The Indian smartphone market is a hub for budget devices and while it’s crowded with countless options, HTC thinks it has a chance of success by designing a product specifically for the country. The handset is planned for launch sometime during the third quarter of this year.
Renowned brands such as Asus, Xiaomi, Huawei and Motorola have managed to create a good stronghold in the affordable market and clearly, HTC also wants to be part of this cluster. According to a report, the upcoming phone will be designed specifically for the Indian consumer and the country will basically act as a test bed to determine whether the device should be released in other markets later on.
This would be similar to what Samsung did with its Tizen powered Z1 handset. Speaking to the Economic Times, HTC’s CFO and President of global sales, Chia-Lin Chang, revealed that the device will be priced between Rs 15000 to Rs 2000. The company isn’t going to focus on the sub-Rs 10000 for now mainly to deliver a better experience.
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It’s clear from this that the upcoming phone will be a mid-range release and might offer features similar to what the Desire 820 packs. Additionally, Chia-Lin Chang revealed that HTC intends to setup its own manufacturing plant in the country. And a total of 10 new smartphones are slated for launch this year itself offering 4G connectivity, some of which will be tagged under Rs 20000.
The report also notes that HTC currently occupies about 6% of the smartphone market share in India. The company plans on improving that number to 10% by the end of the current fiscal year.