NEW DELHI: Micromax, India's No 2 handset vendor, plans to do a Xiaomi by launching a new range of products under the brandname 'Yu' which will be sold and serviced exclusively online starting December 2014.
Micromax founder Rahul Sharma said that the smartphone which will be pitched as an affordable product for consumers, will be launched in India, and then in developed markets, given its sophistication.
The first product, to be launched under a newly-floated wholly-owned unit, Yu Televentures, will be a smartphone with operating system from US-based Cyanogen through which the company aims to move beyond the business of mobile phone hardware that has become more or less standardized.
"We're targeting all tech enthusiasts who will be able to bootstrap the device and play with it," he said. Bootstrapping refers to the smartphone being rooted, after which warranty of a smartphone becomes void regardless of when it is bought. Sharma added that Micromax will continue to honour the warranty period despite the rooting.
Users will be able to make hundreds of customization on the new device, whose features may be revealed on Yu's website which will go live end of this month ..
Users will be able to make hundreds of customization on the new device, whose features may be revealed on Yu's website which will go live end of this month ..
Cynogen is the maker of CyanogenMod, a modified version of Android that is a popular alternative OS and is installed on over 12 million devices worldwide. The OS allows massive customization which allows users to change the look and feel of the user interface to suit their needs.
Sharma added that besides a set of devices that will come out within a year, the company will come out with other products including smart bands and smart shirts among others. Led by Sharma, Yu Televentures is a 100% owned subsidiary of Micromax and will have a separate organizational structure and will compete with the parent brand.
Analysts tracking the burgeoning smartphone market in India said the next logical step for Micromax would be to look at services and innovation as the mobile handset space in India has become cluttered and highly competitive.
According to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, for the July-September quarter, Micromax was No 2 mobile phone vendor by shipments in overall with 14.5% share, trailing Samsung which had a 15.1% share. In the smartphone segment, the home-bred brand had a 20.4% share compared to leader Samsung's 25.1% share.
Update: Micromax haslaunched new smartphone called Yureka under it new Brand YU, Read it here.
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