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    Apple India enterprise head Sharad Mehrotra quits, starts up with Hyve Mobility

    Synopsis

    "While consumers today have a lot of options to choose a smartphone, the element of customer delight is seriously missing," Sharad Mehrotra told ET.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHI: Sharad Mehrotra, iPhone maker Apple's enterprise mobility head in India, has quit and set up a handset company to compete in the world's fastest-growing smartphone market. Mehrotra, who was with Apple India since October 2007, has cofounded Hyve Mobility , which will launch smartphones using Android, the operating system that rivals Apple's iOS, by March.

    "While consumers today have a lot of options to choose a smartphone, the element of customer delight is seriously missing," he told ET, adding that it was high time to get into the smartphone market.

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    Hyve Mobility will be up against Samsung Electronics and Micromax Informatics, which dominate the smartphone segment with a combined 40% market share, apart from companies including Intex, Lenovo and Lava. Shipments of smartphones in India grew 20% in the three months to Se ptember, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Hyve Mobility is targetting the Rs 15,000-20,000 segment with a flagship model, Mehrotra said. It also plans to introduce models to address the Rs 10,000-30,000 se gment.Samsung's share in the segment between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 was 49% as of September, up from 43% the year before. Mehrotra cofounded Hyve with Aditya Agarwal, who heads Euphoria and 4 Genius Minds, among the fastest-growing Apple retail partners in the country.

    "In the current Android scenario, no brand enjoys customer loyalty and we want to bring the change with our path-breaking products portfolio and service offerings," said Agarwal, MD of Hyve Mobility.
    The Economic Times

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