India’s largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel said that it has partnered Intex to offer a low cost bundled 4G smartphone at an “effective price” of ₹1,649 in a bid to counter JioPhone.
Two other smartphones - Aqua A4 and Aqua S3 - will also be available at effective prices of ₹1,999 and ₹4,379, respectively as part of the partnership.
Airtel, has similar partnerships with handset makers Celkon and Karbonn, has expanded its initiative in collaboration with Intex.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio is offering an Internet- enabled feature phone for a refundable deposit of ₹ 1,500.
Incumbent operators are also lining up their own bundled offers to counter the offensive.
Vodafone India, for example, has tied up with mobile handset firm Micromax to launch a 4G smartphone at an ’effective price’ of ₹999.
Airtel said the Intex Aqua LIONS N1 handset (market price of ₹ 3,799) has a 4-inch screen, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage (expandable up to 128GB) and 2MP rear and VGA front camera.
Customers will need to make a down payment of ₹ 3,149 for the handset, followed by 36 monthly recharges of ₹ 169.
After 18 months, the customer will get a cash refund of ₹ 500 and another of ₹ 1,000 after completion of 36 months.
In case the customer does not wish to opt for the ₹169 bundled plan, he can purchase any other recharge plan.
However, to claim the cash refund benefit, customers would need recharges worth ₹ 3,000 within the first 18 months to claim the first refund (₹500) and another ₹3,000 over the next 18 months for the second refund of ₹ 1,000.
“We are really pleased to see the continued positive response to our ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative from customers as well as smartphone manufacturers,” Bharti Airtel Chief Operating Officer (India and South Asia) Ajai Puri said.
The Intex Aqua A4 - which will come at an effective price of ₹ 1,999 (compared to market price of ₹4,999), features 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM and an 8GB internal storage (expandable up to 64GB), 5MP rear and a 2MP front camera.
Aqua S3 will be available at an effective price of ₹4,379 (compared to market price of ₹6,649). It features 5- inch display, 1.3GHz quad- processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage (expandable up to 64GB), 8MP rear and 5MP front camera, and 2,450 mAh battery.
