Dubai: A new mobile brand has entered the UAE market. Micromax Informatics, an Indian mobile handset manufacturer, will unveil its low-cost and innovative handsets at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) in Dubai next week.
Besides India, the brand is currently operating in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Micromax phones will be sold in four Gulf countries: UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.
"We're here to bend the rules," said Vikas Jain, Business Director and one of the founders of Micromax. "We want to take the phone beyond the regular messaging and voice data services."
The company is trying to make the handset [even] more personal, Jain said. Some of the features include 30-day battery life on standby mode and dual SIM. Some models can also be used as a remote control for TV sets, DVD players and air conditioners.
Largest seller
Jain said that Micromax is currently the third largest seller in India and he hopes that within 12 months it will be among the top three in the UAE. "I think coming from a market that's the fastest growing telecom market in the world, I believe there's no reason not to have that kind of target."
Faisal Al Bannai, founder and CEO of Axiom Telecom, the distributor and retailer for mobile phones in the Middle East, told Gulf News that there are two important points that will determine if a brand is successful or not. One, the kind of distribution presence they've got, and two, the pricing.
A consumer won't go for a new brand when it's at the same price and has the same features as a global brand, he explained. It either has to be cheaper or has more features.
While the market is not an easy one to be in, Al Bannai said that it's big enough to accept new brands as long as those two points are covered.
Haresh Thawani, Head of Telecom at Jumbo Electronics, told Gulf News he expects the brand to do well in the country. It's very "innovative and highly engaging", he said. "It is a brand differentiator with a keen focus on value for money and based on its features and functionality will develop a niche in the market."
Thawani said a challenge is to establish brand identity. "People would expect it to work wonders as soon as it is launched and that would be the toughest challenge," he said.
