Mobility issue August 2018

Mobility Monthly Magazine

August 2018

Issue 08

Volume 15

Pages 44

20

www.mobilityindia.com

BEYOND TECHNOLOGY, BEYOND LIFESTYLE

Mr. Dev Pareek, Director, SSKY

Mr. Ankur Gupta, CTO, Ziox Mobiles

Mr. Vivek Gupta, Head BU, RV Solutions

Mr. Aditya Padman, Head B D, RV Solutions

Mr. Gopal Raghunathan, Senior Sales Manager, India and Sub Continent, Anker

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CONTENTS

32

EDITORIAL

8

NEWS

10

FEATURED

12

LAUNCHPAD

16

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

20

AverMedia

FIRSTLOOK

22

iBall CompBook M500

INTERVIEW

24

REVIEW

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SSKY Mobile wants to Expand into Mobile Accessories besides focusing on Mobile Phones

Ziox Super DJ Clout X417 Amaze UE WONDERBOOM Freestyle

EVENTS

ERD recently concluded Technology Roadshow 2018 in Goa

INTERACTION

Ziox aims to grab 5% of the Indian Mobile Market by the end of this FY

Editor Chief Editor Associate Editor (Tech,) Asst. Editor Product Head Creative Head Acct. & Finance Marketing Manager Marketing Executives

: : : : : : : : :

Swapan Roy Manoj Jha Jayanta Ghosh E.J. Jawahardatham Anit Kumar Gautam Middya Sandip Sarkar Tridip Dey Sujit Goswami, Pratap Biswas S. Dutt Raj Kumar

Circulation Manager Production

: :

System Manager

:

P. Biswas Ashish Ghosh Ashok Kumar Paul Ajay Biswas

H.O.: Delhi / Editorial Office Roy Mediative A-23, 1st Floor, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110020 (INDIA) Mob: 09810380882, 09811346846, 09582951366 Ph: 91-11-41602841, 65683896, 40536384-87 Redg.Off.: 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Branch Office: Mumbai: E-mail: roy@mobilityindia.com

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dia) Contact

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Email

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SPECIAL STORY

Will Reliance Jio knock out smaller Feature phone manufacturer or Jio itself will implode after some time?

SOLUTIONS & SERVICES

In the last 10 years we have developed our skills in IT as well as telecom, making us a Preferred Technology Solutions and Service provider in ICT domain

NEW ENTRANT

Currently in India, we are creating a presence in the charging, smart home, and audio markets

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

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Mobility Monthly News Paper, Printed, Published & Owned by Swapan Roy at 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Printed at Pushpak Printer, C-96, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi-20. Retail selling price of a magazine copy Rs. 20/-. Annual subscription Rs. 240.

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8

EDITORIAL

Mobility Wishes All its Readers a Happy Independence Day !!

Dear Readers, The recent announcement of JioPhone, a 4G feature phone, is sending shockwaves across the mobility industry. The feature phone manufacturers, distributors and retailers are all worried alike, where the smart phone manufacturers feel they are less affected.

Many domestic feature phone handset manufacturers feel they cannot survive in the market with Jio selling 4G feature phone handsets at such a low price. They feel many smaller feature phone manufacturing plants will closed down defeating Make in India program, besides throwing lakhs of jobless into the market.

Editor’s Choice

Swapan Roy roymobility@gmail.com

But several other feature phone manufacturers feel this JioPhone only a short-term fad that will fade away soon as they feel many youth prefer to purchase smart phones if they want to switch, not 4G feature phones. Others say JioPhone is not as cheap as it sounds, it has hidden costs, so its survival will be short.

Anyway, soon we will see who will win.

Samsung Galaxy Note9 The 6.4” ‘6.4” QHD+ super AMOLED display Samsung Galaxy Note 9 comes powered with a 4000mAH battery, Oct Core processor, 8MP front shooter and Dual rear 12MP cameras with Dual Aperture (one camera) which adapts like the human eye for stunning shots, day or night.

www.mobilityindia.com

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

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NEWS

ASUS launches ASUS Exclusive Store in Nehru Place, New Delhi Technology giant ASUS India announced the launch of its state-of-the-art new store in Delhi, India. The new ASUS Exclusive Store is set to host an extensive range of electronics and computer h a r d w a r e , including the brand’s flagship products such as VivoBook, ZenBook, Zenbook-Flip, and Republic of Gamers (ROG) laptops. The brand’s new store is located at G6 Kushal Bazaar, 32-33 Nehru Place, Delhi- 110019.

The new store launch is part of ASUS’ vision to expand its market presence across different market tiers, by opening 100 stores before the end of this financial year. The latest ASUS Exclusive Store is located in the commercial and business district of Delhi, Nehru Place. Considered to be a major IT hub of South Asia, the Nehru Place store will give users an easy access to brand’s latest and flagship products. Interested customers can simply walk in and experience the innovation-led products of ASUS, including VivoBook, ZenBook, Zenbook-Flip, and Republic of Gamers (ROG) laptops.

Targus celebrates 35th Anniversary, eyes to become India’s most preferred technology and accessories brand Targus, a leader in the IT peripherals industry, marks the completion of 35 strong and successful years in its journey in India. Setting off on this expedition as a backpack company, Targus has evolved and established itself as a frontrunner in technology accessories.

Embarking on this road in 1983, Targus has achieved remarkable feats throughout the years. It has set a new benchmark in the industry by constantly delivering cutting-edge and innovative technology. Along the way, while constantly striving to deliver products that will make their consumers life easier, Targus has consolidated itself with 45 offices worldwide and direct distribution in over 145 countries. With a heritage rooted in the mobility of on-the-goprofessionals, Targus rigorously works to develop advance, productivity-boosting products and solutions that enables its fast-paced consumer to perform at their best every time.

Airtel and Telecom Egypt announce strategic partnership for global submarine cable systems Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), a leading global telecom services provider, and Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s first integrated telecom operator, announced a strategic partnership, wherein, Airtel will get IRUs (Indefeasible Right of Use) on Middle East North Africa Submarine Cable (MENA Cable) and TE North Cable Systems. In addition, Airtel will also take large capacities on a long-term basis on two new state-of-the-art Cable Systems (SMW5 & AAE1). The transactions aim to be concluded after the

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

fulfillment of all conditions precedents.The partnership grants Airtel the right to use fiber pairs of MENA Cable from Egypt to India with access to Saudi Arabia and Oman, and other fiber pairs from Egypt towards Italy. It also extends beyond MENA Cable, where Airtel will get the right to use a fiber pair from Egypt to France on TE North along with capacities on SMW5 and AAE1 cable systems.

Glorious Mobile Accessories Appoints C M Enterprises as Distributor for Kolkata Glorious Mobile Accessories expands their business by appointing C M Enterprises as a Distributor for their mobile accessories for the Kolkata region. C M Enterprises will distribute the complete range of Glorious Mobile Accessories products in Kolkata market. The product line of Glorious includes mobile chargers, earphones, power bank, premium cables, car charges, etc.

Glorious was established three decades back.

The company’s headquarter & manufacturing unit is located at Faridabad and corporate office at Gurugram. The company manufacturing products under the “Make in India” initiative and always seek for new technology, aiming to produce practical products with good quality and trendy designs. State of the art manufacturing set up of Glorious is equipped with in house designing, moulding, finishing & packaging. A dedicated and professionally managed team is always on discretion of customers for world class after sales service. Ajay Sinha, Director of C M Enterprises has been into distribution of IT products, mobile phones and accessories for the last 20 years with network of over 100 resellers in Kolkata.

Potential to Unlock Over US $50 Billion in Online Commerce There is potential to unlock over US $50 billion in online commerce in India by driving awareness, usage and transactions among the current and next set of internet users and shoppers.

This will be driven by more than 500 million Indians who will constitute the next wave of online consumers, according to a report, ‘Unlocking Digital for Bharat: $50 Billion Opportunity’, released by Bain & Company, Google and Omidyar Network.

The report captures the changes in India’s emerging Internet landscape over the last few years. Its findings show data usage on mobile is at par with developed markets (8 GB/month/subscriber). With an average of 40 million new internet users added per year to online transactions, the report highlights that only 40 percent of India’s 390 million internet users transact online. To bring more people online and drive growth of users to unlock their economic potential, the report highlights the barriers which need to be overcome and identifies key themes relevant to the next half billion internet users and online shoppers.

Vodafone-Idea Merger gets Final Approval India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has published the June edition of its credit news digest on India’s telecom sector.

It highlights the trends in the telecom sector with a focus on subscriber a d d i t i o n s , subscriber market share, circle wise additions, broad b a n d subscribers, data usage and pricing. Key highlights of the report include the muted subscriber growth in May 2018 and reduction in the

FEATURED

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Immersive, intriguing, intelligent & fashionable consumer electronics from French brand Zoook

Z

OOOK was born in France,

conceptualised and created by technology freaks who are artistic and creative. This fusion of techno-art and the desire to create a high-velocity impact on Earth by its mere existence led to ZOOOK. Specialised in highend designing, manufacturing and marketing innovative Consumer electronic products is its sole purpose.

Zoook is all set to change how we use, enjoy and experience consumer electronics. A fusion of modern design, cutting edge technology and premium quality components gives consumer a product that is stylish and provides exceptional performance for years. It is not just electronics it’s art for all five senses.

“ZOOOK” comes from the popular Caribbean word “Zouk” which means festival. ZOOOK with its eccentric range of products celebrates life and the delicate moments that come with it which resembles a festival of life-time.

Zoook has products across six categories: Portable Audio, Mobile accessories, Power banks, Car accessories, gadgets and corporate gifting products.

Musicana: It’s all about the music The Musicana range of products are music connoisseur’s delight – Headphones, Earphones, Neckband & Speakers.

