Apparently Reliance¡¯s Jio Phone is a pretty good idea, or at least some other telcos are now thinking as much.
One of India¡¯s largest telecom operators, Bharti Airtel, is reportedly in talks with smartphone manufacturers to develop a budget 4G smartphone.?
According to The?Economic Times, Airtel wants to eventually launch a cheap 4G smartphone, that will be priced between Rs 2,500 to Rs 2,700. The company reportedly believes that, though Jio chose to offer a 4G feature phone on a fully returnable deposit, people would rather pay a little more for a smartphone with slightly better capabilities.
A source close to the project told ET that the new smartphone will debut around Diwali this year, and will of course be packaged with an Airtel 4G connection and ¡°attractive¡± data plans to garner more subscriptions.
According to the report, the device will feature a 4-inch display, dual camera, and 1GB RAM. It¡¯s also expected to support VoLTE calling, and promises longer battery life. Unfortunately, there¡¯s not yet any information on when the device would be up available for booking, or what it will be named.