Following the unveiling of the Xiaomi Mi4i for India, HTC has revealed that the company is working on an India-specific smartphone as well. The name, specs and design details of the phone were not shared, but Chia-Lin Chang, HTC’s CFO and president of global sales stated that the phone will carry a price tag ranging from INR 15,000 – 20,000 ($237 – $316 USD).
“We were the first company to bring an Android smartphone to the country. Indian market is something that teaches us about new trends, which is always helpful. If we are able to serve Indian market well with the right strategy, we will be able to serve the global market well.”
HTC is also considering moving some of the company’s manufacturing to India, but nothing is set in stone yet. “We are considering a lot of things. Before getting into manufacturing, we will need to ensure smooth delivery of devices from R&D lab to the end consumer,”
While the unnamed smartphone will be build with Indian consumers in mind, HTC plans to make the smartphone available to other global markets as well. According to research firm CMR, HTC has a very strong foothold on the smartphone market in India with a 19% share of all 4G LTE smartphone sales. HTC is hoping the new smartphone with the right price and feature set will help the company grow its market share a fend off any advanced by Xiaomi and Samsung.
“Indian market is something that teaches us about new trends, which is always helpful. If we are able to serve Indian market well with the right strategy, we will be able to serve the global market well,”
Source: Economic Times
HTC does need to rethink their strategy! 5th graders could tell you the M9+ should have been a global launch. Snap 808 SoC’s would have been fine, if 810’s supply was a issue.
Cheers M8
Repair services in Delhi India are not upto the mark at all.I do have Desire 826 within warranty period,just purchased 8 months ago,bill amount Rs 22000,troubling since beginning,now the service center raising the bill of Rs 19752,totally against the professional ethics and keeping the reputation of the sturdy HTC (quietly brilliant) at stake