Tag: india mobile

Mobile technology news is swimming as billionth Indian subscriber expected in 2015

| January 15, 2015

While growth may be slowing down in smartphone subscriptions, it is far from stopping.

India has provided a massive source of mobile technology news until now, and in 2015, it is expected to make headlines as it will reach the point where it will have registered its billionth mobile subscriber in the country.

As cell phones become ubiquitous, subscription numbers have slowed, but they are remaining on track.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) produces regular mobile technology news statistics that provide the latest figures with regards to the number of wireless subscribers in the country. The most recent figure has shown that India currently has 937.06 million cell phone service subscriptions, which was the statistic that covered the subscription count up to November 30 of last year. It also showed that there was a 0.18 percent growth rate, which meant that it had experienced a monthly increase of 1.71 million people.

Though this mobile technology news shows a slowing, it still suggests that the 1 billion mark will be hit in 2015.

mobile technology news - mobile phone subscriptionsOctober’s monthly growth rate was 0.55 percent, after 5.14 million subscribers had added their numbers, and September’s growth rate was 0.64 percent, when that month saw 5.88 million new consumers.

While one billion subscribers to wireless service is quite an accomplishment, the true achievement in striking this figure is that it will show that more than 90 percent of internet connections in India are occurring over mobile devices. Talk of “the next billion” to be connected to the internet, the trend for mobile first, and the heavy use of cloud storage has been a boon for marketing and it has shown that when it comes to mobile commerce and other smartphone based industries, customers using these devices need to be taken very seriously.

Also being touched on in mobile technology news is the impact that this widespread device ownership is actually having on the Indian culture. The reason is that these phones and other connected gadgets are changing the way that people complete various tasks in their everyday lives. It is a trend that is worth watching.

Mobile technology startups from Xiaomi to pop up in India

| January 15, 2015

The company has now built up a massive amount of funding for its efforts to fund its next steps.

Xiaomi recently announced that its latest round of funding had closed at about $1 billion, and now it is going to take that money and pour it into efforts to open up mobile technology startups in India, as well as companies focused on connected devices and content aggregation.

The company is working on launching its own startup environment in India, comparable to what it accomplished in China.

In fact, mobile technology startups in India are included among the top priorities for Xiaomi in 2015. According to the head of Xiaomi India, Manu Jain, “We may co-develop, invest or launch their products. We have discussed with a few startups so far.” At the same time that these statements were released, the company declined to make any specific mention of the names of some of the startups that would be launched, or the size of the investment that it would specifically be making.

The company already labels itself as being a mobile technology and e-commerce business, not just a handset manufacturer.

Mobile Technology - Xiaomi and IndiaXiaomi has previously poured investments into Chinese startups that are focused on parts of the tech industry including wearable technology (such as in its fitness band), a video website, and in a smart light bulbs effort.

According to a Convergence Catalyst partner, Jayant Kolla, “Startups would find it lucrative to work with Xiaomi versus other corporates, as it is agile and has been able to grow, coupling the scale brought forward by both the internet and mobile era.” That firm is the Indian branch of one of Xiaomi’s most valuable startups on the globe and which managed to sell a million devices in the country in well under half of a year.

At the time that this article was written, Xiaomi was being valued at about $45 billion, and it has every intention to grow this year through its mobile technology and other startup investments in India. Though its past has been greatly based on smartphones, those are clearly only the beginning of what it has up its sleeves as it progresses into the future.