Samsung Electronics Co. retained the top spot in the Indian smartphone market in the third quarter but continues to face a strong challenge from China-based Xiaomi Inc., data showed Sunday.
According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung accounted for 26 percent of the market in the July-September period, while Xiaomi took 25 percent.
Other Chinese firms came next, with Vivo Communication Technology Co, Oppo Electronics Corp., and Lenovo Group taking 10 percent, 9 percent, and 7 percent, respectively.
In the second quarter Samsung took 21.2 percent, far greater than Xiaomi’s 15.6 percent. The combined share of Chinese companies came to a meager 1 percent in the third quarter of 2012, the industry tracker added.
Counterpoint Research, another researcher, also said Samsung took 23 percent in the July-September period, neck-and-neck with Xiaomi’s 22 percent.
The researcher said the top three most popular smartphones in India during the third quarter were Xiaomi products, with Samsung’s Galaxy J2 coming in fourth.
