Mobility dec 2017

Mobility Monthly Magazine

December 2017

Issue 12

Volume 14

Pages 44

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www.mobilityindia.com

BEYOND TECHNOLOGY, BEYOND LIFESTYLE

Best

D E T A N I M O N PRODUCTS

of Mobility Excellence Awards 2017

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CONTENTS

26

EDITORIAL

6

NEWS

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LAUNCHPAD

12

GUEST COLUMN

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Mr. Anil Tiwari Product Head, COMIO Smartphones Mr. Bhupesh Raseen Mobile Industry Expert

REPORT

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Bhopal, Gurgaon And Jaipur, The Fastest Growing Smartphone Markets: IDC

REVIEW

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COMIO C2 An Affordable Powerhouse That Will Drive Gionee: M7 Power The Powerhouse Xiaomi: Mi A1 Android One Honor 9i Bezel-less beauty OnePlus: 5T More mature package all round

SPECIAL STORY

26 33

NOMINATED CATAGORY

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CHANNEL FOCUS

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Mr. Pramod Gupta, Managing Director, KEPL (Kamal Eternity Pvt Ltd)

Mr. Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

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

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System Manager

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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).

Kolkata: 105/19, Dum Dum Road, Sil Colony, Kolkata-74 Contact: 09891666264, 09330922965; 09903392620 E-mail : roy@ mobilityindia.com

Stage is Set for 4th Mobility Conclave & Excellence Award Night 2017

INTERVIEW

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

Latest Trend Shaping Mobile Market and Mobile Manufacturing in India

CURTAIN RAISER

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

Orissa: Saraswati Behera Building, Kharavella Nagar, 2nd Lane, Near Jyoti Nagar, Berhampur-760001 (Orissa) (India) Contact : Raj Kumar-09338410809, 09439263711 Email : info@mobilityindia.com ncn_reporter@yahoo.com 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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EDITORIAL

Mobility Celebrates Grand 4th Mobility Conclave and Excellence Awards 2017 this Month Dear Readers, We are glad to inform that Dec 14 is anther grand day as we are conducting our 4th Mobility Conclave and Excellence Awards 2017. An outstanding feature of this year’s event is we made it a full-day event, with the addition of India’s first B2B Mobility Conclave (in the daytime) followed by the usual Mobility Awards Night (in the evening). This enhancement has been made to honor the request of several of our partners.

Next, in this year’s online polling, we added a new segment ‘Consumer Choice,’ where consumers will vote, in addition to the usual format where only partners used to vote.

This year, the number of partners actively supporting the event and the number of product nominations has significantly gone up.

Also the special story titled ‘Latest Trends Shaping Mobile Market and Mobile Manufacturing in India’ gives an insight into the rapidly progressing Make in India program changing India into a mobile manufacturing hub.

Editor’s Choice

Swapan Roy roymobility@gmail.com

Mobility wishes all the readers and partners the best Year-End and Bright New Year 2018, in advance.

LG V30+ LG V30+ sports a 6-inch 18:9 Quad HD+ OLED FullVision display with 2880x1440 resolution. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and carries a 4GB RAM along with 128GB internal storage and can be expanded up to 2TB using a microSD card. The V30+ runs the latest Android 7.1.2 Nougat with UI-UX 6.0+ on top.

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MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

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NEWS

Google Announces 130K Scholarships In Partnership With Pluralsight & Udacity

With an objective to create a pool of highly skilled tech workforce in India, Google in association with Pluralsight and Udacity today announced a new scholarship program to help 130 thousand developers and students across India. In this joint effort, Google is sponsoring 100 thousand scholarships on the Pluralsight technology learning platform and 30 thousand Scholarships on Udacity to help developers gain access to advanced learning curriculum and further their employability in emerging technologies like Mobile and Web development, Machine Learning, AR/VR, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud Platforms. Google is offering 30 thousand scholarships with Udacity and among them 1000 developers will also be selected to receive full Nanodegree scholarships. Interested candidates will also get access to Pluralsight IQ, where they can measure their skills in the latest technologies within 5 minutes.

Smartron partners with Flipkart to Design & Engineer the Billion Capture+

Smartron collaborates with Flipkart as the Design & Engineering partner for Billion Capture+. This partnership is Smartron’s first step in their ‘Powered by tronX program to extend the tronX ecosystem to third party brands. The program is aimed at giving partner devices, whether they are smartphones or computing devices or wearables or smart home things, access to tronX™’s assistive a n d predictive AI capabilities. tronX is India’s first AI powered IoT platform and through this partnership, Smartron will extend all these capabilities to the users of the Billion Capture+ devices in the future.

Microsoft and KidZania Share Good Practices for Cyber-Physical Safety of Children

According to Dr. Jyoti Kapoor, Sr. Psychiatrist, Paras Hospitals, “As parents we need to be more attentive and alert about our child’s surroundings both, in the cyber and physical worlds. We must watch out for behavioral change caused due to emotional or physical abuse, and we must adopt preventive measures.

The most common warning signs of abuse in cyber as well as physical worlds manifest as signs of depression, anxiety, social isolation, nervousness and low self-esteem. Parents need to be very alert to read these signs and immediately take corrective measures. It is important that while we draw benefit from the immense potential of new technologies, we must also make use of all the security features available to make it a safe and pleasant experience.”

Huge Funding From Bytedance to Cheetah Mobile’s Live.me App

Cheetah Mobile announced that Live.me Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to raise US$50 million from Bytedance Ltd. (“Bytedance”) as its Series B financing. In addition, Live.me will have priority to provide live streaming

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

services to Bytedance in overseas markets should Bytedance start to integrate live streaming features into its products in these markets. This transaction is subject to certain closing conditions. Live.me is already one of the biggest live-streaming platforms in India in terms of users. Since its debut, the Live. me team has been focused oncultivating unique talent and delivering creative local content to audiences in India and around the world. Following its debut in India earlier this year, Live.me is now pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy by setting up a new office in Mumbai and building strategic partnerships with local influencers and talent agencies — with the goal of creating popular content for users in India. Live. me has experienced exponential growth in India, witnessing a 20 times jump in its user base in just 6 months. With the new alliance and funding, Live.me seeks to expand into more local languages and other content genres, to reach an even broader audience in India.

Satya Nadella and Anil Kumble share their ‘Hit Refresh’ moments

Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft talked about his book Hit Refresh with Indian cricket legend Anil Kumble at a special event hosted by Microsoft and Harper Collins India. The event featured conversations between the two on the ‘hit refresh’ moments that have transformed their lives. In addition, Satya shared his views on future technology trends that will impact society, and even the world of sports.

At the event, Satya spoke to Anil Kumble about leadership lessons he learnt on the cricket pitch that he uses even today as CEO—to compete vigorously and with passion in the face of uncertainty, putting the team first, and bringing out the best in everybody. They also discussed the positive impact of intelligent technologies on cricket, and how technology will redefine cricket for players as well as for the viewers.

Vodafone Achieves First 5G Data Connection in Italy

Vodafone has achieved the first 5G data connection in Italy.

The 5G trials were conducted by Vodafone in partnership with Huawei, which made available a radio base station using Massive MIMO technology. It’s part of trials in Milan promoted by the Ministry for Economic Development. Vodafone, which was selected to conduct 5G trials in the Milan metropolitan area, used frequencies in the 3.7-3.8 GHz portion of spectrum made available by the Ministry. The 5G data connection was achieved using an antenna located at the Vodafone Village in Milan, marking the start of the planned network rollout.

Airtel Partners With Amdocs for Innovation

Bharti Airtel Limited and Amdocs, a provider of software and services to communications and media companies, announced a strategic partnership creating an innovation foundry to bring exciting new services to Airtel’s customers in India.

The partnership includes a long-term contract to introduce cutting edge technologies and practices to enhance Airtel’s customers’ service experience.

Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel India, said “We are delighted to have Amdocs as a part of our ecosystem of strategic business partners and look forward to collaborating with them to build a solid innovation pipeline for the future. Amdocs’ sharp focus on telecoms and their DNA

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NEWS

of cutting edge innovation will add immense value to Airtel’s digital transformation journey and help us to deliver a world class experience to our customers.”

Hike Messenger Initiates #LetDelhiBreathe

The past few days have seen a high level of pollution across Delhi. A gray haze has settled across the city.

The smoky, acrid air is harmful to all making it difficult to breathe. To highlight this public issue, Hike Messenger has introduced a face filter with the pollution mask. So get on Hike, click your pic and share it on Stories and Timeline on @Hikeappand facebook.com/ hikeapp. Add your voice to #LetDelhiBreathe as we believe filters are best enjoyed only inapp and not in real life.

ASUS ROG Won Four CES 2018 Innovation Awards

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) received four prestigious CES 2018 Innovation Awards for products demonstrating outstanding design and engineering, during the CES Unveiled press conference hosted by Consumer Technology Association at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. The ROG Rampage VI Extreme motherboard, ROG G703 laptop and the ROG Swift 27UQ monitor won in the Gaming category, and the ROG Rampage VI Apex motherboard won in the Computer Hardware and Components category. Each award-winning product will be on display during CES 2018 in the ROG Media Suite at Wynn Las Vegas.

Samsung Opens 10 exclusive stores in Bengaluru

Samsung India announced the expansion of brandshops in Bengaluru to further increase its retail presence in the city.

