Aug 1 – Samsung India has launched three affordable smartphones in India in a bid to compete against the Indian phonemakers like Micromax and companies like Asus that have launched some noteworthy Android phones in sub-Rs.10,000 market.
The three devices — the Galaxy Star 2, the Galaxy Star Advance, and Galaxy Ace NXT — will compete against the likes of the Moto G, Moto E and Asus ZenFone. The Galaxy Star 2 features a 3.5-inch display, a 2-megapixel camera and support for Wi-Fi. It costs Rs.5,100 and is offered in white and black colours.
Samsung has also preloaded games from Gameloft on this phone. The Galaxy Star Advance has a 4.3-inch screen, a 3-megapixel camera and it is priced at Rs.7,400. Both are 2G devices.
The Galaxy Ace NXT, however, is a 3G device. It has a 4-inch screen and a 3-megapixel camera with a rear flash. It also costs Rs.7,400 and is available in white and black. All three smartphones support 12 Indian languages including Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu and Assamese.
All three phones run Android customised with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. However, the version of Android is not known. Samsung has tied up with Vodafone to offer 200MB per month for free for six months to consumers who buy these phones.
Commenting on the launch, Asim Warsi, vice president of marketing at Samsung’s Mobile & IT division, said, “Samsung is committed to offer the best in technology and innovative products at an affordable price to the consumers.
Especially created for the Indian market Galaxy Star 2, Galaxy Star Advance and Galaxy Ace NXT have been launched to provide a larger set of consumers with the experience of superior mobile technologies and richer internet experience at an affordable price.”
Samsung recently had its poorest quarter in two years thanks to dwindling sales of its smartphones. It is being flanked in the high-end market by players like HTC, Sony and Apple.
In the low-end, it is struggling to compete against a multitude of new manufacturers like Xiaomi, Micromax in India and devices like the Moto E and Moto G by Motorola.
-INDIA TODAY
