India, Feb. 8 -- How exactly is India's smartphone market shaping up is a question that has no easy answer. And to even try and find one, we may have to rely heavily on hindsight. The flagships are almost lined up, with Xiaomi the only phone maker to place its piece to complete the puzzle for the next few months. I say this now, because the latest data that has landed on my desk, indicates that India's premium smartphone segment (that itself is a wide band between Rs.25,000 and Rs.50,000) and super premium bands (that's upwards of Rs.50,000) is seeing continued growth momentum.

It may or may not mean that people actually have greater spending power (those not averse to living with EMIs throw conventional calculations out of the window), ...