Taiwanese tech major Asus is set to expand presence in the country with introduction of its range of 'ZenFone' smartphones next month, which will take head on devices from the stables of Samsung, Microsoft Devices and Motorola as well as domestic firms like Micromax.
Asus, known globally for its mother boards, will launch its ZenFone range of smartphones in India next month in the mid and premium range, sources said.
The firm had unveiled various ZenFone models with screen size ranging from 4 inches onwards at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and Computex in Taiwan earlier this year.
The firm expected to introduce ZenFone 6 in India, which was unveiled at CES 2014. It features a 6-inch HD screen, is powered by the latest Android 4.4 (KitKat) operating system and has a 2 GHz dual-core Intel Atom processor.
Another device that the company showcased was ZenFone 5 feauring a five-inch screen and running on the Android KitKat OS could also be launched in the second week of July.
Asus already sells its PadFone and MemoPad voice calling tablets in India.
India, the fastest growing smartphone market globally, is witnessing fierce competition with a slew of devices being launched at various price points to tap the multi-billion dollar opportunity here.
According to IDC, smartphone sales in India grew almost three-fold to over 44 million in 2013, buoyed by affordable devices made by local firms like Micromax and Karbonn.
In Q1 2014, 17.59 million smartphones were shipped in India compared with 6.14 million in the same period of 2013.
Samsung maintained its leadership in the market with a 35 per cent market share in Q1, followed by Micromax (15 per cent), Karbonn (10 per cent), LAVA (6 per cent) and Nokia (4 per cent), according to IDC.
