Micromax create Yu brand, to build smartphones running CyanogenMod ROM
Micromax, the #2 mobile phone vendor in India (by shipments) with 14.5% of market share is planning to make its brand bigger by collaborating by CyanogenMod. CyanogenMod is currently the most popular 3rd party Android ROM developer and their operating system is pre-loaded on OnePlus One smartphone (widely regarded as the flagship killer). Smartphones from the new brand, “Yu” will be sold online-only starting in December 2014. Do note that the phone will not have Micromax branding. According to Rahul Sharma, founder of Micromax, the new smartphone will be geared towards price conscious consumers in India and will be pushed to global developed markets in the future. Similar to Xiaomi, Micromax/Yu will honor the warranty even if the phone is rooted.
It will be interesting to see how the new brand will scale up as Micromax and Samsung, the top two brands in India are struggling to compete with global brands like Motorola, Xiaomi, Gionee, Lenovo and we do hope that the first product from Yu will be as good as the OnePlus One as that is the only way to create a strong brand image and fan following (which is what we are expecting Micromax to target) instead of following the cheap-phone-for-masses-with-cheap-specs route.
