India’s very own 4G industry disruptor, Reliance Jio 4G, is going to launch the much awaited VoLTE based feature phones in India very soon. The leaks have emerged to show that the product roadmap includes two feature phones with a host of nifty features.
According to a report by 91mobiles, who cited unnamed sources, these smartphones are already under production and will be announced soon to the customers. This means that within a couple of months we’ll finally see these basic phones but having 4G LTE in our hands. This also means free calling over LTE network on basic phones.
The company has partnered with both Qualcomm and Spreadtrum to create the processor for these feature phones. These chips will help keep the prices of these phones very low, at the same time they will provide enough juice to the feature phone.
Specifications of the two features phones
- 4-inch display
- VoLTE support
- Qualcomm or Spreadtrum-based processor chips
- 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory expandable using microSD cards
- 2MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera
- WiFi, GPS and NFC support built-in
- The complete suite of Jio apps pre-installed in the phones
The inclusion of WiFi and NFC will completely shake up the market, as other phones with similar features are priced at almost triple the price of these smartphones. Reliance will keep the price of these smartphones low, at Rs. 999 and Rs. 1,199(depending on the chip).
Even though the manufacturing price of these handsets will be high, Reliance will try to offer them at reasonable rates to gain traction in the market. Micromax, Intex and Lava sell handsets at prices starting from Rs. 3,000 and they will be hurt the maximum by the launch of these products.
Moreover, Nokia recently introduced the Nokia 3310 feature phone, which has similar features, except it does not support VoLTE, WiFi or NFC. This shows the potential Reliance Jio has to disrupt the market.
Reliance wants to sell at least 50 million units in one year, which is quite an ambitious goal but then Jio 4G sim cards have been selling like hot cakes in India. Jio might include some interesting plans with these feature phones to increase the sales.
Let’s wait for the day Reliance announces these phones to the public because it could happen anytime before July 2017. If the phones come at the prices above, then competitors will be easily washed out and there will be dominance of Jio in the feature phone market.
Cool! Will these phones be able to display video? (It’s not much POINT them being able to get 0s and 1s quickly from the net, if there’s no consumer USE for that, right?)
This phone is essentially targeted at calling. Imagine – a 1000 rupee phone and unlimited VoLTE calling for 149 a month. Set for life..isn’t it. This phone is not targeted at urban users but for rural areas where the demand is very high for such phones
Rs 149 is not cheap enough for rural areas. They should do half that at Rs. 75 for 200MB per month, and maybe Rs. 99 for 500MB per month.
If they do that then I think they can gain another 200 million subscribers.