From today, Reliance Jio's 'Monsoon Hungama' to offer Rs 501 JioPhone

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has advanced by a day to July 20 the launch of its monsoon 'hungama' scheme that would offer its JioPhone to customers for Rs 501, a company source said.

Earlier, in the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries, Ambani had announced that the scheme will begin from July 21.

The offer will begin at 5.01 PM on Friday, the timing that reflects the Rs 501 price tag of the JioPhone. The registration for new JioPhone is already live on the official website of Relaince Jio.

"Jio will start monsoon hungama scheme from 5.01 pm on July 20. Even the timing has been kept to reflect effective price of the phone," the source told PTI.

According to the source, Reliance Jio will announce the terms and condition of the scheme on Friday.

From August 15 onward, both existing and new, JioPhone users will also get to access Facebook, WhatsApp and Youtube. The phone, however, supports Google Maps.

Mukesh Ambani announces high-speed broadband, Jio Phone 2 with WhatsApp, FB

Reliance Industries Limited announced on Thursday the launch of Jio Phone 2, which will have popular social media apps, and high-speed Jio GigaFibre, a broadband service that aims to boost fixed-line connectivity in India.

At its 41st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai, the company demonstrated the new features on screen, explaining how YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp on the upgraded Jio Phone 2, which boasts a horizontal screen display, will respond to a customer's voice.

Jio Phone 2, priced at Rs 2,999, will hit the market on August 15. Under a monsoon offer, the company said, feature phones can be exchanged for Jio Phones for Rs 501.

RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, also spelt out the milestones achieved by Jio, which has disrupted the telecom industry and triggered a price war.

JioPhone gets Facebook as its first third-party app; rollout begins today

Reliance JioPhone, India’s first 4G-enabled feature phone, is all set to receive the Facebook app officially on February 14. The app has been designed from scratch to work on KaiOS, the default operating system that comes loaded with the Reliance JioPhone.

"We are excited about our partnership with Jio and the opportunity to provide the best possible Facebook experience for millions of people using JioPhone. Working with partners like Jio, we want to make sure everyone, everywhere has the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of being connected," said Francisco Varela, vice-president of Mobile Partnerships, Facebook.

From today, the existing and new customers of JioPhone could download the Facebook app from JioAppStore. The app supports timeline view, push notifications and video playback capabilities.

For a non-touch device, the Facebook app on JioPhone supports cursor function to access News Feed and photos.

Jio effect: Airtel partners with Celkon, offers 4G smartphone at Rs 1349

India’s leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel on October 30 in partnership with Celkon launched a 4G Android smartphone for Rs 1,349. The phone comes bundled with Airtel's Rs 169 offer plan, which provides unlimited calls, and 500 MB data per day for 28 days.
The partnership is part of Airtel’s ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative, under which Airtel plans to collaborate with device manufacturers to launch smartphones at the price of a feature phone.

In terms of specifications, the Celkon Smart 4G smartphone sports a 4-inch screen, dual-SIM slots and FM radio. The Android powered 4G smartphone offers access to several apps on Google Play Store, including YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. The device will also come preloaded with apps from Airtel -- MyAirtel app, Wynk music and Airtel TV.

The phone comes bundled with Airtel Rs 169 offer plan, which provides unlimited calls, and 500 MB data per day for 28 days. Also, there is a cashback offer that entails to terms and conditions.


To avail a cashback offer, ancustomer needs to make a down payment of Rs 2,849 for the 4G smartphone and make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs 169. The customer will get a cash refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and another Rs 1,000 after 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs 1500.

In case the customer does not wish to opt for the Rs 169 bundled plan, she/he has the flexibility of doing recharges of any denomination and validity as per individual requirements. However, to claim the cash refund benefit, recharges worth Rs 3,000 must be done within the first 18 months (to claim the first refund installment of Rs 500) and another Rs 3,000 over the next 18 months (to claim the second refund installment of Rs 1000).     

Micromax Bharat-2 vs Karbonn A40: Voda, Airtel offer affordable smartphones

Vodafone India on October 24 announced inked a pact with Micromax to roll out a 4G smartphone at an effective price of Rs 999. Dubbed as Micromax Bharat-2 Ultra, the smartphone will go on sale in November. Recently, Bharti Airtel also collaborated with Karbonn Mobiles to offer a 4G smartphone – the Karbonn A40 Indian -- at an effective price of Rs 1,399.
The launch of budget smartphones seems to be the incumbents answer to Reliance JioPhone, which is a 4G LTE-enabled feature phone bundled with Jio connection for free data, voice calls, roaming, SMS and access to Jio apps.

