According to a study by marketing research firm Nielsen, Nokia is the top choice of consumers in the dual SIM phone category in India.
As per the study Nokia leads the dual-SIM space with 30 per cent market share, followed by Samsung with 16 a per cent market share. Micromax has 12 per cent share, while G?Five has seven per cent share in the dual-SIM handset market.
Nielsen in its study says that the popularity of dual SIM handsets is set to increase as 14 per cent of multi-SIM card users are planning to purchase a new handset. And about 75 per cent respondents intend to buy a dual SIM handset. The multiple SIM card users tend to be largely students, newly employed and working professionals.
Overall, the Nielsen study found that 13 per cent of unique active mobile subscribers (who made a call/recharged SIM at least once in last 90 days) use multiple SIM cards. Another noticeable trend as per the study relates to multiple SIM card users preferring different operators. Users prefer keeping both SIM cards on prepaid so as to have a better control on costs as well as to capitalise on monthly deals offered by mobile operators. The study notes that smaller operators have a relatively higher share among multi-SIM card users.
The study reports that as per the data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) while Uninor has one per cent market share among mobile users, in the multi-SIM category Uninor?s market share is 6 per cent. Idea Cellular, which has a 10 per cent mobile user market share, enjoys a 15 per cent market share in the multi-SIM usage category.
The Nielsen study covered usage statistics of active multi-SIM card users in 18 Indian cities. As part of the study nearly 20,000 mobile users in the 18-55 age group were covered.