These outlets will enable the brand to create more touchpoints for customers while tapping into the huge demand for Samsung’s innovative products in the region. The brandshops spread across 1,750 sq. ft. to 3,000 sq. ft. have been set up in high footfall areas such as Whitefield, Hebbagodi, Peenya, Banashankari, Ramamurthy Nagar, Jaya Nagar and Marathalli. All 10 outlets will be functional by end – December, making it the largest number of stores opened within three months. The stores will display the entire range of Samsung offerings – QLED TV, The Frame and other Televisions, FlexWash and other Washing Machines, Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Microwave Ovens, Galaxy Note8 and other mobiles phone and wearables – thereby creating a one-stop shopping experience while reinforcing Samsung’s commitment to consumers.

Tata Communications makes its debut in the Gartner Magic Quadrant

Tata Communications, a leading provider of network, cloud and security services, has been positioned for the first time by Gartner in its 2017 Magic Quadrant for Managed

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Hybrid Cloud Hosting, Asia/Pacific(1).

Designed by Gartner to examine how effectively providers meet the current needs of business in terms of both ‘completeness of vision’ and ‘ability to execute’, 2017 marks Tata Communications’ debut in the report. Tata Communications’ global suite of cloud and hosting solutions provides customers with the flexibility, scalability and security to help them thrive in today’s fastchanging marketplace. In addition to professional services offered for cloud migration and integration, the company has acquired the Multi-Tier Cloud Security (MTCS) Level 3 certification, Singapore’s highest security management certification for cloud operations.

Nokia 8 Takes its First Bite of Android Oreo

HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, announce that Android 8.0 Oreo is now available for the Nokia 8.

If you own a Nokia 8, you can enjoy a truly pure and secure version of Android Oreo, packed with the latest features to make content creation and sharing even more fun. Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer of HMD Global, said:“We’re proud to deliver our pure and secure take of Android 8.0 Oreo on the Nokia 8. We always want to give our fans the best possible Android experience.

That’s why we’ve taken the time to test, optimize and refine the platform.

“Working together with our fans under our newly setup up Nokia phones beta labs, we’ve created a pure version of this highly anticipated mobile platform, delivering all the exciting new features with none of the unnecessary clutter paired with great performance and even better battery life. Android 8.0 Oreo is packed with new features that make communicating, creating, gaming and exploring even more fun.”

Seqrite Enters Into A Technology Collaboration With Jetico

Seqrite, one has entered into a technology collaboration with Jetico, a Finnish company developing data protection software, to develop superior encryption solutions and expand its enterprise security portfolio. Through this collaboration, Seqrite gains the rights to integrate the technology from Jetico’s whole disk encryption software and deliver the finest ‘Endpoint Encryption’ solution to its customers. In today’s digitized world, the risk of data breaches has become a key concern for CIOs and CISOs. Hence, security teams are increasingly deploying safety measures to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access. Encryption is regarded as the most critical tool to safeguard data from internal as well as external threats.

Keeping this in mind, Seqrite has partnered with Jetico to introduce the finest encryption technology to its customers.

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Garmin India Introduces Vivoactive 3

Garmin India, a unit of Garmin Ltd, the global leader in satellite navigation, announced the launch of vivoactive 3 in the Indian market. The newest GPS-enabled smartwatch is designed to keep an individual tab on a variety of activities using the 15 pre-loaded apps package access. With vivoactive 3 on the wrist, its users can continue to monitor the running, swimming, cardio or strength training performance, real-time. In addition, the device can also be set to measure the elliptical, yoga, stair stepper, floor climbing, boxing and cardio workout performance. Vivoactive 3 has a compact screen with a bright LED, high-resolution, full-color Garmin Chroma Display.

The 3-in-1 mobile & internet PhotoFast Call Recorder Launched for iOS

PhotoFast, a smart accessory brand based in Taiwan, has launched the Call Recorder, the world’s first 3-in-1 mobile and internet phone call recorder for iOS. The PhotoFast Call Recorder is an all-inone device that helps Apple users record phone calls, listen to music and expand iOS storage capacity.The versatile PhotoFast Call Recorder helps iOS users record mobile and internet phone calls with a one touch recording button. A 3.5 mm headphone jack helps listen to music and call recordings.

A memory slot expandable up to 256 GB allows users to enhance the storage capacity on their iPhones or iPads which is one of the most desired feature when using Apple products.

keep you motivated and won’t let you stop. Ideal for any activities, ZAKK Air has been specially designed for athletes and also tested by athletes leaving them very impressed.

Honor 8 Lite 64 GB Variant

Honor announced that the Honor 8 Lite is now available at INR 15,999 for 64 GB variant.

The smartphone with eye-catching aesthetics and high-performance is available at an attractive price point with all local retailers. Launched earlier this year, the Honor 8 Lite entails premium looks, solid performance, strong battery support and advanced camera features- ideal for celebrations and festivities. The smartphone is for the internet-minded, style-conscious millennial generation, who is looking for a technologically advanced sleek-looking device, which the Honor 8 Lite is adept at. Its smooth customized performance is backed by strong design and processor.

Logitech G Introduces New LIGHTSPEED Wireless

Logitech G, a brand of Logitech, announced the launch of two new products that has advanced high-performance wireless gaming features. The Logitech G603 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse is a next-generation gaming mouse that uses Logitech G’s new advanced HERO optical sensor and advanced LIGHTSPEED wireless technology whereas the Logitech G613 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is a high-performance wireless keyboard designed especially for gamers who demand the performance of mechanical switches and the freedom of wireless gaming.

Ziox Mobiles Announces New Feature Phone Gionee launches M7 Power ‘Starz Vibe’ Gionee India unveiled its latest

Ziox Mobiles announces its newest Starz Vibe feature phone with the power packed qualities that keeps you going. The feature phone comes with 1.8inch Bright Display, bringing you the perfect viewing from any angle and accurate edge-to-edge colours.

Housed in an attractive body with 800 mAh Li–ion Battery, you will never run out on the most important discussions, chats and your favourite games. Shelter your moments in Digital Camera that clicks happiness anytime with people you love.

The phone is paired with SOS button & Speed Dial for safety of Women & senior citizens keeping the device available and in use all the time. The Dual Sim Phone also supports Auto Call recording along with Wireless FM and in built Mobile Tracker that lets you track your own device. A few additional features that prims up the phone is the Wireless FM, Privacy Lock & GPRS support.

mobile marvel Gionee M7 POWER in India . Bringing its brand ethos to life i.e. of launching products that are as unique as the people who use them, Gionee India is all set to launch its first handset that offers FullView Display and the exclusive 3D photo feature. These unique features will enable users to explore a whole new side to the world of visual experience and photography. With the launch of M7 POWER, Gionee further solidifies its positioning in the Indian market after securing a loyal customer base of 1.25 crore Indians.

M7 POWER distinguishes itself with next-generation fullview display, long-lasting battery and super performance.

Equipped with a built-in 5000mAh high-quality Battery powered by intelligent management system, the phone possesses a 4GB RAM and a 64GB ROM to offer an upgraded user experience, assisting to multi task without latency.

ZAKK Air’ Light Wireless Headphones ReAlcatel Launches A5 LED And A7 Smartphone leased After a huge success with products Variants

like Fitmate and Firefly the company now presents ZAKK Air, wireless headphones which are just perfect for your daily workout activity. With ZAKK Air headphones you will be able to take your fitness training to the next level as these wireless headphones produce invigorating music which would

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Alcatel recently announced the launch its new smartphone variants A5 LED and A7. With the launch of multiple functionalities, as well as immersive selfie features, the A5 and A7 bring a new level of performance and experience, opening up a new era of smartphone interface. The new A5 LED, a modular phone, delivers fun features like light-up notifications and music light shows through the LIGHTUP+

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

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MOD. The POWER+ MOD gives an additional 3100 mAh of battery boost effectively ensuring battery of 5,900 mAh. The new modular phone will provide the consumers an enhanced multimedia experience and more ways to take and share selfies.A7 is an affordable premium smartphone with a high-resolution camera and great multimedia performance.

The A7 is designed to help today’s tech-savvy consumer to power up their life by offering fast multitasking, a smooth gaming experience and long battery life.The products were unveiled

by Naveli Deshmukh, Miss India 2015 and will be available.

New Moto X4 launched in India

Moto X has always offered a powerful combination of the best of Android and Moto Experiences with a uniquely intuitive user experience that consumers love.

Building on this strong brand heritage, the new moto x4 is a smartphone crafted to perfection with a precisioncrafted premium glass and metal design, which makes it as beautiful as it is strong. It features a dual rear camera with an advanced an intelligent camera software, an IP68 water and dust resistant design and a first of its kind audio innovation. The device is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon 630 processor and will be available in Sterling Blue and Super Black colour variants.

Zebronics launches new 4000mAh power bank

The ZEB-PG4000S1 portable power banks comes in a stylish and compact build, ergonomically designed for easy grip and usage. Due to its slender design and glossy casing it not only clings to your device, but also adds to the beauty. With the suction cup design the Power Bank helps you to stick it over any surface easily.

One can stick the power bank even to the back of the smartphone when charging the device. Its anti-slip suction cup back design makes it handy to carry, easy to hold and durable with high tensile strength.Engineered with practicality and suitability in mind, it includes LED indicators which makes it easier to use.

Zen Mobiles Aims At First-Time Smartphone Users With Admire Unity

Zen announced the launch of Admire Unity, a new feature enriched smartphone in the budget segment. Priced at Rs. 5099, the device will be available starting 10th of November and will support

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

multiple regional languages. The 4G Volte enabled device is powered by 1.3GHz heavy-duty quad-core processor which allows users to multi-task without any lags. It ensures fast paced experience and smooth functioning so that users can enjoy watching videos, streaming music, playing games, and much more at a 4G speed. Admire Unity comes with a 5 inch FWVGA display that will enhance the user experience allowing them to immerse themselves in the large screen, allowing better visibility and quick response time.

