Sharp makes a blunt entry into Indian mobile market with four youth-centric phones

Sharp is marking its entry into the rather attractive Indian ‘mobility market’ with the launch of four colourful mobile phone handsets that are aimed at the youth segment, all priced under Rs. 20,000. The models being introduced have been popular in many other markets including Japan (where Sharp happens to be mobility market leader), and Sharp feels the features they offer will suit the Indian consumers.

A global consumer electronics giant, Sharp has a large retail and extraordinary manufacturing presence in numerous countries all over the world. For now though, it has decided not to manufacture mobiles in India, though it does have plans to bring in many more models. We were curious whether Sharp intended to offer higher-end smartphones to the Indian market, such as Android devices, and learned that Sharp is planning on bringing them to the country within the next four or five months. For now, Sharp will be concentrating on mobile phone sales and marketing through various retail channels.

All the four phones offer integrated social networking services, bright high-res LCD screens, and cameras. Three (Blink, Cyborg, and Tango) are of clamshell design, with the fourth (Alice) a full touch device.

• Blink is a dual SIM clamshell phone with LED illumination, and a 2MP camera – available in pink, blue and silver, it’s priced at Rs. 6,500
• Alice is a responsive full touch phone with front stereo speakers, 3MP camera, and G-sensor – available in red and black, it’s priced at Rs. 8,500
• Cyborg is a clamshell phone with a rotating (‘Cycloid’) high-res display and a 3.2MP camera – available in green, blue and white, it’s priced at Rs. 17,000
• Tango is a clamshell 180 degree swivel touchscreen with a G sensor, pedometer and 5MP camera – available in gold, white and pink, it’s priced at Rs. 18,000.

[RELATED_ARTICLE]We don’t really see Cyborg and Tango doing very well with their feature set at their prices, though Blink and Alice might just offer an attractive combination of features for the Indian consumer. While Sharp did speak about their expertise in 3G, none of these phones are 3G-enabled. The innovation here is mostly geared around the form-factor, with trendy colours, swivel screens, and Sharp’s industry leading LCD screens. Perhaps not the best first foot forward into the competition heavy Indian market that has recently seen tremendous increase in popularity for Indian mobile manufacturers and brands who offer feature-rich handsets at staggeringly low prices.

We think Sharp should have brought in some higher-end devices as well, for while they don’t usually translate into sales, they do manage to turn the public eye towards the brand. In the meanwhile, stay tuned for our reviews to know just how well these four stand up.