Well, the day is finally here. Reliance Jio has been officially launched and claims to have the lowest data rates in the world, with just 50/GB for 4G data, which will go further down to Rs 25/GB if your usage crosses a certain threshold.
Along with the incredibly low 4G data tariffs, Reliance Jio will offer customers free voice calls and no roaming charges. Users will also be offered unlimited access to Reliance Jio's suite of apps, including JioPlay, JioOnDemand, JioBeats, JioXpressNews, JioSecurity, JioDrive, JioMags and JioMoney, etc.
But that is not all. At today's annual general meeting (AGM), Mukesh Ambani also highlighted the company's plans to supplement Jio's low cost data plans with extremely affordable 4G handsets launched under their LYF brand.
The Reliance LYF Flame 6 is one of the cheapest smartphones in the world to come with 4G and VoLTE support. Its specifications are as follows:
Also read : Reliance Jio launched! SIM's available from Sep 5, free to use till Dec 31
Priced at just Rs 2,999, the handset comes with a 4-inch WVGA display protected by Dragontail glass
A 1.5GHz quad-core processor, the Mali 400 GPU, 512 MB of RAM, 4GB internal storage which can be expanded via a microSD card of up-to 32GB and a 1,750 mAh battery.
On the imaging front, the device comes with a 2MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2MP front camera for selfies.
The handset runs on Android 5.1 lollipop and supports ten Indian languages including Tamil, Telegu and Marathi.
Connectivity
The LYF Flame 6 supports 4G LTE, VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, dualSIMs and comes with a microUSB port for charging and data transfer.
Mukesh Ambani also announced that the company will be launching more such smartphones with price tags of Rs 3,999, Rs 4,999 and Rs 5,999. They aim to build a 4G ecosystem by providing both the smartphones and network connectivity at affordable prices.
Also read : How Reliance Jio has shaken the Indian telecom sector
Reliance Jio is set to commence commercial operations from Monday, September 5 and will be free for all users till the end of the year, i.e December 31. Thus users will get free data and free voice calls for 4 months!
Post December 31, 2016, data will be chargeable but voice calls will continue to remain free. The various Jio apps and services will be free to use till December 2017.
The entry of Reliance Jio will surely accelerate data adoption in India with tantalizingly affordable data tariffs paired with cheap 4G handsets.
Jio is certainly setting itself to disrupt the Indian telecom sector and emerge as a major player in the market.
