Kirtika Suneja : New Delhi, Sat Dec 14 2013, 15:51 hrs
Datawind, the maker of the low-cost Aakash tablet, has entered the smartphone category with the launch of PocketSurfer5, a range of three smartphones with 5-inch touchscreen, two of which are priced less than Rs 5,000.
Called PocketSurfer smartphones, some of the specification of the devices include five-inch screens, dual SIM and have Linux and Google Android operating systems (OS), front VGA cemeras and micro SD and USN ports.
"We are offering 40% lower prices than the cheapest smartphone available in the market. We have managed these price points because we make our own touchscreens in Amritsar and Montreal and these constitute 50-60% of the cost of the device," said Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli.
Smartphone sales in India have grown over three-fold to touch 12.8 million units in third quarter of 2013 according to research firm IDC. A smartphone is a mobile device built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced capabilities and connectivity than a feature phone.
Datawind's smartphones will be initially sold online and the company plans to tie-up with a cellular operator as part of its retail strategy. Datawind entered the tablet market in April 2012 and has sold 1 million tablets since then and is planning an inventory of 80,000-1 lakh per month for the smartphones in India.
The entry-level device is the PocketSurfer 5X at R3,499 for a dual-SIM smartphone with a 5 inch touch-screen. The second in the range is PocketSurfer5 and is priced at R4,999. PocketSurfer5 offers the best of features on an Android Jelly Bean platform offering connectivity to Internet through Wi-Fi and EDGE networks.
This model also sports a 5 inch capacitive touch screen that gives the user a widescreen entertainment experience as also a large enough screen to attend to office work on the move. The third and the final model in the range is the PocketSurfer3G5 priced at R6,499 and sports the highest specs within the PocketSurfer5 range offering users the ability to enjoy 3G services.
