JOIN US Samsung India Electronics Director (Mobile Business) Manu Sharma on Wednesday said that 4G will be a big growth driver for tablet sales in India and Samsung will play a vital role to gain more market share.
Talking to Deccan Herald on the sidelines of the launch of 4G-enabled Galaxy Tab S2 priced at Rs 39,400, Sharma said it is the company’s 17th, 4G-compatible device. Samsung has products in the Rs 9,000 to Rs 58,000 range which are 4G-compatible, he said.
“What we see in smartphones is about 20 per cent growth year-on-year, and while in tablets it is less... there is a huge potential in certain segments like education, financial services, etc. where the offtake of tablets can happen in a bigger way.”
Sharma explains, “As the 4G rollout happens and as 3G happened, once you have experienced 3G, nobody wants to be on 2G. In 4G, speed is clearly the big driver, but usage is going to be key. What we are seeing from consumption of streaming services is that video consumption has tremendously gone up in smartphones.
“As the leader with 42 per cent market share in tablet sales, we want to be the catalyst of change for the 4G adoption in tablets.”
According to reports, the market size of tablets in India is around 1,75,000 units per month. When asked about the marketing strategy, Sharma said: “First, we have been gaining market share since January and in the smartphone segment we have more than 40 per cent now.
“We have launched innovative products like Galaxy A and E Series, and S6 smartphones, besides different tablets. Our strategy is clearly to work with consumers to understand the gap and bring products that will help to gain more market share. Second, our experience in stores. We have one of the largest footprints where we sell our devices from 1.5 lakh stores, of which 2,100 are exclusive outlets. Third, we continue to enhance our service capabilities on post purchase delight with 2,800 service centres.”
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 will come in the 9.7-inch screen version with Wi-Fi and LTE, 32-GB inbuilt, and expandable up to 128 GB with external storage.