Kobian plans to launch 10-12 handsets this year under the brand Mercury

Singapore-based Kobian has recently announced its foray into the Indian mobile handset market with its Mercury B2 Bizmobile. Kobian has been associated with India IT channel partners for nearly two decades with its brands Mercury and IXA.
In an email response to Telecom Yatra about the company’s foray into the handset industry, Sushmita Das, country manager, Kobian, said, “There is a convergence happening between the mobile and computing world. It’s a natural extension for IT brands to move into the mobile space. Mobile phone is a multifunctional device which is every common man’s need and desire today. The demand and growth is quite similar to what we saw as a growing demand in computer industry two decades back.”
Das further said that Mercury phones have been launched in the Middle East, South Africa, Nigeria and Russia, simultaneously with India. The company plans to launch 10 to 12 Mercury branded handsets in India this year.
The company believes that demand in this industry is huge, enabling various players to co exist and that their prices and schemes planned for each market segment will give them a competitive edge. “Our product positioning is clearly demarcated with the segment whom we are addressing thus one shall find a gizmo type phone for a young chap and also find handsets with special buttons and dimensions suited for our elderly people. The models are different for the business users and for the regular consumer.” adds Das.
Kobian is currently working on various plans to rope in a celebrity for brand endorsement. As of now the company has no plans of manufacturing phones in India.
Kobian already has operations in India under brand names Mercury and IXA. Mercury IT vertical offers a wide spectrum of IT peripherals such as motherboards, chassis, speakers, etc. Kaizen Infoserve, the service arm of Kobian, caters to the after sales support all Mercury and IXA products across country.