The super stylish, light weight and beautifully crafted Musicana range is designed through years of research and close collaboration with worlds top Artists, DJs and Gamers.

These robust and ergonomically designed headsets deliver Zoook’s award winning sound and signature bass, reproducing music accurately. The full, natural and richer audio with distinct notes and deep base is bound to give users an immersive experience like no other.

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

ZOOOK ROCKER VOLCANO ( TWS BLUETOOTH SPEAKER)

Blue: Lets you music set you free The blue series untangles your digital world with wireless high fidelity sound. The smart design and technology untethers the users from their media devices and smart phones. The series of headphones are a looker with luscious finish bright colors. The onboard controls, built in rechargeable battery, fast charging, long battery life, foldable design, LED display, FM Tuner, Mic and TF slot lets you enjoy your music anywhere. The mono headsets from the series have unique features like stereo sound, advanced noise cancelling technology.

PowerVault: Portable power for your digital universe The Powervault series gives you extra power for your gadgets and portable devices. The powerbank with its rapidcharge feature can quickly reenergize your devices on the go. The portable power storage can charge upto 2 ipads or tablets, GPS receivers, smart phones and other gadgets.

With its aesthetic design and precision-driven performance, ZOOOK is missioned to transform the landscape of consumer electronics industry.

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NEWS

number of active wireless subscribers. There was a reduction of 49 million subscribers in May 2018 on a yoy basis. Idea Cellular Limited (Idea) was the only major telco to witness a reduction in subscriber base in May 2018; it lost 2.5 million subscribers.

Bharti Airtel Limited’s (Bharti) subscriber growth of 36 million during the same month was driven by the completion of its merger with Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited (Telenor). Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited continued to report a steady increase in its subscribers and reported 9.34 million new subscriber additions in May 2018.

Will Gionee script a comeback in Indian smartphone market ?

Chinese smartphone brand Gionee is all set to reorganize and fix things is India with promoters of handset maker Karbonn Mobile a n d Gionee India’s minority shareholder and one face of Gionee Mr. Arvind R Vohra buying out the Indian arm and entering into a long-term brand licensing deal. They expect t h e total deal size to be Rs 200-250 crore including Rs 125 crore to be paid outright for brand licensing.

Mobiistar sets to Enter India’s Offline Market with a Series of Selfie Smartphones International smartphone brand Mobiistar, announced its entry into India’s offline market bringing a range of 5 selfie centric smartphones. With its brand promise to ‘Enjoy More’ by bringing uncompromised user experience, Mobiistar showcases its commitment to India by taking a step further in offering a great selfie experience at affordable price points with 5 smartphones.

To bolster its operation pan India, Mobiistar is going to partner with 600 distributors across the country for its seamless entry to the offline market. The company also has over 1000 service centres pan India to live up to its promise of best in class customer experience. All the devices will be available at stores across the country, from 2nd August.

The telecom industry mourns with the nation over the sad demise of former PM Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Pardeep Jain, promoter of Karbonn Mobile’s holding entity Jaina Group, and Vohra signed a letter of intent and non-disclosure agreement with Gionee Communication Equipment, parent company of the Chinese smartphone brand, for acquiring its 74% stake in Gionee India and the balance 26% in the company is already with Vohra and his family for brand licensing.

Pardeep Jain, promoter of Karbonn Mobile’s holding entity Jaina Group, and Vohra signed a letter of intent and non-disclosure agreement with Gionee Communication Equipment, parent company of the Chinese smartphone brand, for acquiring its 74% stake in Gionee India and the balance 26% in the company is already with Vohra and his family.

Microsoft felicitates Crestron with Global IoT Partner of the Year Award 2018 Crestron, a global leader in control and automation technology for the modern workplace, has accepted the prestigious 2018 Microsoft Global Partner of the Year Award for Internet of Things (IoT) in a ceremony at the Microsoft Inspire event in Las Vegas. Microsoft® recognized Crestron for providing outstanding solutions in IoT in the form of Crestron XiO Cloud, a revolutionary IoT-based provisioning and management solution built on the Microsoft Azure platform. Crestron XiO Cloud is revolutionizing provisioning and management of Crestron’s popular open UC, room scheduling, AV, and content sharing solutions at the world’s leading companies, resulting in up to 90% reductions in installation time, improvements in device uptime, and optimization of people, space, and technology.

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

The telecom industry joins the nation in mourning the demise of one of the most beloved political figures of India. The industry is deeply saddened to see one of the greatest statesmen of the country depart. He will be remembered for his vision, leadership and unique style of statesmanship. DG COAI, Rajan S Mathews, commented, “A great statesman and leader has passed away and the telecom industry is forever indebted to his contribution towards the evolution of modern communication in the country.

Mr. Vajpayee was a stellar economic reformer and the National Telecom Policy, 1999, was formulated under his watchful eye. The policy allowed service providers to offer mobile services on revenueshare basis, instead of fixedfees that the companies had to pay earlier for providing such services. The sector witnessed unprecedented growth in the number of mobile subscribers, foreign and domestic investment, network growth and a series of essential reforms that the industry needed to expand and grow.”

T.R Dua, DG TAIPA, Commented, “TAIPA, fondly remembers visionary leader, former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the vociferous and profound leader who shaped the economic, corporate and liberalization of the Indian telecommunication sector. He was a great visionary and envisioned a robust telecom infrastructure in order to extend the benefits of mobile telephony to the masses, besides revolutionizing the telecom industry. The NDA government, under Shri Vajpayee’s able leadership released the telecom policy in 1999, to achieve much for which it is recognized today. With his demise, the nation has witnessed a big loss. However, his ideologies, patriotism, and knowledge will continue to add value to the nation.”

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

16

LAUNCHPAD

Samsung Launches Galaxy Tab A 10.5 With Galaxy Tab A 10.5’’, you can watch movies, play games, listen to music or browse content on a 10.5-inch immersive display screen featuring a large 76.3% screen-to-body ratio with slimmer bezels. Now enjoy a 3D surround sound experience as the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is equipped with quad speakers powered by Dolby Atmos.The device has a significantly enhanced battery that allows up-to 14.5 hours of video playback, and also features LTE support making it an entertainment powerhouse.

Whether you are lounging on the couch or enjoying a long drive with your family, Galaxy Tab A 10.5’’ can keep you entertained for hours and with added connectivity features like Samsung’s SmartThings, managing homes has become easier than ever before. With Galaxy Tab A 10.5, users can easily control their home appliances via SmartThings with just the touch of a button.

Linksys India Introduces the Family Of Award Winning Velop Whole Home Mesh WiFi System Linksys, celebrating thirty years of networking and WiFi innovation for the home and business this year, announced the availability of its latest addition to the Linksys family of Velop Whole Home WiFi Mesh Systems, the new Velop Dual-Band Mesh WiFi System in the India market. The new Velop DualBand Series is a smaller and more affordable WiFi System that is designed and built as the world’s first mass-market flexible WiFi System. It also provides all the same awardwinning and powerful software features found in the Velop Tri-Band offerings including Intelligent Mesh™, advanced parental controls, website blocking, Amazon Alexa compatibility, as well as ease of use and set up with the Linksys App but in a smaller form factor with Dual-Band technology at a more affordable price.

The Velop Tri-band was announced globally earlier this year.

Portronics Launches Harmonics 200 – Retractable Neckband Earphones Portronics, a prominent leader in the innovative and portable digital product market, has launched “Harmonics 200”, adding to its existing HARMONICS series. With the launch of the latest product, Portronics has brought in a smart Retractable Neckband Earphone with superior tuned drivers, latest Bluetooth 4.1 technology along with noise reduction technology.Flexible, Lightweight, Convenient:The Harmonics 200 has ergonomically designed ear hooks, with snug fit ear buds, a durable Silicon Material neckband and a lightweight body of 67grams, without creating any mess of dangling cables around you and super comfy to wear. Easy Control Buttons allows you to play music and take calls effortlessly with just one-touch control by simply pressing them.

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

UBON Introduces Tiger Shroff as Brand Ambassador, Launches 6 New Headphone Models UBON announced the addition of 6 new headphones to their extensive range of audio products, namely GBT – 5605, BT – 5660, GH – 1370, GHP – 1270, GHP – 222 A. Designed to suit today’s fast-paced generation, these headphones are lightweight, stylish and are specially designed to meet the need of playing quality audio without burning your pockets.

UBON headphones are elegantly designed to suit the requirements of high quality music and allow users to hear the music just as the artists intended. High on cool quotient – great audio quality and yet priced affordably, UBON audio products are being positioned as a perfect gift option for the tech-savvy mobile generation. The wireless range of headphones offers up to 10 hours of battery life, multi-foldable design, houses 40mm drivers, and noise-isolating memory foam ear cushions for a highly refined acoustic and user-friendly experience.

LG launches G7+ThinQ in India LG Electronics India today announced the launch of latest premium Smartphone the LG G7+ThinQ in India. The LG G7+ThinQ is the perfect Smartphone for people who love to live in each moment.

Being an amalgamation of unique features like 1000nit Super Bright FullVisionTMDisplay, IP68 for dust and water resistance, BoomBoxSpeakers and Dual 16+16MP AI (Artificial Intelligence) Camera, LG G7+ThinQ is set to redefine the Smartphone experience of the consumers by helping them live the important moments like a true companion.

Powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform, the LG G7+ThinQ offers 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage to run even the most demanding tasks and apps with ease.

