The phone market is expected to see a major upheaval starting 24 August – the date when pre-booking of the "effectively-free" 4G VoLTE-enabled JioPhone begins. According to an NDTV report, some offline retailers have already set the booking process in motion.
Moreover, the first deliveries for the phone are expected between 1-4 September. The company rolled out the phone for beta testing to a select number of users (presumably Jio employees) on 15 August.
The delivery of the phone will take place on ‘first come, first serve’ basis. Reliance Chairman, Mukesh Ambani has announced that Jio is looking to bring 5 million phones to the market a week.
What made the JioPhone worthy of front-page headlines when it was announced last month was its “effective” price tag of Rs 0.
But do keep in mind that a deposit of Rs 1,500 needs to be made to get the phone, and the same amount is fully refundable after 3 years (if you return the phone).
We have a lowdown of all its features and the various plans that come with it to help you decide whether you should buy it or not.
A Feature Phone or a Smartphone?
Manufactured in India by Reliance Jio in partnership with Foxconn, this device is expected to be way smarter than a run-of-the-mill feature phone. Perhaps that is why it is being touted as the “smart feature phone”.
The phone’s highlight is a voice-enabled interface, a lot like Google Now, and it can be operated using voice commands. It comes with a 2.4 inch QVGA screen, microSD slot, a torch light, FM radio, and an alphanumeric keypad.
The device is pre-loaded with Jio services like Jio TV, Jio Music and Jio Cinema. A panic button will be incorporated in the device as well.
That’s not all, once the phone is available, you’ll also be able to make digital payments via NFC with this device, which has been mostly available to consumers with mid-range devices at best.
While the phone does not support WhatsApp for now, a light-mode of the messaging app is believed to be in the pipeline.
According to reports, Reliance has been in talks with engineers at WhatsApp to come out with an app that works on non-smartphones, something that has been in the making since the phone was showcased at the Reliance AGM last month.
Are Data Plans Enough to Buy The JioPhone?
Along with the unique price tag for the device, the Mukesh Ambani-led company also announced aggressive data and voice plans specifically for the JioPhone to make it a compelling buy.
The basic plan would make you shell out Rs 153, for which you’ll get unlimited voice calls and texts, along with 500MB of 4G data daily.
If that’s not enough, then for Rs 309 plan, you can also get access to 'JioPhone TV cable', and connect your JioPhone to a TV for streaming purposes.
Moreover, two sachet plans will also be available to give more data – one for Rs 24 with a two-day validity, and the other for Rs 54 for a week long validity.
Jio's Expanding Footprint
With its highly aggressive pricing in providing data plans, Reliance Jio has witnessed exponential growth since its launch. It reportedly added 6 million new customers in June, in comparison's to Airtel's 2 million and Vodafone's less than a million.
It currently holds a market share of 10.39%, and is rapidly closing the gap with the seasoned competitors, including Airtel (currently 23.65% market share), Vodafone (17.86 percent) and Idea (16.54 percent).
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