mn14april 0 Report post Posted November 12, 2007 Economictimes, 11 Nov, 2007 Economictimes - Article Link MUMBAI: Shifting strategy in a bid to tap the burgeoning CDMA mobile market, Korea's Samsung will sell its products directly to consumers and is also open to set up a manufacturing unit later if demand picks up. Presently, Samsung's handsets are sold through two CDMA operators, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. However, sensing a good potential in this segment, Samsung will be retailing its handsets through open channels from the end of this month. "This is the first time we will be selling CDMA handsets in the country through open channels. We have already soft-launched our products in Mumbai and Delhi and by this month-end, we will be going ahead with our formal launch," Samsung Telecommunications India's vice-resident (sales & marketing) Hyunbai Kim told PTI here. Foreseeing a tremendous demand for its handsets, Samsung has set a sales target of half-a-million units in 2008. It may also consider setting up a manufacturing line for its CDMA handsets at its Noida factory around mid-2009, if its sales pick up enough steam to warrant such a move, he said. "Given the high-quality of our products and competitive pricing, I am confident our CDMA handsets will fare very well in the Indian market," Kim said, adding Samsung is among the top three brands in terms of CDMA handsets in the country. Samsung will cater to the middle and high-end market and its handsets will be 'competitively-priced' at Rs 3,000-plus in the mid-segment and Rs 7,500-plus in the upper segment, Kim said. Samsung has chosen the open channels after intensive market research. "Today, CDMA customers want aspirational handsets which are not easily available in the market. Samsung will be filling up this gap with its portfolio of products," Kim said. The first handset to be launched this month-end, the Samsung Max, will come with the tag-line 'Max Multimedia, Max Confidence'. These CDMA handsets sport a sleek styling and come with product-specific and software differentiation. "We have combined Indian and global features. We will offer a 'panchang', a facility to type Hindi words in English (Hinglish) and even set an 'aarti' for that day's specific deity," Kim said. "Besides, the highly-competitive pricing vis-a-vis our competitors will be an added advantage," he said. The company will be strongly focusing on the upgrade market. The CDMA segment in the country gathered momentum only from end-2005 and subscribers who had purchased CDMA handsets then, would like to go in for upgrades now. "These CDMA customers will have a choice of handsets to pick from and they will constitute a huge market for us," the official said. Samsung, which enjoys a 19 per cent market share globally in handsets, plans to grow its retail chain, 'Samsung Mobile', in the country from the present 50 outlets to over 150 by end-2008. These outlets will, however, stock both CDMA and GSM handsets. Betting big on the CDMA market in India, Kim said he expected a 50 per cent growth per annum over the next three years. "Presently, the CDMA subscriber base is 40-million. By end-2007, I expect this to grow to around 45-million," Kim said, adding "from then on, I foresee an explosive growth in this segment." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
@ksh@T 20 Report post Posted November 12, 2007 but what the hell is benefit they have an exclusive tie uo with tata! . .what shd RCOM users do with it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ani_meher 42 Report post Posted November 12, 2007 Presently, Samsung's handsets are sold through two CDMA operators, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. Name ONE samsung handset currently sold thru reliance. There is none. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kshah 452 Report post Posted November 12, 2007 hope they bring good handset but I am sure it will not support web features as no operator has made settings open. may be they can target non web users. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KumaarShah 143 Report post Posted November 13, 2007 If 3G is introduced early, then all handset manufacturers will have similar ideas to exploit fully India's potential. Even Motorola/LG/etc have some great 3G handsets. Let us also hope that Nokia patches up with Qualcomm and introduces some really great 3G handsets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
situ1962 21 Report post Posted November 13, 2007 But the head of samsung india has specifically been quoted in the above article that they will target the mid and high end market.if it's true then how can they cater to the need of those people as a major portion of mid segment and all of the high segment use web.so i hope those handsets will be web enabled and the carriers eg reliance and tata both will have no alternative than allowing those sets to access the web.let's wait and watch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ani_meher 42 Report post Posted November 14, 2007 why manufacturers still chose 800mAh battery is above me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
@ksh@T 20 Report post Posted November 14, 2007 but for what they will have open chain if their handsets cant be used with reliance!. . . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kesav 127 Report post Posted November 17, 2007 There are 3 topics currently running related to samsung max. Admins kindly merge all 3 topics into one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
