Reliance Jio effect: Unlimited voice calls, 1GB data everyday with Rs 244 plan on Vodafone

In what can be seen as a counter to Reliance Jio's cheap data plans, Vodafone India has introduced a new plan of Rs 244 with advantages for 70 days.

If customers opt for this newly introduced plan, they will get 1GB 3G/4G data every day and unlimited calls to any other Vodafone user.

However, the company is rolling out this offer exclusively for new customers, existing customers cannot avail the same.

Another condition on the said offer is that the 70 day validity is only available for the first recharge, from second recharge onwards it would come down to 35 days.

Apart from this, Vodafone India has also another offer for its prepaid customers. In Rs 346 with a validity of 56 days, the telecom giant is offering 56GB data with a cap of 1GB per day along with unlimited voice calls to any network. However, voice calls will be limited to 300 minutes per day and 1,200 minutes per week.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Competition Commission approved the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, said lawyers who worked on the deal, which will create the country's largest telecom operator.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co said the regulator has "unconditionally" approved merger of the telecommunications businesses of Vodafone India and its wholly-owned subsidiary Vodafone Mobile Services, with Idea Cellular.

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JioPhone Booking: Jio Comes Up With 'Keep Me Posted' Facility

JioPhone will come with lifetime free voice calls and 4G data streaming at a price of Rs 1,500, which will be refunded to the users while returning the phone after the completion of 36 months.

Just a day after the launch of "effective price zero" JioPhone, Reliance Jio has come up with a "Keep me posted" link on its website for the bookings of the new 4G feature phone. Users need to fill their details (name, email and phone number) on the website to initiate the process. Once the process is done, an email notification will be followed to the given email address by "Team Jio" stating, "As we are in the process of fulfilling existing demand, we will contact you at the earliest for booking your slot."
 

The slot timings are divided in two categories - weekday and weekend. For weekdays (Monday to Friday), the timings will be 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. And for weekends (Saturday and Sunday), 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

JioPhone will come with lifetime free voice calls and 4G data streaming at a price of Rs 1,500, which will be refunded to the users while returning the phone after the completion of 36 months.

JioPhone will be made available for user testing in beta mode from August 15 and for pre-booking from August 24. And, it will be available to those who have pre-booked on a first-come-first-served basis from September onwards. 

Reliance Jio, the fourth-generation telecom arm of Reliance Industries, will provide unlimited data on the phone for Rs 153 per month. Those who don't want to pay Rs 153, the company also introduced two sachets - a weekly plan for Rs 53 and a 2-day plan for Rs 23 - that will provide similar value.

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RIL AGM: Reliance launches JioPhone, for Rs 0

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani today launched the JioPhone at the 40th Reliance Industries (RIL) AGM, terming it the world's most affordable feature phone.

Speaking at the AGM, Ambani said the phone will effectively be free of cost, "at Rs 0 for all Indians".

"We will collect a 100 percent refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500, which will be refunded after three years," the RIL chief said.

JioPhone will be launched on August 15 and the pre-bookings will begin on August 24.

The phone is a basic feature phone but will be 100 percent 4G compatible and supports 22 major languages.

Termed as an intelligent phone, it will feature a very compact design which will be extremely easy and friendly to use.

The phone will feature a 2.4 QVGA display along with an alphanumeric keypad. The phone will support a micro SD card slot and will come pre-loaded with JioMusic, JioCinema and JioTV.

In what can be termed as revolutionary, JioPhone will let users watch their favourite TV content, Live TV, movies, educational programs and mirror their phone on their TV screen.

This will be made possible through JioPhone TV cable, an affordable cable, which will specifically connect the phone to not only a smart TV, but an old CRT TV as well.

Among others features, the phone will have torch light, FM radio etc.

The phone can be operated on your voice command and one can use the keyboard even while speaking to the phone.

"We will be integrating local police and emergency services into the phone," he said.

JioPhone will feature free voice call, SMS, and data for one month at a cost of Rs 153.

The company also plans to introduce NFC technology into the phone later this year.

Users will also be able to link their bank accounts, Jan Dhan, UPI and payment card and make payments with a simple tap on the phone.

