Chinese handset maker Gionee, on Monday, unveiled its flagship offering in style category ELIFE S5.5 in India, targeting the youth as well as the professionals segment.
The firm had first shown the handset, which Gionee claims to be the world’s slimmest smartphone, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Spain) last month.
Priced at Rs.22,999, it will be available in the domestic market from April 27.
“We are launching this smartphone in 40 markets across the globe, and India is the second market after China, which itself speaks about the importance of this country for us,” Gionee President William Lu said here.
ELIFE S5.5 is crafted with a distinct metallic frame and Corning Gorillas Glass Uni-Body, he added.
“The device uses the world’s thinnest AMOLED screen, thinnest PCB board with a 0.6 mm and 0.4mm glass rear cover.
We are proud to bring in this unique innovation first time in the world, and it will be our constant endeavour to continue bringing in the best always,” Mr. Lu said. Gionee India Head Arvind Vohra said the firm had seen a rise in popularity within a year of operations in India, and had experienced an unprecedented success with ELIFE series.
Equipped with a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED plus screen, ELIFE S5.5 sports a Octa-core 1.7GHz processor, 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera.
The Android 4.2 powered-phone has a 2300 mAH battery, which, the company said, will reach up to 2450 mAH with the next upgrade.
The phone supports HSPA+42 Mbps with up to 6 different band sets, which allows it to function in most 3G WCDMA coverage areas.
Gionee India started our operations in March, 2013, and has done business of over Rs.500 crore. It targets a turnover of Rs.2,500 crore by the end of financial year 2014-15.
It has launched 14 devices in the country, of which 11 are smartphones.
“We will increase the service centres to 750 (from 400 now) by 2015 fiscal end, and have earmarked Rs.150-crore budget for brand building and marketing for the year,” Mr. Vohra said.
The company considers Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab as its leading markets and now plans to strengthen its position in the metros.
Gionee, which closed last year with revenues of $2.5 billion globally, sold about 24 million handsets the world over and about a million in India.
This year, the company planned to sell 35 million handsets worldwide, and 6 million in India, Mr. Lu said.
Gionee is ranked number 10 in the world in the smartphone market share, and aims to break into the top 5 within five years.
The company launched its own brand in India in the first quarter of 2013. Previously, it was an original device manufacturer (ODM) for many Indian brands.
