Google has befitttingly started its Android One project in India with the launch of three smartphones in collaboration with Karbonn, Spice and Micromax, with the same hardware specifications at the price of Rs. 6,3999 except for Micromax device, which has been surprisingly priced at Rs. 6,499.
These affordable smartphones are targetted for those Indians who can’t afford expensive devices. The low cost smartphones are available in India, but majority of them come with basic hardware and have issues of software, which do not give the users the best experience.
To tackle above problems, Google has partnered with handsets and chip makers to manufacture the smartphones as per Goolge referenced designs and specifications so that the users have seamless experience of hardware and apps.
Google Android One smartphones have moderate hardware specifications such as 4.5-inch IPS FWVGA (480×854 pixels) 218ppi display, Cortex A7 1.3GHz MediaTek quad-core processor, 1GB RAM and 4GB of internal storage, which can be increased upto 32GB with the help of a microSD card, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 1700mAh battery and Dual-SIM support. These smartphones come pre-loaded with daily use Google apps such as Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Search, and Google Translate.
These phones run the latest version of Android (4.4 KitKat). Google has announced that Android One smartphones will get the new Android L release — an update that will offer Google’s new material design, improved battery life, enhanced security features, and smarter notifications.
The leading Indian carrier Airtel has also joined hands with Google for their Android One Project and is offering free over-the-air (OTA) updates, and 200MB per month worth of app downloads from Google Play for the first six months without counting toward their mobile data plan, to the buyers of Android One smartphones.
Google’s intention is to provide good smartphone to everybody for faster communication, internet access and exploring the world of its useful millions of apps. There is no doubt that many Chinese vendors have of late become aggressive in Indian market and are offering the smartphones with better hardware specifications. For instance, Xiaomi’s Redmi 1S is better smartphone from the hardware and price point of view. But its own customised user interface will not appeal to everybody. Moreover, this device is very difficult to procure and the common man does not have the patience to wait for their online sales to grab it. If you have money in your pocket then majority of the buyers want to have the selected product immediately. The Redmis will sell but their reach will be limited and they can’t take the market by storm.
Google has the capacity to spend huge amount of money for promoting Android One devices and as part of this initiative, is deploying vans known as ‘Showroom on Wheels’ in 600 locations across 20 cities to enable potential customers to experience the Android One phones.
Google Android One smartphones will also be made by the other leading vendors such as Acer, Alcatel Onetouch, ASUS, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic, and Xolo. The real game will begin when the affordable Android One smartphones will come with little bit better configurations such as 5 Inch screen, Snapdragon processor, 8MP primary camera, 2GB RAM, 8 or 16GB ROM. If the smartphones with these specifications and the latest Android OS in the price range of Rs. 8,000 to 10,000 become available then even the mid-segment of the market will be on fire.
It is good news for the Indian smartphone market and the customer is going to be the King in the coming months.
