Can Sony Ericsson replace Samsung via Indian project?

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd will create a research facility in India to strengthen its foothold in the world's fastest growing telecommunications market.

The unit, based in the southern Indian city of Chennai, will produce 10 million phones by 2009 and help Sony Ericsson in its bid to unseat Samsung Electronics Co. as the world's No. 3 maker of handsets. Sony Ericsson is a joint venture between Sony Corp. and Ericsson AB of Sweden.

The Indian site will join Sony Ericsson research and development facilities in China, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, the U.S. and the U.K. Sony Ericsson estimates the Indian mobile-phone market doubled last year, and that more than 62 million handsets were sold in the last 12 months.

Will the research and development program suffice to give Sony Ericsson a lead over Samsung? What must Sony Ericsson do differently?