Reliance Jio to launch 4G feature phone starting at Rs 1,734

India’s very own 4G industry disruptor Jio is planning to launch the 4G feature phone in two processor variants namely, the Qualcomm and the Spreadtrum chipsets inside.

New Delhi, June 12: The new entrant in the telecom sector, Reliance Jio is soon going to launch its 4G VoLTE-enabled feature phones in India. After waging a data war in the telecom sector and forcing major telcos to slash rates, Jio is now planning to woo customers with its affordable mid-ranged smartphone. India’s very own 4G industry disruptor Jio is planning to launch the 4G feature phone in two processor variants namely, the Qualcomm and the Spreadtrum chipsets inside.

A report from 91 Mobiles reveals that the model with the Qualcomm chipset will cost Rs. 1798, while the Spreadtrum-powered device will be a slightly cheaper approx Rs 1734. It has also been reported that the 4G VoLTE feature phones are already in production and will be launched soon. Earlier, reports informed that the Reliance Jio feature phone would be launched at an affordable price of Rs 1,500, but there is a slight hike in price in the recent report. To get traction initially, Jio will probably sell these devices at subsidised costs. Currently, Jio has more than 100 million users on its network.

jio feature phone, Rs 1500 pic.twitter.com/DsAHgHWhkF

— Rajath Kumar K R (@rajathkumarkr) January 18, 2017

Both the variants of Jio’s feature phone will be 4G LTE-powered and are believed to come with minimal hardware. It will come with a 2.4-inch screen, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, microSD card support, 2-megapixel rear camera, and VGA front camera. The most interesting aspect of these feature phones is the inclusion of wireless connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Near-field communication (NFC)  and even GPS for navigation. The 91 Mobiles report informs that it is not confirmed if the phones will support a hotspot/wireless tethering option, a feature which will make them excellent backup devices.

As per an image leaked, the 4G VoLTE smartphone will feature an alphanumeric keyboard below the screen. The phone has shortcut keys for MyJio, Jio Live TV, Jio video and Jio Music below the display as shown in the image above. Not much is known about the original look of the phone. However, from the image it is understood that the Jio 4G phone carries a basic design with colored back covers, an alphanumeric or T9 keypad along with four-directional control pad.

At present, the only 4G LTE-enabled feature phone available in the market is Lava 4G Connect 1. It was launched in February and is priced at Rs. 3,333. With the launch of the feature phones, Jio is now aiming to tap the rural market as these phones are low-cost feature phones. Both the variants of the smartphone are believed to be bundled with Reliance Jio 4G SIM as well as Jio apps.