JOIN USThe Indian smartphone market grew almost three-fold at 181 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2013, at 44 million units shipped during the period from 16.2 million in 2012, data from the International Data Corporation's (IDC) Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker showed on Wednesday.
The surge in smartphone sales was powered mainly by homegrown vendors who have shown tremendous and consistent growth over the past four quarters of 2013, IDC said.
Samsung maintained its leadership spot with about 38 per cent in terms of market share. Its smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter grew by close to 37 per cent since the third quarter of 2013. The fourth quarter saw quite a few new launches across pricepoints by Samsung — however, the low-end Galaxy portfolio of smartphones contributed 50 per cent in terms of shipment volumes
Micromax held on to its second spot with about 16 per cent in terms of market share, followed by Karbonn with 10 per cent, Sony with 5 per cent and Lava with market share of 4.7 per cent.
The fourth quarter of 2013 witnessed a spike in the smartphone shipments by smaller homegrown vendors like LAVA and Intex. “The international vendors have understood the importance of creating a diverse portfolio of devices at varied price points and are striving to launch cost competitive devices that cater to every segment in the target audience,” said Kiran Kumar, Research Manager with IDC India.