Toreto Launches Fast Car chargersRapid Chargers 13 & 16 Toreto, a prominent leader in innovative and portable digital product market, announces the launch of two new car chargers, Rapid charger 13 and Rapid charger 16. Rapid charger 13 comes with four charging ports and is compatible with all Android, iOS devices along with those with type C charging pin. Its 1.8M undetectable wire makes it easily accessible for everyone. Rapid Charger 16 comes with dual compatibility for iOS as well as Android phones. With dual charging ports USB 2.0 and type C, you can charge two phones at the same time at a fast speed.

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

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LAUNCHPAD

Xiaomi announces Mi A2 in India Xiaomi, India’s number 1 smartphone brand, expanded its Android One lineup with the introduction of Mi A2, which features powerful photography capabilities and a host of notable upgrades from the previous generation.

Starting INR 16,999, Mi A2 encapsulates Xiaomi’s commitment to offering amazing products with honest prices to let everyone in the world enjoy a better life through innovative technology. The wildly successful Mi A1 was launched in September last year as Xiaomi’s first Android One device. Mi A2 is now set to take the Android One series to a whole new level, with its wide repertoire of low-light features including portrait selfies in low-light.

Garmin India Launches Vívoactive 3 Music GPS Smartwatch Garmin India, a unit of Garmin Ltd., the global leader in satellite navigation has announced the launch of Vívoactive 3 Music GPS Smartwatch. This smart watch is an enhanced version of the earlier launched Vívoactive 3 GPS Smartwatch, with integrated music. The elegantly designed fitness watch has on-device music storage for 500 songs that can be played directly from the watch using Bluetooth headphones and speakers, without carrying a smart phone. The device can be loaded with music directly from the PC and by accessing off line music streaming services.

Quantum Hi Tech, announces leather finish, 10000mAh Power Bank QHMPL, a leading frontrunner of consumer electronics and IT peripherals, launches Power bank that suits the best for every formal meeting, the leather finished 10000mAh ‘QHM 10000’ equipped with 3 USB Ports, pairing elegance with functionality.

The Power Bank sports a minimalist design in striking black that fits perfectly in your palm. The power bank’s high power capacity makes it great for charging multiple devices, especially considering its 3 USB charging ports.

Guaranteeing a superior performance, the Power Bank is powerful & durable with builtin Li-polymer battery cell and intelligent circuitry that provides safe, long-lasting charging performance. With RISC Micro Processor Controlled for fast charging and enhanced battery life cycle, the power bank allows 500 times charge discharge cycle for continuous use.

Do Mobile launches ‘Mate 1’ Do Mobile, One of the innovative mobile handset brand

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

in the country, announced the introduction of Duo Happiness with ‘Mate 1’. A startling phone glutted with sophisticated features and applications to redefine your style and socialization. Mate 1 features a lot of exceptional applications and especially the Dual rear camera that vividly captures every picture with fast autofocus acquisition.

Capturing every detail vibrantly, Rear 13 MP AF + 0.3 MP FF camera embedded with flash instantly adds a coin of beauty to every capture and the 8MP Front Selfie Camera.

F&D announces the launch of Bluetooth speaker W8 F&D, one of the leading& oldest Audio Brands in India, announced the launch of its newest ‘Portable Bluetooth Speaker – W8’.With ergonomic design &360-degree audio-visual sound field, the speaker takes portable entertainment to a whole new dimension.

Devised with the penchant for style yet balanced with excellent sound, the speaker is Compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The speaker also puts an audio-visual show, playing the songs, perfectly in sync with its programmable LED Lights.Playing very loud for its size with the battery life of upto 360 minutes ( upto 6hrs ) of playback, and 10m range the speaker brings an amplified outdoor entertainment.

The ultra-portable speaker seamlessly pairs up with mobile or any Bluetooth device bringing distortion free music.

Adding to that, there is a built-in microphone that also allows the user to make and receive calls, at the press of one button.

Boult Audio introduces Q over the ear wireless headphones with MIC Boult Audio, an Indian premium audio brand which is known for its out of the box designs and best in class audio technology for its price range, has introduced their latest offering ‘Q’ in the wireless over the ear category, priced at Rs.1710. The product is available at www.myntra.com/boult.

The Boult Q is designed primarily to take your listening to the next level. A sturdy casing is encased under a simple yet elegant design. The headband and ear cups are covered with sweat proof protein leather. The headphones are light weight so long listening sessions will be comfortable.

Built for portability and ease of use, the ear cups fold on 2 different axes. The drivers are powered by deep bass and rich sound for clear output. The wearer has complete control over his music and calls from the in-line controls that can be used for answering, hanging up and adjusting volume, play/pause. The Q comes with dual mode functionality where the listener will get a premium braided auxiliary cable that can be used when you’re low on battery to maintain uninterrupted listening sessions. The Q is compatible with all operating systems, Bluetooth, iOS, Android, Blackberry and others. The Q headphone is a beast with 2 days stand-by on a single charge and 8-10 hours of playback time, The Bluetooth comes with audio decode technology that maintains best audio transmission.

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A

VerMedia provides content creators with gaming and streaming products designed to empower YouTubers and streamers. Thanks to their large panel of capture cards, you can be sure to find a product that suits your needs, whether you are only starting your first YouTube channel, or you are a veteran streamer looking for a way to improve your streaming quality.

Product Overview

Live Gamer EXTREME 2 (LGX2)

LGP LITE

A leap forward from its predecessor the LGX, keeps its extremely fast connectivity for ultra-low latency and Full HD video capture while adding a whole new pass-through technology to support Ultra HD 4K resolution at a buttery 60 frames per second.

Live Gamer Portable 2 PLUS(LGP2 Plus)

Crafted for the more at-home gamers, for whom capturing is mostly done on PCs. You will find the same quality, speed, and precision in LGP LITE, at a more affordable price.

USB Microphone AM310

Builds on its predecessor the LGP2. Keeping great flexibility with three integrated modes, multiple audio inputs and audio mixer control, while adding a whole new pass through technology to support Ultra HD 4K resolution at a buttery 60 frames per second.

A plug and play USB microphone that lets you record high quality sound for podcasting, streaming, gaming, and more. Immerse your audience with clearer, richer, and warmer recorded sound.

Live Gamer HD 2 Packed with more power and style, Live Gamer HD 2 (LGHD2) is a plug-and-play PCIe-capturing beast that records and streams smooth, uncompressed, zero-lag gameplay in 1080p 60 fps.

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

22

FIRSTLOOK

iBall

CompBook M500 i

Ball, a brand known for its innovative and latest technology products, announces the release of its newest Laptop ‘iBall CompBook M500’ to carry out the business and professional chores effortlessly. It’s easy-to-use interface suits every fingertip, and the supremely compact design allows you to carry it anywhere, at ease.

The latest iBall CompBook M500 is a stunning beauty in glossy Cobalt Blue hue. Its 14-inch screen have more than just the glossy look and clear bright screen. It comes with high-pixel resolution and incredible FHD picture quality with IPS screen technology. Also, the Dual Speaker delivers a sound that is clear, crisp and resounding.

Bringing uncompromised performance, the laptop is powered by the Intel Celeron Dual Core processor with a speed of up to 2.4 GHz assuring seamless multitasking experience without any lags and is perfectly suited for daily tasks. With the 4 GB RAM, switching between the various apps is smoother, letting you be more productive than ever. You can even download and watch latest movies with ease. M500’s boot-up is faster even with heavy duty work. Making connections effortless, this laptop is fitted with two USB input ports and a mini HDMI of ver.

1.4a that allows the user to connect to a bigger screen.

Bringing the most productive and interactive interface, Windows 10, facilitates a multitude of mind-blowing features. Equipped with built-in Anti-virus defender, your PC is protected from the unwanted viruses and malwares.

The PC also supports intelligent power saving feature &

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

Cortana the digital personal assistant. iBall CompBook M500 is also available in Windows 10 Pro. Now, store your heaviest and most important projects, M500 is loaded with 32 GB of built-in storage. Moreover, it includes an optional hard drive that enables you to affix either Hard Disk Drive or SSD which supports the storage of up to 1 TB. The battery will last for long; thanks to the 38Wh battery keeps running smoothly for 5.5 hours working and 23 hours of Audio playback.

Equipped with built-in Anti-virus defender, your PC is protected from the unwanted viruses and malware. The PC also supports intelligent power saving feature & Cortana - the digital personal assistant, is the wing-woman for every task.

Designed for ultimate productivity at the most affordable and unbelievable price of just MRP Đ16,999 with Windows 10 Home version while Đ18,999 for Windows 10 Pro version, iBall CompBook M500 is available in the leading stores in India.

24

INTERVIEW

SSKY Mobile wants to Expand into Mobile Accessories besides focusing on Mobile Phones

Mr. Dev Pareek, Director, SSKY

S

SKY Mobile, based out of Karol Bagh (New Delhi), is a renowned manufacturer, wholesaler and supplier of mobile phones. Present in the market since 2008 as Hitech Emporium, under the partnership of Dev Pareek and Ayush Goyal, the SSKY Mobile brand was launched in 2014. Today SSKY Mobile offers a comprehensive range of feature phones, bar phones, Android phones, etc. In an interaction with Mobility, Dev Pareek shares their company’s mission, policy and customer-centric market strategy.

launching it into the market and then we try to keep the prices of our devices as low as possible. Right now, we are providing a new smart phone model at an MRP of Rs 4950 with 1GB RAM and 8 GB internal memory. This model has face-unlocking feature, which nobody is offering at this price range. The model also has many other unique features. In the market, SSKY Mobile is well-known for offering unique features. Our products are available both on online and offline.”

Dev Pareek shares, “We launched SSKY brand in 2014.

