Mobile cos line up Google’s Android phone launches

With the top cellphone vendors such as HTC, Samsung, LG and Motorola, the Google’s smartphone operating system (OS) Android is going to enter India shortly.

Adding, the focus of the Android phones is the urban youth users and places in the mid to high-end segment range. In the coming month, Samsung will be releasing its first device, christened Galaxy and the HTC has started shipping the first Android phone to India.

Sources said that in the month of December, the Android phones from LG and Motorola’s stable are expected to hit the market. With such releases at varying price-points, Google anticipates rapid take on of the Android platform in India.

In the Android platform, about 47 companies are working and worldwide by the month of December around 15-20 Android handsets will be released. The company anticipates that a few of these models will be shipped to India, said Vinay Goel, Google India director (products).

From the initial Android handset, HTC has got favorable reaction in India. Adding, Android is a growing platform and for HTC it will be one of the basis. In each quarter, the company launches 2-3 devices in India and few of them will be on this platform, said Ajay Sharma, HTC India country head. By the year end, the company will release a portfolio of touchscreen Android handsets, said Sunil Dutt, the head of Samsung Mobile in the country.

He added that the company will work with Google to make sure quicker adoption of the devices in India. Also, Android has the potential to appear as the next big mobile phone OS. Further, Samsung, HTC and LG are positive that Android will be proficient to compete against the two most admired smartphone OSSymbian and Windows Mobile.

Mr Goel said that the actually the patrons don’t care about the handset OS and they need exciting applications.

To focus the typical Indian market and make certain Android’s triumph, Google considers that the vendors must release some handsets in the price range of Rs 10,000-15, 000. The price of the handset can be reduced since it is an open source and there is no license fee.

Currently, in India, the HTC’s first Android phone is sold for about Rs 30,000 and Samsung has decided to release the Galaxy for a price of Rs 29,000.

Google phone is here, in grey

The much-awaited HTC G1, the first mobile phone based on Android, Google’s mobile operating system set to make smartphones affordable, is yet to get officially launched in India but popular online shopping sites are already selling the handset unlocked to any operator, complete with easy installment options and warranty.

Leading online shopping sites like eBay India (www.ebay.in) and Indiaplaza (www.indiaplaza.in) are selling the HTC G1. At eBay India, the unlocked 8GB handset was sold for Rs 24,900 through an auction on Wednesday.

US-based www.indiaplaza is selling the handset for Rs 29,899 and buyers can also through instalments. Other sites too are selling the same with a one-year dealer’s warranty at Rs 49,995.

Manufactured by Taiwanese handset company Hi-Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), the G1 was launched in the US in September last year and was locked to operator T-Mobile’s two-year service contract.

The handset, which Time magazine called the ‘Gadget of the Year’ for 2008, is seen as competition for both the Blackberry and the iPhone.

It was expected to launch in India by December 2008 but got delayed by currency fluctuations and economic conditions that made service providers reluctant to bundle services to sell the handset that will cost anywhere between Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 when launched.

Google phone to hit Indian stores in December

Taiwanese handset major High Tech Computer (HTC) is planning to launch the Android platform-powered phone (popularly referred to as the Google phone) in India this December.

The price, however, will be higher than the US debut tag of around Rs 8,200 ($179).

Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC (India), told Business Standard: “We would prefer a mobile operator tie-up to introduce the Google phone in India in December.”

HTC’s G1 (the Google phone model) will cost more since “the Indian market does not work on the handset subsidy model".

Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices that was announced in November last year and developed by the Open Handset Alliance — a group comprising players like Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola and Samsung.

Research firm Strategy Analytics has predicted that the G1 could sell 400,000 units by the end of 2008, accounting for 4 per cent of the smart-phone market.

To spur the growth of third-party applications, Google recently announced the Android Market, similar to Apple's App Store, where consumers can buy and download content for its mobile platform.

Labelled as competition to Apple’s iPhone, which is priced at Rs 31,000 for the 8GB model, the HTC G1 could be priced cheaper to maintain an edge in India. Currently, HTC has smart-phones in the Indian market priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 35,000. Google India officials were unavailable for comment.

HTC’s device is a 3G phone with a touch-screen, slider keyboard, GPS and Wi-Fi.

HTC India, which has an exclusive partnership with Airtel, is also open to selling the G1 phone through independent retail channels. “We will decide the business model soon,” said Sharma.

He believes that Google’s software platform and operating system for mobile devices has the benefit of leveraging on more than 100 million online web users as well as its open source development platform and advertising-oriented business model.

Although India does not have 3G yet, Sharma said applications like maps and search could find takers. “We expect to build volumes in India and the Android-based phone should make HTC a bigger player in the wireless handset market,” he said.

HTC India hopes to sell 600,000 mobile devices in 2009, having doubled sales this year from 100,000 in 2007.
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