Mobile phone majors Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola -along with a couple of aggressive new entrants like Samsung and Panasonic - are gearing up to grab a piece of action in the Indian Mobile phone market. India had a total subscriber base of two million at the end of April, and replacement demand (estimated to be 10 to 15 per cent) would be at least two lakhs The market for mobile phones is set to emerge as a major consumer durable market, almost double the size of the air conditioner market and roughly the same size as the CTV market about seven years ago. And with all the action, it's time for mobile phone operators to look at the segmentation closely.

Nokia's segmentation model classifies potential consumers into four segments. The first segment are the 'high fliers' who are defined as corporate executives aged between 25 and' 45 years using- cellular phone to increase productivity at work. Models aimed at this segment: Nokia 6110,9110 and 711O. The next segment is caned 'trendsetter' -consisting of people interested in technology - the type who is first to access the Internet from mobile: phone Models aimed at them include the Internet compatible - 9110, 7110 end 8210.

The third is called "the assured segment - people sure to buy a cellular phone, and consists of CEO'S top industrialists and high net worth individuals. The model aimed at this segment is appropriately enough Nokia's costliest model, the Nokia 8850 which retails at just under Rs 40,000 in Delhi. The fourth segment is classified as the social contact segment which uses the mobile phone to stay in touch. The products aimed at them are extremely popular Nokia 5110, which costs Rs 9,495 and the Nokia 3210 which costs Rs 11,999. The Nokia 3210 is the first mobile phone which has a Hindi version. The high flier is the largest of the four segments.

Motorola's segmentation model is quite similar to Nokia's though the names of the segment naturally differ. The techie segment is called the Accompli' segment, the sort which would opt for WAP enabled phones. Motorola does not have a product for this segment but plans to launch soon. The largest segment, called 'Time port', uses the mobile phones to stay connected in o work situation in order to increase productivity. This segment is targeted by Motorola L - 708. Segment number three is celled the V segment, where "the phone is the extension of personality It's for those who need to stand out in a crowd," says Sachdeva This consists of executives in the 25 to 35 age group. The fourth segment, which is similar to Nokia's social contact segment, is celled the 'Talk about' segment.

Ericsson, the last of the big three, classifies the users into three segments. The 'A' segment phones are the entry level products which are easy to use and represented by the A - 101 , which retails for Rs 8500 in Delhi. The R'- segment phones are feature rich and targeted 01 techies. In India, the R- 320, costing Rs 31,995in Delhi, caters to this segment. The third segment, known as the 'T' - segment, is aimed at those who want some class in their phones. Two models are available in India, the T - l O, priced at Rs 10,995 and T - 28, which costs Rs 27,000. Market segmentation done by these companies has been tabulated to make comparisons.

In fact the Indian market appears to be segmented more by price than by consumer tastes. According to estimates put together by Panasonic India, cellular phones costing between Rs 6,000 - 10,000 constitute 80 per cent of the market. The Rs 10,000 - 13,500 price band accounts for another 16 per cent, while only four per cent of phones are priced above Rs 13,500. Samsung estimates that 60 per cent of the market is for handsets priced at under Rs 8,500.