Earlier we used to import phones from abroad, but later started our own manufacturing in India. In the first month, we sold 40,000 pieces of feature phones. Our main base still remains providing feature phones, while we also recently launched a 4G smart phone. Our main target segments are the customers in T3 and T4 cities. Our sales network is backed by 275 of our own well-equipped and efficient service centers. In our service network, in every important town, we include those after-sales-service providers who are efficient and are willing to work with us according to our requirements and guidelines. SSKY directly manages these service centers and provides regular service and CRM training to our after-sales-service providers.”

Regarding plans for 2018, Dev Pareek elaborates, “Our objective is to promote the government’s initiative of Digital India in T3 and T4 cities and rural areas—taking the digital services to the common man in the rural areas. In Sep-Oct 2018, we are going to launch 2 to 3 models and before the end of 2018, we will have a total of new 5 models of mobile phones in the market. Our new feature phone models will have Whatsapp feature. All our models will have unique features particularly for the youth.”

SSKY Mobile’s products and services are praised among the customers for quality and cost-effectiveness as the brand aims to provide the customers the best quality phones at affordable prices supported by excellent after-sales-services.

The company’s after-sales-service system reverts quickly to all the customer queries.

Dev Pareek adds, “As I said, our main focus is still on providing feature phones. Our motto is giving the best possible quality at affordable prices. With focus on quality, we test each model thoroughly for 1 month in our lab before MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

SSKY Mobile wants to focus on providing more Make in India products to the Indian customers. Talking about their future plans, Dev Pareek concludes, “We have divided our organization into different modules. Other than mobiles,

by Diwali, we also want to launch normal LED TVs in two screen models--24-inch and 32-inch, which are Make in India products. Sometime next year, we also want to launch mobile accessories and security products. Our aim is to be among the Top 3 in the T3 and T4 towns market for feature phones in the coming years. We are connected to over 6000 retailers across India. Currently, we have good presence in WB, Rajasthan, MP, J&K and Gujarat. In South and West India, though our presence is not much, we are present in Karnataka and in Maharashtra. In future, we want to enhance our presence pan-India.”

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REVIEW

Ziox

Super DJ

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iox Mobiles brings its latest feature phone ‘Super DJ’. Paired with 2800mAh biggest battery in its segment and exceptional sound quality with Bazooka Speaker and rear DJ Lights, every pocket will have a DJ now!

The Dual Sim Phone comes with powerful LED Torch for superior comfort and convenience. The Super DJ also comes equipped with one of its kind ‘Bazooka’Speakers that brings the most efficient output of sound available.

The phone also comes with rear DJ Lights, enhancing your entertainment quotient.

Long Lasting 2800Mah Battery with Power Bank Feature Bazooka Speakers enhances the experience Centred on high performance with sleek design and splendid looks, flaunt the 2.4inch Bright Display, MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

that brings you the perfect viewing from every angle and accurate edge-to-edge colours. The phone with its enduring 2800 mAh battery gives the extra energy boost, all day long.

For entertainment and music, the phone comes with Wireless FM Radio, MP3 and video player along with several connectivity options including Bluetooth; it also has an up to 16GB expandable memory support to facilitate storing endless entertainment content. The devices can store up to 500 contacts& 200 SMS at the same time. It also integrates Auto call recording and Multi-language Support for an all-inclusive feature phone experience.

With 12 months’ warranty, a must have in its category; the phone is already available with leading retail stores in India at 1899/-.

REVIEW

Clout

X417 Amaze

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lout X417 Amaze smartphone sports a 5 inch IPS screen having resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels with 16:9 aspect ratio and pixel density of 294 ppi. It is driven by 4-cores processor with a processing speed of 1.3 GHz. While Clout X417 Amaze supports RAM size of 1 GB, it is equipped with internal memory size of 8 GB . The Clout X417 Amaze smartphone runs Android 7.0 mobile operating systemandpowered by a 2000 mAh, Li-Ion battery. As camera is concerned, the Clout X417 Amaze features a 5 MP rearfacing camera and has a 2 MP front-facing camera. Clout X417 Amaze supports dual SIM slots that accept micro SIM type, a USB interface and a 3.5mm audio jack. Regarding cellular technologies, Clout X417 Amaze offers GSM, 3G and

4G LTE. In terms of connectivity technologies, it offers Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot, Bluetooth. As sensors are concerned, Clout X417 Amaze is packed with sensors such as Accelerometer, Proximity, GPS, A-GPS. You can purchase Clout X417 Amaze X417 Amaze (Black, 8 GB)(1 GB RAM) at best price as well trusted providers like Flipkart, Amazon, TataCliq and many others.

Here we mentioned price of Clout X417 Amaze X417 Amaze (Black, 8 GB)(1 GB RAM) is valid in major cities in India like Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata and many others.

Clout X417 Amaze X417 Amaze (Black, 8 GB)(1 GB RAM) price from Rs. 4,799 in India

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REVIEW

UE

WONDERBOOM Freestyle

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eels sturdy and solid, definitely worth the price tag.

The best thing that we liked about Ultimate Ears is that they constantly improvising and change the form factor of its products. Recently they announced the latest lineup to join the Ultimate Ears Bluetooth speakers are WONDERBOOM. In this lineup they just added a new Freestyle collection in which you will get five designs to match every vibe: Concrete, Avocado, Patches, Raspberry and Unicorn.

UE send us the Patches design version for review.

Design with denim, gives it a very fresh and punchy look.

Features: WONDERBOOM is IPX7 rated and can be immersed in water up to one meter for up to 30 minutes, dropproof from up to five feet, floats on its own and sports a hanging loop so it can be easily attached to any bag.

With up to 10-hour battery life and 100- foot wireless Bluetooth range. WONDERBOOM speakers, boasting the same crisp 360-degree sound with balanced bass

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

with Maximum sound level: 86 dBC, its frequency range is about 80 Hz – 20 kHz, two 40 mm active drivers and two 46.1 mm x 65.2 mm passive radiators, you can pair up to 8 Bluetooth enabled source devices. Connect up to two source devices at the same time. Wirelessly play stream to 2 WONDERBOOM from one source.

In short: WONDERBOOM Freestyle is the perfect for small room or for a 500- 600sq ft terrace, its 360-degree sound keeps the audio output adequate for everyone to enjoy. The best part of this Bluetooth speaker is that it is very rugged, drop-proof from up to five feet and also is IPX7 rated and can be immersed in water up to one meter for up to 30 minutes. Audio quality is very satisfying but not a very bassy output, so bass lovers may find it moderate.

But other then that it is an another great product from the house of UE. Available at Croma along with other leading retail stores across India starting August 2018 for a retail price of INR 6995/-.The device comes with a two-year limited hardware warranty.

EVENTS

recently concluded In Goa

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RD TECHNOLOGY ROADSHOW 2018 was held on 22nd/ 23rd & 24th of June 2018 at Grand Hyatt, Goa. More than 500 Distributors & Dealers was present over there. In this event they have launched Quick Car Chargers & Quick charger power bank.

Also 13 New BIS Approved ERD MOBILE POWER BANKS was launched named as PB 20, 4000mAh, PB 20, 5000mAh, PB 30, 6000mAh, PB 40, 8000mAh , PB 50, 10000mAh, PB 60, 12000mAh, PB 60, 15000mAh, PB 60, 20100mAh, PB 41, 10000mAh, PB 51, 10000mAh, PB 61, 15000mAh, PB 61, 20100mAh, PB 70, 10000mAh SLIM , PB 71, 10000mAh SLIM. CMD of ERD Group also announced Thailand Trip for Dealers & Goa Trip for Retailers. He also added that theu are working on PD (Power delivery charging) technology which comes up with Type C as well.

Being a prominent manufacturer and supplier engaged offering an exhaustive assortment of electronic products such as mobile phone chargers, car charger, batteries and others. They are manufactured using premium quality raw material under the expert guidance of professionals.

Offering a complete choice of products which include tc 100 bc type c quick charger, tc 100 bc micro usb quick charger, tc 70 bc usb dock charger, tc 70 bc micro usb charger, tc 65 bc dual usb dock and tc 65 bc micro dual usb charger.

ERD is a leading Manufacturer of tc 40 bc iph4 charger, tc 40 bc iph5 charger and tc 50 bc iph5 charger from Noida, India.

Leading Manufacturer of cc 50 usb dock white car charger, cc 50 micro usb white car charger, cc 50 usb dock black car charger, cc 50 micro usb black car charger, cc 40 micro usb white car charger and cc 40 usb dock white car charger from Noida.

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

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MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

INTERACTION

Ziox aims to grab 5% of Indian Mobile Market by the end of FY 2018-19 Ziox Mobiles, part of Sun Airvoice Pvt. Ltd., incepted in the Year 2015, has built up an impressive product portfolio of more than 40 distinguished products and constantly innovating to make superior products.The brand has established its presence across India through its wide network comprising of its various branch offices and system integrators across several states in India.

In an interaction with Mobility India Mr. Ankur Gupta, CTO, Ziox Mobiles talked about various aspects of this segment and how Ziox is aiming to deliver high ownership value to its consumers.

Our Line-up of Feature Phones and Smartphones comes under budget category. The Budget Line up currently has over 40 Models at different price range. Balancing Looks and functionality, the portfolio is designed for the Indian Consumers. Ziox, with its growing range, promises to deliver an unparalleled ownership value to the consumers.

Mr. Ankur Gupta, CTO, Ziox Mobiles Q Some key highlights of Ziox products and why it is a

game changer in this segment?

Knowing that, Innovation is the game changer for this industry every Brand is now focussing on devising the ‘me-too’ products. At the crux, Tailor made solutions, suiting to dynamic needs of today’s generation. In terms of our portfolio, our products are loaded with high-powered battery and innovative features. The features are not only confined to the applications but also towards the camera. The display along with Camera is one area in focus; so Ziox Mobiles are upgrading with an edge-to-edge display and bigger screen size. We trying to bring the value adds not just to the smartphone category but also to the Feature Phone category.

