The days are numbered for feature phones in India, and this is another indication that the market is transitioning towards smartphones: S Mobility* has decided to shutter its two handset manufacturing units, both in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, India. Both units used to manufacture feature phones. S Mobility, which sold handsets under the brand name Spice, will instead focus entirely on contract manufacturing (possibly, smartphones from China), and distribution of handsets. It is also transferring its mobile handset business to Spice Retail Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, by way of a slump sale. It appears volumes have been declining, since the company says it was operating with a skeletal presence with the hope of reviving production. That's not happening now. S Mobility believes that production has become unviable at low volumes and with fast changing technology. Spice will now shift focus towards bringing a mobile Internet experience to consumers. Services vs Devices The mobile devices business accounted for a majority of S Mobility's revenues, but it has been on the decline. For the quarter ending 31st March 2013: - Devices Account For Majority Of S Mobility's Revenues: Mobile devices segment registered a total revenue of Rs 335.4 crore, a significant 21.9% decline from Rs 429.6 crore in the previous quarter and a 32.6% decline from Rs 497.5 crore in the same quarter last year. It accounted for a majority of the company's total revenues of Rs 394.3 crore, down 18.94% from Rs 486.4 crore in the previous quarter…
