Homegrown handset maker Karbonn is planning to set up its first manufacturing plant in the country by the end of this year. Talking to The Pioneer company's Chairman Sudhir Hasija said: "The company is planning to set up its first manufacturing unit in the country by the end of this year,”
“Many State Government are offering sops to us. We will take some decision by the month end,” he added. "May be in Gujarat or it could be two units one in the North and one in the South. We will also be investing Rs 200 crore in our manufacturing plant," he replied when asked about the likely States where plants could be set up.
Karbonn will launch 15 more models and planning to expand its reach in whole of the Europe. The company has tied up with Google for its new android one smartphones. India is the first country where the US-based firm's Android One devices are being launched. Roll out across other markets like Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri lanka will follow in the coming months.
Google is also expanding Android One programme with Acer, Alcatal OneTouch, Xolo, HTC, lava, Intex, Asus and lenovo. It has also roped in Qualcomm for the chipsets. In June, Google announced its 'Android One' initiative to bring in under-$100 handsets aimed at bringing the next one billion population to the Android operating system ecosystem.
The dual-SIM devices will sport a 4.5-inch screen with a quad core MediaTek processor, 1 GB RAM and 4 GB internal storage, which can be expanded to 32 GB. It will feature a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 2 MP front camera with replaceable battery and built-in radio. Analysts feel Android One will lead a fiercer competition in the mid-range smartphone market with firms offering better experience at price points in the range of Rs 6,000-10,000.
Gartner Principal Research Analyst Vishal Tripathi said Android One devices will be under Google's control thereby ensuring a standard hardware and software specs, which in turn will lead to a better experience for the consumers