To bring the outreach, We are currently concentrating on the R&D perspective, software development, OS customisation, and consumer experience based on the feedback given by consumers. Post-sales services also play a very crucial role in our growth. This strategy is to go bottoms-up and target the unexplored rural and semi-urban consumers, as well as socio-economic people. We also have a distributor even at the tehsil level, making us available at the farthest touch points.

Availability, Right Price Points and Latest Solutions with a key focus on After Sales defines our next steps.

Q What kind of impact Ziox is facing due to Jio effect?

This is a known fact, that Jio has disrupted the Mobile Market in India. The entire Industry has seen a slowdown and has shaken up the Mobile Eco-system. The Indian Feature phone players have taken maximum hit from the 4G device from Reliance Jio. Jio has supplied its new phone effectively free of cost to users who only have to deposit Rs 1,500 with the company for three years. This move has definitely forced other Mobile Players to come up with similar offer, to minimise the damage. In fact, most of these handset makers are already working on their own low-cost 4G devices, besides adding more features to basic phones.

Like others, we too have seen an impact on us and our feature phone sales have slowed down. But understanding the existing market dynamics, we are coming up with our own new upgraded and Hi-Tech devices to minimize these losses.

Q Plans for 2018?

Ziox aims to grab 5% of the Indian Mobile Market by the end of this FY. Today Ziox is available at Pan India Level. Our next steps shall beconcentrating the efforts to tier-III, tier-IV, and tier-V markets. Keeping the products in focus we shall be launching over 20 feature phones and 10 Smartphones which shall be power packed with latest specs and features all at the most affordable prices for the consumers.

Apart from the Mobile Market, we also have plans to enter the consumer durable segment. Our first product in the consumer durable segment is planned to be televisions sets and with further down the line, we plan to expand to washing machines and air conditioners as well. As a Brand, we have progressed this far, we will leverage it with further diversification.

We aim to clock 600 cr turnover by this Financial Year.

Q Latest innovations that Ziox is working on for its upcoming models?

Innovation is very key competent in itself, since it has to be not just different than other brands or just upgraded but the better one than the previous models as well. Trends in the Mobile market today is dominated by the feedback of audience, the needs of the consumers, to stay ahead of the crowd and be updated with style and Technology. For instance, our Dual Rear Selfie Camera – Duopix R1/F1 are designed as per the trends of the ongoing market. Also, we are currently focusing on embedding Bezel-less Display in the upcoming Ziox Smartphones. Very recently,we have also launched a model Tubelight with powerful LED lights. Before this we have also launched a feature phone with WIFI and a model with 32 GB internal memory in feature phone segment only. For future, we shall focus strongly focus on 4G Smartphones, bringing value added features with the latest in technology at best prices.

All this and much more, keeps the space very exciting for us.

Though the market has seen more exits as compared to the entries thanks to the declining margins amid cut throat competition and the counterpoint forecast. However, the trend has been shifting and bringing consolidation in the smartphone market.The Mobile Market shall usher a new wave of Technology. The future has been redefined. We at Ziox shall steadfast with the growing market and make our way in the top 10 Mobile Brands.

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The path-breaking announcement of JioPhone, a 4G feature phone, has taken the market by storm and rattled the feature phone manufacturers, distributors and retailers alike, though smart phone manufacturers are little affected. Many domestic feature phone handset manufacturers feel they cannot survive in the market with Jio selling 4G handsets at such a low price.

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ven as the Indian Government is pushing hard its ‘Make in India’ agenda, it has been reduced to a charade in cell phone manufacturing. The ‘Make in India’ initiative has been successful at driving some indigenization in the assembly of mobile phones.

Over 120 Mobile Phone brand owners have established their assembly/manufacturing units under the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Recently, a leading Telecom Service Provider (TSP), Reliance has started providing mobile handsets (JioPhone) along with their service at a very low price-point in clear violation of the principles of fair market competition. Observers feel that Jio’s predatory price of Rs. 501, is practically impossible to compete and consumers will be attracted towards Jio’s offer. This will lead to ‘no demand for Indian made feature phone & mobile devices.’ Just to remind, TSP’s 4G feature phones are not assembled or manufactured in India. Now the question is how the domestic feature phone manufacturers can in particular will survive this onslaught.

JioPhone Monsoon Hungama Offer However, before rolling out the new device, the company has announced JioPhone Monsoon Hungama Offer is a special offer from Jio in which you can exchange your existing phone for a brand new JioPhone at an effective price of Rs. 501 only. You just need to take your existing phone and charger which should be undamaged and in working condition, to your nearest Jio Retailer and pay Rs. 501 as refundable security deposit. You will also get a special JioPhone Recharge Plan of Unlimited Voice & Data for six months on paying only Rs 594 at the time of activation.

Additionally you will also get a special exchange bonus of 6GB data voucher, worth Rs 101. You will get a total of 90 GB data over 6 months. JioPhone comes with a Jio SIM. You may also port-in your existing

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

number via MNP process.

You can exchange any 2G, 3G, 4G (non-VOLTE) phones which is not older than January 1st 2015, to avail this offer. You need to ensure that the existing phone and its charger are both are undamaged and in working condition. Please note JioPhone or any CDMA or operator locked devices WILL NOT be accepted for exchange under this offer.

As part of JioPhone Monsoon Hungama Offer, you need to make an upfront payment of Rs. 501 as refundable security deposit for new JioPhone. You will also get a special JioPhone Recharge Plan of Unlimited Voice & Data for 6 months on paying only Rs 594 at the time of activation. Additionally you will also get a special exchange bonus of 6GB data voucher, worth Rs 101. You will get a total of 90 GB data over 6 months.

How Jio Phone is going to affect feature phone manufacturers in India?

The Telecom Services space in India is witnessing cutthroat competition today. The increasing competition between operators has started affecting the mobile handsets industry and its ecosystem where huge investments have already been made. In fact, the handsets being offered represent a clear case of predatory pricing. Offers have been floated by the TSP which is on the verge of announcing to consumers/subscribers, to replace their existing/old feature phones with 4G feature phones at this very low price. The latest unbelievable pricing by Jio has rattled the feature-phone market in India as never before. On the plus side, the offer of Reliance Jio will allow consumers to upgrade to 4G Voltebased feature-phone for just Rs 501 in exchange for any old feature-phone. Jio is one of the largest digital initiatives designed to deliver hi-speed connectivity and 4G broadband services in every nook and corner of India.

Now the big question is how will the smaller featurephone players survive? Will they shut down their plants under the weight of this onslaught?

SPECIAL STORY

On the occasion of the maiden launch of Jio in 2015, Mukesh Ambani, CMD of RIL, “India is ranked around 150 in the Internet and mobile broadband penetration out of 230 countries, Jio is determined to change this as 1.3 billion Indians cannot be left behind. It is this opportunity to transform the lives of our 1.3 billion Indians that motivated Reliance to enter this space. Jio will help advance and realize the potential of every Indian. I have no doubt that with the launch of Jio, India’s rank will go up from around 150 to among the top ten in the next few years for internet and mobile broadband penetration.”

Reactions of the Industry Over Jio’s Industryshaking Offer JioPhone, the 4G feature phone has been launched at a very tempting price in the Indian market, which many feature phone manufacturers feel as a predatory threat to existing to the existing feature phone manufacturers. Mobility magazine interacted with several players in the feature phone manufacturing industry to know their reactions and outlook.

“This way of providing highly discounted-devices to the consumer is in a way not healthy for the industry.

Of course, there is no free lunch so Jio will have to recover the same from consumer in the short- or longrun. In the short run this strategy to convert current feature phone users to Jio may work as there are practically no 4G feature phones available in market from other brands at this price,” comments, Avinash, CLOUT. “We are ready to fight against this step taken by Jio and it’s totally unethical and due to this smaller brands will suffer losses in terms of money and shut down of factories. This initiative can also throw our lakhs of people out of jobs. This Jio initiative will certainly kill smaller players. The current ecosystem is playing more in favor bigger players; instead the government should understand the facts and do something to protect the smaller players,” shares, by Dev Pareek, SSKY Mobiles.

Manish of Trio feels that the Jio’s announcement is very shocking. The price is unbelievable low, as they are selling nearly at 25% of its cost. This is not an ethical business policy, as it can drive away the smaller players.

Kapil Wadhwa, MD of Champion Mobiles says this is a highly disruptive strategy, but we have to wait and see how it is going to work in the long-run, without jumping to conclusions.

Deepak Kabu. CEO, of Ziox Mobiles, says, “When Jio announced this new launch, obviously all the feature phone brands, including ourselves, were worried, mainly because of the pricing they are offering. But we do not see the impact as much as people are fearing.”

Nikhil Chopra of Megus opines that the initial feeling is worry and found it highly disruptive.

Jovial of POYA MOBILES, says that among mobile phone dealers there is a sense of anxiety about the impact of the Jio launch. Most retailers are also confused as to what to do. In general, the entire mobile manufacturercommunity is shocked over this new development and arewaiting to see how the market will respond.

Mr. Mukesh Ambani, CMD of RIL, (commented at the first launch of Jio in 2015).

“India is ranked around 150 in the Internet and mobile broadband penetration out of 230 countries. Jio is determined to change this as 1.3 billion Indians cannot be left behind.

I have no doubt that with the launch of Jio, India’s rank will go up from around 150 to among the top ten in the next few years for internet and mobile broadband penetration.”