LG launches Air Purifier Range

Keeping in view the rising concern over deteriorating air quality which is a result of growing air pollution in our country, LG Electronics announced the launch of its Air Purifiers range- LG PuriCare. These modern, state-of- the-art Air Purifiers offer powerful filtration that reduces the harmful substances in the air, thereby keeping the room fresh and clean, apart from being stylish in their design LG understands that nothing is more important to consumers than germ-free and fresh air for the family’s good health and wellbeing. This launch is LG’s offering in the same direction, yet again reinstating that it’s a brand that truly cares for consumers.

Huawei Launching Huawei Band 2 & Huawei Fit

Huawei India Consumer Business Group launched three smart, trendy fitness wearables designed to motivate even the most hardened couch potatoes to hit the road to fitness. Both the Huawei Fit, Band 2 and Band 2 Pro are available across all major cities in traditional watch retail stores as well as multi-brand electronic outlets. Additionally to ensure wider reach these products are available on popular e-commerce portals as well. Priced at Rs 9999/- the chic Huawei Fit which works well as an entry-level watch, is so versatile that it virtually acts as a personal coach while the Band 2 at Rs 4599/and its variant, the Band 2 Pro with its standalone GPS at Rs 6999/-are super smart and efficient in monitoring your fitness routine.

Charge, Sync And Transfer With Irvine New Line Of Micro Usb 2.0 Cables

Irvine Technologies has Launched Tangle Free Micro USB 2.0 ChargeSync Cable with Unique LED Indicator and Tough Nylon Braided. Irvine announced the expansion of its Micro 2.0 USB Cable product offerings.

Designed to support existing and future 2.0 USB Smartphones, Kindle Fire and Tablets, the new line of Irvine Micro USB 2.0 solution allows users to charge, transfer, and sync at the fastest speed possible at a very less price.

Micro-USB Cable to charge and sync your Smartphone, Kindle, Tablets at the fastest possible speed. The small, durable Nylon Braided Micro-USB cable also works with all smartphones, Kindle and tablets.

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GUEST COLUMN

The Importance of Mobile Security in Present Era M

obile technology has come a long way in a relatively short span of time. In less than 30 years we’ve moved away from big, brick-like cellular phones and a nascent internet to a world of super-slim, good-looking and powerful smartphones, tablets and convertible laptops that are able to transmit and store data, as well as hook up the internet, with a simple tap. Despite the fact these devices offer us increased internet connectivity and day-today convenience, they also carry extensive security risks.

In this article, we look at the reasons behind the growing threat of mobile-related cybercrime.

Here are some of the risks that businesses and individuals face in terms of mobile mechanism: • Growth of Malvertising: “Malvertising” – wherein malicious material is spread via advertising, is the key cause of mobile infections every year. This prospect poses a problem for businesses and individuals since a gain, often all it takes is a individual falling prey to a Malvertising campaign to put the whole mobile security at the risk.

• Increase in ransomware attacks: It is a new terminology, which is causing a lot of threat to mobile security in which a device is commandeered by hackers until a fee is paid – will increasingly target mobile devices.

This kind of attack can easily derail an entire corporate network. For a small organization with limited IT presence, something like a mobile ransomware attack could threaten the stability of the entire business.

With cyber-attacks as well as cyber-crime against large companies rising 40 percent globally, network security needs to be looked at afresh and in a new dimension.

And the reason behind this is the massive proliferation of mobile and smart phones across the world. With most mobiles capable of accessing the internet from anywhere around the world, the problem of IT security is getting more and more acute with each passing day. In this context, let us look at how cyber-attackers are going at secure networks and are gaining ground faster than before, and the steps that companies, businesses and organizations are taking to combat this growing menace.

What comes out loud and clear is that cyber-attacks are on the rise and cyber-crime is here to stay in today’s digital era. Cyber-crime is like the disease that renders sophisticated antibiotics ineffective. Today’s cyber-crime fighters are witnessing an unprecedented scale in the methods of cyber-crime such as virtual thefts, denials of service, and other methods. Some of these methods included demonstrated denials of service, disruption of government infrastructure, extortion, staling of data, and holding information to ransom. According to hacking experts from around the world, the security threats in the future will get even more sophisticated. Cyber-criminals around the world are getting more and more educated, putting even larger ambitious global projects such as the Internet of Things (IoT) at great risk. Now, cyber-security has ever been so important for business and commercial

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Mr. Anil Tiwari

Product Head, COMIO Smartphones organizations, government and local bodies, and other organizations. According to another report, the number of cyber security events per year is close to 80 to 90 million per year with around 400 new threats every minute. The sad fact is that nearly 70% of the attacks go undetected.

An individual’s smartphone is a window to all their personal details, be it their passwords, bank details or a plethora of personal pictures. Understanding the importance of data security, smartphone companies have rolled out smartphones that come with a whole bunch of security features (both hardware and software-based) such as intruder selfie, fingerprint sensors, iris scanners, encryption and more. The Intruder Selfie is designed to not only keep your smartphone protected but instead is a step ahead, in helping you identify the person trying to breach your trust.

Experts recommend downloading security solutions, regularly updating their operating systems and apps, adhering to best practice when it comes to passwords and paying close attention to suspicious emails or social media links. This is applicable to individuals also, both personally and professionally, as, after all, cybercriminals have their eyes on all mobile users, especially those who are viewed as being most vulnerable (easy targets).

While the threat is universal, being protected doesn’t have to be difficult. If anything, it is becoming increasingly important in today’s digital world. Attackers are going to deploy more and more methods that will continue to fox cyber security experts by trying and staying ahead of them in the rate race of security deployment versus security breach. Since, mobile threats are becoming more complex and difficult to deal with, one needs to be proactive in mitigating any risks.

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GUEST COLUMN

Africa-Mobile Business

“An Opportunity” for Indian Mobile Brands The growth in smartphone use is pushing telecommunication companies to develop new products to boost their user base

Mr. Bhupesh Raseen Mobile Industry Expert

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ower smartphone prices are driving a digital revolution in Africa, allowing mobile phone users to access the internet at unprecedented levels. Operators and developers are also leveraging the power of mobile networks to transform services in health, agriculture, education, energy and water management. The number of smartphone connections across the continent almost doubled over the last two years, reaching 226 million. Selling prices have dropped from an average of $230 in 2012 to $160 in 2015, according to a report published by GSMA. The growth in smartphone use is pushing telecommunication companies to develop new products to boost their user base. Kenya’s Safaricom, which in 2011 partnered with Huawei to manufacture an $100 Android smartphone, is offering new services, for example, that would help tackle social challenges facing local communities.

More than half a billion people across Africa now subscribe to mobile services. At the end of 2015, there were 556 million mobile subscribers and 46% of the population in Africa subscribed to mobile services.

Unique Mobile subscribers by 2020 are going to reach 725 million. Eight markets will account for the majority of this growth, most notably Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania, which will together contribute more than a third of new subscribers.

Therefore huge opportunity to sell Mobile Handsets with present & increasing demand from mobile subscribers.

Feature phones are presently well in demand. Presently the

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demand is increasing of 3G phones. Further the demand will increase for 4G phones by 2020. In African countries, made in India considered as quality product and better than Chinese made products. So there is a huge opportunity for Indian manufacturers of Mobile Handsets.

This growth in data use is occurring despite problems with affordability and costs, not to mention lack of digital literacy in some parts of the continent. Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are some of the more technologically advanced nations pushing the high usage of data. New entrants effectively utilizing the 3G technology include countries like Algeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Still, the African market lags behind other developing nations in smartphone adoption and mobile broadband use.

The growth of the mobile industry is also a boon for both investors and governments, the GSMA report states. The use of mobile services and technologies directly contributed to $17 billion in government taxes in 2015. In general, mobile services generated 6.7% of the continent’s GDP, totaling around $150 billion in economic value. The mobile industry also directly and indirectly supported more than 3.8 million jobs. The 1.3 million direct jobs supported an additional 2.43 million indirect employment opportunities in the form of wages and public funding contributions.

In short Africa is a big opportunity for India Mobile Handset brands& manufacturers.

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REPORT

Bhopal, Gurgaon And Jaipur, The Fastest Growing Smartphone Markets: IDC However, with the availability of inexpensive and large amounts of data and 4G penetrations, the demand from Tier I and Tier II cities continue to attract all the smartphone vendors.

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ccording to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) latest India Monthly City-Level Smartphone Tracker, major 50 cities of India accounted for 50 percent of smartphone sales in Q32017 with a sizeable growth of 27 percent from the previous quarter. Tier I cities of India continue to be the key volume driver for Indian smartphone market with 29 percent sequential growth in Q3 2017. Bhopal, Gurgaon, and Jaipur from the Tier II cities have emerged as the fastest growing cities with each growing more than 40 percent from the previous quarter.

Metro cities of India remain the major contributors to the smartphone sales in India, with Delhi and Mumbai contributing one-fourth of the total sales in top 50 cities.

However, with the availability of inexpensive and large amounts of data and 4G penetrations, the demand from Tier I and Tier II cities continue to attract all the smartphone vendors. Vendors are notably diversifying their sales and marketing strategies. Also, the e-tailers are expanding their presence in most of the cities to cater to the demand coming from these markets.

