Nokia eyes affordable smartphone market

The company is facing tough competition from Indian companies like Micromax and Karbonn in the segment

With Asha 502, mobile handset manufacturer Nokia today launched next generation of Nokia Asha smart phones in India priced at Rs 5969.

The range will soon be extended with two new smart phones set to be launched over the next month - Asha 500 and Asha 503.

With this, Nokia is now aggressively eying affordable smart phone market of India. In this segment, Nokia is facing tough competition from Indian companies like Micromax and Karbonn.

Commenting on this, Viral Oza, director marketing, Nokia India, said, "After the overwhelming response received by Nokia Asha 501 in the Indian market, we are now expanding the Asha family with a trio of smart phones that offer consumers a range of smart phone capabilities and price points to suit a variety of needs. With the market for affordable smart phones making headway in the country, these new devices are set to place smart phone technology within reach of millions of consumers. Nokia Asha 501 have boosted sales for Nokia in this space."
 

According to Oza, globally, Nokia sales Asha in 132 markets and in last two years it has sold 25 million units.

The new Nokia Asha 502 launched today comes with a five mega pixel camera with LED flash, a pioneering accomplishment for a phone at its price range.

According to the latest IDC report for Q3, 2013, smart phone sales in India have grown over three-fold with 12.8 million units in third quarter of 2013 compared to the same time last year.

In the smart phone space, Samsung leads the position with 32.9 percent share in the third quarter of 2013 and followed by Micromax with 17.1 percent market share.