Wynncom, a name you probably have never heard before, don’t worry because neither have I, is an Indian mobile phone manufacturer that just announced the release of the first Hindi QWERTY form factor mobile phone. While this story doesn’t impact many of our readers, it’s interesting to note the competition that’s now facing traditional incumbents such as Nokia in developing economies like India. Not for nothing, Nokia has a fantastic team of anthropologists who travel the world and extensively document how people living in the most remote regions on this planet go about their daily lives, but it will always be the locals who know exactly what their friends, family, and neighbors want.
The device is called the Y-45 and it looks somewhat like the recently launched Nokia C3. It has a 2.2 inch color screen, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and can even take two SIM cards. Devices like this, in markets like this, are why earlier this year Nokia adjusted how they measure their market share. The top 5: Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, will always have a large chunk of the market, but the little guys are catching up, especially since it’s becoming easier and easier these days to manufacture a mobile phone.
Thank Qualcomm who sells complete system on chips that give you everything you need to make a device. Thank MediaTek, who designs chips that the Chinese use to pump out not only clones of models typically found in the west, but also original devices that offer features such as triple SIM capability and television antennas. Thank the big boys who setup factories in these countries expecting to find cheap labor only to see the blueprints of their factories copied and built by companies who didn’t exist even 5 years ago.
It keeps everyone on their toes, all this constant innovation.
Update: Forgot to mention the price: 3,395 Indian Rupees or a little over $70.
[Via: Economic Times, Cellular News]