MediaTek, Micromax tie up to fuel 4G LTE smartphone adoption

NEW DELHI: MediaTek, a fabless semiconductor company, has entered into an agreement with domestic handset maker Micromax Informatics to accelerate 4G accessibility and fuel faster smartphone adoption in India.

As part of the company’s India roadmap, MediaTek announced the availability of the Helio family, the premium smartphone chipsets; and the intention for Micromax Informatics to become the first Indian brand to launch a device on the new Helio premium platform using the Helio X10.

In addition, the companies also released the latest mid-range 4G LTE phone – Micromax Canvas Fire 4G – running on MediaTek’s MT6735 and is an extension of Micromax Informatic’s Fire series.

“India is at the cusp of digital revolution and at Micromax Informatics, we have been putting in concerted efforts to bring the best in class 4G LTE smartphones to take Internet usage to an unprecedented level. Today’s partnership exemplifies the same endeavor and we are delighted to partner with MediaTek for its Helio family,” said Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax Informatics. “We have always endeavoured to offer products based on certain needs of the consumer. Moving forward, we will lead the 4G adoption in the country by converting all our popular value Canvas series to 4G. Canvas Fire 4G is the first in a series of such launches.”

According to a survey by MediaTek, it has been revealed that when consumers in India purchase a smartphone, their top three considerations are battery life, processor speed and multimedia features instead of the traditional factors of brand and price. As much as 40% of consumers require a premium smartphone specifically to include a full HD resolution screen.  Therefore, this move to the premium segment reflects consumer sentiment stemming from these observations commissioned by this survey.

Researchers agree that India will grow its 4G LTE market more than any other country. Strategy analytics predict that by 2017, India would overtake Japan to be the world’s 3rd largest 4G LTE market. It will also surpass the US the same year, to be the world's second largest smartphone market.

Also, 65% of India’s current Internet traffic comes from mobile devices, according to consulting firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer’s 2015 “Internet Trends” report.

“MediaTek is one of the leaders in the global LTE baseband market in Q1 2015 with a double-digit market share. The company is well positioned to play a key role in the emerging Indian LTE market by enabling affordable LTE handsets with its premium class chipsets such as the MT6735 and Helio X10, building on its 3G success in India,” said Sravan Kundojjala, Associate Director, Strategy Analytics.

“India is the next 4G LTE smartphone battleground and key to MediaTek’s mission to power billions of devices globally,” said Finbarr Moynihan, General Manager of International Sales, MediaTek.

“With MediaTek’s wide portfolio of LTE products from entry to premium, we have the right business and technology strategy, along with local collaborations to make LTE a reality for Indian consumers. The technology is going to change to higher speeds and networks and MediaTek is pleased to collaborate with Micromax Informatics to deliver a stable and affordable 4G handset experience.”

MediaTek has invested in India, since 2007, which represents the company’s second-largest market globally.