It's Nano all over again — in smartphone<\/a>s. In August last year, Intex<\/a> launched the world's cheapest smartphone in India. Priced at Rs 1,999 and running on Mozilla Firefox<\/a> operating system (OS), this phone was supposed to be a winner in a fast-growing but price sensitive market.
Three other brands, Spice, Zen<\/a> Mobile and Alcatel One Touch<\/a> also sold ultracheap smartphones running on Firefox OS. There were online deals with Flipkart and Snapdeal. But the data is in, and the Nano of smartphones, just like Nano the car, has flopped. Data from Cybex Solutions, a firm that tracks export import data, shows between August and December, only 154,000 Firefox phones were imported.
\n\n\tAnd in January and February, Zen, a really small player, imported around 10,000 of these phones. These are minuscule numbers compared to average monthly sales of 7 million smartphones in India. The market verdict has been as quick and as harsh for ultra-cheap smartphones as it was for the ultra-cheap car. \n
\n\n\tMozilla's senior vice president of business and legal affairs Denelle Dixon-Thayer said in an updated response to ET's questions: \"The Cloud FX with Intex Technologies and Fire One MI FX with Spice are no longer being produced because they reached the end of their life cycle.\" \n
\"We are now focusing on the next generation of Firefox OS devices<\/a> and are really excited to be working with our partners on those,\" she added.
\n\n\tFirefox phone vendors agree\n
\n\n\tFirefox phone vendors ET spoke to were unambiguous in their agreement that the ultracheap phone hadn't taken off. Firefox phone-sellers say imports are somewhat more than Cybex data but they don't deny the failure of 'Nano' smartphones. \"There was little commercial viability,\" said Sanjay Kalirona, head of mobile business at Intex. \n
\n\n\tSpice Mobility's CEO Prashant Bindal says, \"It doesn't matter even if you're providing smartphones at very low costs...the consumer had to be convinced that they should buy this phone.\" Zen Mobile Managing Director Deepesh Gupta said, \"People don't mind paying a little more for phones they like more.\" In August last year, Kalirona had told ET three more Firefox smartphones, including a 3G-enabled one, will be launched within a year. \n
\n\n\tThose plans are now all history. And the Firefox, ultracheap smartphones' failure reaffirm a very important consumer behavior insight - price conscious they may be, but Indians don't like to upgrade into a new product category via a brand that signals \"cheap\". As brand consultant Harish Bijoor puts it: \"Low cost is politically correct way of calling something cheap but people see through it.\" \n
\n\n\tThose looking for a affordable hatchback bought Maruti Alto rather than Nano, Bijoor says. The middle common denominator, not the lowest common denominator, is what people looking to upgrade feel comfortable with, he points out. In smartphones, say market observers, this is playing out via affordable Android phones. \n
