No typo there. At the recently Mobile World
Congress event, Chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil
Mittal revealed what his wish list looked like, reports The Economic Times.
Mittal wishes to see the prices of smartphones slashed down to $50, i.e
under Rs.2,500 in the times to come. Android enthusiasts would know
that Rs.2,500 is close to nearly half the price of the cheapest Android
phone in the market. The report further states that the fact remains
that the processor and LCD display panels make the bulk of a smartphone
cost, but, quoting Chief Marketing Officer at Lava, Sunil Raina, the
report states that getting the prices of the chipset down would lead to
other factors following suit.
The report further states that, "It won't happen overnight, but
sooner than most think. According to In-Stat, a global research firm,
the integration of GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and sometimes FM radio onto a
single chip dramatically cut costs in 2010. More innovation from chip set
manufacturers is in the offing. This is why the research firm
predicts Android will ship 339 million low-end smartphones(under $150
each) by 2015."
The report cites the findings of an In-Stat
research in 2010, which concluded that adding features like GPS,
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and FM radio, onto a single chip helps in reducing the
costs. Among other things, the research also stated that by 2015, 339
million, low-end Android smartphones would have been shipped. How low
you ask? Each smartphone costing under $150.
Mittal's wish list may seem a lot like many of our's and needless to
add, if his wishlist turns out to be true, owning a smartphone will
become a reality for most.
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