Datawind set to launch cheapest smartphone at Rs 1,000

Datawind — the maker of Aakash tablet — is going break price barrier in the smartphone by launching the cheapest handset in the category at around Rs 1,000.

The phone will also provide 12 months of free Internet access, an initiative to connect the millions of unconnected. “We always wanted to break the price barrier. And in March we introduced a Rs 2,000 smartphone. So for us it is natural steps is to continue to break those barriers. We believe we can hit a Rs 1,000 and we are working on a product which could be in that range,” said Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli.

Mr Tuli said that it wont be an Android device but most likely to be a Linux-based device. “When you look at India out of the 20 million phones that are sold every month, around 13 million are still below Rs 3,000. These 13 million handsets are mostly feature phones and that customer base is not rising up to smartphone because of affordability. We think if we can bring reasonable (smartphones) devices to their price points then you will start to see adoption happening,” said Mr Tuli.

He said that the entry level smartphone will offer “reasonable good quality of Internet access because of our acceleration technology.” Datawind which hit headline due to affordable Aakash tablet claims it enjoys a majority share in low cost tablets.

Mr Tuli said that of all the tablets which are sold under Rs 5,000, Datawind has 55 per cent market share. “We have seen if you can bring affordability to masses in India, you get massive option. It may not be the product which you and I buy but masses in India — I call them forgotten billion whose monthly income is '7,000-'8,000 —- will start adopting. So it is important to bring products at that nature,” he said. Datawind plans to manufacture the affordable smartphone in India. On whether the new smartphone will offer free Internet, he said “Yes this is a thing with all our devices.”