Airtel, India’s largest telecom service provider, today announced their partnership with Karbonn to bring affordable 4G smartphones to the market. Their aim is to offer a 4G smartphone at the price of a feature phone.
This one of many partnerships Airtel is planning for offering affordable 4G smartphone bundles to give a push to ‘Digital India’ initiative.
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Karbonn A40 Indian: The Affordable 4G Smartphone
As a part of this partnership, the Karbonn A40 Indian will be available at an effective price of Rs. 1,399/- as compared to its regular market price of Rs. 3,499/-.
The Karbonn A40 features a full-touch 4 inch screen, dual SIM slots and comes loaded with the Google Play Store which gives it access to millions of Android apps including WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube.
The smartphone is further bundled with a monthly pack of Rs. 169/- from Airtel which offers substantial data and calling benefits. More information regarding this can be found here.
During the launch, Raj Pudipeddi, Director – Consumer Business & CMO, Bharti Airtel said, “As the market leader and pioneer of 4G services in India, Airtel’s aspiration is to digitally empower every Indian with high speed data access. We are delighted to partner with Karbonn to remove barriers to smartphone adoption and enable millions of Indians to leapfrog to a full touchscreen smartphone experience. We plan to partner with multiple manufacturers to bring affordable smartphone options to the market and build an ‘open ecosystem’ of low cost devices. This is yet another step in our ongoing journey to deeply understand customers and bring innovation that delights them.”
Karbonn A40 Indian: Features And Specifications
Display: 4 inch TFT Display; 480 x 800 pixels; 233 PPI
Software: Android 7.0 Nougat
Processor: 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor
Battery: 1400mAh Li-Ion Battery
Memory: 1GB RAM; 8GB Built-in Storage; Expandable up to 32GB
SIM Support: Dual SIM Slots
Cameras: 2.0-megapixel Rear Camera and 0.3-megapixel Front Camera
Network Support: 4G/3G/2G with support for Airtel VoLTE; Offering seamless voice and data connectivity over Airtel’s nationwide network
Connectivity Options: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
How It Will Work
- Initially, you will have to make a down payment of Rs. 2,899/- and get the 4G smartphone. Once you get the phone, you will have to make 36 consecutive monthly recharges of Rs. 169/-. That is 3 years of recharges without a break in between.
- After 18 months you will receive a cashback of Rs. 500/- and another Rs. 1,000/- after 36 months. This takes the total cash benefit to Rs. 1500/-.
- There is no compulsion to do the Rs. 169/- recharge. If you so wish you can opt for other higher value recharges. But, the total value of these recharges, in the first 18 months should be Rs. 3,000/-. This will make you eligible for the first refund of Rs. 500/-. After the first refund, you should again do recharges worth Rs. 3,000/- within the next 18 months to be eligible for the next refund of Rs. 1,000/-
- You will not need to return the phone at any point to be eligible for the cash refund.
Airtel and Karbonn: The Partnership
The partnership between Airtel and Karbonn is part of Airtel’s ‘Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone’ initiative, which is aimed at enabling every Indian to buy a 4G smartphone and get on to the digital superhighway.
All smartphones under the ‘Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone’ initiative will be available at leading mobile stores across the country. After sales support for the devices will be provided by the handset manufacturers through their service network.