“Mega-online sale(s) by prominent e-tailers acted as catalyst for the robust growth across city tiers with e-tailers now contributing around 40 percent of the market in top 50 cities of India,” says Himanshu Jain, Market Analyst, IDC India. “However, the offline channel saw only average traction during the festive season,” adds Jain.

Commenting on the vendor’s channel expansion, Navkendar Singh, Associate Research Director, IDC India adds, “Almost all vendors have now decided to go aggressive on offline channel expansion. It will be interesting to see how they are able to match the distribution strength and retail spends by offline dominant players like Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo. Considering the huge hitherto tapped demand from smaller cities and towns, eventually, these vendors will be forced to tweak their strategies to reach out to the customers in these markets.”

Xiaomi: Xiaomi moved to the leadership position in major 50 cities of India, registering 120 percent growth in the Q32017.

Redmi Note 4 alone contributed to more than 40 percent of the volumes and is also the highest selling model within the top 50 cities of India. Offline expansion through ‘Preferred Partner’ programmes and Mi Stores, further added to this growth.

Samsung: Samsung slipped to the second slot with 15 percent

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quarterly growth in Q32017. However, it continues to dominate in the majority of cities owing to its deep penetration and reach. Galaxy J2, J7 Max, J7 Prime & J7 Nxt together make up to 50 percent volumes for the vendor.

Lenovo: Lenovo (including Motorola) remains at the third position growing steadily at 8 percent from the previous quarter.

New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru contributing around 40 percent of its volumes with majority sales of K6 Power, Moto E4 Plus & K6 Note.

OPPO: OPPO moved up to the fourth position as its models F3 and F3 Plus gained momentum. Also, the newly launched A71 is gaining positive sentiments at sub $200 price point.

Vivo: Vivo slipped to fifth position as its sales declined marginally from the last quarter. Reduced channel spends were the primary reason for this. However, the vendor is expected to revive at the back of newly launched V7 Plus and Y69 in the coming quarters.

REVIEW

Comio C2

An affordable powerhouse, built for long drive Sepecs and Features:

Comio has now added yet another smartphone in its product lineup with the launch of Comio C2. The main USP of this device is its battery capacity. The smartphone packs a 4,000 mAh battery and offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The Comio C2 comes with a price tag of Rs 7,199 and will be available on all the leading retail and online stores.

Comio C2 flaunts a 5-inch HD IPS display having resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels.

Under the shell, it is powered by quad-core 64 bit Mediatek processor along with 2GB of RAM. It houses 16GB of built-in storage that can be expanded further via microSD card up to 32GB. It runs Android Nougat operating system.

The smartphone packs a 4,000 mAh battery and offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. The smartphone measures 144×71.6×9.9mm and comes pre-loaded with apps like anti-theft and others.

Some major highlights of C2 is that it sports a 5.2-inch HD IPS display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.

The phone is powered by a 1.3GHz quadcore MediaTek processor along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

The storage can be further expanded via dedicated micro SD card slot. Comio C2 comes with a free one-time screen replacement warranty within six months of purchase along with a year plus 100 days’ extra manufacturer warranty. Comio C2 gets a 5-inch HD IPS display, and it runs stock version of Android 7.0 Nougat with Comio UI skin. It can be bought in royal blue and royal black colour options. Comio has included security features like intruder selfie, antivirus, and anti-theft in C2. Comio C2 comes pre-loaded with apps like freezer and clone.

C2 comes in royal black and royal blue color options.

There’s a useful anti-theft feature included in the handset.

The anti-theft feature shares SIM based alerts with the registered alternate mobile number in case of suspicious activity.

Anti-theft feature is if someone tries to unlock C2 by trying

to break the patter or PIN, it automatically takes picture of that person.

Verdict:

With C2 Comio trying to make a mark in the mid segment by offering value for money device with big battery, decent looks and security.

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REVIEW

Gionee: M7 Power The Powerhouse Specs and Features: M7 Power has a 6.0 inch 18:9 FullView Screen. Whilst the size of the phone remains, the phone has a higher screento-body ratio and a wider field of vision, which brings you a shockingly stunning visual experience and a better enjoyment when watching videos, playing games, reading and using the splitscreen function.

Gionee M7 Power adopts a FullView Display on the front side, which makes it clean and pure. The flat back cover design makes it smooth and elegant. The metal part at the back is made out of No.6 series aluminum with diamond-cut or laser-cut, making it high-end and slip-proof.

Equipped with a built-in 5000mAh high-quality battery and intelligent power management system researched and developed by Gionee, M7 Power’s standby time could have significantly extended.

A new 3D dynamic shoot mode. By taking a multiple dimension shot, you can create a stereoscopic image. Turn the phone or slide screen to enjoy the 3D picture -stroll around like you are in the middle of the scene. A brand new and fun experience for everyone.

Multi-function fingerprint identification can quickly unlock the phone in a safe and easy way.

When taking a selfie, you can start the shutter by a simple touch, making the whole process more convenient. More functions are added on the fingerprint sensor, besides camera shutter, you can turn on Torch, Recorder or Camera in shortcut while screen is off or locked.

You can upload contacts, SMS, call record, pictures, files, applications, notepads, recordings and other data into a private space, securing personal important information and data security.

Take selfies through the front camera with advanced software algorithms. M7 Power will auto-

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matically blurs the background, making the selfie look more beautiful.

4GB RAM speeds up playing games and watching videos.

64GB ROM for storing everything you like.

Log in up to three WhatsApp accounts to meet the needs of communication.

Verdict: Good battery life with good design and FullView display.

Camera delivers good quality images when the light condition is good, not a great performer in lowlight.

REVIEW

Xiaomi: Mi A1 Android One Sepecs and Features: The budget segment is clearly dominated by Xiaomi in 2017, mainly with its Redmi Note 4 and still continues to be one of the best devices in the sub-Rs.15,000 segment. And this year Xiaomi’s aggressive positioning in the budget segment allowed the brand to catapult up the rankings, with the manufacturer now the second-largest phone vendor in India. Teamed up with Google to offer the Mi A1 as a part of the Android One initiative, which means that for the first time, we’re getting to see a Xiaomi phone with stock Android..

The clean lines combined with the aluminum chassis gives the Mi A1 a premium look, and the build quality is outstanding. The phone comes with a 3.5mm jack, and unlike the Redmi Note 4, there’s a USB-C charging port at the bottom. The power and volume buttons at the back provide a decent amount of tactile feedback, and there’s an IR blaster located up top. The back of the device is where things get interesting, with the Mi A1 sporting a dual camera setup.

The configuration is the same as that of the Mi 6 — a primary sensor augmented by a secondary telephoto lens — but Xiaomi is using different imaging sensors.

The fingerprint sensor is conveniently located such that your finger automatically rests on it, and it had no issues authenticating my fingerprints.

Switching over to the front, the first thing you notice is the bezels at the top and bottom, and if you’re picking up the gold color option, you’ll get a white front plate. The side bezels are narrow, which makes it easier to hold the phone, and the back button is in the wrong position for a phone running stock Android.

Battery life on the Mi A1 is excellent, but its not supporting a fast charging option. The Mi A1 tops out at 5V/2A, and it takes nearly two hours to fully charge the phone.

The phone runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat out of the box, and has the August 1, 2017 security patch. You get all the features built into Nougat, including split-screen multitasking, in-line notification replies, app shortcuts, granular controls for Do Not Disturb, and more. Then there’s the ability to pull down

the notification shade by swiping down on the fingerprint sensor, à la Pixel. There’s also a gesture to quickly launch the camera by double pressing the power button.

Verdict: The look is no doubt very sturdy, dual camera and stock android are the other big plus for this device.

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REVIEW

Honor 9i Bezel-less beauty Specs and Features: Now Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has made its way into this segment with Honor 9i which features a 5.9-inch bezelless display. Another unique feature of the phone is that it sports four cameras – two on the front and two at the back. Priced at Rs 17,999, the Honor 9i offers some impressive features on paper. Honor 9i has a full metal unibody design with visible antenna lines on top and bottom of the back cover. Despite the large 5.9-inch screen, the phone is easy to hold and isn’t too slippery. It looks stylish thanks to the tall display, which has 83 per cent screen-to-body ratio. The phone has extremely thin bezels on the sides which adds up to the style quotient.

Honor 9i features a 5.9-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 2160×1080 pixels. I had absolutely no problems viewing the screen under bright sunlight. The viewing angles are great and I quite liked the colour balance as well. Icons appear sharp and a bezel-less screen makes watching videos, playing games, an excellent viewing experience.

The dual rear cameras are vertically aligned and right below is a circular fingerprint scanner.

A single stereo speaker along with a USB Type 2.0 slot for charging and 3.5mm headset jack are placed at the bottom. The fingerprint sensor was quick to unlock the device each time I tried. It sports 16MP dual lens sensor plus a 2MP camera at the back, which comes with features such as bokeh mode, moving photo, night shot, pro photo, and panorama. I was pretty impressed with the details and colour reproduction in pictures clicked in bright outdoors. In the limited time that I spent with the phone, I managed to click some excellent shots with the primary shooter.The front camera is 13MP+2MP with soft LED flash.

Honor 9i runs Android 7.0 Nougat with company’s EMUI 5.1 skin on top. People can run two apps at once on Honor 9i which is great. The customisation shouldn’t bother as much given there’s minimum bloatware and settings have been kept quite simple and easy to use.

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Verdict: What is good with this device is the IPS LCD which is better than most flagships.