Mr. Rajan S. Mathews, DG, COAI “We welcome and applaud the bold vision of Mr. Mukesh Ambani and the innovation he proposes to bring to the industry. COAI will continue to advocate fair competitive practices with an enabling policy and regulatory environment which translates into a Win-Win for the industry and the consumer,” commented Rajan S. Mathews, DG, COAI

M r. B h u p e s h R a s e e n , Chairman-Mobile Advisory Committee, TMA (The Mobile Association) “Unfortunately, till date the Government of India has not taken any action on the issue that is likely affect the local mobile phone manufacturers in a bid way. There is no proper law to restrict predatory pricing. If this malpractice is allowed unchecked, the mobile feature phone manufacturing industry, set up by Indian brands in the face of stiff competition from multinational and Chinese brands will die a premature death.”

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Jio Phone 2 flash sale During the first Jio Phone 2 flash sale on Aug.15th, the handset went out of stock soon after it became available. This was rush for the handset was expected as the handset takes over from the popular Jio Phone, whose sales crossed 25 million units in less than a year as per Jio. The Jio Phone 2 price in India stands at Rs. 2,999 and there is no option to avail a refund after 3 years of ownership like there was with the first model. The company says orders placed on the website should be delivered within 5-7 business days. Compared to the original model, the Jio Phone 2’s design is one of the major differentiators between the two phones. The dedicated 4-way navigation keys offer a BlackBerry-style appearance. Even the display is larger and the form factor much wider. Jio Phone 2 next sale will be held on August 30, the company revealed on its official website.

Shreeman Narayan, CEO, of Indiano says, “We don’t see JioPhone wave as a long-lasting phenomenon.

Wait for few months and see; it will no longer be a big deal. Certainly, this type of Jio strategy with utter disregard to smaller players is against business ethics. However, we cannot teach values to every disruptive provider; rather we should always be ready to deal with such short term turbulence.”

Akash Agrawal, Blackbear Technologies Pvt Ltd, says, “Well, when we heard about the Jio plan, it was obviously a news of concern for all of us. We are still weighing how Jio will actually affect the market, but at the same time, we are all ready to face the challenge.”

What the industry foresees the market as the threat of Jio looms ?

Most domestic mobile phone manufacturers, particularly the startups and smaller players, feel this predatory pricing by Jio will force them to shut down their plants, where some believe that Jio will not survive in the long-run. Even then how to survive in the short run is a big question for the smaller players.

Below are some of the reactions from the smaller players.

“This latest initiative from Reliance launching JioPhone will cause big losses and kill the smaller players besides leading to job losses in the market in a big way. It is a big threat to smaller feature phone manufacturers. Some examples for the effect of this type of invasion by TSPs are, the shutting down of Aircel and Tata, and Idea merging with Vodafone. In my opinion, the process of job losses has already begun,” comments Dev Pareek, SSKY Mobiles.

Manish of Trio asserts, “Yes, this disruptively lowpricing is a huge pressure on the entire mobile handset market and can cause huge losses. We are thinking seriously how to deal with the situation.”

Kannav Thukral of Kara Mobiles says, “Most feature phone handset manufacturers cannot match the prices and service support of Reliance Jio, as Reliance is supported by government. Reliance’s criteria of importing from ASEAN countries and selling goods as services won’t incur any GST and customs duty on their products. This puts all other domestic players at a great disadvantage.”

MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

Nikhil Chopra of Megus asserts, “Certainly, I see lots of bad vibes and panic already. Those people sitting on huge inventories will be the worst-hit and will resort to price war and loss booking. We are more worried about the low price of the Jio handsets and its impact on the survival of players like us.”

Then there are others who feel the Jio’s adventure is only short term. JioPhone can end up in same way as Reliance ended as a CDMA & GSM service provider with big losses.

Shreeman Narayan of Indiano says they do not see Joi initiative as a long-term threat which will certainly shake the market initially, but they are ready to handle such small turbulence.

Kajal Gupta, Sr. Manager, ZICE Mobile, “We are well-prepared for that as well as we have full faith and confidence on our products they too gonna create a milestone in the feature phone industry. We too are having various unique features in our phone and that too at affordable rates and secondly when the question for Make in India arises, we too are making our products in India. And moreover we love healthy competition because it always helps to create and serve something new and epic.”

Yogesh Bhatia, MD, Detel (SG Corp), “In fact, Rs.501 is not the REAL price of Jio handsets; the charge much more than that. The customer has to pay Rs 1100 or 1200 total amount to buy the phone. Yes, there is a lot of panic in the market, but we do not feel any threat from Jio as Detel’s target segment is completely different; we aim to provide connectivity to the 40 crore unconnected customers who are not in 3G or 4G network in T3 and T4 towns thru highly affordable handsets.”

“Definitely Reliance industries is a big operator company in India, but handsets are not their main products. Handsets for them are just supporting products for their data & connect services. Now, Jio wants to disrupt the handset market by crippling the competitors and gain monopoly among the Indian data users. But to achieve this, Jio has already invested a lot hoping big returns in the coming years, and I think after three years the Profit and Loss balance with each other and they can never maintain this lowpricing trend in the long-run. So I feel this type of business adventures do not sustain in the long-run.

SPECIAL STORY Just look back at the smartphone that Jio had launched.

Its quality did not meet the expectations,” asserts Subir Bose, Partner & Business Head, GIBI. “First of all, we would like to congratulate Reliance Industries on their initiative. Well, this disruption will definitely affect the Indian Mobile phone industry and it has been proven time and again that whenever a ‘big fish’ takes decision, it affects allthe smaller fishes in the market.The same will be the case this time too.

At Blackbear, our team is ready for the upcoming challenges, though it is obviously a tough challenge,” Akash Agrawal, Blackbear Technologies.

Avinash of CLOUT says that any disruptive strategy creates panic for the short term only till the dust settles down. It may lead to losses for domestic players in the short run. It is up to each brand as to how do they handle this short term pressure.

Deepak Kabu of Ziox comments, “Yes, panic is there in the market, but how long the Jio’s game will sustain is more important. Indian market is huge and growing. To sustain in these tough times, all other players must play smart by providing good specs along with the aggressive pricing. So, I don’t feel it is a big threat in the long-run.”

Jovial of Poya says that based on the past experience, they feel that all the retailers and manufacturers know that Jio is a short-term disruption, and things will be back to normal in a short time.

Growth prospects of Fusion / 4G Feature Phones Jio’s disruptive offer has led to erratic demand for all major handset brands. The smaller players manufacturing with their own SMT lines are facing the maximum heat. Fusion phones (4G feature phones with some smart capabilities) are a now distinct category currently and primarily driven by Jio. Going forward, it is expected that other brands shall also explore Fusion phones and excite the consumers with enriched smart capabilities within the feature phone form factor. Some big brands have already started this on a smaller scale. Let us read what the industry players comment.

Dev Pareek, SSKY Mobiles, feels that the demand and growth of 4G feature phones will continue and gradually lower down the demand for 2G& 3G handsets.

Mr. Dev Pareek, SSKY Mobiles “Jio’s step is totally unethical which will result in smaller brands suffering financial losses, youth losing jobs and factories shutting down. Presently the system is playing more in favor bigger players. The government should understand the facts and do something to protect the smaller players.”

Mr. Akash Agrawal, Blackbear Technologies Pvt Ltd. “Disruption created by Jio will upgrade the market standards and benchmarks. Though 4G feature phone market has a huge scope, only one player like Jio playing in the market is not a good trend.”

Mr. Kannav Thukral, Kara Mobiles “We have made big investments under Make in India initiative, but the fact is the Reliance Jio can destroy the domestic feature phone manufacturing industry in India. Panic is already there and retailers are returning stocks to the distributors. We need govt’s intervention to save the domestic feature phone manufacturing sector.”

Mr. Avinash, CLOUT “There is nothing called free lunch so Jio will have to recover the expenses from consumer in the short- or long-run. In the short run Joi’s strategy may work. Each brand should learn how to handle this short term pressure.”

“The disruption created by Jio is important because when someone like Jio brings changes, it will upgrade the market standards and benchmarks.For example, Mr. Yogesh Bhatia, MD, Detel initially there were cordless phones, then came feature (SG Corp) phones, then PDAs and then Android phones and “Yes, there is a lot of panic in the tablets, and now 4Gfeature phone... It’s all about market, but we do not feel any threat upgrading the technologies and we are in that industry from Jio as Detel’s target segment is where upgrading ourselves and technologies we use, completely different; we aim to provide both are equally important. So we believe a step such connectivity to the 40 crore unconnected as taken by Jio will help the general public to move several steps ahead.India has always been a very customers who are not in 3G or 4G potential market. Yes, of course, 4G feature phone network in T3 and T4 towns thru highly affordable handsets.” market has a huge scope, but we believe only one MOBILITY AUGUST 2018

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player like Jio playing in the market is not a good trend. We will soon seemore companies investing in 4G feature phone market to break monopoly,” believers Akash Agrawal, Blackbear Technologies Pvt Ltd. Avinash of CLOUT asserts that growth prospect of 4G feature phones for future is as big as for the current feature phones market and it will also depend on how other operators will play.

Kapil Wadhwa of Champion Mobiles states that all the feature phone users are looking for low-cost solutions and this will help Jio overrun the market.

Deepak Kabu of Ziox comments, “The growth of 4G feature phone is likely to be significant. As per the shipment data of 4G feature phones, it is likely to more than double to 40 million in 2018-19, compared to 1819 million 4G feature phones shipped in India in 20172018.”

Nikhil Chopra of Megus believes, “As far as prospects are concerned, we have to be positive. India is a vast country and is open for lots of new market mappings but what we fear now is if the other operators also follow suit, then the device manufacturing industry will be shaken.”

Jovial of Poya asserts that it is youngsters who are more interested in 4G and they are more interested in smart phones, so we don’t think 4G feature phones will have a long-run in the market.

Do you think Telecom Service Providers will kill Local Feature phone Mobile Manufacturers?

