APRIL 27, 2012 ● Indian research firm CyberMedia estimates that Nokia India market share in the country was halved between 2008 and 2011, with major competition from Chinese handset makers. Last year, CyberMedia said Nokia phones accounted for 31% of the 183 million handsets sold. India is the second-largest mobile phone market in the world with 900 million subscribers.
Impact: Everyone has their eyes on emerging markets these days. Who controls the budget market for mobile phones is important for these consumers are ripe as targets to upgrade to smartphones later. With Chinese handsets gaining market share, there is no reason not to believe many of these Indian consumers will upgrade to a Chinese made smartphone that will likely be running Android. That’s a huge potential windfall for Google.
