CY 2012 sees a 20.8% increase in mobile handsets shipped

There was an astounding 20.8% growth in mobile phone shipment in CY 2012 against CY 2011, according to CMR's(CyberMedia Resarch)Indian Mobile Handsets Market Review. While there was a positive sign for smartphone sales, as they jumped 35.7% in CY 2012 compared to CY 2011, more than 90% of the sales were still under featurephones. 

Nokia also took the cake as the leading seller of mobile phones, with a 21.8% market share of the units shipped, and Samsung lagging behind at 13.7%. According to Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice, "Although we see a huge market ‘hype' around smartphones, the fact remains that the India Mobile Handsets market is still dominated by shipments of featurephones. On the other hand smartphone shipments are growing fast. This indicates India is still a ‘new phone' market, where featurephones contribute to the bulk of shipments compared to replacements or upgrades." Hence, the smartphone market in India is sitll in its nascent stage compared to the mature feature phone market. 

However, in the smartphone segment, Samsung won by a landslide as it accounted for 43.1% of smartphone shipments, while Nokia came in second with a lowly 13.3%. According to Tarun Pathak, Analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice , "The India smartphones segment has very distinct characteristics vis-à-vis the overall market. We believe the struggle for leadership in the India smartphones market is going to intensify through 2013 as vendors bring new form factors to market."

Read more about the results of the study here