The Mobile Handsets industry expects the government to play a positive role in driving the right policy reforms and offering attractive incentives/tax breaks and a rationalized tariff structure to attract key manufacturers to India. Under the aegis of the ‘Make in India’ mission and trusting the government to provide a stable, rules-based policy environment, mobile makers Like Lava, Micromax, Karbonn, Intex, Jivi and several others have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Mobile handset assembly/ manufacturing units employing over 1,50,000 workers in direct manufacturing job roles.

Avinash of CLOUT states that in the short-run Jio will hamper the trade, but the trick may not work well in the long-run.

Subir Bose of GIBI comments that Jio is not killing the trade but has added a new upward dimension to the feature phone trade.

On the other hand Manish of Trio says the threat that telecoms launching 4G feature phone handsets this way could kill the feature phone manufacturers looms large.

Kapil Wadhwa, Champion Mobiles feels that there is a big threat that the telecom operators could overrun feature phone handset market soon.

Kannav Thukral of Kara Mobiles comments, “The Jio is a huge threat for the handset manufacturing industry. I suggest all handset manufacturers in the

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industry must come together, support each other and talk to the Govt. about this major concern.

Unfortunately, the Govt. is not doing anything so far in this regard; the Govt. should try to protect local smaller and medium manufacturers.”

Dev Pareek of SSKY Mobiles feels Jio is literally killing the spirit of local manufacturers and the government should take decisive steps to protect domestic manufacturers.

What Impact Jio will have on Make in India?

Unfortunately, till date the Government of India has not taken any action on the issue that is likely affect the local mobile phone manufactuers in a bid way.

There is no proper law to restrict predatory pricing while the Competition Commission of India (CCI) normally takes a long time to adjudicate on matters.

If this malpractice is allowed unchecked, the mobile feature phone manufacturing industry, set up by Indian brands in the face of stiff competition from multinational and Chinese brands will die a premature death.

“While multinational and Chinese smartphone brands like Apple, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi will not be affected, but feature phone brands like Micromax, Lava, Itel, Intex, Karbonn, Jivi and several others will be forced to shut down feature phones due to the unviability of selling their handsets on marketbased sales prices,” Bhupesh Raseen, ChairmanMobile Advisory Committee, TMA (The Mobile Association) “Yes, since we are importing all our product as CBU but after the launch of Make in India initiative,we at SSKY Mobiles are assembling in India and providing employment to Indians. But the impact of Jio has already began to shut down factories of other manufacturers, day after day. We are sure that Jio will have a debilitating effect on many Make in India projects,” comments Dev Pareek, SSKY Mobiles.

Akash Agrawal, Blackbear Technologies feels that the telecom industry today is killing manufacturing spirit in India. The govt has to support the domesticindustries, else it will lead to big losses to many of the local manufacturers, besides adding to the army of unemployed.

Shreeman Narayan of Indiano reveals, “Make in India is a great initiative from the government, which in the long-run will certainly help in making our nation industrially strong, though the policy needs a lot of reforms from the government. We are a truly Indian brand based onMake in India concept. Our 100% production is in our factory Noida, India. We have already invested Rs 100 million and are planning to take it up further in future” “We have already invested heavily in Make in India; we intend to invest around Rs 500 crores more over the next 2 years. More than 50% of our investment is into the production of feature phones in India. We will gradually increase our investment in

SPECIAL STORY manufacturing smart phones. I personally believe that Jio’s offer will slow down the rate of users shifting from feature phones to smart phones. This will hamper the sales of feature phone manufacturers at present besides delaying the growth in the sales of smart phones,” asserts Avinash of CLOUT. Subir Bose, Partner & Business Head, GIBI, feels that Jio is not a threat to Make in India but just a good challenge. One needs to just wait and watch and steady his business strategy according to the market dynamics instead of panicking.

Manish of Trio says that they have set up their manufacturing units and invested quite a sum in plant, machinery and working capital and feels Jio will have a strong negative impact on their manufacturing.

Kapil Wadhwa of Champion Mobiles comments there are over 120 mobile phone manufacturing units set up in India, but the Jio’s initiative will kill most of these units and hardly some 20 units may survive for long.

Deepak Kabu of Ziox asserts, “There are various challenges with which the Indian mobile manufacturers have been struggling. The main challenge is the little cost difference between CBU units and SKD units, which is compelling brands to opt for imports of the CBU. But I feel the govt should work in this regard to promote Make in India more effectively. To promote Make in India, this year, the duties have been imposed on PCBA, camera modules and connectors and the govt is likely to impose more duties by next year. And this can make SKD units more viable. Since we are an Indian brand and we have our own manufacturing based out of Delhi, in which we have invested around Rs 50 cr. Many mobile handset manufacturers and brand owners have established their assembly/ manufacturing units in India under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Allowing sales to DTA/DTZ from SEZs without paying full applicable duty will surely result in wrongful advantage to SEZs and will force closure of domestic manufacturing units who are operating in line with the law duties as imposed by GoI. Jio can add to the already existing troubles of the local manufacturing brands.”

Kannav Thukral of Kara Mobiles states, “We have made big investments under Make in India initiative.

When Jio is offering a 4G feature phone handset at Rs 501, who will by a feature phone handset costs Rs 700 to 1000. This can lead to the closure of many handset manufacturing units and lead to big job losses for millions. Obviously, our investments in manufacturing are at a big risk. This can also result in huge revenue losses to the government. Panic is already there and retailers are returning stocks to the distributors. Our workers are also feeling the heat. We need immediate government intervention to save the domestic feature phone manufacturing sector.”

Nikhil Chopra of Megus says, “Many manufacturers

Mr. Kapil Wadhwa,, Champion Mobiles “We see a big threat from the telecom operators like Jio who could overrun feature phone handset market soon.”

Mr. Shreeman Narayan , Indiano “At Indiano, we are very happy to hear the Jio announcement and we believe this is going to help customers by providing them better technology at lower prices.”

Mr. Manish, Trio “Jio ’s announcement is ver y shocking. The price is unbelievable low, selling nearly 25% of the cost.

This is not an ethical business policy as it can drive away the smaller players.”

Mr. Nikhil Chopra of Megus “Certainly, I see lots of bad vibes and panic already. Those people sitting on huge inventories will be the worst-hit and will resort to price war and loss booking.

We are more worried about the low price of the Jio handsets and its impact on the survival of players like us.”

Mr. Deepak Kabu, Ziox “Panic is there in the market, but how long the Jio’s game will sustain is more important. To survive in these tough times, all other players must play smart by providing good specs along with aggressive pricing. I don’t feel Jio is a big threat in the long-run.”

Mr. Jovial, Poya “We sense that most dealers and retailers look anxious and confused about the impact of the Jio launch. In general, the entire mobile manufacturer community is shocked over this new development and is waiting to see how the market will respond and realign.”

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SPECIAL STORY

in India feel the cost of providing a similar device as of Jio in a profitable way is impossible so this move

by Jio will certainly negatively affect the manufacturing spirit. Megus is an upcoming brand and we are planning to shift our production requirements from CBU to SKD in India and take advantage of the new duty structure. But now, we are kept our plans on hold because with Jio in the market, the ‘duty advantage’ will be of no use as the prices people will to pay will not be feasible to us.But in the long-run, I am sure these hiccups will be over and there will be a new balance that will be a Win-Win for everyone.”

Opinions of TSPs and others bout Reliance Jio! Experts believe that Now government of India must decide whether they would like to save local mobile manufacturers or give too much freedom to TSPs to ruin the entire local feature phone manufacturing. In case the Government wishes to save ‘Make in India’ initiative of Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, then they must restrict not one but all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) from offering mobile handsets at predatory price-points. This is an urgent measure required to save the Indian Feature Phones and Mobile Handsets industry where thousands of crores of rupees have already been invested over the last four years to develop a world-class Mobile Handset Manufacturing Ecosystem and also where lakhs are employed.

While manufacturers of feature phone handsets are alarmed by the invasion by Jio, the other co-TSPs seem to congratulate Jio, since they are not at all negatively affected.

“We welcome the Reliance Jio’s entry into the digital world and wish them the very best. We also welcome Jio’s call to the leading operators to work together. As a responsible operator, we will fulfill all our regulatory obligations as we have always done.

Over the last 20 years, Airtel has been contributing towards building a digitally-enabled India and remains fully committed to and to take leadership in supporting the Government’s Digital India vision. We will continue to innovate and deliver best-in-class products and services to our customers,” said Bhart Airtel on RJIO launch.

Vodafone spokesperson comments, “We always offered great value to our customers, backed by excellent customer service, a nationwide presence and Vodafone SuperNet--our best network ever. We will continue to do so for our hundreds of million customers across the country.”

“Reliance Jio is a valued member of the COAI. We wish to congratulate them on the announcement of the launch of their services. As a valuable member of the association, we welcome them with great warmth and applaud the bold vision of Mr. Mukesh Ambani & the innovation he proposes to bring to the industry. As a thought-leader and the voice of the telecom sector, COAI will continue to advocate fair competitive

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Ms. Kajal Gupta, Sr. Manager, ZICE Mobile “We are well-prepared and we have full faith and confidence on our products with great features and they too gonna create a milestone in the feature phone industry.

Moreover we love healthy competition because it always helps to create and serve something new and epic.”

