Samsung bets big on touchscreens for larger pie

Samsung Electronics is expecting to sustain the growth momentum in the domestic market and double its market share by the end of  calendar 2010 from the current 18.5% in value terms and 15% in volumes.

The current size of the handsets market in India is pegged at 8-9 million units per month.
The Korean major is betting big on its touchscreen range, in which it is the market leader. According to Ranjit Yadav, director, mobile and IT, the thrust, however, will be across five segments — essential, multimedia, touchscreen, messaging and business.

“If we are looking for a higher market share, then the growth has to be across all segments. Though touchscreen phones see higher realisations, handsets priced below Rs 3,000 are the real volume drivers. This segment comprises 70% of the market while the balance 30% is contributed by handsets priced above Rs 3,000.”

Taking into account the landscape of highly-connected individuals in a population profile where 60% are under 30 years, Samsung has created a new handset segment — messaging.

With the national launch of two Corby models — Corby Plus and Corby Pro — in Kolkata on Wednesday, the company seeks to exploit this space effectively.  India has around 9-10 million users on social networking sites like Orkut and Facebook and Yadav is upbeat that this figure can only head northward.

 “The user base for social networking sites and messaging is growing at 50% per annum. So we see a huge potential for our multimedia and touchscreen phones. We expect almost 80% of internet users to access the Net through their handsets,” Yadav added.

The two Corby models are message-centric phones for heavy texters, enabled through the finger-friendly QWERTY slide-out keypad (similar to the ones on a PC or laptop). The Corby Plus is priced at Rs 10,050 and Corby Pro at Rs 13,900.

Samsung has a 32% share in touchscreen handsets in volume terms. The total touchscreen market in India grew to 1.8 million units from 800,000-900,000 in the previous calendar year.

The company launched 43 models across categories in 2009, of which 14 are in the touchscreen space and more such phones, especially for messaging, are on the anvil.