Thanks to Google’s open source operating system Android, cheap overseas labor, and a bunch of businessmen who are willing to play the high volume, low margins game, an estimated 13% of all mobile phones shipped during the first 3 months of this year were made by companies like Micromax, Spice Mobile, and Yulong Coolpad; in other words, people you never heard of. The bean counters at Strategy Analytics who came up with this assessment say:
“In Q1 2011, Micromax, Spice Mobile and Yulong Coolpad emerged in India and China, as key vendors outperforming major international handset brands like Sony Ericsson and Motorola. Micromax and Spice successfully built their portfolio with feature-rich, multi-SIM handsets which span across ultra-low and entry-tier segments, catering to growing rural subscribers. These companies are now launching mid-tier 3G handsets and Android smartphones which target the growing category of urban and suburban 3G subscribers. Hong Kong-based vendor, Yulong Coolpad, is on track to becoming a known player in the China 3G market, supplying affordable, mid-tier 3G smartphones to suburban and urban users. Yulong Coolpad is growing relationships with all three Chinese mobile carriers, tapping the growing 3G boom in this important handset market.”
At this point you’re expecting us to say something terrible about the reliability and build quality of these devices, but we’re not. If these off brand firms can make something that will connect people to the internet for the first time for cheaper than what the big boys can offer, then we wish them the best. With time they’ll iron out all their kinks, and who knows, maybe in 10 years we’ll see someone steal Nokia’s top spot as the king of phone vendors by volume. Brand loyalty has no importance when you’re a farmer who just moved to the city in search of a better life and are trying to get by on a meager salary. You buy what you can.