Apple Holds Second Place in India's Smartphone Market

Developing markets like India and China have become the focus of smartphone manufacturers lately, as they provide a massive potential consumer base. It seems that Apple has taken this potential seriously and has managed huge success in India, according to new figures from IDC.

Indeed, Apple managed to capture 15.6 percent of the country's smartphone market in terms of revenue in the final quarter of 2012, trailing leader Samsung, which sat at 38.8 percent. While this may not seem so significant, it's a huge change from a year prior when Samsung had 46 percent share.

According to IDC, this drastic growth came from Apple putting greater focus on selling iPhones in India, growing its share by 400 percent. However, while the company is doing well in terms of revenue share, it still has a long way to go in terms of device shipments, particularly because demand is highest in India for low-end smart devices priced below $100 — an area in which Samsung has a lot to offer.

Still, Apple has played it smart, working closely with small local retailers to distribute the iPhone and introducing payment plans to reduce the upfront cost of buying the device. Considering the iPhone is much more expensive in India than most other parts of the world, this move was essential.

Apple has displayed similar success in China, another key emerging market, selling two million of the latest iPhone, the iPhone 5, in just three days back in December. According to CEO Tim Cook, this set a new record for first weekend sales in the country.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Apple remains the top OEM in the smartphone market, according to the latest data gathered by comScore MobiLens. The company increased its share of the U.S. market by 3.5 percent in January to hit 37.8 percent, while Samsung remained in second place with 21.4 percent share.