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IDC: Micromax close to overtaking Samsung in India

IDC released a report on the smartphone market in India and claims the country will become the world's second biggest smartphone market, displacing the US (which lost the lead to China in 2011).

Despite a sluggish overall phone market (21% growth year on year, 4% quarter on quarter), smartphones are exploding in India. Smartphone shipments in Q2 2013 are up 50% quarter on quarter and have nearly tripled compared to the same quarter last year (9.3 million smartphones were shipped during the quarter, compared to 3.5 million in Q2 last year).

Cheap 3G and 2.5G smartphones are displacing feature phones (IDC estimates smartphone ASP will fall under $200 by the end of the year). Dual-SIM functionality and large screens are the most sought after features. Devices with 5-7 inch screens accounted for 30% of the market, growing a whopping 17 times year over year.

Foreign companies are still going strong in India, but local brands like Micromax and Karbonn shipped over half of the smartphones in the country during the second quarter.

Samsung is still on top, with the Galaxy Star pointed out as a particularly hot seller, but the company's mid-range and even high-end phones are selling well too. Even the Galaxy Note II, thanks to the zero interest Equated Monthly Installment plans.

Then there's Micromax in second with over 2 million smartphones shipped and its Canvas line is seeing growing screen diagonals (the Canvas Doodle 2 has reached 5.7"). Karbonn comes in third with increasing shipments too and popular A and Titanium series.

Nokia is fourth with the Lumia 520 one of its best sellers (it's very popular around the world too). Sony has climbed back to fifth with good sales from its mid-rangers and affordable dual-SIMs.