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Micromax Informatics or Micromax as it is popularly known, is a India based multinational electronics company, that specializes in smartphones, laptops, consumer electronics and home appliances. It was founded in March 2000 with headquarters in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Initially it started as an IT software company operating in the embedded devices domain but later on it entered the mobile handset business. Micromax Informatics Limited became a leading consumer electronics company in India.
By 2010, Micromax was one of the largest domestic companies which was making handsets in the low-cost feature phone segment in India. By third quarter of 2014, Micromax became the tenth largest smartphone vendor in the world. But eventually the company had to face stiff competition from Chinese companies which entered the Indian market. YU Televentures which sells the products under the brand name YU is owned by Micromax.
Micromax was incorporated as Micromax Informatics Ltd. by Rahul Sharma and Rohit Patel in the year 2000. In 2008 it began selling mobile phones focusing on technology for masses to compete with international players.
The company has also introduced innovative handsets be it budget or flagship phones. An interesting incident is worth noting, once Micromax's co-founder Rahul Sharma saw a public call office (PCO) being powered by a truck battery because of frequent power cuts in its locality. This urged him to launch a feature mobile phone with a long battery life, which resulted in the launch of X1i phone, Micromax's first telephone with a month-long battery back-up.
A time came in 2014 when Micromax's sales in India exceeded those of Samsung whereby it became the mobile telephone manufacturer to ship the most telephones in one quarter in India. Another landmark event happened on 24 January 2014, when Micromax became the first Indian mobile company to sell in Russia. Micromax made a comeback in the Indian mobile industry with a new sub-brand "IN" in the year 2020.
Micromax is/was active in the following segments:
-Mobile handsets
-Feature phones
-Smartphones
-Consumer Electronics
-Televisions (TV)
-Air Conditioners (AC)
-Refrigerators (Fridge)
-Washing Machines
Although very well known for mobile handsets and LED TV panels, Micromax did expand its products portfolio targeting the "premium economy" consumers.
Micromax also partnered with Cyanogen Inc. to provide Cyanogen-based smartphones in India, in November 2014, under the YU brand name.
On 10 April 2016, Micromax made an announcement of strategic partnership with digital payments company TranServ and major global payments technology company Visa to offer the next generation of payment options in India.
V & D 100 Awards recognised Micromax as an Emerging Company of the Year.
Also in 2017, the Transformational Business Leader of the Year was conferred on Rahul Sharma.
However Micromax had its share of hard times as well. Ericsson sued Micromax for infringement of Ericsson's eight patents registered in India that were necessary for the 2G and 3G standards in March 2013. Micromax was ordered to pay royalty amounts to Ericsson by the Delhi High Court computed on the percentages of the net selling prices of the devices incorporating 2G and 3G standards. Around that time Ericsson also filed its patent infringement suit, Micromax filed a concurrent complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), alleging that Ericsson had abused its allegedly dominant position by imposing exorbitant royalties for the use of its SEPs, thus violating the Competition Act 2002.
In late 2014, Delhi High Court ruled that sales of the OnePlus One smartphone are blocked in India because Cyanogen OS signed an exclusive deal to sell Micromax mobile telephones only in India, although OnePlus One had a worldwide licensing deal. This move was seen as a monopoly to stem the sales of OnePlus One and other smartphone brands. However, the High Court lifted the ban, allowing OnePlus One to be sold in India as the licensing deals with Cyanogen are different for both parties.
A Reddit user in early 2015 found adware installing itself stealthily on his / her Micromax Canvas Fire A093 telephone without permission. The adware was also allegedly using excess telephone resources such as data, memory storage, and battery life. Investigations by the XDA community revealed that the advertisements were created by Adups, an AdPush company based in China.
So this is about Micromax, a company that made a difference but also had its share of setbacks.
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