The world's most affordable smartphone just became more attractive.
Reliance-Google's new smartphone has got mixed reviews from analysts and brokerages. The phone pricing is seen unattractive for low-end customers and bundled offers are being viewed as non-disruptive. While this could slow the pace of adoption, it could set the stage for tariff hikes in the industry, feel analysts.
Used smartphones are gaining popularity in the hinterland, the main market for JioPhone. Share of JioPhone in the feature phone market had shrunk from 47% in Q2 of 2018 to 28% a year after.
It has captured 38 per cent of the feature phone segment in 2018 through frequent innovation, says Arnab Dutta.
Who says feature phones have become a thing of past?
The Oscar fever kickstarts with this week's OTT menu. Take your pick from Sukanya Verma's eclectic menu.
Competitive price will face stiff challenge from incumbents such as DD Free Dish
Jio announces an array of communication and entertainment devices.
The effective cost of the fully made-in-India phone will be zero, as against the minimum Rs 3-4.5k cost for a smartphone, Ambani said.
Samsung makes the largest number of non-4G feature phones in India
Sale of the new series of iPhones started on Friday, with excited customers queuing up outside the country's first Apple Store since early hours and even indulging in a scuffle before its opening.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio on Friday announced deferring the roll-out of the JioPhone Next - the low-priced smartphone it has developed with Google - to Diwali. The phone was previously to be launched on September 10. Ambani at the shareholder meeting of his flagship Reliance Industries in June, had stated that the JioPhone Next will be available for purchase on September 10.
'The first time India has seen two consecutive blockbuster IPO years.'
Jio Platforms' quietly sustained investments in building its "non-connectivity" service business - which included a bevy of acquisitions of companies and platforms in media, entertainment, and technology startups - are slowly generating revenues. Non-connectivity revenues of Jio Platforms have now risen 36 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25) to about Rs 3,968 crore, compared with Rs 2,912 crore in the same quarter the previous year.
From double dates to Demogorgon, it's all there on OTT this week. Sukanya Verma lists them.
The launch of internet-enabled Jio Bharat phones at an "attractive pricing" will enable Jio to gain market share at the lower end segment and signals a reduced probability of tariff hike in the near term, brokerages tracking the sector said. Jio on Monday launched internet-enabled Jio Bharat phones at Rs 999, packing in a cheaper monthly plan of Rs 123 for unlimited voice calls and 14 GB data. The new offering aims to accelerate the '2G Mukt Bharat' vision, as India still has 250 million mobile subscribers trapped in the 2G era with feature phones.
Spies, aliens, dogs and lawyers, it's quite a colourful spread on your OTT watch this week, points out Sukanya Verma.
Showing an insatiable hunger to learn and succeed, Shubman Gill turned to senior players and former greats for insights, embodying the ethos of a student of the game.
Losing subscribers for the fourth straight month, Reliance Jio witnessed 3.76 million users leave the telecom operator in October, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed on Monday. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel reversed three months of decline, and added 1.92 million users, indicating it has overcome the impact of the broad-based tariff hikes imposed by private sector telcos in July.
'I woke up in the morning and checked google on my phone and took out a 'Believe' emoji wallpaper and told myself that I will do it for the country.'
Telcos Reliance Jio and Bharti may post a 5-7 per cent sequential rise in revenue with a steady margin for the second quarter of FY22, according to Jefferies. Bharti's growth will be led by segmented tariff hikes taken in the second quarter ended September, while Jio's growth will be driven by continued subscriber growth, it further said. Jefferies expects the outlook on tariff hikes for Bharti, further details on JioPhone Next for Jio, and tenancy outlook for Indus Towers to be the key things to watch for in the September quarter.
Reliance Jio's major subscriber losses continued for the third straight month with 7.96 million users leaving the telecom operator in September, even as the state-owned BSNL stood out as the lone gainer, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed on Thursday. Market leader Jio's subscriber loss has continued since July when the three private telecom operators - Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) - brought in a broad-based hike in tariffs.
The tryst with instant fame began on June 28 when Manish, son of farmer Gajendra Bisi, purchased a new Jio SIM from a mobile shop in Deobhog, around 8 kilometres from his village.
Poor writing, unrealistic plot points, and weak performances drag Sarzameen down, sighs Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Story-telling is at the core of everything I do.'
Special Ops 2 captures the spirit of the modern-day spy thriller and runs with it, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Isha's stab at the bottom of the laptop pyramid shows she is a true Ambani.
Vi partners SpaceX-rival AST SpaceMobile for satcom service on smartphones
Mistry may work for some, but also raises the question about mental illness being treated as a means of amusement for audiences, notes Deepa Gahlot.
Action, romance, comedy, it's raining masala entertainment on OTT this week.
The revival of feature phones in India is driven by low-cost access to the internet, but the 'dumb phones' are learning to get smart and create a niche, says Veer Arjun Singh.
Jio to charge users 6 paisa/min for voice calls made to rival phone networks. However, these charges are not applicable on calls made by Jio users to other Jio phones and to landline phones and calls made using WhatsApp, FaceTime and other such platforms.
Horrors of the mind and modern technology rock the OTT this week.
Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services (JFS) is set to seek shareholders' approval for its leasing subsidiary to acquire telecom equipment and devices worth Rs 36,000 crore ($4.33 billion) from Reliance Retail. Jio Leasing Services Limited (JLSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of JFS, plans to enter the device leasing business, and the equipment will be deployed in broadband wireless connectivity and other services.
While Jio MF will undoubtedly grow in size, it will have to cross multiple hurdles even to emerge as the market leader, observes Debashis Basu.
Jio has partnered with AeroMobile to launch mobile services on 22 flights on international routes, with plans starting at Rs 499 per day.
Its plans, to cut tariffs by 40% or offer more data, comes bundled with 1 GB high speed data for 28 days with unlimited voice thrown in.
To help 2G customers who have to buy a new phone to upgrade to 4G, the company had earlier introduced 4G feature phones, to make it affordable for them to make the switch.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday said Jio and Google have jointly developed a power-packed and affordable smartphone 'JioPhone Next', which will be available in the market from September 10. Ambani promised that JioPhone Next will be the most affordable smartphone not just in India but globally. Speaking at RIL's annual general meeting, Ambani asserted that an ultra-affordable 4G smartphone is essential to make India '2G-mukt' (free of 2G).
From January 1, all these iPhone users will get the Rs 1,499 plan completely free for 1 year, which equals value worth Rs 18,000
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