Will Reliance JioPhone see worthy competition in Airtel's new 4G smartphone at Rs 1,399?
It was back in August when Airtel announced its plans of joining hands with smartphone manufacturers to take on the JioPhone. At the time, the telecom operator had kept mum on the pricing of its ultra low-cost 4G phone, but reports suggested the phone to come with a price tag upwards of Rs 2,500.
Flash forward to October 11, and the result of this partnership is here for us to see in the form of the Karbonn A40 Indian launched at Rs 1,399 or as the company called it, "effectively at the price of a feature phone".
This effective price tag, which puts the phone at Rs 200 less than the JioPhone, is a direct attack on the smart feature phone which was announced at Reliance Industries' 40th AGM on July 21 by Mukesh Ambani.
Announced under the "Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone Initiative", this phone aims at "enabling every Indian to buy a 4G smartphone and get on the digital superhighway", reports The Economic Times.
Airtel has explained that initiative will bring "highly affordable bundled 4G smartphone options to the market and fulfil the digital aspirations of millions of Indians". Smartphones under the initiative will be available from offline stores, with after sales being handled by the device manufacturers themselves.
However, much like the JioPhone's effective price tag of Rs 0, this effective Rs 1,399 price of the Karbonn smartphone is at best slightly misleading.
Curious case of the 'effective price'
As Airtel explains, the Karbonn A40 Indian's actual price is Rs 3,990 which the consumer will have to fork out for this 4G smartphone at the time of purchase. However, they can get the phone for Rs 2,899 and recoup Rs 1,500 more in cash benefits by getting the device with an Airtel connection.
Here's how it works: Customer initially makes a downpayment of Rs 2,899 for the phone after which it becomes their property. The customer then has to recharge the phone with Rs 169 for 36 months without a break. During the course of the next three years, the customer can claim a cash refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and another Rs 1,000 after 36 months, but unlike the JioPhone the phone still remains the customer's property.
But worry not. The Rs 169 recharge is not the only way to get the cash benefit. Customers can also avail the refund by making recharges worth Rs 3,000 within the first 18 months and another Rs 3,000 over the next 18 months to claim the Rs 1,500 over the three years.
JioPhone versus Airtel's A40 Indian
In terms of specs, it compares favourably to the JioPhone. The Karbonn A40 Indian, comes with a 4-inch display compared to the smaller 2.4-inch QVGA TFT display on the JioPhone. It has a 1.3 Ghz processor with 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage which is expandable by up to 32GB via micro-SD card.
In comparison, the JioPhone only comes with lower speed dual-core processor that 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage that's expandable up to 128GB.
The dual-SIM Karbonn phone is powered by a 1,400mAh battery and comes sporting a 2-megapixel camera on the rear and a 0.3-megapixel camera on the front. All features that outshine Jio's offering.
However, the biggest win that Airtel gets here is when it comes to the OS. While the JioPhone runs a version of the KaiOS, which does not support popular apps like WhatsApp and Youtube for now, Airtel-backed A40 Indian comes with Android that will support all these applications.
Which one to buy?
The answer to that question boils down really to what you want from your affordable 4G phone. If making calls, and the wide range of Jio's services appeal to you then the JioPhone with its effectively free pricing is the phone for you. However, if you want more from your device, and want all that an Android-powered smartphone gives, then the Karbonn A40 Indian is what you should go for.
At the core of it, the fight is between an Android-based smartphone and a smart feature phone. And it's your call.