Google's Android One Initiative Launches In India With Three $100 Phones 50
An anonymous reader writes Google has unveiled its first set of Android One low-cost smartphones in the Indian market, partnering with Indian hardware vendors Spice, Micromax and Karbonn. The three phones will be available online on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal and via Reliance Digital, Croma and The Mobile Store, offline. The phones provide a minimum set of features determined by Google, which has sourced several of the components to help cut manufacturing costs. The company has also teamed up with a local network to make it cheaper to download Android updates and new apps.
Three phones (Score:5, Funny)
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And there was hardly need to sell each of the three phones in a different online AND offline store.
$100 (Score:3)
What percentage of smartphone owners currently use one that would cost 100$ to buy new?
Is a 2014 cheap phone better than a 2012 good one? For how long?
Re:$100 (Score:5, Informative)
There is a point where phones are "good enough". If it can run basic apps (usual popular ones, and a large game or two), for a lot of people, why buy something else?
For example, my HTC One X Plus and my HTC One M8 both have NFC, decent CPUs. The biggest difference is the M8 has a MicroSD card slot that can go up to 128 gigs, but if I had to go back to the HOX, it is doable.
The mobile industry is running into the same issue that the PC industry has about a decade ago -- what is out is good enough for most tasks, so why bother running the upgrade treadmill?
A $100 phone would still be a decent unit. Not with all the bells and whistles, but still fine for daily use by a lot of people.
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We're not there yet; some people are going to pay £600+ for the iPhone 6 rather than £150 for the Moto G2. Many people are still on small, silly screens and could do with a larger one now they've got their head around the idea of having a smart phone. They all could do with 2 or 3 gigs of ram instead of 1 or less.
Those $100 phones are designed for india; they're not going to gain any traction outside of there because it's just cutting 2 or 3 corners too many, but certainly I can s
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I just bought €50 phones for my kids. Android 4.4. There are plenty around where I am, so I don't really know what the fuss is all about.
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They exist, but they typically have 1 gig ram memory, 4-8 gigs internal storage, a crappy camera. The screen is lower-resolution, the external speaker is on the weak side. Build quality and reliability is a bit lower.
They're perfectly usable, and for a kid they're fine (although kids do load up on apps, which might be a problem with a cheaper phone).
The point was that they're phones you're going to want to upgrade before too long. Whereas a computer is fine for 5 or more years, unless you're a gamer.
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I just bought €50 phones for my kids. Android 4.4. There are plenty around where I am, so I don't really know what the fuss is all about.
It doesn't count if people have to pay €1 per minute to call your kids' phones. Ultimately, someone is paying for the hardware.
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This is a no-contract phone, no strings attached. I subscribed to a contract after having bought the phone.
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Everybody's definition of "good enough" is different.
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It's not just about the hardware (Score:2)
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$100 phones (Score:1)
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Google and their hardware partners are doing a lot to bring the benefit of technology to more people than have had it before.
Well... Yes. All technology corporations try their best to bring technology to more people than before.
The opposite would be, thievery. Or, if instead of "less technology" you go for the "less people" route, murder.
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I couldd swear that Microsoft has been trying hard at the exact opposite...
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Why would anyone, aside from maybe a very small number of fringe "openness" idealists, ever consider Firefox OS if a real Android phone can be obtained for about the same price?
$100 is not about the same as $33. This is particularly true in India, where the average annual income is around $1,500.
"One"? Seriously? (Score:2)
Even after the 'Xbox One' disaster, they're going with One?
Did they forget that Android is already versioned using incrementing numbers, and that they're now way beyond 1 [android.com]?
I guess they'll loosen Microsoft's hold on the "One" name, but really, this is just stupid.
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Do you think the number one is unlucky, or something?
Android's version numbers are for developer use only; everyone else uses the name, just like they do with Windows.
Microsoft doesn't have a hold on the "one" name, because next to nobody has heard of the "xbox one" outside of the gaming/tech community, whereas nearly everyone has - or knows someone who has - an Android phone.
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Do you think the number one is unlucky, or something?
One does ... oh wait!
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http://youtu.be/Sme4BaANIxg [youtu.be]
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Yeah, but you can't have a main character named "Otw", or "Ethre".
You'd have to go all the way up to 10 to get a decent name, and by then you'd be infringing Tolkien's IP.
Non-solution (Score:1)
Google has found the solution for people that can't afford data plans, or expensive smartphones with too many cameras and big screens and contributing to e-waste:
Data plans, expensive smartphones with too many cameras and big screens contributing to e-waste! And tiered network access!
That's right, just like the aftermath of the financial crisis, Google has found another solution that is identical to the problem!
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Of course the better solution is: eBay.
iPhone 2g is available for $50 ship
Where's the tech support joke? (Score:2)
Interestingly (Score:2)
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The phone I carry is running Android Jelly Bean. Retailed for $49.
No kidding. A $100 phone would be an upgrade to me.
Side note: India is NOT POOR. Don't believe what you see in the media. At my last job, my Indian counterparts made enough to support a wife, multiple kids, car & apartment on one developer's income. Can't do that in this country, even with an engineer's salary.
Launch here please (Score:2)
SF Bay Area, the birthplace of smartphones, badly needs dual sim phones. There are coverage gaps even with AT&T/Verizon, right alone highway 101 and major tech companies. Having a second prepaid sim would be a godsend for actually being able to call people when you need to. Especially if you want T-mobile unlimited plan rather than paying $1K phone bill because of a bug in one of your apps.
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SF Bay Area, the birthplace of smartphones,
What?
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J2ME? Palm/WebOS? iPhone? Android?
Wonder if they'll use ART out of the box? (Score:2)
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Lumia 5 series (Score:3)
Solidly built phones. Doesn't look cheap. No lag. Good camera. Good Battery life. Costs around 110-120$ depending on the model.
Will it support Whatsapp ? (Score:2)
Will it support Whatsapp ?