REVIEW

OnePlus: 5T More mature package all round Sepecs and Features: The seamless aluminum unibody of the OnePlus 5T is both functionally and visually slim, creating a phone that is not only comfortable to hold but exceedingly durable.

Designed with a painstaking attention to detail, the OnePlus 5T continues OnePlus design’s proud tradition of refinement and total cohesion.

In addition to our fast fingerprint sensor, which unlocks the OnePlus 5T in under 0.2 seconds, we have developed Advanced Facial Recognition, allowing users to unlock their phone just by looking at their device.

Dash Charge is one of the fastest charging solutions on the global market. A half-hour charge gives the 3,300 mAh battery of your OnePlus 5T enough power for the day.

In addition to our fast fingerprint sensor, which unlocks the OnePlus 5T in under 0.2 seconds, we have developed Advanced Facial Recognition, allowing users to unlock their phone just by looking at their device.

Every component of the OnePlus 5T was selected and optimized to contribute to the smoothness of the system. The OnePlus 5T packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, one of the most powerful and energy efficient platforms on the market.

OxygenOS is designed to renew Android’s core functionalities with useful features and optimizations, without messing with what works.

The result is an enhanced experience that is just as light and customizable as stock Android.

Insert two SIM cards and connect to two networks simultaneously. Whether you’re travelling or need a separate phone number for work, it just makes sense.

Verdict: 5T a more mature package all round. 5T is remarkably similar to the 5, although as with all 18:9 OLEDs we’ve reviewed, the fingerprint sensor has been moved to rear to present a clean look.

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International and domestic mobile brands are competing to set up manufacturing plants across India today making the country into a future manufacturing hub. On the market side, consumer preference is increasing for higher MP cameras, dual cameras, higher RAM & ROM for performance & storage capacity.

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any large mobile manufacturing companies are now making India their second manufacturing base after China, and also the hub and take off point to export products to Middle East and African countries — due to India’s logistical advantage.

One of the major trends in 2017 on the market side is the shift in consumer preference for higher MP cameras, dual cameras, higher RAM & ROM for performance & storage capacity. The most recent being preference for bigger screens in mobile phones and moving to Bezelless screens being popular termed as Infinity Display.

Sanjay Kalirona, CEO, COMIO India, comments, “The year 2017 has witnessed many trends which were a big hit just like bezel-less screen and HD screen for budget phones, USB C which enables higher rate of exchange of data and power, fingerprint sensor, dual cameras, fast charging, more smartphones ditching the headphone jack, waterproofing, etc. Whereas the emerging new trends for 2018 are under-glass fingerprint sensor, Iris scanner and face recognition, Bluetooth ear-buds and headphones, and AR (Augmented Reality). Fine-tuning in the design and display of the smartphones will be seen. Metal body has once dominated the build materials of smartphones, but there are more smartphones adopting a glass

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body. More curves are being introduced to the glass body design, making the smartphones even more comfortable to hold. Antenna lines are moving towards the edges of the display as seen in some smartphones.

Apart from these trends, dual cameras and bezel-less displays are here to stay.”

Nidhi Markhanday, Intex, shares, “The smartphone segment is constantly witnessing new innovations in features being offered by brands. In 2017, industry witnessed an overall market growth of 10-15% while the online market grew by 45-50%. Smartphones segment saw models priced in the range of Rs 8K-15K driving the market with over 40% share in total sales, owing to high conversion rate by consumers to higher price segment due to effective 0% finance schemes availability.”

Another trend of the year is we saw resurgence of feature phones in a big way. With RJio, the concept of Smart Feature Phone or 4G feature phone is taking new shape, and it is being seen that feature phone segment is getting a new lease of life.

Nidhi Markhanday adds, “Intex has been working on its maiden 4G-Volte feature phone and is in talks with various telcos on offering affordable smartphones through bundling in order to enhance our market share and tap the vast pool of 500 million feature phone users who are still to get the taste of data consumption. In fact,

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Mr Sanjay Kalirona, CEO, COMIO India “It is the volume of users that has triggered the growth of mobile manufacturing in India. Recently, India was rated one among the world’s fastest growing mobile phone markets globally. This shows the massive untapped potential in India, making it a key factor for large companies to start manufacturing here.” we launched several feature phones like the Navratna Series that included our maiden 4G Feature too. We also adopted the ‘bundling strategy’ by partnering with Vodafone and Airtel, both of which worked really well for us. Year 2017 has been a defining year as we launched 29 models. Our Mobile Accessories division also saw some tremendous growth as we sold as many as 300k power banks in last three months alone.”

Over the past year, the Indian smartphone market has grown tremendously. According to the Canalys report, India surpassed US to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market (with China at No. 1), with over 40 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2017. With many new players entering the market, consumers continue to seek more enhanced mobility experience with innovative devices that help them stay more connected.

Arijeet Talapatra, Sr VP – Sales & Distribution, Transsion India, states, “Consumers today in the emerging markets have evolved and factors such as strong build quality, amazing features, premium experience and competitive pricing, act as influencers while making a purchase decision. Amongst the most important developments for 2018 is Android Go, the latest effort by Google to help the launch of budgetfriendly smartphones. The OS is designed to run on smartphones that have 1GB or less of RAM, with a focus on data management. We believe that this will help immensely in developing markets like India, giving a boost to entry and mid-level smartphones. Dual camera capture technology also is likely to feature in a wider variety of phones, and in 2018 more budget phones shall offer this technology. Full displays, bigger screen sizes, and bezel-less screens with 18:9 aspect ratios will also become more popular, buoyed by their inclusion into more affordable mid-range smartphones in 2018.

Bigger and more powerful batteries, while maintaining a slim, pocket-friendly (literally, not in terms of expense) size will also be a trend in 2018.”

Deepak Kabu CEO, ZIOX Mobiles, asserts “Digital India ensures that technology is made available to citizens, enabling India to be digitally empowered in the field of technology. With Demonetization, adoption of Digital currency brought a new facet

among the smartphones. Mobile development has gained momentum in past few years and the trend has progressed from smartphones to Internet of Things. IoTbased solutions are not just for urban India; they offer rural citizens access to services that were earlier out of reach. The government has taken up the initiative of building smart cities across the country. Along with the growing developments, security is of utmost importance in the digital world. It seems that everyone is talking about mobility, the cloud, and digitization. Bio-metric systems and other unique technologies are being developed for tighter digital security.”

Make in India finally takes off Make in India, which initially started as a strong wish in 2015, has now started to materialize into a practical process in 2017. Mobile manufacturing in India is set to touch 500 million in the coming two years. Thanks to the ‘Make in India’ initiative propelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India produced 110 million mobile phones in FY15-16 (50 million feature phones and 60 million smartphones), up from 60 million in the previous year.

Sanjay Kalirona of COMIO India, clarifies, “The fact that India has a large domestic market makes manufacturing in India viable for brands. Many international players have already set up their manufacturing units in India. It is the volume of users that has triggered the growth of mobile manufacturing in India. Recently, India was rated one among the world’s fastest growing mobile phone markets globally.

This show the massive untapped potential in India, making it a key factor for large companies to start manufacturing here.

According to reports, India has attracted investment from nearly 50 mobile manufacturing companies so far and many foreign as well as domestic players are building new capacities in India.

Nidhi Makjhanday adds, “Intex has been working on increased local value addition starting with manufacturing speakers and now has become the largest domestic manufacturer of Multimedia Speakers in India, with its Jammu Plant set-up in 2004, indigenously manufacturing approx 1.5 million

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Ms. Nidhi Markhanday

Director, Intex Technologies “Intex has now become the largest domestic manufacturer of Multimedia Speakers in India, ingeniously manufacturing approx 1.5Million speakers that are 100% Make-in-India. Intex took its indigenous manufacturing to the next level with their manufacturing unit in Noida producing batteries, chargers and mobile accessories.” speakers that are 100% Make-in-India. Intex took indigenous manufacturing to mobiles with components manufacturing unit set-up in Noida producing batteries, chargers and mobile accessories. Recently, Intex stepped up its Make in India program with the implementation of vertical integration in durables business starting with the launch of ‘LED Panel manufacturing’ of LED TV in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, now ingenuously manufacture a critical component LED panel (imported till now) and its accompanying parts as against just assembling them.”

For instance, Chinese companies such as Gionee and Xiaomi have already started making their handsets at Foxconn’s plant in Andhra Pradesh. Last year, South Korea’s Samsung has added investments to enhance capacity at its Noida plant, while homegrown Micromax started a new plant in Uttarakhand and is planning investments in Telangana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Another Indian company LAVA International has set up facility in Noida to assemble one million units a month.

A second unit that can roll out 10 million units a month is on the anvil. The Indian domestic manufacturers such as Celkon Mobiles, Spice Mobility and Karbonn are also planning new capacities.

Minor Obstacles in the short run to Make in India According to data from the Indian Cellular Association, India has a capacity to assemble 270 million phones a year, compared to China’s 1.1 billion.

Because of its economies of scale and presence of a fullfledged ecosystem, production cost for mobile phones in China is the lowest in the world. The question, therefore,

is: why should anyone make in India, especially when there are too many gaps in the country’s ecosystem?

First, there is no component base here, which means high freight costs that adds to the overall cost of manufacturing. Second, the cost of finance, power and water — key to electronic manufacturing — is high in India compared to other Asian countries.

