Handset manufactures struggle to add more features to low-end phones  

NEW DELHI: Handset manufacturers are struggling to add more features to the
low-end phones to woo the low cost handset consumers. 

With the government targeting to reach 250 million by the end of 2007, the
handset manufactures are trying hard to pull down the prices of handsets with
more added features in it. 

Vijay Ramanathan, manager, Product Marketing, Mobile Devices, Motorola India,
said that the consumers have become more demanding in purchasing mobile phones.
He said that with the cut down in prices of mobile handsets, consumers want a
phone with more added features. 

“Every consumer wants a phone to be enabled with all the features available
in a handset even if they may not use it. In most cases some of the consumers
may not use a Bluetooth or e-mail facility on their mobile phones but they would
insist for it while purchasing one,” he said. 

With the telecos targeting the rural market, the companies have been very
conscious about the price of the handset. Motorola had also launched the
Motofone on Tuesday as the low-end handset at Rs 1649, which will be bundled
with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). 

LG Electronics has also today announced offering Hindi T9 Text Input
software, on its latest GSM phone, the LG KG110 model. The Hindi T9 Text input
is being offered by Tegic Communications, a provider of predictive text input
software and a wholly owned subsidiary of America Online, Inc. 

“India is a very important market for us and our efforts have always been
to ensure that we provide best of technology and feature rich phones that are
ingeniously designed and expertly built for our Indian consumers. This latest
offering complements LG's philosophy of a unique Hindi SMS experience in the
latest LG KG110 with added features of 65K color screen, GPRS and 500 Phone Book
Memory space and more,” H.S Bhatia, national product group head, LG
Electronics GSM said. 

The handset is bundled with operators to address the mass market and even the
common man who is much comfortable to understand English. “This is a strategy
to have Hindi T9 and bundle it with Airtel so that the handset can be utilised
to the maximum,” he added.