Recent reports show that Google has already started its expansion program for the Android One. Reports also added that the tech giant is aiming the Asia Pacific region to be its next emerging market.
The Android One which saw its initial launch in India last September is slowly crawling its way to the nearby territories. Google has put its target into Sri Lanks, Bangladesh and Nepal, adding an approximately 200 million potential Android One customers. Additionally, Google currently have more than one billion users in India alone. Android one is Google strategic way of selling the Android experience on smartphones below the $100 level. The handset level which most experts and analyst agreed on to be the smartphone of the future.
Google is currently on negotiations with various Original Equipment Manufacturers such as India's Micromax, Spice and Karbonn to develop the stock version of Android One and integrate it into their smartphone products. The stock version however of the OS does not allow user interface customization. Another bold move for Android was tapping up with India's multinational telecommunications company Airtel to deliver Android One's updates without charging for data fees. Previously, Android phone were sold using old hardware and are forced to use outdate version of the Android OS without the option of upgrading it.
Google is also very keen in delivering its services to other Asian countries, notable Singapore and the Philippines. Google stated that they are interested in expanding to that market, further details as to when or how is still unclear however.
The extended Android One program was epitomized by last week's release in India of Micromax's new series of smartphone, the Yu. The phone runs using a customized ROM, the CyanogenMod which offers a lot of UI custimisation.
India is Asia Pacific's largest and fastest growing smartphone market right now according to analyst from IDC. In a survey within this year's third quarter.32% of the 72.5 million total handsets sold in India were smartphones.