Back in 2011, when KPMG compared manufacturing competitiveness of Indian and Chinese mobile handset manufacturers, it found the landed cost of materials was 10% lower for China. And while Indian manufacturer needed to import 80% components, KPMG said the Chinese would need only 5%. Plus it said Chinese labor was found to be 2 times more productive than Indians and power cost there was 20-30% lower and water 3035% cheaper.

The study showed that a mid-sized Chinese manufacturer with a capacity of 20 million-units-a-year would have a profit margin of 9%, where as an Indian company would have a margin of 2.6% only.

Factors that can propel mobile manufacturing in India!

On the other hand, in the last three to four years, labor costs in China have risen by 20%, eroding the advantage of Chinese manufacturers to some extent.

With the country having moved up the value chain, there are not enough people in China willing to do manual low-paying jobs. This may push some amount of manufacturing to shift out of China. Another factor that may push manufacturing of feature phones out of China is that local Chinese are buying more expensive phones and few feature phones.

With China’s

Mr Syed Tajuddin CEO, Coolpad India

“We are committed to Make in India and this initiative will strengthens the Indian manufacturing sector and also helps to transfer a part of the financial benefit to the customer.”

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Mr Deepak Kabu CEO, ZIOX Mobiles

“India has a large domestic market, so for global manufacturers looking to de-risk in an alternative market, India is one of the suited option.”

competitiveness slowly dropping, many leading mobile phone manufacturers from developed countries are thus looking at shifting production to India or other Southeast Asian countries.

According to LG India, the demand for smartphones is growing exponentially in India and their local manufacturing will contribute handsomely to the growth of their company and to the nation as well.

LAVA believes that China is reaching the closing stages of low-end electronics design and manufacturing with the cost of engineering and labor steadily rising in China. On the contrary, India has a large consumption base, low labor wages, minimal skill-sets required in electronics manufacturing and large pool of software engineers. This puts India at an advantageous position to become the global hub for electronics manufacturing.

Then there are other factors working in favor of India such as the ease of doing business, growing infrastructure, beneficial policies under reformed GST and lower income tax proposals. No wonder, many large mobile manufacturing companies have made India their second manufacturing base after China, and also the hub to export products to Middle East and African countries — due to India’s logistical advantage.

Chinese company Gionee, for instance, set up its office in India in 2013, plans to set up around 550 exclusive service centers to ensure optimum quality of service and will be doubling their strength of sales representatives to 20,000 for better presence in the market. Gionee is planning to bring in not just smartphones, but also ancillaries like design houses and R&D to India.

Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India, adds, “The year 2016 was important for Coolpad as we achieved some key milestones as a brand after launching our first Made in India product - Coolpad Note 3 Lite, manufactured locally at Videocon factory in Aurangabad. We are committed to contribute towards the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Make in India strenghthens the Indian manufacturing sector and also helps to transfer a part of the financial benefit to the customer.”

Intex Technologies (India) believes that the

government’s incentives have improved the cost advantage of companies that have started moving their manufacturing to domestic frontiers. At present, Intex has 30% localization in its products and it intends to increase it to 70% in the next two years.

Nidhi Markhanday of Intex clarifies, “The PMP notification is an enabling one to give a clear road map to local manufacturers as to how the government intends to support the increased local value-addition with proper fiscal and financial incentives. It will enable each company to plan its indigenization program with the help of local and overseas vendors. For the country, it is a commitment given by the government that they would like to develop India into a competitive manufacturing hub for mobile phones, leading to creation of several thousands of new jobs, saving in foreign exchange and increased exports. The Phase 1 of PMP, kicked off in 2015, has encouraged local mobile assembly APTP (Assembly, Programming, Test & Packaging) and in the Second phase, the policy has encouraged in moving up the value chain by localization of mobile accessories viz.

Charger, Earphone, Data Cable, Mobile batteries. And the next step in PMP is critical as it needs developments in areas such as Mobile Design and IDH that would primarily drive the ecosystem for Fabrication, PCB design etc.”

The big factor, according to Videocon, that has triggered growth of mobile manufacturing in India is the volume of users here. India now surpassed the US among the world’s fastest growing mobile phone markets globally which leaves a huge untapped potential in India, making it a key factor for large companies to start manufacturing here.

In the last 3 years, the Indian government has taken many positive steps and the industry is moving towards creating a domestic ecosystem for manufacturing smartphones to curb imports. The announcements in the Union Budget 2017-18 underline the government’s intent to make the country a formidable manufacturing hub of electronics and technology-based products.

Videocon, which started its smartphone manufacturing journey from its Aurangabad plant, has spread to five more locations in India now. So far, the

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company has launched more than 250 models in the market.

Mr Arijeet Talapatra

Sr VP – Sales & Distribution, Transsion India “Manufacturing in India has become a lucrative option for smartphone manufacturers.

Over the years, India as a country has made a shift from assembling the part here to manufacturing, resulting in a boost to economy and employment.”

ASUS India has witnessed consistent growth across all its business segments and believes that the move by the Indian government to focus on manufacturing in India has opened up a plethora of opportunities for them. ASUS started with manufacturing in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh and in Daman. By starting local production of smartphones, ASUS now expects the demand and local manufacturing of its products to witness a significant increase in 2018.

How different providers see the opportunity According to industry analysts, the Indian mobile industry is growing at a rapid pace and will continue to be the growth engine for the smartphone market.

According to market reports, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11% till 2018 driven by a strong adoption of data consumption on handheld devices.

Arijeet Talapatra of Transsion India, believes, “With ‘Make in India’ policies, manufacturing in India has become a lucrative option for smartphone manufacturers. Over the years, India as a country has made a shift from assembling the part here to manufacturing, resulting in a boost to economy and employment. We are sure the contribution of manufacturing will continue to increase and boost the Indian economy in the coming years.”

India is expected to have over 180 million smartphones by 2019, contributing around 13.5% to the global smartphone market, based on rising affordability and better availability of data services among other factors.

Gionee’s strategy and philosophy is to be different and disruptive. Last few years, when brands were busy replicating the Western markets and propagating the online sales model, Gionee continued expanding its on-ground retailer base, and soon became one of the top offline retail smartphone brands in India. Today, over 90% of its revenue comes from the offline retail model.

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Indian company Videocon’s banks on the trust associated with the brand name more than others in the market. In case of any problem, Videocon aims to resolve it within 48 hours of registration. Videocon is giving customers an 18-month long warranty and 15-day replacement warranty on some of their smart phones.

ASUS believes that their innovative and wellconceptualized & designed models will win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers through distinguished and superior offerings.

According to Swipe Technologies, their featurerich mobile communications devices, developed using global best practices, and sold at affordable prices will win the market.

Deepak Kabu of Ziox Mobiles, concludes, “India has a large domestic market, so for global manufacturers looking to de-risk in an alternative market, India is one of the most suited options. The closing stages of lowend electronics design and manufacturing in China is evident now as the cost of engineering and labor is steadily rising there. On the contrary, India has a large consumption base, low labor wages, minimal skill-sets required in electronics manufacturing which proves to be beneficial for the manufacturers. Lastly India brings wider ease of doing business with growing infrastructure, beneficial policies under upcoming GST and lower income tax proposals. All this and much more drive the growth of Mobile Sector in India. But on the other hand, The Mobile manufacturing sector suffers from a host of problems including stringent labor laws, poor infrastructure and a very poor supply chain. These factors cause hindrances and badly affect the growth of this sector causing major problems and lose to the manufacturers. However, to reduce their limitations the Government of India must take some effective measures and introduce policies to not only to reduce but to remove these boundaries, helping in making a way for easy growth and development of the sector.”

At last Today, almost every mobile company in the world, big and small, is competing for a share of the Indian market and Indian market is that big! With increasing per capita income and most people moving up the socioeconomic levels, labor costs in China are increasing and soon will become uneconomical for manufacturing. If India can improve upon the availability of components and raw materials and infrastructure, within the next 2 to 3 years, we can see dramatic improvement in the Make in India, which is set to benefit local workforce and propel the economy.

Now, everything indicates that India will become a big mobile manufacturing hub, in addition to being the second biggest market for mobiles, in the coming few years.

CURTAIN RAISER

Stage is Set for th 4 Mobility Conclave & Excellence Award Night 2017 4th Mobility Conclave & Award Night 2017 ceremony will attract a congregation of more than Four hundred guests cutting across verticals of the mobile industry, including Vendor, Manufactures, Solution Provider and Partners across the nation to celebrate the occasion.

After the tremendous success of last three award night in the Mobile industry, the Fourth Mobility Conclave & Award Night 2017 is ready to roll in the Hotel Suryaa, New Delhi, on December 14th. This grand function takes the opportunity to felicitate the achievers for the year 2017 for their outstanding performance. These awards are presented to recognize the Mobile Vendors, Manufactures and partners for their relentless and sincere efforts towards the growth of the Indian mobile industry. The Conclave & award – giving ceremony will attract a congregation of more than four hundred guests cutting across verticals of the mobile industry, including Vendor, Corporate and Partners across the nation to celebrate the occasion.

Fourth Mobility Conclave & Award Night 2017 recognizes, promote and commend the excellent achievements to which India mobile professionals and organisations contribute.

The Awards also encourage local practitioners to develop innovative and creative mobile solutions, which will uplift the image of Indian mobile sectors, both locally and internationally.

These awards, the only of their kind at the national level, aim at recognizing “Excellence” on the basis of quantitative as well as qualitative criteria which shall set a benchmark in the industry. This unique initiative is intended to acknowledge achievements of the different players in the mobile industry.

