We had an interaction with Tambo Mobiles regarding their plans. Here is what they had to say.
Tambo Mobiles, a new mobile brand has forayed in the Indian smartphone market. The Noida-based company at the launch of its brand introduced three smartphones and six feature phones. Categorised as Superphones and Powerphones, Tambo Mobiles set a price range of Rs 600 (feature phones) to Rs 7000 (smartphones) that fills the most preferred budget segment for Indian users.
The new brand aims to make “mobility accessible and affordable” for every user is led by Sudhir Kumar, the former Chief Executive of iTel and Product & Sales division head with Intex Technologies. In a formal interaction, the Tambo Mobiles CEO, Sudhir shared a few insights and plans about the new brand.
Tell us about the business philosophy of Tambo Mobiles?
The smartphone industry is divided into three segment – premium segment, budget phones and entry-level. Tambo aims to operate between entry-level to budget level price segments catering to the demand of a commoner who is looking for either a cheap feature phone or an affordable smartphone that have the requisite aspects.
While Chinese players are quite dominant in Indian smartphone market where do you see the potential of a domestic brand?
We don’t differentiate between a Chinese, international or Indian brand. What we see are two factors which are important- product and business model. If both the factors are good the brand is sure to get acceptance. Tambo will try to offer reasonable experience at an affordable price point. Tambo sees itself as product player and aims to bring the product at the ‘right price.’ We aim to position our products competitively at an affordable price point.
The company plans to bring a total of 18 devices to the Indian market by the end of December
Any plans to bring mid-range smartphones?
Mid-range is a growing segment, but the company is putting its focus on smartphones tagging a price below 8000. We will look to venture into the mid-range once the brand meets its target.
Whether Tambo is in partnership with same OEM as iTel?
We are not in any partnership with the same OEM as iTEL but we have made a strategic collaboration with an OEM based out of China and will exclusively design our products. The company is trying to maintain the highest standards, however, some of the components may be similar with different brands.
Number of devices company is planning to introduce this year?
We are planning to bring 18 devices in total by end of December, 8 models in smartphones and 10 models in feature phone category.
What are the factors that make Tambo unique?
An important factor to consider is how stable the product is which comes out better when there is proper research. The company has tried to capture the pain points in an Android device. There are several issues that devices face – battery backup, camera related issue, slow processing. The company is trying to address each point rather than focus on a particular aspect. We believe the device should be devoid of malware and there should be a balance. The company has avoided pre-bundling apps in the device to ensure that it is not affected by malware or the processing slows down. The company has paid prior attention to hanging, optimisation and set industry standard battery (3000mAh) for its smartphones with few entry-level handsets pegging 2500mAh.
While several OEMs have flourished in the Indian smartphone market, a better after sale service becomes a myth when you take the device to service center for simple repair. What strategy Tambo plans to employ?
While many manufacturers promise a standard 7-day replacement service for ‘dead on arrival’ products, Tambo will extend the offer. If anything happens to the device within 14 days we will replace it with a new phone. While many are sceptical about the device display, one-year screen replacement will be given to the users as well. The company at present has 500 service centres, which will be extended to over 1000 by end of May.