With the ever-burgeoning budget smartphone and tablet market, the Indian consumer is spoilt for choice when it comes to devices offering decent performance and features at an affordable price point. While Indian brands like Micromax, Karbonn and Spice have been tapping this market fairly effectively, there are still some consumers who might pick up a lower-specced or higher-priced Samsung or Sony device instead, unsure of local manufacturers’ reliability and service.
To ascertain how prevalent this ‘International versus Local’ perception still is in the Indian market, we asked our readers, fans and subscribers to share their opinions via our ThinkDigit Weekly Poll. We polled them: “In terms of reliability and service, would you trust domestic value brands like Micromax, Karbonn, Spice instead of international brands like Samsung, Nokia, Sony, etc.? ”
We received over 1050 responses, and the results indicate that most of our readers still feel international brands provide better reliability and service. 665 votes (or 63 percent) were cast saying “No, they [brands like Micromax] aren’t as reliable.” Only 386 votes (or 37 percent) were cast in favour of local manufacturers, saying “Yes, I would trust them.”
We’ve reviewed many of the recent offerings from Micromax, Karbonn, Spice, Intex, iBall, etc., and we’ve come to credit these manufacturers with well built and designed products. So, while the question of device reliability may not be as relevant nowadays, perhaps the biggest gripe consumers have is with the notorious after sales service from these manufacturers. We hope these companies take note, and make a serious effort in bettering and expanding their service network. Once this is in place, a large amount of money will have to be spent in marketing, reassuring users of a hassle-free purchase and service experience.
You can check out the poll results in graphical form below. Do also check out previous ThinkDigit Weekly Poll results here. You can once again share your views on this week’s poll question (found on the homepage), where we’ve asked you “What is your first reaction on BB10 OS, and the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smartphones?”