About 3rd Mobility Award Night

In the morning, Mobility will organize panel discussion on the different topics like Opportunities & Challenges of Indian Smartphone market, Factors that will drive Smartphone market in India, Make in India and Future trend in the mobile industry in the 4th Mobility Conclave & Excellence Award function. The award function will be held in the evening session.

The advancement in Mobility has shortened the distance between places and created many new business opportunities. To enhance our competitiveness in the global economy, India is evolving into a higher value-added economy, and the development of Mobile industry is one of the major areas in which we are striving to excel.

With the increasing purchases via mobiles, e-tailing is shifting towards m-tailing. A considerable portion of the Indian population has already shifted from the use of feature phones to smart phones. For 2017 the number of mobile phone users is forecast to reach 4.77 billion. The number of mobile phone users in the world is expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019. With many people are about move to smart phones in the coming years, India is on the verge of a vast business upheaval.

The award is meant to acknowledge creativity, innovation and excellence in the Indian mobile sector. This annual Award program also provides an opportunity and an ideal environment for companies to gain local, regional and international exposure through on-going promotional activities.

After the three successful award functions in a row, Mobility has organised its third annual event at Hotel Suryaa, New Delhi. The event was attended by more than 450 guests from the Indian mobile industry. The main theme of the awards night was to present the awards to the mobile vendors in different categories like the Mobility Excellence Award, Special Award and Editor’s Choice Award. The glittering ceremony started with lamp lighting, followed by award ceremony, PowerPoint presentations by eminent mobile vendors, award session and mesmerizing entertainment programs.

It was graced with the presence of Mr. N.K. Goyal, President, CMAI Association of India, Telecom Equipment & Service Export Promotion council, Govt. of India, Mr. Syed Tajuddin, CEO of Coolpad India Pvt Limited, Mr. KumarDeep Banerjee, Head External Relation, Vodafone India, Mr. Sanjeev Bhatia, Founder & Director, ADCOM, Rajesh Gupta, Country Manager of SanDisk India and SAARC Retail Sales and Marketing, Western Digital Corporation who spared their valuable time to make the 3rd Mobility Awards Night a grand success.

For the successful conclusion of 3rd Mobility Award Night credit must goes to different mobile vendors who wholeheartedly supported the last Mobility Award Night.

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NOMINATED PRODUCT

Best Power banks: of the Year Ambrane PQ-800 :

Intex PB-P10K This Handy and light weight power bank is perfect for your on the go smart life. 10000mAh battery takes care of all your power needs First time launch by Intex Premium Quality Power Bank Intex Introduces its High Quality and High Performance Power Bank with High End Quality Li-Polymer Battery.

Quantum QHM 10KP : With its compact looks and enduring design the Power Bank is lighter to carry and also remains dormat when not in use to avoid any power waste.

Its anti-slip rubberized back makes it handy to carry, easy to hold & durable with high tensile strength. Engineered with practicality and suitability in mind, it also includes LED Indicator which shows power back up in 25-100% power display which exhibits the battery status.

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Fabricated with Lithium Polymer batteries the power bank equips a multitude of advanced safety features - Short Circuit Protection, Over-charge Protection, Over Discharge Protection &over Voltage Protection that assures maximum user and device safety all the time.

DOEL DI060 13000 mAh LG G6 has a big and superbly smooth screen that ďŹ ts your hand.

It packs a 14.47cm(5.7) display in an attractive sleek phone that comfortably ďŹ ts in one hand.

Pebble PB44 Ultra Slim : Pebble PB44 Ultra Slim 10000 MAh Li-Polymer Power Bank Ultra Slim . 4 USB outputs . In-Built C-Type & Micro USB Cable Imagine being stranded in a place all alone

NOMINATED PRODUCT

Best Flagship Smartphone of the Year Samsung Galaxy Note 8: It’s fast and seamless on the Galaxy Note 8 because the highperforming 10nm mobile processor and 6GB RAM make things run smoothly.

Best Budget Smartphone of the Year Coolpad Cool Play 6 : With a 4000 mAh battery you can game on and on and on. With its new journey UI power saving techniques, 5% remaining battery gives you 12.5 hours standby time.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4:

Asus Zenfone AR:

It offers the best performance and battery life among mobile phones in this segment.

With the need for augmented reality and virtual reality on the rise, the Tango-enabled Asus Zenfone AR comes with the Daydream technology.

Google Pixel 2 : It’s not without good reason that the Pixel 2 stands amongst the smartphone elite. built-in Google Assistant.

LG G6 : LG G6 has a big and superbly smooth screen that fits your hand.

It packs a 14.47cm(5.7) display in an attractive sleek phone that comfortably fits in one hand.

OnePlus 5T : The OnePlus 5T has a bigger screen and its camera takes better low-light photos than the 5.

Intex Aqua Lions X1+ : As far as the cameras are concerned, the Intex Aqua Lions X1+ packs a 13-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

InFocus Turbo 5: InFocus Turbo 5 : Behold the power of 5000mAh big battery. Whether you are an app junkie, a social network celebrity or an entertainment buff who’s always playing games, watching videos or listening to music; Turbo 5 is the perfect match for you.

Eluga Ray 500: Sports a 5-inch HD screen.

The device measures 144.26 x 71.26 x 9.2 mm and weighs 163 grams. The HD IPS display offers a resolution of 1280×720 pixels and also has a 2.5D curved glass for better viewing angles.

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NOMINATED PRODUCT

Best Mid-Range Smartphone of the Year

Best Dual Camera smartphone of the Year Samsung Note 8 :

Nokia 8: Nokia is not giving something poppy like Lumias now, they’ve made the device more Serious,

Fold the case out and it holds your Galaxy Note8 at the optimal angle for watching media on the Infinity Display.

OnePlus 3T:

Vivo V7+:

The OnePlus 3T stays true to our Never Settle approach. Impressive specs mean nothing if you don’t have a great experience every time you pick up your phone.

Moto Z2 Play: The smartphone that strikes the perfect balance between style and performance. Powered by a powerful octa-core processor and compatible with Moto Mods,

Thanks to the 18:9 aspect ratio of the display of the Vivo V7+, the phone can offer a big screen viewing experience on a relatively compact body.

Huawei Honor 8 Pro: Two customized 12-megapixel sensors – one RGB color and one black and white – allows the Honor 8 Pro to capture up to 50 percent more detail and 300 percent more light than conventional single-camera smartphone designs.

Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro: OnePlus 5T:

Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro: The Galaxy C9 Pro boasts of a look that turns heads. With its slim design and 2.5D Gorilla glass, Style comes redefined with the 15.24cm(6’’) FHD AMOLED Display on the new Galaxy C9 Pro. G

Xiaomi Mi A1 : The Xiaomi Mi A1 is an Android One phone that is powered by Google itself. So not only do you get near-stock Android Nougat out of the box, but you are also guaranteed OS upgrades.

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Capture faces with clarity using Portrait Mode on the OnePlus 5T. Our dual camera system uses two sensors to put the focus on the face you’re capturing while blurring the background for a gentle, yet powerful effect.

Nubia Z17 Mini: It’s not a filter, it’s a camera sensor that captures every detail.

16MP Front Camera with Sony Sensor, that delivers crisp images, 10 beauty filters, Selfie Fill Light, f2.0 aperture, and more, to ensure a fantastic selfie every time.

NOMINATED PRODUCT

Best Camera Phone of the Year

Best Entry level 4G Smartphone of the Year

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 :

Swipe Elite 2 Plus :

The high-performing 10nm mobile processor and 6GB RAM make things run smoothly.

Swipe Elite 2 Plus smartphone.

Sleek and powerful, this smartphone is specially built to perform. Thanks to its 12.7 cm vivid display, this phone will bring your videos and photos to life.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus :

Intex Aqua Star :

He advanced dual 12MP cameras that comes along iPhone 7 Plus offers an f/1.8 aperture for great pictures even in low-light conditions and 4K video at 30 fps, slow-motion video recording at 120 fps in 1080p as well as high-resolution zoom.

Phone looks good and comes along with ear phones, screen protector and back case.

Good phone for beginners and the elderly.

Honor 8 Pro:

Xolo Era 4G :

Wide aperture mode helps create amazing bokeh effects that will make your photos and videos stand out , with an aperture range (f/0.95–f/16) , supports both photo and video.

The XOLO Era 4G 8 GB is a sleek dual SIM smart phone which comes with a powerful processor that gives consistent performance

Sony Xperia XZ Premium: Xperia XZ Premium is World’s First Smartphone with a 4K HDR Display for best details, colours and contrast. It comes with Motion Eye Camera which has a memory stacked within it’s image sensor.

OnePlus 5T: True flagship with great display and camera. Plus further camera improvement promised

by OnePlus via software update

Lava P7 : The Lava P7 is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core processor and it comes with 1GB of RAM. The phone packs 8GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card.

Micromax Canvas Spark 2 : The Micromax Canvas Spark 2 also packs in a graphics processor, and 4 GB of internal storage which can be expanded to 32 GB via a microSD card.

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

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NOMINATED PRODUCT

Most Gorgeous Smartphone of the Year

Best Selfie Phone of the Year Oppo F3 Plus:

HTC U Ultra : It has a small secondary display on top which can be customised as per needs.

When main screen is off or on.

It keeps showing notification and contacts to quickly send messages, information etc.

Its 16 MP rear camera, with a host of innovative features, make photography fun. In addition its dual selfie cameras, 16 MP one for selfies and an 8 MP camera for group selfies, help you capture portrait-worthy photos of you and your friends.

