Reference Auto

Videocon hasn’t really been able to make its presence felt in the Indian handset market so far but it seems it plans to make a serious bid to take on big players, and in an effort to do so, it has joined hands with superbike maker Ducati Motors to launch a smartphone christened V6200.

The V6200 carries a price tag of Rs 12,000 and is mainly targeted at bikers. Well, this marketing strategy of targeting a niche segment could prompt customers to lap up the handset in the short term, especially bike enthusiasts as the handset comes with a Ducati tag.

Cellphone companies are, in fact, targeting customers in the short and medium term as a handset gets redundant in the long term, when customers look for something new in the ever-evolving handset market.

Moreover, the Ducati name has been used to raise about the superbike. This is a new marketing effort to promote one brand by using another. Phenomenal!

With its new look, the Videocon V6200 has been targeted at adventure buffs, with an intention to promote the concept of Mo-Biking in India. The Videocon V6200 smartphone features include e-compass, thermometer, barometer, altimeter, pedometer, sunrise and sunset timings, UV sensor and global positioning system (GPS).

The smartphone, which has a sporty design (thanks to Ducati), comes with anti-slip grip, screw frame body chassis and keys that are dust resistant and with side control. The smartphone is offered with two headsets, normal and sports, customisable LED pulse indicator, a mobile tracker and FM with FM recorder.

Videocon V6200 can operate via three modes: Phone, Fun and Sports. It also comes with Ducati sports bottle, an arm band and a carrying case. Among other features of the Videocon’s V6200 include a 2 MP camera, dual Led Torch, 6 cm TFT screen, 4 GB memory card (with lifetime validity) and the GPS navigation system comes from MAPMYINDIA.

Videocon Group director Saurabh Dhoot said, “we are glad the way Videocon has been accepted by the customers. Videocon begins a new era with the launch of this phone. We at Videocon strive to get interesting new elements and try to set the benchmarks in the cellphone market. We are sure that it will create the desired innovation in the mobile phone industry. This is a revolutionary phone with some never seen before features and uses.”

Currently, international brands like Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG together account for over 90% of the handset market in India. The user base of mobile phones is over 500 million across the country and 10 million new users are being added (on an average) every month.

Videocon is eyeing to be among the top three players in the country. While it may see exponential growth if it offers its customers feature-rich phones with price advantage, its journey to the top three in the handset space may still be a distant dream even though Videocon is a brand to reckon with in India.