Indian mobile handset maker Lava on Tuesday during the launch of the new Lava Iris Fuel 60 revealed that their new phone coming out in March will be produced in India at their Noida plant.
Speaking at the event, Hari Om Rai, chairman and MD of Lava International Limited said, ” The new phone which will come out sometime during March will be produced at our Noida facility.” The statement from Rai gains signifance as the mobile manufacturing sector in India will get more competitive and will challenge the likes of Samsung which offer smartphones at higher prices. It could also mean a better position in the sector for Lava as more of its products could be sold keeping in mind the price bracket.
Lava which already offers smartphones with good specs at low prices has been growing fast and Rai said that the company is on track to acheive the target of being a billion dollar company by 2015. When we asked Rai about the competition the handset maker is facing, he said, “We do not look at competition, we look at contribution. If you see our histroy then you will realise that we are growing rapidly and consumers are identifying with our products.” About the Xiaomi ban, Rai said that the matter was sub-judice and Lava would only comment after the court completes the proceedings.
Rai also informed that Lava was progressing fast in countries like Nepal, bangladesh, Sri lanka, Russia and Thailand. He added that Lava was the second largest selling mobile brand in Thailand.
In Tuesday’s launch, the fast growing company, achieved another milestone by launching a new member in its ‘iris Fuel’ series of high power battery smartphones. The newly launched Iris Fuel 60 is the second smartphone after
the recently launched Iris Fuel 50 and promises an long lasting battery backup designed to last for long working hours without the need of frequent charging. “With smartphones becoming part and parcel of everyday life, battery life has become a matter of concern for smartphone users,” Lava International vice-president Navin Chawla said.
The handset features a 5-inch HD IPS display, 1.3 GHz quad core processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory (expandable up to 32GB). With a 4,000 mAh battery, the device sports Android KitKat operating system and can be upgraded to the latest Android Lollipop in future. It has a 10MP rear and 2MP front camera.
“The battery allows users up to 32 hours of talktime on 2G without a need to charge the phone. The phone is also equipped with quick charge technology that restricts the charging time to 3 hours 15 minutes,” he said.
The handset also boasts of a “solder-less” manufacturing technology where each component is connected to PCBA via connectors, unlike conventional smartphones where manual soldering is used. This results in lesser defects and makes it easier for service engineers in case of any fault.
India is one of the fastest growing smartphone market in Asia Pacific region, witnessing a growth of 84 per cent year-on-year in the April-June 2014 period. Korean handset maker Samsung leads the domestic smartphone market with 29 per cent share, followed by Micromax at 18 per cent, Karbonn at 8 per cent and Lava at 6 per cent.