handsets had 13 megapixel or more resolution.

The average price of nine handsets, excluding iPhone 5, that had 8 megapixel camera resolution, was around Rs 17,000. On the other hand, the average price of nine handsets that had around 5 megapixel camera was around Rs 10,000. This clearly shows a good camera was one of the important parameters that a buyer in India is looking for in a handset.

Relative Index:

As far as Relative Score, a metric that helps determine a phone's overall score in relation to its competitors, is concerned, in 2013 there was close competition between two handsets of Micromax for slot Nos. 1 and 2. After that, there was again close competition between two handsets from Samsung for slot Nos. 3 and 4.

The gap between two consecutive models, from Nos. 5-16, was between 2 to 5 per cent and after that, there was a sudden drop of 10 per cent. Position No. 17 onwards, the competition was quite close and the difference was between 1 to 4 per cent between consecutive handsets.

If we look at the table, it is evident that Indian brands, on an average, launched five handsets every month for an average price of around Rs 8,500, which was perhaps their success mantra.

On the other hand, MNC brands also launched five devices every month but the average price of their handsets was around Rs 27,000. The result is slightly skewed due the average price of Apple devices. If we strike out the Apple phones from the list, then the average price was around Rs 17,000. This shows that the average price of handsets launched by MNC players was more than double of the offering of Indian players.

As far as the display size is concerned, except Nokia, every other player offered display screen size of 4-inch and above on an average. It should be recalled that last year, out of 22 devices that Nokia had launched, eight were feature phones and Asha series of phones which came with smaller screen sizes.