NEW DELHI: Is it aspiration? Could be. With desire levels rising even in rural India, market dynamics of mobile phones is undergoing a major

change. Consumers don't want plain Jane handsets anymore. Neither do they want to flaunt the real fancy ones. What they want is a basic phone with all the frills of a high-end handset. Hence, enter the mid segment.

The latest data on mobile phones from market research firm ORG, reveals that sales of handsets ranging between Rs 3000 and Rs 6000 have risen as compared to last year, while sales in the entry level and premium segments have taken a hit. According to the same ORG data, the mid segment of mobile phones has seen a substantial increase from around 17% to 25% over last year.

This category is also known as the multimedia segment; and as sales are fast picking up, mobile manufacturers are gearing up to tap it. Says Jung Soo Shin, president and CEO of Samsung India Electronics: "Technology has made it easier for manufacturers to provide better features in the midrange handsets. Prices have also dropped considerably provoking consumers to go for these slightly higher priced handsets. And as for us, we don't want to compete in the sub-Rs 3000 category anymore."

LG has recently launched two mobiles in this price bracket and plans to launch three more this quarter. "This segment is growing very fast. Consumers in the age group of 18-25 years has emerged as major buyers and they want to use their mobile phones for not only talking but also for listening to music and surfing the web. These features are now available in this price range," says LG's Anil Arora, business group and marketing head (mobile communications).

And here's why: Monochrome phones now contribute only 15% to total handset sales. About 85% of all handsets sold in January this year were colour phones as compared to 83% during the same period last year.

And with more consumers preferring camera, FM, MP3 and video functionality on their phones, the market dynamics are also undergoing a slight change. For instance, the contribution of mobile phones costing less than Rs 3,000 to the overall mobile sales, dipped from 67% to 63%. The contribution of phones ranging between Rs 6,000 and 15,000 also decreased to 11% from 14%.

Says a Nokia India spokesman: "Today, people are increasingly using their phones to do much more than 'talk'. Consumers are definitely looking for more evolved features and enhanced experiences in their mobile phones."

And with India all set to become the handset factory of the world with around 120 million mobile subscribers and counting, manufacturers will definitely find out ways to provide enhanced experiences for consumers - even if that means treading the middle path.