MediaTek and Micromax Informatics Collaborate on Mid-to-Premium Range Smartphones to Fuel India LTE Market Growth

- MediaTek announces HelioTM for India market and Micromax Canvas Fire 4G launched with MediaTek MT6735

- New consumer research shows processor speed, battery life and multi-media top 3 key considerations for purchasing smartphones over brand or price

In the pursuit to democratize India’s 4G LTE-ready smartphone market, MediaTek Inc., a global leader in fabless semiconductor design, today announced an enhanced strategic collaboration with Micromax Informatics, India’s leading handset player. The partnership aims to accelerate 4G accessibility and fuel faster smartphone adoption in India’s rapidly growing market.

As part of the company’s India roadmap, MediaTek announced the availability of the Helio family, the premium smartphone chipsets that deliver greater performance and efficiency; and the intention for Micromax Informatics to become the first Indian brand to launch a device on the new Helio premium platform using the Helio X10. In addition, the companies also released the latest mid-range 4G LTE phone – Micromax Canvas Fire 4G – running on MediaTek’s MT6735. The Canvas Fire 4G is an extension of Micromax Informatics’ Fire series, which has been custom built for music lovers.

“India is at the cusp of digital revolution and at Micromax Informatics we have been putting in concerted efforts to bring the best in class 4G LTE smartphones to take Internet usage to an unprecedented level. Today’s partnership exemplifies the same endeavor and we are delighted to partner with MediaTek for its Helio Family” said Mr. Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax Informatics. “We have always endeavored to offer products based on certain needs of the consumer. Moving forward, we will lead the 4G adoption in the country by converting all our popular value Canvas series to 4G. Canvas Fire 4G is the first in a series of such launches.”

This move to the premium segment also reflects consumer sentiment stemming from a new survey commissioned by MediaTek. Rather than the traditional thinking that brand and price are the main drivers, instead, when consumers in India purchase a smartphone, their top three considerations are:
- Battery life (71 percent);
- Processor speed (67 percent);
- Multimedia features (49 percent); and
- Consumers require a premium smartphone specifically to include a full HD resolution screen (40 percent).

Researchers agree India will grow its 4G LTE market more than any other country. Strategy Analytics predicts by 2017, India would overtake Japan to be the world’s 3rd largest 4G LTE market. It will also surpass the U.S the same year, to be the world's second largest smartphone market. 65 percent of India’s current Internet traffic comes from mobile devices, according to consulting firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer’s 2015 “Internet Trends” report.

“MediaTek is one of the leaders in the global LTE baseband market in Q1 2015 with a double-digit market share. The company is well positioned to play a key role in the emerging Indian LTE market by enabling affordable LTE handsets with its premium class chipsets such as the MT6735 and Helio X10, building on its 3G success in India,” said Mr. Sravan Kundojjala, Associate Director, Strategy Analytics.

“India is the next 4G LTE smartphone battleground and key to MediaTek’s mission to power billions of devices globally,” said Dr. Finbarr Moynihan, General Manager of International Sales, MediaTek. “With MediaTek’s wide portfolio of LTE products from entry to premium, we have the right business and technology strategy, along with local collaborations to make LTE a reality for Indian consumers. The technology is going to change to higher speeds and networks and MediaTek is pleased to collaborate with Micromax Informatics to deliver a stable and affordable 4G handset experience.”

As two of several MediaTek 4G LTE-enabled SoCs, the MT6735 and Helio X10 represent MediaTek’s mission to make leading technology inclusive and accessible to consumers globally. Helio X10, part of MediaTek’s flagship Helio processor family, satisfies multimedia requirements of even the most demanding users, featuring subsystems that support many technologies never before possible or seen in a smartphone. The MT6735 is known for supporting full HD video recording and playback while conserving a phone’s battery power, at a more affordable price.

MediaTek has invested in India since 2007, collaborating with Indian brands. India represents MediaTek’s second largest market globally. By company estimates, the company is the top smartphone SoC supplier to Indian brands and has the largest market share of chipsets in mobile devices sold in India.

About the survey
The MediaTek India Consumer Research Survey was conducted via an online survey from July 31 to August 7, 2015. YouGov performed the data collection. A total of 1,200 smartphone owners and intenders from India were sampled, across Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai and other markets.

Key findings:
- Top three considerations are battery life (71 percent), processor speed (67 percent) and multimedia features (49 percent) over price (43 percent) or brand (22 percent).
- Battery Life is the number one priority for consumers aged 25+ and 65 percent of females.
- A powerful and efficient processor is the top demand from 18-24 year olds and 58 percent of males before purchasing their next smartphone.
- 89 percent of Indian smartphone users are using multiple apps at any given time on their smartphones.
- Consumers spend more than 1 hour per day on Internet browsing (67 percent), Messaging (45 percent), Social Media (42 percent) and Emailing (38 percent).

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