Rajiv Kaul, a former managing director at Microsoft
India, on company’s decision to slash prices said, "Much like Google Nexus
phones of comparable specifications are cheaper by $30-40 (about Rs
2,040-2,720) and in some cases even $100 (Rs 6,800) than rivals."
Nick Spencer, senior practice director, ABI Research, a New Yorkbased market
research firm, said prices of the entry-level Nokia Lumia 520 could almost
halve to less than $100 in some months from the time the deal closes in the
first quarter of 2014.
This sounds like Microsoft will give tough competition to even local players
like Micromax, Karbonn and LAVA, along with Samsung, which leads the mobile
market in India.
Nokia 520 costs about Rs 9,200 in India while domestic handset makers sell Smartphones
with similar specifications at around at Rs 3,500. Samsung prices its
entry-level Smartphone at around Rs 5,000. With the price slashes, Lumia sets
may hover close by
5,000 which could stir up the market and force its competitors
to retaliate.
Lava co-founder Hari Om Rai, however, said a price war is unlikely.
"Microsoft phones will be cheaper than the current models they (Nokia)
have, but only marginally, as the cost of hardware is almost same for all
players." Marketers say, it might be a challenge for Lumia phones to give
their rivals a run for their money, since they have a very small presence compared
to Android device in India.
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