Domestic handset makers are packing in features like FM radio, music player and bluetooth at affordable prices, turning mobile phones into "swiss knife of communication," a study says.

According to research firm IDC's India Mobile Handsets Tracker study, while 65 per cent of the total handset sold in 2009 were equipped with FM radio, 36 per cent of the phones sold comprised expandable memory card slots.

Just like a swiss knife which has multi-tools, mobile phones also incorporate many features.

The Indian mobile handsets shipment grew 28.17 per cent at 36.35 million units in January-March 2010 from 28.36 million units in the previous three months.

Further the statement said that the price sensitive Indian mobile user no longer looks at a mobile phone as a big ticket purchase, but more as an impulse buy associated with many of the fast moving consumer goods.

Many Indian brands -- Micromax, Karbonn, Spice, Lava, Maxx and Lemon -- are proving to be tough competitors to established multinationals like Nokia and Samsung, both in terms of features and price.

Today's mobile phone buyers are looking at acquiring a mobile phone loaded with a host of features and innovations at affordable price points, it added.

"Almost every day, a new mobile handset model is launched by a vendor with an innovation," IDC India Lead Telecom Analyst Naveen Mishra said.

About 37 per cent of the total phones sold in 2009 were equipped with music players (up from 20 per cent in 2007), Bluetooth 17 per cent (from eight per cent in 2007) and embedded GPS (maps) two per cent (from a negligible presence in 2007).

This tussle for market share among the handset makers has also helped in expanding innovations in the handset.

So, handsets have moved from being just communication devices to converged devices, sometimes replacing computers as well. Handsets have also been modified for usage by Indian populace.

Features to address basic concerns in an emerging market like India -- lack of access to power supply to recharge batteries, operating in noisy, dusty and humid conditions, working or living in areas with high incidence of power outages (LED flashlight), have led the drive towards innovation.

"What we see today is a mobile handsets market witnessing many innovations and enhancements in looks, features, network access-capability and applications-capability," Mishra said.

As the market grows and matures we can be sure that feature rich phones at lower price points will arm the user with more at his fingertips, just like the swiss knife, survey added.