Micromax's Phones will cause disruption

Over the summer, we were told during the conference call that we would get a regional player releasing a product in the fall. That was delayed.

Diwali is the Indian gift-giving season, happens in the fall.

They did some tweaking of the currency in India in the fall (Demonetization). 

Now they're going to be disrupting at the high end and the low end. 


EconomicTimes.indiaTimes  -- more at the source.

Q) But with Chinese brands putting in top dollars and you holding back, you are losing market share which will be difficult to regain later? 

It is not about losing ground. It is all about what at what time. If we start doing the same thing, we start burning the same amount of money. We wanted to do it (launches) right after Diwali. But post Diwali, demonetization happened. Now we will be coming up with products that are high end and also products which are in the lower end segment. We will cause disruption at both spots. 

Some very interesting language about new Panasonic entries in India.

Another place to watch.


BGR Smartphones Panasonic India

“We are working on some really innovative applications, which would eventually make the life of people more easy. Maybe, in about a few months time, you would be exposed to those kind of applications and user interfaces which I think would differentiate the devices,” Panasonic India & South Asia President & CEO Manish Sharma told PTI.

A Regional Brand doing a Launch.

Something was delayed until the first quarter

something to watch.

Review from India -- Scan lines

Independent recent review from India -- very interesting view of the scan lines.. 

End of Thin Phones -- India

Gionee has been on the radar for as long as Micromax. 

The India market for PicoP will be absolutely fantastic -- the Indian people love movies and lack movie and television screens. They make more movies than we do in the US. 

We know the Qualper phone is thicker than most other smart phones out there to fit a rather extraordinary feature inside.

Many smart phone companies have been obsessed with thinness. I have never heard a person excited about how thin their new phone is. I have never heard anyone say they bought one phone over another because one was thinner. The only comments I've heard about thinness in phones is amazement that they can cram so much into so little space.


Business Insider India  (More at Source)

Gionee’s India Head deconstructed the smartphone’s future and found that there won’t be any more slim phones

...slim handsets needed to combat were overheating and lack of space in the phone for slots. 

People these days want more memories, and the slim phones didn't have any external memory slot. Now, if someone is buying a phone with a 16GB memory capacity, they often realize that space is too low for apps and media. Now unlike other phones there is no way the memory can be expanded. The only way-out for the users then is to delete apps and games and keep the essentials only. 

Vohra feels that style is a major booster to shape up the buying psyche in any Indian consumer. According to him, Gionee sells half a million devices every month in the Indian market. There are three things that determine the buying behaviour - feature function, brand value and price. 

As the economy and per capita income of people grow the value of essentials increases. There are a few buzzwords of the phone makers that the customers fall for- Full HD and 4K resolution are some of them. However, no matter how technical these terms seem to be, customers are going to judge phones on those parameters. 

There hasn't been any major innovation in mobile technology in the last 6 months. But subtly, the phones have become more functional, batteries are lasting longer, data became faster and the camera is getting better. 

Gone are the days when we used to buy a phone just for the phone. Today's smartphone that costs something above Rs 10,000 competes on camera space, video space and PC space. 

Vohra feels the future of smartphone lies on what you enable on your phone. There is a whole parallel ecosystem that is working. Be it shopping, browsing, social networking- there is a larger ecosystem working. 

Augmented Reality Home Decor

I pulled the whole article, because it looks like a re-print of a complete press release. This is a natural fit for PicoP.


Yahoo News

There is a New Frontier to be Explored in Textiles!

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Welspun (www.welspun.com), a conglomerate that specializes in home textiles, is thrilled to announce that it has secured the "Interactive Textile Article and Augmented Reality System" patent, which protects Welspun's new product line TILT. The patent covers a system that has textile material with a design motif and an augmented reality software application. The software application is designed to allow a user to scan the design motif on the textile material, and enter an augmented reality portal that is thematically related to the design motif. 

TILT by Welspun is a new brand that focuses on seamlessly integrating technology into textiles. The first product, Spin Tales, is an interactive and innovative bed set and rug for kids aged three and up. With innovative technology, a free app designed for the duvet cover and rug allows the user to experience adventures in augmented reality and engage in interactive games. Spin Tales is the first of many smart home textile products that will be introduced under the TILT umbrella.

"There is a new frontier to be explored in textiles - one that delights, engages, animates and connects - and as a company with global reach, it is important for us to protect the skills and knowledge needed to launch this new frontier of products," said Dipali Goenka, CEO and Joint Managing Director, Welspun India Ltd. "This patent will push forth avenues to engage users while fostering a learning environment with innovative and futuristic textiles. Welspun is excited to introduce products, that when enabled by technology, immerse the user to the point where imagination is intertwined with interactive learning experiences."

"Spin Tales is the first line of products to be launched under the TILT umbrella and we are excited to introduce it to the public at The Toy Insider's Holiday of Play event on September 21, 2016," said Qaizar Hassonjee, SVP & Head, TILT by Welspun USA. "TILT is about creating immersive experiences for users with innovative and futuristic textiles that incorporate technology."

For more information on Welspun go to www.welspun.com and for more information on TILT go to www.tilttextiles.com.

About TILT by Welspun Group:TILT by Welspun is an innovative smart home textiles company that creates interactive experiences through seamless integration of smart technology with home textiles. TILT will be launching their product line, Spin Tales, the first ever interactive bedding for children with a focus on storytelling, user experience and AR technology. The Spin Tales classic duvet and pillow case set allow readers to join Little Red, Three Pigs and Jack from Magic Beans on their adventures, or join Milo and friends in the Spin Tales Jungle rug to explore and learn about life in the jungle, by using an app that brings characters alive in 3D images. Spin Tales creates a unique bonding experience for children and parents; it draws them into an immersive world of stories and fosters learning in an interactive environment that is truly magical and playground cool. This is the first in a series of smart home textiles products that TILT is creating.

Welspun  -- Also makes Steel & Pipes -- and they are from India.