Here is everything you need to know about the new offers and budget 4G smartphone
Vodafone
Smartphone: Micromax Bharat-2 Ultra

Specifications: The smartphone is powered by Spreadtrum SC9832 1.3 Ghz quad core processor coupled with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal storage. The device sports a 4-inch WVGA display, a 2 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 MP front camera. The handset runs on Android Marshmallow operating system and houses a 1,300 mAh battery.

Offers: As per the company's offer, one will have to buy the smartphone at Rs 2,899 and will have to recharge their new or existing Vodafone numbers with a minimum denomination of Rs 150 every month for three years.The buyer will get a cash back of Rs 900 at the end of 18 months and another cash back of Rs 1,000 after the next 18 months (36 months after purchase) in Vodafone "M-Pesa" wallet.

Reliance JioPhone 'explodes'; intentional sabotage to malign us, says co

A JipPhone customer from Kashmir has alleged that the device exploded while it was on charging mode. Soon, the photos of the exploded phone were shared on Twitter by PhoneRadar.

Responding to the allegations, Jio’s spokesperson said in a statement to Financial Express that the issue is a case of “intentional sabotage”. The Twitter handle that shared the picture of the burned device has now deleted the post.

“JioPhones are designed and manufactured with global standards, and each phone goes through stringent quality control process. The said incident has been reported to us. Our initial investigation suggests that this is a case of intentional sabotage,” said the company in a statement.

JioPhone Photo: PhoneRadar The statement further added that the damage to the device seems to have been intentionally caused to malign the brand and the company will take appropriate action based on further investigations.

The Reliance JioPhone is India’s first 4G LTE-enabled


feature with VoLTE capability. The pre-booking of the phone began recently. The first batch is already out and the second batch is promised by the company to reach by Diwali.

Recently, Micromax also joined the 4G feature phone bandwagon with the launch of Bharat-1 in partnership with BSNL.

Airtel Karbonn A40 or JioPhone? This comparison can help you decide

Bharti Airtel on October 11 announced it was collaborating with Karbonn Mobiles to offer a 4G smartphone – the Karbonn A40 Indian -- at an effective price of Rs 1,399. The collaboration is part of Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel’s ‘Mera pehla 4G smartphone’ initiative, which aims at providing affordable 4G smartphone to people seeking to move from feature phones to smartphones and experience high-speed internet on the go. The Bharti Airtel announcement seems to again have pitten the telecom major against Reliance Jio, which recently launched its 4G feature phone, JioPhone, which is virtually free. Some prospective buyers might be confused which between JioPhone and the Airtel-Karbonn handset to go for.

JioPhone is India’s first 4G-enabled feature phone, bundled with free call, SMS, subscription to Jio apps and free data. Effectively priced free of cost, the phone can be availed of by depositing a security of Rs 1,500 refundable after 36 months subjected to terms and conditions.

Here is a quick look at the terms and conditions of Reliance JioPhone and Airtel’s bundled Karbon A40 Indian smartphone:

Airtel

• To avail the Karbonn A40 Indian smartphone, customer needs to make a down-payment of Rs 2,899.
• The phone comes bundled with a no-frills contract from Bharti Airtel that requires a monthly recharge of Rs 169 per month for 36 months for a cashback of Rs 1,500 – in two installments of 18 months each.
• After successful completion of first 18 months, user will get the first cashback of Rs 500 from Airtel. The second cashback of Rs 1,000 is credit to user’s account after successful completion of 36 months. 
• The cashback brings down the effective price of Karbonn A40 Indian smartphone to Rs 1,399.
• The cashback is subjected to terms and conditions, which dictates that the user should either recharge with Rs 169 per month and enjoy the bundled benefits with the smartphone or recharge a total of Rs 3,000 in 18 months and Rs 6,000 in 36 months to get the cashbacks.
• In Rs 169 monthly recharge, Airtel offers unlimited local and STD calls coupled with 0.5GB data per day valid for 28 days.
• The customer is not restricted to use Airtel SIM card in the smartphone. Rather, customer is free to change the SIM card at any point in time if he/she wants to switch to other network. But, that will void the contract and revoke cashback and bundle offer benefits.
• At no point in time customer is liable to return the device to the Karbonn or Airtel and the ownership of the device lies with the customer.
• The Karbonn A40 Indian uses Android operating system and, therefore, can access wide spectrum of apps and services available in Google’s ecosystem. The phone comes installed with Airtel apps as well.

