Samsung to focus on high-end cell phones

Samsung India Electronics Ltd (SIEL) on Thursday said that it would focus on mid and high-end segment to drive its mobile phone sales in the country. The company plans to increase its sales to 28 lakh handsets this year, from 25 lakh handsets it sold last year.

Speaking to reporters, Kunal Ahooja, Vice President-Telecom, SIEL, said, "Colour and camera handsets are driving the growth with their market share increased from 5 per cent last year to 25 per cent this year. We will have strategic focus on this segment."

The company claims a global market share of 40 per cent in mid and high-end segment. It claims a 13 per cent market share in the global mobile phone market.

Samsung yesterday unveiled the "Olympic series" mobile phones in a bid to augment sales during the sporting event. The three new GSM models include D 410, E 800 and E 810.

The D 410 model is the company's first slide phone, with a built-in camera, polyphonic ring tones and nine MB storage capacity and an e-mail client.

The other two models have 23 MB storage capacity with a special feature to cancel noise. All these models would be priced in the range of Rs 19,500 to Rs 20,000, Ahooja said.

Ahuja said, at present, the company had no plans to manufacture handsets in India but the possibility was being explored through Indian Cellular Association, which along with the government was bringing out a white paper on handset manufacturing opportunities in the country.