BackIndus OS ties up with Intex to foray into regional language markets
Indus OS targets India's growing smartphone penetration in Tier-II , Tier-III cities
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New Delhi: Indus OS, the start-up that has developed the world’s first regional operating system (OS), has announced a partnership with mobile phone company Intex Technologies (India) Ltd, for providing regional language solutions to their consumers. This partnership will help Intex, which accounts for about 10% of sales in the Indian market, according to data from Counterpoint Research, tap the fast-growing regional language consumer market with Indus OS-powered devices.
The Indus-Intex deal also gives a fillip to Indus to grow its user base, given that it has over 5 million users already, with similar deals it has struck with other top mobile phone brands, including Micromax, Karbonn, Celkon and Swipe, over the last one year.
This has also meant that Indus OS’s cumulative marketshare in India has risen to 7.6%, consolidating its position as the number 2 OS in the country overtaking the big players such as iOS (2%) and Microsoft Windows (0.2%), according to data from Counterpoint Research.
Rakesh Deshmukh, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Indus OS, said, “Since the first device was launched in May 2015, Indus OS has grown at a staggering rate. The regional language ecosystem holds immense potential in the Indian smartphone market, and Intex is a strong force to reckon with. Our vision is to bring technology in the hands of every digital Indian and the coming together of two of the most powerful brands in smartphones, is a very essential step forward."
So what exactly does Indus OS do?
Deshmukh explained that Indus OS—founded by three IIT-Bombay graduates: Rakesh Deshmukh (CEO), Akash Dongre (chief product officer) and Sudhir B (chief technology officer) last year—is focused on creating a regional smartphone ecosystem through simplification, innovation & content. For example, the Indus keyboard is the first keyboard in India to have the natural ordering of the alphabet, allowing early smartphone users to type with ease and familiarity. The Indus swipe helps transliterate text between English and regional language and offers word and matra-prediction features in 12 languages. The operating system is currently available in English & 12 regional languages (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Assamese, Punjabi, Kannada, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Marathi.)
Commenting on the partnership, Vineet Singh, GM- VAS, Intex Technologies, said: “With Indus OS, Intex is taking its mobile services a step further, where consumers with regional preferences not only communicate but can transform their smart phone experience into their native language and also get the benefit of multiple utility services deeply integrated with Indus OS. Intex as a brand understands the pulse of consumers and we look to further strengthen our footprints not only in metro cities but small towns."
Indus has raised $5 million series A funding led by Omidyar Network.
Last year, the company expanded to Bangladesh, launching region specific versions of Indus OS. This fits in perfectly with the company’s vision of empowering smartphone users in the emerging markets.
Research also shows that India’s smartphone penetration is beginning to find more takers in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, which is what Indus OS is targeting.
“Although our current focus is on strengthening our value proposition and marketshare in India, we believe that this regional model can be replicated for other such geographies successfully," added Deshmukh.
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