<div>It is often mentioned if you need to know someone, then you should just have a look at the kind of books they read. Now, the easiest way to know someone will be to look at the mobile phone and the kind of applications they are using. Yes, consciously or unconsciously mobiles phones have become an extension of our personalities - choice of colours, back covers, ringtones, caller tunes, and other accessories. Everyone wants to flash the latest smartphone, and reap the image it brings along</div><div> </div><div>What is more fascinating is the fact that number of smartphones and complimentary services/products are reaching its peak, and we are far from a saturation point. Smartphones have continued to grow at a fast pace in India. That's also been suggested by the latest report by IDC, which says shipments in Q2 2014 grew 84 percent year-on-year and an impressive 11 per cent quarter-on-quarter.India's smartphone market today is supporting large number of options for users to choose from and greater opportunities for telecom players to offer innovative smartphones and services. This revolution is being driven especially by new entrants in the market, majorly local or Asian brands. </div><div> </div><div>In the previous decade, our mobile phone market was in different shape with major chunk hijacked by large manufacturing conglomerates that were premier in both pricing and quality. Targeted at, majorly corporate and CAT audiences, the phones offered features at a premium cost. Affordable, smartphone segment shared a thin line of existence in the market pie chart and no one thought that the share will expand in just few years.Like the advent of the 'Affordable - Family Car' in India in the mid-1980s, smartphones have also undergo a transformational phase and has made big companies wake-up and smell the coffee.</div><div> </div><div>The transformation at the consumer side, with higher disposable incomes, the youth started embracing mobile phones and demanding more services like data, apps, etc; this ran parallel to the transformation in the overall market with younger smartphone mobile brands disrupting inertia in the market ruled by feature phones and fewer brands. The fact that India's market is providing fast paced growth to newer players is that the demand of today's aware and tech savvy young consumer has made the market organic and welcoming. Allowing newer players like Obi, Gionee, Oppo and others to survive along with brands existing for many decades. It is indeed an era with smartphones with the world revolving around it. </div><div> </div><div>The youth of India has become more curious than before, tech savvy and willing to experiment, they are largest consumers of the new smartphones brands. For them, smartphones have gone beyond 'a desire', 'a want' and has become part of life. Hence, the majority of trends in the industry are bending as per the lifestyle of a young smartphone user. Infused with internet, that is like the soul of a smartphone and precisely the reason for why a phone should be referred to as a smartphone; these phones have become a small window for an individual to explore the infotainment space on their own terms - getting the best of both productivity and fun. The other reasons for this hyper connected lifestyle, are social networking sites to stay in touch with family and friends and to share their views on an array of topics, including popular culture, religion, and politics along with the rage on online shopping. This coupled with games and reading newspapers or magazine, the smartphone is really a window to the world. Their popularity due to customized features and services that suit as well as reflect an individual's personality is also becoming a differentiating factor in terms of user experience.</div><div> </div><div>An inevitable aspect of youth changing their phones in short frequency is majorly due to accessibility of smartphones in terms of affordability and easy availability online and in brick and mortar stores. It is also because the youth are picking smartphones over other devices like tablets and personal computers, mostly because of ease and quick readiness to the internet. Its actually been estimated that some users experience the internet for the first time on their smartphones.</div><div> </div><div>It's a great time to be in the smartphone business - both for the company and the customer. Smartphones have evolved dramatically over the past decade and will continue to do so with new features, form factors and who know display outputs; because this revolution has just begun. </div>
