ZTE to enter Indian smartphone market

ZTE Telecom India  a wholly subsidiary of China based ZTE Corporation, a provider of telecommunications equipment, network solutions and mobile devices has tied up with Pune's Calyx Telecommunications for distribution, sales and marketing of ZTE products. ZTE will launch five smartphones under its own brand name in India on Friday. However ZTE has not revealed the list of handsets that would be launched in India this week. ZTE is not new to the Indian market; it is the second largest seller of data cards or dongles in India and has also sold few popular smartphones in India but has never used its own name. Many of you might have used the Dell XCD 35 or Idea Blade - both are same and are actually rebranded version of the ZTE Blade smartphone. Similarly Reliance 3G Tab is actually a ZTE product. The Chinese giant is also one of the largest phone makers of CDMA phones for Indian CDMA operators. Its closest rival, Huawei had entered the Indian market a long back. Thus, ZTE is foraying into Indian market to sell its smart phones and tablet PCs. It has targeted to sell over one million handsets in a year. ZTE will enter the Indian smart phone market with an initial portfolio of five different models of smart phones ranging from Rs. 5,799 to Rs. 14,999.While there is no news on the devices that the company is planning to launch in India, we know the price range, Rs 6,000-Rs 15,000. So here is a look at ZTE's international portfolio of entry to mid-level smartphones which they might bring to India. Announcing the tie-up, Xu Dejun, CEO, ZTE India said, "We expect to emerge as a key player in the Indian smart phone arena. Globally, ZTE is the fourth largest handset manufacturer and we are certain to strengthen our position in India, which is a key growth propeller for us, contributing to 10 per cent of our overall revenues. We feel that it is a perfect synergy between two companies who share the same vision of empowering the Indian handset market." ZTE is operating in India form last ten years and provided mobile handsets to Micromax, Karbon and servive providers like Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular Ltd. Gaurav Somani, eexecutive director, Calyx Telecommunications said, "We are broadening our distribution network with ZTE's smart phone and tablet portfolio initially focusing on Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. We are targeting 60 cities and towns through over 7000 touch points. ZTE products will be available in all major states by the end of October 2013."