Phablets push smartphones

The smartphone market in India almost tripled to 9.3 million units in April-June period compared with the year-ago period, driven by the brisk sale of ‘phablets’ or extra-large phones that grew 17-fold during the same time.

The smartphone market in India almost tripled to 9.3 million units in April-June period compared with the year-ago period, driven by the brisk sale of 'phablets' or extra-large phones that grew 17-fold during the same time, said International Data Corporation (IDC), the market research, analysis and advisory firm specialising on technology.

According to IDC's quarterly mobile phone tracker, phablets - which are 5-inch-6.99-inch screen-size smartphones - now account for 30% of the smartphone market.
Interestingly, it is fast-growing local vendors such as Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, Intex and Celkon that drove smartphone sales.

While Samsung maintained its leadership in smartphone sales, Micromax stayed on the No 2 spot with two million-plus sales. Karbonn is in the third spot, while Nokia and Sony are ranked fourth and fifth.