Google Inc. is pushing to become a significantplayer in India's huge wireless industry as a range of little-known Indian handset makers release low-cost devices that include the tech giant's Android operating system in coming months.

Android lends functionality to smartphones, including touch-screen capability and a large marketplace of small software 'apps.' It has gained market share quickly this year in developed countries such as the U.S., powering several devices that have sold briskly.

Now Google is setting its sights on the masses in developing countries like India, which has 670 million cellphone subscribers and has been adding about 18 million a month recently.

Most of the initial Google-powered phones in India from established handset makers such as Motorola Inc. and HTC Corp. cost upward of $400, much too expensive in a market where 42% of the population of 1.2 billion earns less than $1.25 a day.

To target India's vast middle class, Google is banking largely on a crop of inexperienced Indian smartphone manufacturers including Micromax Informatics Ltd., Spice Mobility Ltd., and Olive Telecom to make Android phones in the $150 range, and eventually the sub-$100 level.

'You've got a lot of innovationhappening from local manufacturers,' said Vinay Goel, who oversees Google's products in India. He said Android phones selling for more than $400 are only going to capture 'a really niche market' in India. 'To be in the mainstream, you have to be in the $100 to $200 range,' he said. 'The closer to $100 the better.'

Gaining a foothold in India won't be straightforward. Most of the Indian handset makers have never made a smartphone before, so there could be glitches in their early tries. Also, even if they could make $100 phones -- a huge challenge given that hardware for smartphones is costly -- those would still be well outside the range of many ordinary Indians who can buy less advanced phones for $40 that have cameras and basic data services. And Android devices work best on wireless networks capable of '3G' speeds. Indian carriers are just now in the process of upgrading to that service level.

Amol Sharma

• player [´pleiə] n.游戏的人；选手 (初中英语单词)
• indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
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• capture [´kæptʃə] vt.&n.捕获；俘获；夺取 (初中英语单词)
• challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
• costly [´kɔstli] a.昂贵的；费用大的 (初中英语单词)
• advanced [əd´vɑ:nst] a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词)
• capable [´keipəbəl] a.有能力；能干的 (初中英语单词)
• significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)
• initial [i´niʃəl] a.最初的 n.首字母 (高中英语单词)
• billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
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• happening [´hæpəniŋ] n.事件，偶然发生的事 (英语四级单词)
• hardware [´hɑ:dweə] n.五金器皿 (英语四级单词)
• inexperienced [,iniks´piəriənst] a.缺乏经验的 (英语六级单词)
• innovation [,inə´veiʃən] n.改革；革新；创新 (英语六级单词)
• foothold [´futhəuld] n.立足点；据点 (英语六级单词)