Vivo V5 Plus :

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 : Featuring a narrow chin, a small front camera and a hidden proximity sensor, its large screen is housed in a body which is smaller than standard 13.97 cm (5.5) display smartphones, so it fits in your palm like a charm.

Sony Xperia XZ Primium: Make the Sony Xperia XZ Premium your handheld ally that adapts to your lifestyle and anticipates your functions.

The 20MP front camera is coengineered with Sony and offer brilliant clarity while the secondary 8MP front camera helps capture depth-of-field. The primary front camera and secondary front camera together create a DSLRquality, bokeh effect.

Honor 9i : Right above the display lies the dual selfie cameras. Flip the smartphone over and you’ll see the dual rear cameras along with LED flash.

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro :

Samsung Galaxy S8: The end-to-end Infinity Display of the Galaxy S8 enables an expanded screen size without the need for a larger phone. Since there’s no bezel, all you see is pure content on the 14.65 cm (5.8) screen.

With PixelMaster 4.0 Camera Technology and Selfiemaster Technology, every selfie and every ‘groupfie’ you click turn out to be more vivid and bright.

Gionee A1: Moto X4 : Its elegant contoured design, with Corning Gorilla Glass, is as good looking as it is protective

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Boasting a 16 MP front camera with LED selfie flash, the Gionee A1 makes taking selfies fun.

Featuring a large f/2.0 aperture, along with a special 4-cell unit sensor, the front camera allow more light for bright and beautiful selfies and group selfies

NOMINATED PRODUCT

Best Bluetooth Speaker of the Year Pebble STORM Bluetooth Speaker: Pebble Storm is the ultimate portable Bluetooth speaker that effortlessly delivers earthshaking, powerful stereo sound.

Innovative Accessories of the Year: Intex Multipurpose DC-200 : Intex 200W DC-200 Car Power Inverter with Smart Quick Dual USB Port / AC Socket. This product is really cool stuff to have in a car. if you are a traveller and need to use laptop for work purpose

Astrum AL150 – Smart Security Bluetooth Lock:

Toreto “TOR 302 T-Buzzer : Speaker is a combined speaker with Bluetooth & Kkaraoke and a multi-functional digital device combined with Bluetooth with mic, USB, TF, AUX for recording all in one

Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM : It has a waterproof (IPX7 certified) grab-and-go shape that is shockingly light.

AL 150 sports sturdy and heavy look and does exactly what its needed to do! It is perfect for indoor and outdoor purposes as it is crafted all round from top grade alloy zinc material giving it its tough and resilient looks.

Ambrane PST-11 Speaker : TorchPower Bank. It offers three gadgets in one, as a power bank that can charge your devices, work as a speaker and even a flashlight in SOS situations.

PhotoFast Call Recorder:

Intex IT Beats TUFB:

The versatile PhotoFast Call Recorder helps iOS users record mobile and internet phone calls with a one touch recording button. A 3.5 mm headphone jack helps listen to music and call recordings.

A speaker that sounds good and looks good! Make your friends fall in love with the small yet powerful speaker. Don’t let the celebrations fade out. With 1200 mAh battery, it’ll surely last long.

Zoook ZB-JAZZ BLASTER:

HP Sprocket :

Zoook has introduced the ZB-JAZZ BLASTER that will offer the best bass streaming and amplification. Equipped with a 30W stereo output and an in-built passive subwoofer, this rugged portable speaker is a powerful tool to bring alive a party.

HP Sprocket Photo Printer for millennials and photography lovers, passionate about capturing memories in their day-to-day life through smartphones. The pocketsized photo printer allows users to print directly from their mobile device instantly.

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

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CHANNEL FOCUS

“KEPL’s channel-supportive strategy and strong relations are key to our success in MP and Rajasthan” Q Please brief us about the inception of your company, your present brand & product portfolio?

Today, Indore-based KEPL, founded in 2008, is a leading telecommunication distribution house in MP and Rajasthan.

Now we are associated with Micromax, InFocus, SWIPE, TORK & Life DAPS. Now our aim is to expand the footprint of KEPL to other states. At present, KEPL has 80+ partners and 50+ service centers, approximately 4000+ retailers, 25+ field force and 20+ back office support staff in Indore. And we also started our operations in Rajasthan with office at VT Road, Mansarovar, Jaipur.

Q What are the latest trends in the mobiles and accessories market, and what are you doing to make best out of these trends?

Currently, 4G feature phones and four camera phones in smartphone category at budget-friendly price are the most desired handsets. Selfie craze is at its peak. And if we talk about accessories, people are expecting good quality travel chargers, car chargers, earphones and powerbanks. We are already distributing TORK chargers and Micromax & Swipe power banks in the MP market. We are planning to add one more Smartphone brand at state level.

Q What differentiates your working from your competitors and what are your USPs? KEPL works closely with its principals to generate a higher market share by focusing on reach-management, innovative marketing programs and better brand visibility, backed by efficient logistic system and transparent commercial terms.

Q What challenges are you facing and how are you meet-

ing these challenges?

The cut-throat price war is the major challenge nowadays. But we are mitigating this by maintaining high quality of products and strong trade tie-ups with the partners. We ensure that if our partners our honest and hard working, they will get a handsome income. Our partners are supported by our quality after-sales-service service and attractive incentive schemes.

Q What kind of service and warranty support are you

providing to the end customers so it will also place you and your down-line partners in a comfortable position?

After-sales-service is playing a big role in our industry and we have been paying special attention to this factor ever since we started distribution. We have in-house service support team to support the channel, retailers and the end customers.

Q How do you motivate and ensure the profitability of your down-line partners and resellers?

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Mr. Pramod Gupta Managing Director, KEPL (Kamal Eternity Pvt Ltd) Our core objective is to support our associates in their expansion and profitability, enhancing market share, discovering new markets and implementing strategic and innovative sales & marketing programs, so that it will also ensure our growth. We function with high degree of trade ethics and integrity while focusing on the success of our retailers, distribution partners and principals.

Q How online marketing is affecting your business? How do face the competition from online portals?

We are not afraid of online business. But, huge discounts given by the online portals are a concern which is affecting our and our down-line partners’ business to a certain extent, but we believe market will soon reach equilibrium and this problem is solved.

Q What are your future plans and where do you want to be in the coming 3 years?

We set our target to double our revenue turnover this year. By 2019, we are planning to bring IPO. As I have already mentioned, we are going to launch our own brand for smartphones and mobile accessories.

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INTERVIEW

Coolpad Plans to Launch Several Innovative Smartphones in 2018 C

oolpad Group Limited was founded in 1993 in Hong Kong is a leading developer and global provider of integrated solutions for smartphones, mobile data platform systems and value-added business operations.

Today, Coolpad brand is a global leader in smartphone manufacturing and integrated wireless data solutions.

Coolpad, which made its foray into the Indian market in 2015, has been a leading provider of cutting-edge products in the Chinese market, thanks to its continuous investment in R&D. Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India, comments, “A successful company always needs to align its objectives as per the expectations from the market, it has to listen to the customers from wherever, whichever medium it may be. At Coolpad, transition is a constant process and the voice of users is accepted with supreme importance. We are raising the bar with every new product and constantly striving to better ourselves so that we can bring customized smart devices and disruptive products to the Indian consumers.”

In addition, Coolpad has made forward-looking deployment of intelligent hardware and 5G, well ahead of the competitors. Now Coolpad aims to build its brand in the Indian market, after they gaining enough knowledge about tastes and expectations of the Indian customers.”

Syed Tajuddin adds, “The year 2016 was important for Coolpad as we achieved some key milestones as a brand after launching our first Made in India product Coolpad Note 3 Lite, manufactured locally at Videocon factory in Aurangabad. We are committed to Make in India to contribute towards the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Make in India strenghthens the Indian manufacturing sector and also helps to transfer a part of the financial benefit to the customer.”

Coolpad aims to cover more than 10 states with 1 million sales volumes by establishing 5000 core shops and 10,000 retail shops by mid-2018.

Regarding latest trends, Syed Tajuddin shares, “Today Indian customers want performance and innovations in the devices, which are exactly what we are good at. Now Indian customers are very aggressive and fast; they are fast switching from brand to brand and model to model. Earlier it was brand-driven market, now it is customer-driven market.

Models are fast appearing and disappearing. The year 2016 was an era of RAM and in 2017, battery capacity has been the trend, and the year 2018 is going to be the era of display.

We expect 4 plus 32 RAM will be standardized in 2018, and the trend will be followed by 4 plus 64 or 6 plus 64 RAM. We have a R&D team working hard at our headquarters to offer Artificial Intelligence (AI) products in the US market, and after that these products could be launched in the India market. Hardware that supports the right software compatibility is the major strength of Coolpad. We will continue to work on this strength.”

Commenting on present and future plans, Syed Tajuddin, “This year we focused more on management restructuring

MOBILITY DECEMBER 2017

Mr. Syed Tajuddin, CEO, Coolpad India

Coolpad aims to cover more than 10 states with 1 million sales volumes by establishing 5000 core shops and 10,000 retail shops by mid-2018 and redefining our marketing strategy, so this year, our activities have been kept low. But now we are ready with our new plans, and early in 2018, we are planning to go aggressively into market with new products and solutions supported by backed by redefined strategies. We assess the market reactions carefully before launching new products; we do not want to launch in hurry. GST has imposed some extra cost, but we are covering by readjusting the marketing costs. We are confident about our future roadmap and we want Coolpad to be among the top 10 brands in India in the coming years.”

Date of Pub: 10th December, 2017 | 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