Micromax, Spice to launch low-cost smartphones next month

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Here is good news for those who can’t afford smartphones. As the penetration of social networks over mobile devices is on constant rise, the two Indian phone device vendors- Micromax and Spice-- are all set to launch smart-feature phones next month.

Enabled with MRE technology, the handsets will facilitate differential experience to customers with hundreds of applications and services.

Speaking to CIOL, on the sidelines of an industry event, Vikas Jain, business director, Micromax, said that the company wants to offer unparallel experience to its customers on sub-Rs 5,000 phone device. “With smart functionalities, the users can login into the Facebook account from home page,” he said.

Micromax said that they are in talk with operators, and looking at ecosystem for app store. “Within a month, we could launch such phones with rich, smartphone-like features. With customer’s feedback, we’ll enhance our services as we proceed,” he added.

S Mobility too has similar plans. The company said that a lot of customers are looking for smartphone experience on low-cost devices. S Mobility, however, said that it’ll lead in smart-feature phones to consumers. The company is also working with Internet companies to offer compelling solutions.

Dilip Modi, managing director, S Mobility, said that the market is moving towards smartphones, but affordability is one of the biggest challenges. “Operators are using data phone networks both from- device and application perspective,” he said. Modi said that with sub-$50 phone becoming a reality, a new smart feature category will be unveiled.

The company is working on a couple of models that will be expected to be announced early next month. S Mobility is also working with few operators to bundle data phones. It also plans to build 100 applications on MRE platform during the next quarter.