Reference Auto

Ahead of India’s full-fledged 3G roll out, the high potential and highly-competitive smartphones market has just got one more contender, Dell, which has launched two handsets, priced at Rs 10,999 and Rs 16,990, respectively.

The company is eyeing both high and low-end users with its two smartphones, dubbed XCD28 (Rs 10,999) and XCD35 (Rs 16,990). Both the smartphones are based on Google’s Android platform.

The two phones feature a Qualcomm chipset clocked at 600 MHz. Both phones are 3G compatible and come with WiFi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, 3.2 mega pixel cameras and active sync technology. The company is bullish on India’s cellphones market and said a slew of handsets would be launched very soon.

The onset of 3G has seen many players scurry for a pie of the smartphones market in India, and in order to grab a big bite in this category, Dell will have to build its reputation as a handset maker with an aggressive ad blitz.

Dell has already established its reputation as one of the top brands in laptops and PCs in India. But to build that kind of an image for its handsets, it could take quite a while and some hardselling.

The smartphones segment is set to become the growth drivers for handset makers, with experts predicting at least a staggering 50% growth for smartphones in the next five years. Worldwide, in the next one year, the sales figure could simply double!

“With the new launch, we extend our pioneering edge to the smartphones market... as starting with the XCD series, we look to offer technology solutions to a much larger audience,” Dell India general manager (consumer and SMB) Mahesh Bhalla said.

“India is one of the fastest growing global markets for mobile devices, as well as for personal computers,” Dell vice-president worldwide business development and strategy Farooq Butt said.

Some global players that are already present in India’s smartphones market are HTC, Nokia, Acer and Blackberry. There are domestic players also, like Micromax and Lava, that have managed to lap up a big chunk of the market with their aggressive pricing.

Dell has also said it will extend ‘advanced exchange warranty’ launched for the Dell Streak to the new handsets. Under this warranty, customers can exchange phones with manufacturing defects for new ones at no extra cost.

So, in order to establish itself in the cellphones market, especially in the burgeoning smartphones segment, Dell will have to offer an array of features at affordable price points, although its exchange warranty scheme could prove to be a big plus for the company.