After much speculation and leaks, Reliance Jio announced its ultra-affordable 4G feature phone today. The device, called JioPhone, promises to bridge the digital divide in India once and for all. RIL chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani announced the Jio Phone at the company’s annual general meeting today, stating that the combination of low hardware costs, low service subscription costs, and high-speed connectivity will enable more than 50 crore users in India eve,n the cheapest smartphones and data plans today.
The JioPhone is free, as buyers only need to pay a deposit of Rs. 1,500 to be repaid after three years. The lowest subscription cost is Rs. 153 per month, which gives users unlimited data, voice calls, and text messages. The fine print is that while data is complete, speed is capped after 500MB every day. For Rs. 309, Jio Phone subscribers can get 1 GB per day for 56 days, which is more economical. On the other hand, users who can’t even pay that much upfront can buy mini “sachet” Jio packs for Rs. 24 or Rs. 54, which offer similar benefits but are only valid for two days/one week, respectively.
Reliance Jio has not disclosed detailed specifications. We know it is a standard candy bar with a 2.4-inch screen and supports storage expansion. Reliance has not confirmed which operating system the JioPhone will run, but we know that Jio apps, including Jio Music, Jio Cinema, and Jio TV, will be preloaded. Initial observations suggest that apps are supported and that Facebook is one of them, but WhatsApp is not.
The Jio Phone recognizes voice commands in 22 Indian languages, which should help further improve telecom penetration in India. It also has an emergency alarm system that communicates the user’s location via SMS to predefined contacts. Finally, it was announced that the JioPhone would come with hardware to support digital payments, although this functionality will not be ready when the first phones reach users.
Reliance hopes to have five million JioPhones available weekly, all of which are manufactured in India. With an extra accessory, the JioPhone TV cable, users can connect to any kind of TV, including old CRTs, to watch Jio content on a bigger screen, but you’ll have to be on the Rs. 309 Jio Plan to enjoy this feature.
As for buying a Jio Phone, Reliance announced a beta testing period for select customers starting August 15 to celebrate the 70th year of India’s independence. Pre-bookings will open on August 24 through the MyJio app and at Reliance’s retail locations, with availability on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in September.
Reliance Jio now has over 125 million subscribers, including 100 million paying customers. The company has logged an average of seven subscribers per second since its launch ten months ago. Jio users make over 250 crore minutes of voice and video calls daily and consume 125 crore GB of data every month. India now surpasses the US and China in data usage and has risen from 155th in the world to number one since the launch of Jio.
In addition to all the excitement about the JioPhone at today’s AGM, Reliance Jio announced that it is on track to launch JioFiber soon and sees fixed broadband as the next great frontier for digital India. No specific launch date or pricing plans have been announced, but we were told that the necessary infrastructure for a pan-Indian JioFiber rollout is already in place.
Reliance considers Jio the jewel in its crown and strives to get involved in education, entertainment, remote healthcare, e-governance, financial services, and more, leveraging its capabilities in Software as a Service (SaaS), big data analytics, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence.
The man who leaked Jio’s user database wanted free recharge ended. He managed to access the database using credentials only intended for Jio suppliers issuing top-ups, then decided to exploit the information he had access to by creating a searchable database. The data breach has raised questions about the security of sensitive user information as Jio accounts are linked to customers’ Aadhaar numbers.
Airtel complains about losses caused by Reliance Jio; TRAI Rejects Bottom Price Proposal Airtel has complained that Reliance Jio engages in unfair competition, costing it up to Rs. 550 crores per quarter. At the root of the problem is the Mobile Termination Charge (MTC) imposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which operators have to pay each other when calls are made from subscribers on one network to those on another. Due to the sheer number of Jio subscribers who can now make free calls, Airtel receives money from Jio but says the charges don’t cover handling the call. Reliance wants MTC to be scrapped, but Airtel opposes it. The two sides continue to exchange statements.
Airtel and other operators, including Idea Cellular, have had another setback, with the TRAI deciding not to pursue their idea of a common minimum price for service plans. Jio has taken the lead in offering free benefits and floor prices, and a floor price would limit his ability to do so. Jio called the proposal anticompetitively and regressive.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 launch date confirmed Samsung has confirmed that it will unveil the Galaxy Note 8 smartphone on August 23. A teaser shows that the device will have an Infinity Display similar to that of the Galaxy S8 and S8+, as well as the signature series S-Pen stylus. The company promises “bigger things” that can refer to the display and the device’s capabilities. Meanwhile, new leaked mockups appear to confirm a horizontal dual-camera setup with an off-center fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone. The launch will be significant for Samsung as it puts the disastrous Galaxy Note 7 episode behind it.
Budget Nokia 2 Android model tipped off A photo on the Chinese website Baidu seems to confirm plans for a new low-cost smartphone called Nokia 2. The device is next to a Nokia 3, the most affordable model in HMD Global’s Android-based Nokia. Series. The tip claims that this phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor and has a 5-inch display. It is unknown when HMD Global will announce this phone or if it is genuine.
LG Q8 launched LG has announced a new model, the LG Q8, in Italy. It is unknown if this model will be launched in other markets, and if so, if it will have the same name. It’s a smaller version of the V20 with the same secondary display and dual rear cameras. The device has a Snapdragon 820 SoC, a 5.2-inch QHD screen, 4GB RAM, and 32GB storage. It runs Android 7.0 and has an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance.
Facebook is secretly working on a modular device concept. Facebook is reportedly working on a modular hardware concept, picking up where Google’s Project Ara left off. A patent document appears to show that the company is developing a device with a touchscreen that can make calls, although it could be more than just a smartphone. Images in the patent document are vague, and all that’s certain is that it was submitted by a team of former Project Ara employees who now work for Facebook.
Google adds local event listings to search results. Google now shows local event listings in its search results in India. The new information will appear on Google’s mobile website and in the app. Multiple event sites have been tapped to provide the information, and users can click through to those sites to book tickets and see more details. Events can be filtered according to a user’s preferences. They appear when users search for topics such as food or cinema and ask Google what’s going on around them.
UberMOTO launched in Noida, and GhaziabadUber has found its UberMOTO service in parts of Noida and Ghaziabad, having previously launched it in Gurugram and Faridabad. The motorcycle ride service costs only Rs. 10 and aims to solve the last-mile connectivity problem for city commuters. It works just like Uber’s car service. Users book a ride and get the rider’s details. The same GPS tracking and safety features are available. Uber promotes UberMOTO as fast, convenient, and affordable, allowing users to drive through traffic where cars get stuck.