Airtel takes on JioPhone with Rs 1,399 4G smartphone: All you need to know

Bharti Airtel has collaborated with home-grown Karbonn Mobiles to offer a 4G smartphone at an effective price of Rs 1,399. Dubbed ‘Mera Pehla 4G smartphone’ by the telecom major, the initiative is aimed at providing affordable 4G smartphone to people seeking to move from feature phones to smartphones and experience high-speed internet on the go.

Under the partnership, the Karbonn A40 Indian smartphone, which has a retail price of Rs 3,499, will be offered at an effective price of Rs 1,399. The smartphone comes bundled with a monthly pack of Rs 169 from Airtel, which offers generous data and calling benefits.

avail of the smartphone bundled with Airtel benefits, the customer needs to make a down payment of Rs 2899 for the 4G smartphone and make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs 169. The customer will get a cash refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and another Rs 1000 after 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs 1500.

Karbon A40 India smartphone with Airtel bundle offer Karbon A40 India smartphone with Airtel bundle offer In case the customer does not wish to opt for the Rs 169 bundled plan, she/he has the flexibility of doing recharges of any denomination and validity as per individual requirements. However, to claim the cash refund benefit, recharges worth Rs 3000 must be done within the first 18 months (to claim the first refund installment of Rs 500) and another Rs 3000 over the next 18 months (to claim the second refund installment of Rs 1000).
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JioPhone pre-booking starts today at 5 pm: You can book it for Rs 500

The pre-booking of JioPhone will start for Rs 500 across its retail stores, the website and Jio App from 5 pm on Thursday, according to a message sent out by Reliance Jio.

"India Ka Smartphone is finally here! Pre-booking for JioPhone starts Aug 24 at 5 pm," an SMS sent to a Jio customer read.

A leading channel partner of RELIANCE JIO Retail, which did not wish to be named, said the messages are being sent to all those who have registered their interest in JioPhone.

"As announced by RIL CMD (Mukesh Ambani), JioPhone will be given against payment of fully-refundable deposit of Rs 1,500. Customers will be able to book JioPhone for Rs 500 and the balance Rs 1,000 can be paid at the time of delivery in September. The total amount will be refunded after 36 months when the customer returns the phone," the partner said.

Ambani had announced that voice calling for customers of the "effectively free" JioPhone would always be free and they would get unlimited data for a month against payment of Rs 153.

Jio has also announced a weekly plan for Rs 53 and a 2-day plan for Rs 23 for unlimited data access.

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JioPhone is a feature handset with smartphone-like capabilities: Know more

After disrupting the telecom market with ultra-affordable tariff plans, Reliance Jio Infocomm on July 21 unveiled a feature phone with smartphone-like capabilities, effectively priced free. The analysts believe that the JioPhone would bring another wave of disruption but this time it will impact both, telecom incumbents and feature phone manufacturers.

With the launch of first feature phone with 4G long-term evolution (LTE) ready capabilities, Reliance Jio aims to bring 500 million feature phone users of the country to its network, which is driven by data and is the only 4G only network in the country.

While the JioPhone performs all the basic tasks of a feature phone – voice calls and SMS, Reliance Jio has integrated smartphone-like capabilities such as Voice Over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) for voice call, Jio apps for videos and music, and Jio chat for instant messaging etc. that becomes the key differentiating factor of the Jio Phone.


Let's take a look at the smartphone-like features of Jio Phone:

High definition voice calls 

The Jio Phone is a first LTE-ready feature phone that comes with unlimited calling bundled with all the tariff plans. The phone uses VoLTE feature – voice calls using data packets – that allows high definition voice calls. The high definition voice call feature is still not available in all the smartphones and feature phones usually stick to 2G network for voice calls. Therefore, the feature is a first for any feature phone.

Voice commands 

The Jio Phone can be operated using voice commands. The voice command feature is not limited to calling and messages but the Jio apps can also be operated using the app – music playback and video playback.

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