Strategy Analytics says they"re the 12th largest handset manufacturer in the world. They don"t only build feature phones, but also a range of Android smartphones and tablets, as well as mobile data products, audio players and even televisions.
And yet, there"s a good chance you still have no idea who we"re referring to here. The company is Micromax, India"s second largest smartphone vendor, and they"re preparing a major expansion plan that they hope will double their revenues by the 2014 fiscal year, after already exceeding its total revenues for 2012-13 in the first half of this fiscal year alone.
The company says that it"s on track to grab an impressive 25% share of the vast and rapidly growing Indian smartphone market. Central to its expansion plans is the development of well-specified but aggressively priced Android handsets.
WMPowerUser notes that, this week, the company launched its flagship Canvas 4 handset (shown below), featuring a 5-inch IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass, HD (1280x720px) resolution, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 2000mAh battery, all in a 9mm-thick anodized aluminium body with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean - all for the equivalent of $295 USD (€230 EUR / £199 GBP).
But the company is looking beyond its Android roots, as Light Reading India reports that the company has committed to bringing Windows Phone 8 devices to its customers, although exact time frames for those products remain unclear. However, Micromax is working on 4G smartphones and dongles, as the country"s mobile carriers prepare to launch their fourth-generation networks, so India may soon see some home-grown Windows Phones featuring 4G connectivity on sale there.
The company"s operations aren"t confined to India, with its devices also on sale in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, emerging markets critical to Nokia"s Windows Phone strategy, as it seeks to generate high-volume sales of its affordable entry-level handsets such as the Lumia 520.
If Micromax is able to price its Windows Phones as aggressively as its Android range, Nokia could have quite a fight on its hands in those markets, and perhaps even beyond. Micromax says that it is "reaching out to the global frontiers with innovative products that challenge the status quo that innovation comes with a price".
Micromax will be joining a pretty short list of existing Windows Phone 8 manufacturers - in addition to Nokia, only HTC, Samsung and Huawei have launched handsets with Microsoft"s current mobile OS, although an executive from LG India revealed last week that the company plans to return to Windows Phone, with a device already in development.
Source: Light Reading India via WMPowerUser | Images via Micromax