After announcing it first back at I/O 2014, Google today finally launched the first Android One devices in India.
The
first three phones to be launched are the Karbon Sparkle V, Micromax
Canvas A1, and Spice Dream UNO. The Dream UNO is the cheapest at
INR6,299 ($103), while the Sparkle V costs INR6,399 ($105) and the
Canvas A1 costs INR6,499 ($106).
All three phones
are being sold exclusively through three different online stores. The
Karbonn Sparkle V will be sold on Snapdeal, the Micromax Canvas V1
through Amazon, and the Spice Dream UNO through Flipkart.
In
terms of specifications, all three phones are based on Google's
reference design, and as such are pretty much identical. All three have a
4.5-inch, 854x480 resolution IPS display, MediaTek MT6582 SoC with
1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB
storage space with microSD card slot, 5 megapixel rear camera, 2
megapixel front camera, FM radio, dual SIM support, and replaceable
1,700mAh battery. The only differences will be in the design and minor
software enhancements.
The best thing about these
phones is that they all run stock version of Android, 4.4.4 KitKat in
this case. The phones will get OS updates directly from Google for two
years since launch. These phones will also be first in line with the
Nexus devices to get Android L, or any future release.
Google
also has done partnership with Airtel, India's biggest mobile carrier.
Users on Airtel will be able to download Android updates for free (that
is, without being charged for data downloads) for the first six months.
Airtel users will also be able to download up to 200MB worth of apps
from the Google Play Store every month, which won't be counted towards
their mobile data.
Another interesting feature is
that Android One users will be able to download and watch YouTube videos
offline, something not yet available on any Android device. They will
also get one year free subscription to content on Google Play Newsstand.
Apart from this, the individual online stores selling these phones also
have additional offers available, including financing options,
discounts on accessories, and free memory card.
India
is just the first country to receive Android One. Google will be
bringing Android One devices to other countries, including Indonesia,
the Philippines and South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri
Lanka) by the end of the year, with more countries to follow in 2015.
There
will also be other Androd OEMs, who will be joining Micromax, Karbonn,
and Spice later. These include Acer, Alcatel Onetouch, ASUS, HTC, Intex,
Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic, Xolo, and Qualcomm.
Android
One is a great initiative by Google to bring smartphones to the masses.
But with devices like Xiamomi Redmi 1s and Moto E (which are similarly
priced and offer better specs) already on the market, not to mention the
lack of availability of these phones outside the aforementioned online
retailers, we would have to wait and see how successful it is.
Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/google_launches_android_one_in_india_with_three_new_smartphones-news-9646.php
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