Apart from the Rs 153 plan, users can also avail a weekly plan of Rs 53 as well as a two-day plan costing Rs 23.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd

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Reliance Aims to Sell 200 Million Units of Jio 4G VoLTE Feature Phone in 2 Years: Report

The Jio feature phone will likely be the centre of attention at the Reliance AGM on Friday, and a new report claims that the company aims to sell as many as 200 million (20 crore) units of the handset over the next two years. This is a lofty goal, but not entirely unachievable as the 4G VoLTE-enabled Jio feature phone has previously been tipped to cost Rs. 500 and offer smartphone-like features. At this price point, the Lyf-branded feature phone will be able to help Jio smash the entry barrier associated with a smartphone.

A PTI report citing sources says Reliance Jio has an "initial sales" target of 10 million (1 crore) units, though the time period of that is unknown. Overall, Jio reportedly aims to sells 100 million units (10 crore) of the feature phone the first year of its launch, and another 100 million the following year. However, the forthcoming 4G VoLTE Jio feature phone will cost Rs. 1,000-1,500, says a source in the report, adding though the final unit price has not been decided yet.

The report adds that process of importing handsets has already begun; likely from China if previous reports are to be believed. In India, Jio is in discussions with Intex and Foxconn to manufacture the Jio feature phone units; Gadgets 360 had reported earlier on Wednesday that Intex and Jio are in final talks for the manufacturing.

One interesting new feature of the upcoming Jio phone, revealed by sources in the PTI report, is the option to connect the handset with a TV using a cable. With this functionality, users will be able to watch content on apps such as JioTV and JioCinema on their TV. Apart from this, the handset is said to have features such as Internet tethering, video calling, and 4G Internet speeds, which are yet to be seen in feature phones in India.

The Jio feature phone will reportedly come with free calls (all calls are free on the Jio network), which may be another factor that attracts buyers to it. Jio is also said to be launching more affordable recharge packs (priced around Rs. 80-90) to keep tariff costs low for users who upgrade from 2G feature phones to its 4G model.

According to IDC data, 136.1 million feature phones were sold in 2016 alone, and migration from feature phones to smartphones has slowed down too. This suggests the time is ripe for Jio to dive in with its 4G-capable feature phone and give its user base, which saw its slowest growth in April since starting operations – a much-needed push.

As for the hardware specifications, as per earlier leaks, the Jio feature phone is said to have a 2.4-inch colour display, 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage, up to 128GB microSD card support, dual SIM functionality (Nano SIM + Standard SIM), 2-megapixel rear camera, and VGA front camera. Reports also say users will get 2000mAh battery, FM radio, and Bluetooth 4.1 + LE with the handset. The Jio feature phone is said to come with a custom OS (KAI OS) and an app marketplace (KaiOS Plus). The Reliance Jio 4G feature phone is even said to have a digital voice assistant with support for Indian languages.

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Razer Is Developing a Smartphone for ‘Hardcore Gamers’: Report

Peripheral and laptop maker Razer is making a smartphone for gamers. The company acquiredsmartphone maker Nextbit earlier in the year. And a new mobile device could be the result of this.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Razer “is developing a mobile device tailored for its consumer base of hardcore gamers” citing sources familiar with the matter.

This won’t be the first time a company has taken a stab at making a phone for gamers. In the past, Nokia tried doing this with the N-gage, Sony attempted this with the Xperia Play, and even Indian brand Mitashi launched the Mitashi Play Thunderbolt smartphone nearly three years ago.

Nonetheless, given Razer’s positioning as a firm for hardcore gamers, it would be interesting to see how this pans out. More so when you consider how ubiquitous smartphones are and that even mid-range Android devices can play games just fine.

In India, Razer has a presence, selling its peripherals via distributor Acro. However its premium price point has seen it make little to no impact in a cost conscious market with competition from the likes of Logitech, Cooler Master, and Steel Series.

Considering that the firm has ignored the nation for its Razer Blade laptop line-up as well, it’s safe to say that India may not be a priority for its gamer-focussed smartphone despite being one of the biggest markets for mobile devices in the world.

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