Bhubaneswar, July 16: Krishna Behera has a cool pet name — Krish. But his cool quotient receives a jolt every time his college friends ask him if he is on Whatsapp.

Whatsapp? What’s that? That’s a question few youngsters would dare to ask.

Embarrassed, Krish pestered his father to buy him a smartphone. The father of the 20-year-old could not understand why his son needed another mobile phone when he already had one that served the purpose of talking, messaging and playing songs.

The Beheras are not the only ones bitten by the smartphone bug. Peer pressure and glitzy ads on TV have led to smartphones and their various jazzy features becoming a common topic of discussion at homes and college cafeterias.

“When my daughter showed me the features of the phone I was surprised. Chatting, messaging, watching videos, surfing the net, you name it, it has so much. Though it cost a hefty sum, I simply had to buy one for her as I found most of her friends possess them and she was feeling a bit left out,” said Ranjan Sahoo, who gifted his 18-year-old daughter, Priya, a Nokia Lumia 610.

Krish’s father relented as well, and today the youngster, who owns a Samsung Galaxy worth around Rs 20,000, feels the phone maybe slightly costly but is worth possessing.

“Now, I can surf the Internet anytime and anywhere. There are several applications that its Android operating system supports. The feature I was looking for was Whatsapp, which is a cross-platform instant messaging application for smartphones. Now I can connect with all my friends using this app and chat, group chat, share pictures and videos instantly,” said the youth. Krish declared he would prod his father to buy a smartphone for himself after a few months and teach him how to use it.

Many youngsters are doing away with their basic mobile handsets and moving towards smartphones, in keeping with the global trend.

The surge in demand and switch in preference are reflected in the figures. According to industry estimates, more than five crore smartphones are expected to be sold in India in 2013-14, said Sachin Thapar, head (sales and marketing, mobile division), Sony India.

Data provided by IDC Asia/Pacific show a steady increase in smartphones’ share of the mobile phone pie. The industry tracker predicts 70 per cent growth in smartphone sales this year.

Gen-Y uses Android, Windows and other advanced operating systems that offer a wide choice of applications compared to regular feature phones that have camera, music players, but limited ability to install global messaging applications such as Whatsapp and Line (a Japanese based app that allows you to make free calls and send free messages to iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry phones).

Mobile storeowners said youngsters in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack were going for smartphones like never before, which is visible from the sales of these gadgets.

Prateek Panda, department manager of Reliance digital mart near Master Canteen, said smartphones are selling more than any other digital instrument at his store. “Youngsters are making a beeline for smartphones in the medium section, in price range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. Last month, 384 smartphones were sold while the corresponding figure in May was 402. We did a business of Rs 45 lakh last month from the sale of smartphones,” said Panda. He said youths in the city seemed to prefer the Nokia Lumia series to other smartphones. Of the 384 phones sold last month, 108 were Nokia Lumia. Ninety-one each of Samsung Galaxy and Sony Xperia phones flew off the shelves.

Although the snazzy iPhone from the Apple stable has attracted youngsters in other metros, Gen-Y in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack show a preference for Android and Windows phones. “iPhone sales are not up to the mark here. Though it’s from one of the best brands in the world, its use is limited here. People here seem to have trouble using it. But we hope the sale of this brand will go up in the coming days,” said Panda.

Sangram Biswal of the Samsung Smartphone Store at Janpath said youngsters were attracted to advanced technologies and wide variety of operational features that smartphones offer. In June this year, business from Samsung smartphones at this store was around Rs 40 lakh. In June last year, the sale was around Rs 25 lakh.

Panda said HDFC and ICICI banks had a tie-up with his store and provided EMIs. “These banks provide zero per cent interest and cash back systems which give a boost to smartphone sales,” he said.

Sushant Senapati recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S4. It cost him a cool Rs 41,500. “Thanks to EMI, I was able to buy the smartphone without borrowing from my parents,” said Senapati, a 25-year-old corporate employee.