\n\n\tFirefox phones priced between Rs 1,999 and Rs 2,300 looked like cheap smartphones but Android phones priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, which were never marketed as ultracheap and offered the superior Android OS, attract many more customers wanting to upgrade from ordinary phones. \"Making cheap phones doesn't matter anymore,\" said Jayanth Kolla, co-founder of telecom research firm Convergence Catalyst. Phone-sellers learnt this the hard way just as the car-seller did.\n<\/body>","next_sibling":[{"msid":46626270,"title":"$228 billion worth PCs, phones to be shipped globally by 2017","entity_type":"ARTICLE","link":"\/news\/devices\/228-billion-worth-pcs-phones-to-be-shipped-globally-by-2017\/46626270","category_name":null,"category_name_seo":"devices"}],"related_content":[],"msid":46625904,"entity_type":"ARTICLE","title":"Firefox smartphone has flopped in India just like Nano the car","synopsis":"Data from Cybex Solutions, a firm that tracks export-import data, shows between August and December, only 154,000 Firefox phones were imported","titleseo":"devices\/firefox-smartphone-has-flopped-in-india-just-like-nano-the-car","status":"ACTIVE","authors":[{"author_name":"Gulveen Aulakh","author_link":"\/author\/19656\/gulveen-aulakh","author_image":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/authorthumb\/19656.cms?width=100&height=100&hostid=268","author_additional":{"thumbsize":true,"msid":19656,"author_name":"Gulveen Aulakh","author_seo_name":"gulveen-aulakh","designation":"Assistant Editor","agency":false}}],"Alttitle":{"minfo":""},"artag":"ET Bureau","artdate":"2015-03-19 23:58:38","lastupd":"2015-03-20 18:53:50","breadcrumbTags":["Devices","Smartphone","Firefox","zen","Intex","Alcatel One Touch","IndiaTelecomData"],"secinfo":{"seolocation":"devices\/firefox-smartphone-has-flopped-in-india-just-like-nano-the-car"}}" data-authors="[" gulveen aulakh"]" data-category-name="Devices" data-category_id="12" data-date="2015-03-19" data-index="article_1">
再次是纳米-智能手机年代。去年8月,国际展览中心在印度推出了世界上最便宜的智能手机。售价1999卢比在Mozilla和运行火狐操作系统(OS),这款手机应该是赢家在快速增长,但价格敏感的市场。
其他三个品牌,香料,禅移动和阿尔卡特第一次接触也出售廉价智能手机操作系统运行在Firefox。Flipkart公司和Snapdeal网上交易。但数据,Nano的智能手机,就像Nano汽车,以失败告终。Cybex解决方案,数据导出导入数据追踪,显示8月和12月之间,只有154000火狐手机进口。
在1月和2月,禅,一个很小的球员,这些手机的进口约10000。这些是微不足道的数字相比,平均每月销售700万部智能手机在印度。市场的判决已经尽可能快速而严厉的超低价智能手机,因为它是超低价汽车。
Mozilla的商业和法律事务的高级副总裁Denelle Dixon-Thayer更新响应等的问题说:“火云外汇与国际展览中心技术和一个MI与香料不再产生外汇,因为他们到达他们的生命周期的终结。”
“我们现在专注于火狐的下一代操作系统设备并非常兴奋与我们的合作伙伴合作,”她补充道。
火狐手机供应商同意
Firefox电话供应商等与明确的协议,廉价手机没有起飞。Firefox phone-sellers说进口超过Cybex数据但他们不否认“纳米”智能手机的失败。说:“几乎没有商业可行性Sanjay Kalirona移动业务主管国际展览中心。
香料流动性首席执行官Prashant Bindal说,“没关系,即使你以非常低的成本提供智能手机…消费者必须相信他们应该买这款手机。”禅Mobile Managing Director Deepesh Gupta said, "People don't mind paying a little more for phones they like more." In August last year, Kalirona had told ET three more Firefox smartphones, including a 3G-enabled one, will be launched within a year.
这些计划是现在所有的历史。和Firefox,廉价智能手机的失败重申一个非常重要的消费行为的洞察力——价格意识,但印度人不喜欢升级到一个新的产品类别通过品牌“便宜”的信号。作为品牌顾问哈瑞Bijoor所说:“低成本政治正确的调用方式是便宜的但是人们看穿它。”
那些寻找负担得起的掀背车买了马鲁蒂Alto,而不是纳米Bijoor说。中间公分母,不是最小公分母,是人们寻求升级感到满意,他指出。市场观察人士表示,在智能手机领域,这是在通过负担得起的Android手机。
火狐手机定价之间Rs 1999和Rs 2300看起来像廉价智能手机但Android手机定价之间Rs 3000和5000卢比,这从未销售廉价和提供了优越的Android操作系统,吸引更多的顾客想要升级从普通手机。“制造廉价手机不重要了,”说Jayanth Kolla,电信研究公司的联合创始人融合的催化剂。Phone-sellers学到其中的艰辛就像car-seller。
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