Why Flipkart is launching Billion Capture+ smartphone
One of India's biggest e-commerce players, Flipkart, has set the ball rolling for a new innings. Backed by the billions of Japan's Softbank, Flipkart has decided to take on the likes of Xiaomi, Motorola and Lenovo on their own turfs by jumping into the fray with a budget smartphone of its own.
Flipkart has named the device as the Capture+ and is selling it under the name of sub-brand, Billion – which closely resembles the moniker used by Flipkart for its flagship "Big Billion Day Sale."
The Capture+ is a budget device that will be officially launched in India on November 15, and will be available in two variants – Rs 10,999 for 3GB RAM and 32GB storage and Rs 12,999 for 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Flipkart says that it has developed this "Made in India" device with the Indian customer in mind – something that is evident through the pricing of the phone.
Flipkart has also revealed that it will be offering some great launch day offers – such as no cost EMI and discounts on leading debit and credit cards.
Design and specifications
Upon its launch, the device will be available in two colours – Mystic Black and Desert Gold – and sports metal as the core element for its design that will help the phone fit right into the sea of metal body phones currently available in the market. At the front, the phone comes sporting a 5.5-inch 1080p display with a pixel density of 401 PPI. The display is protected by a sheet of 2.5D Dragontrail glass.
The device is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 625 SoC paired with 3GB/4GB RAM. The power-efficient SoC is the same as has been previously used by other smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi to make the Redmi Note 4 and even the Mi A1 highly-popular phones.
Both variants of the smartphone are expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). The device uses a USB Type-C port and a 3500mAh-rated battery, and comes with fast-charging technology that Flipkart claims enables the phone to store up enough juice for a 7-hour spin within 15 minutes.
There's also a fingerprint scanner at the back and comes running Stock Android Nougat 7.1.2 to complete the package.
Dual camera setup
Arguably, the Capture+'s biggest draw – which even Flipkart has tried to draw focus towards – is the dual camera setup at the back of the phone. The device comes packing two 13-megapixel sensors at the back paired with a dual flash module.
Flipkart claims the RGB and monochrome sensors on the rear camera setup helps the device bring "bokeh shots" and "depth of field effect" to the users. Flipkart also promises clear pictures in low-light and functionality to click portrait-mode shots offering blur background highlights with the Capture+.
The device also comes with an 8-megapixel sensor at the front.
#CaptureIndia as it comes alive at night with its vibrant colors, festivals & celebrations with Billion Capture+. Coming Soon! #MadeForIndia #OnlyOnFlipkart. Know more: https://t.co/l8AZwj4egL pic.twitter.com/afW5dqebrE
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) November 8, 2017
Looks good on paper, but you should wait
The Capture+, on paper at least, looks to be a pretty well-rounded device. As Flipkart's co-founder and executive chairman, Sachin Bansal explains, the Stock Android phone with its sleek looks and nifty little camera tricks promises to be a phone tailored for the average user in the sub Rs 15,000 budget segment in India.
"The features in the Capture+ too have been derived from deep data-mining of millions of Flipkart customers' reviews. Few true dual camera phones offer this combination of flagship features. We're sure this customer-centricity will delight Indian smartphone buyers."
However, that does not take away from the challenges that Capture+ will face upon its launch. There's no denying that Flipkart has done a great job cramming in some really good hardware inside the phone and that too at a very attractive price point, but one shouldn't overlook the fact that this is only the company's foray into the smartphone market.
Additionally, it is important to understand that any smartphone is more than just the sum of impressive internals and features on offer. Central to the success of any smartphone user experience is the integration of the device's OS with the hardware on board – something that could be tricky for Flipkart to achieve with the Capture+ as it has no prior experience in manufacturing smartphones.
Having said that, any final judgment on the fate of the device should be reserved until it's out in the open and its powerful internals and camera module have been tested in real-world situations. For now, the device should be appreciated for what it is – a good attempt at making inroads into a very competitive segment in the market which already has clearly defined winner(s).
Larger game at play
However, Flipkart's inability to challenge the established smartphone manufacturers may not concern it as much – not for now at least. By bringing to the market a "made in India and made for India" smartphone at a competitive price, Flipkart is making a move to win a much larger game.
For the homegrown e-commerce player, jumping into the fray with its own smartphone offers it with an opportunity to consolidate its position in India the way that Amazon had done in its home market – the United States. Amazon, which had also made its name as an e-commerce player, diversified and slowly moved towards manufacturing and selling hardware to solidify its position in the market.
Though it's punt with Amazon Fire Phone proved unsuccessful, the company used the experience to develop a number of Alexa and Fire-based hardware that have helped it become a major tech giant, one that currently stands in league with the likes of Apple and Google.
With the Capture+, Flipkart looks to be playing a similar game, one where it is looking to emulate the strategy once used by Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos to ensure the company's long-term success.
Since 2014, Flipkart has brought in a number Intel-powered Digiflip tablets that have helped it set the platform for an eventual Android smartphone launch. Much like those tablets, the Capture+ may not prove to be a success, but the phone — with its promised features, unlimited cloud storage and an attractive price — will definitely elevate Flipkart's position from being just an e-commerce platform to a major player in the tech industry and in the process also help it consolidate its position in the market.