Mr. Subir Bose, Partner & Business Head, GIBI “Jio wants to gain monopoly in the feature phone handset market by crippling the competitors. Jio has already invested a lot hoping big returns in the coming years, and I think after some time the Profit and Loss balance with each other and they cannot maintain this low-pricing in the long-run.” practices with an enabling policy and regulatory environment which translates into a Win-Win for the industry and the consumer. A stable, predictable, long-term and orderly growth of the industry is essential for a fully connected and digitally empowered India,” comments Rajan S. Mathews, DG, COAI. At Last The path-breaking announcement of JioPhone, a 4G feature phone, has taken the market by storm and rattled the feature phone manufacturers, distributors and retailers alike, though smart phone manufacturers are little affected. Many domestic feature phone handset manufacturers feel they cannot survive in the market with Jio selling 4G handsets at such a low price. They also feel that it is a big threat to domestic manufacturing industry which will lead to shutting down of many plants and throwing out millions of people jobless. But some manufacturers are very optimistic that Jio cannot survive in the long run, as they feel that Jio cannot sell at such a low price over a long time. Others feel that most youth are interested in smart phones and few are interested in 4G feature phones so they feel Jio 4G phone is only shortterm trend in the market that will fade away with time.

In summary, this development of permitting a TSP to offer smart 4G feature phones at Rs. 501 per unit has the potential to force 100+ Indian mobile manufacturers to shut shop. There is a high possibility that this move may lead to closure of many Indian feature phone manufacturing units and the same will lead to loss of lakhs direct jobs in manufacturing, besides creating huge unemployment down the line in sales and distribution functions. This will also lay waste to huge investments already sunk into acquiring land, plant and machinery, power, water, building roads and warehouses etc. In short, this situation will have a hugely negative impact on the Indian mobile handset manufacturing industry and do lasting damage to the Indian economy.

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SOLUTIONS & SERVICES

RV Solutions, with an established presence of 10 years in the Indian mobile handset & ICT devices after-sales-service market, aims to expand solutions & services Mr. Vivek Gupta & Mr. Aditya Padman Head BU, RV Solutions

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Head Business Development, RV Solutions

SOLUTIONS & SERVICES

How servicing plays a vital role in Telecom segment?

Smartphone manufacturers in India have been pretty intense on the value for money aspect lately. However, it is believed that the key to having loyal customers is a robust.

After Sale Service Operation. A smartphone can be the best in its price range and might have fantastic specs but if the company has a relatively poor After Sales Service record, customers would then tend to deviate to potential alternatives.

This trend is even more prominent in India where a consumer

B) C) D) E)

Powerbank. Personal Care Products.

Onsite Services – installations, Repairs RMA Services / Collection Points for all products that require only replacement and not repair.

Refurbishment Services – Cosmetic and entire product refurbishment services.

Batch Failure Services – Skilled Engineers that are capable of doing ECNs or any repairs on large batches of faulty

Established in 2008, today RV Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is one of the leading provider of Mobile After Sales Services for Mobile Phones, Tablets, Speakers, LED TV and Personal Care accessories . Committed to customer friendly services, the exploration and adoption of the latest technologies, RV Solutions is dedicated to driving a more open and advance techniques for the After Sales Service market expects to use a smartphone for at least 2-3 years and during this period consumers not visiting service centre even once is very rare. This is where giants like Apple and Samsung have managed to dominate and hence, captured a fair amount of market share in the country.

Another important factor to note here is the availability of service centres. The reason a lot of companies these days go for authorised service centres is primarily to increase the reach.

A consumer often gives up on a device because the nearest service centre of the brand is probably located at far ends of the city and the customer is not able to reach these centres in a day. As a responsible brand one has to see to it that their customers have enough number of service centres to cater to the customers using their products.

How Long RV Is Associated With Mobile Servicing?

We take pride in having one of the largest Third Party Network in the Country for repairing Mobile Phones, Tablets and other Mobility equipment, we understand the value of customer satisfaction for a brand. Effective and timely resolution of Customer complaints by the service centre results in the increase in the brand equity of the OEM. We started our journey in 2008 with industry experienced professionals and recently we have successfully completed our glorious 10 years in providing After Sales Services.

RV solutions is One of India’s leading Technology Lifecycle Service Provider, we have a Pan India network of more than 1200+ service Centres that are spread across the length and breadth of the country. These Service Centres are equipped with the necessary repair infrastructure. All of them are also connected by a CRM that has been designed and developed by a dedicated team of in-house software developers.

What Are The Key Features That RV Solution Inherits In This Segment?

Evolved customer expectations and preferences have catapulted manufacturers to actively devise strategic ways to offer After Sales Services. Earlier, the After Sales service wasn’t of much significance as much as it is today when customer expectations are so much varied and evolved.

Today’s customers want long-term associations with brands and hence, to serve the new-age customers, leading IT companies heavily focus on strong distribution networks and establish service Centres in every region.

Key Features that RVS possess: A) Repair Services – Mobility Devices that includes Smartphones, Feature Phones, Storage Products,

products.

F) Spare Import Management Solutions.

G) IoT After Sales Services.

The Other inborn traits that we as a company have would be • Experience and Speed in opening up Exclusive Service Centres for Brands.

• Presence in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 markets other than the Metro and Tier 1 as the business is slowly moving towards upcountry locations.

• Enhanced Quality of Service having a completely in-house built CRM How Many Service Partners Now Associated With You? Currently we have over 1200+ service centres associated with us, they are located across 29 states and over 469 Districts with 741 Cities. All our partners are quite proficient, skilled in repair and have proper repairing equipments. Our customer centric solutions coupled with competitive rates also are one of the reasons that makes us the top choice for brands in the country today. So using your medium I want to convey to the brand owners that they can get maximum Value Addition by associating with RV Solutions.

What is the future vision for RV solutions?

Today RV Solutions is very active in the ICT space. In the last 10 years we have developed our skills in IT as well as telecom, making us a preferred technology solutions and Services provider in ICT domain. Our Skilled Technicians present in our repair labs in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai and Guwahati, who are quite adept at repairs of mobile handsets, IT enterprise equipments and complex telecom equipments.

Our IT Software division is also proudly associated with various Govt. projects that we have helped to develop for various ministries under the Government of India (GOI).

The technology is fast changing. The definition of Technology will fundamentally change in the coming next decade. Every process and piece of technology will undergo a renewal in the next 5 years. It’s a pretty huge opportunity and RV Solutions is poised to take advantage of it. Our growth will be on several dimensions – financial parameters, scale of operations and number of customers that we engage on a daily basis and the lives of our Customers that we benefit every day. Be it moving to consumer goods or contributing in the Digital India movement, we will value the smiles that we bring to the face of the millions of customers every single time that they interact with us.

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NEW ENTRANT

Anker enters India, targets charging, smart home and audio markets Currently in India, we are creating a presence in the charging, smart home, and audio markets through Anker, Eufy, and SoundCore respectively. While these brands are available for purchase on Amazon and other online and offline stores in the country,

Mr. Gopal Raghunathan, Senior Sales Manager, India and Sub Continent, Anker

A

nker Innovations is a US based multinational consumer electronics brand that is the brainchild of former Google employees. It was founded in 2011 in California and has a strong presence across countries like Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, China and more. The company is an expert on charging technologies and an innovator of smart devices for entertainment, travel, and smart homes across countries.

Anker believes in providing people with everything that is needed in order to be mobile. Where being mobile, truly means being mobile, with nothing holding one back.

Anker Innovations is an umbrella brand that houses Anker, Eufy, Zolo, among others. Anker is a global leader in charging technology and is America’s leading charging brand, Eufy specialises in creating connected devices and applications for smart household solutions, and Zolo reinvents traditional audio devices with AI embedded products that are made to facilitate smart homes.

While Anker Innovations’ products are already available for purchase on Amazon, they just officially launch the brand into the Indian market. Until now, Anker has successfully been the market leaders in their categories in the US, Middle East, and China and we soon hope to provide the same level of products to Indians as well.

In an interaction with Mobility India Mr. Gopal Raghunathan J, Senior Sales Manager India and Sub Continent of Anker talked about India plans and brand strategy.

Tell us few key points about brand Anker • Anker Innovations was previously called Anker Technology • It was started in 2011 in California by Steven Yang, a former Google employee.

• Anker Innovations is an umbrella brand that encompasses Anker (charging solutions), Eufy (smart home applications), SoundCore (audio devices; previously Zolo), Nebula (portable projectors), and Roav (smart car solutions).

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• Anker is a leader in charging technology in the US, the Middle East, and European markets.

Why is India a key market for Anker?

India has the second largest population in the world and is still a growing economy. With an increasing demand for mobile phones, particularly smartphones, there is a direct increase in the need for good quality mobile accessories.

The availability of high speed internet, along with a boom in the usage of IoT devices and smart home products also makes this the best time for Anker Innovations to launch in India. An added factor is that despite not having an official presence here, we already have loyal users who source their Anker products from abroad or buy them on Amazon.

Therefore, consolidating our presence in India seems like the next logical step.

Accessories market in India is very crowded and competitive, how will Anker make its footprint?

We have found that a lot of people are willing to pay a little extra for quality and durability in terms of electronics.

Since we fall under the mid-level price range for high quality products, we are sure to create a niche in the market by bridging the gap between quality and affordability.

Elaborate about your entire portfolio that you are planning to launch in India Currently in India, we are creating a presence in the charging, smart home, and audio markets through Anker, Eufy, and SoundCore respectively. While these brands are available for purchase on Amazon and other online and offline stores in the country, the launch in July will act as a consolidation of our presence in India. Roav, the smart car solution is expected to launch later this year and Nebula, our portable entertainment, will be launched after that.

We hope to create a market in India like we have been able to in the other countries where our products are available. We aim to be able to cater to all aspects of our users’ daily routine and allow them to be truly mobile.

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Date of Pub: 10th Aug., 2018| Postal Dt.: 16th & 17th of same Month/ Posted at NDPSO

R.N.I. No. DELENG/2004/14198

Postal Reg. No.: DL(S)-01/3442/2016-18