Just a little over a month ago, Flipkart announced the launch of its very own smartphone, Billion Capture+. In an attempt to expand its market space in India and in order to compete with Flipkart’s smartphone, Amazon has decided to launch its first smartphone under the banner, Tenor.
While this may be perceived as a competitive move against Flipkart, it is not the first time that Amazon has entered into the world of smartphones. This Seattle based company had quietly launched two models of smartphones, Tenor E and G, a couple of months before its homegrown rival, Flipkart had come out with its own in house smartphone under a private label, Billion.
Although there is no further information about this smartphone other than the name, according to reports, the phone will go on sale on 5 January 2018! If launched successfully, this smartphone could pave the way for Amazon in the field of technology and create a network for itself in the private play world.
However, it would be interesting to see whether the phone will be able to make an impact in the smartphone market, as Flipkart’s Billion Capture+ has failed to hit the right notes yet. This comes as a surprise as initially, Flipkart’s Billion Capture+ was completely sold out.
Interestingly, Tenor was initially called Crafted for Amazon, which meant that this business was created solely for Amazon. While the world of smartphones in India is largely dominated by China based companies at the present, sources have said that it is private labels like Amazon and Flipkart who are raising the brand value of smartphones, thereby creating a niche space for users.
“We leverage the customer data and feedback to understand the gaps in the selection, pricing and reach out to our vendors or OEMs to manufacture relevant products,” said Manish Tiwary the Vice President of Amazon India. Flipkart has also been aggressively marketing the private play strategy and it has also launched Smart Buy. a brand for electronic accessories.
