Google's Android One Initiative Launches In India With Three $100 Phones

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Google's Android One Initiative Launches In India With Three $100 Phones

Posted by samzenpus on Monday September 15, 2014 @02:17AM from the cheap-at-twice-the-price dept.

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.

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Three phones by Rodot · 2014-09-15 02:21 · Score: 5, Funny

Three phones will hardly be enough.
1. Re:Three phones by Thanshin · 2014-09-15 02:55 · Score: 1
  
  And there was hardly need to sell each of the three phones in a different online AND offline store.
$100 by Thanshin · 2014-09-15 02:22 · Score: 2

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?
1. Re:$100 by mlts · 2014-09-15 02:57 · Score: 4, 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.
2. Re:$100 by Threni · 2014-09-15 03:02 · Score: 1
  
  We're not there yet; some people are going to pay Â£600+ for the iPhone 6 rather than Â£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 see Â£150 being a sweet spot where people who don't want quad core/a huge screen/battery don't pass.
3. Re:$100 by Pieroxy · 2014-09-15 03:54 · Score: 2
  
  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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4. Re:$100 by kamapuaa · 2014-09-15 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  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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5. Re:$100 by symbolset · 2014-09-15 05:15 · Score: 1
  
  Except for storage these phones are on par with the 2012 champ SGS III. With millions more apps, better hardware video support, better battery life and India specific features like dual Sim, FM radio they should do well.
  
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6. Re:$100 by Khashishi · 2014-09-15 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  Everybody's definition of "good enough" is different.
7. Re:$100 by occasional_dabbler · 2014-09-15 07:49 · Score: 1
  
  You can pick up a Nokia 520 for less than that. It may not be as pretty as the high end stuff but it runs the latest winphone, for all its benefits and/or drawbacks and has a 128GB compatible SD slot.
  
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8. Re:$100 by stephanruby · 2014-09-15 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  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.
9. Re:$100 by Pieroxy · 2014-09-15 21:34 · Score: 1
  
  This is a no-contract phone, no strings attached. I subscribed to a contract after having bought the phone.
  
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$100 phones by symbolset · 2014-09-15 02:31 · Score: 1

Google and their hardware partners are doing a lot to bring the benefit of technology to more people than have had it before.

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1. Re:$100 phones by Thanshin · 2014-09-15 03:00 · Score: 1
  
  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.
2. Re:$100 phones by c · 2014-09-15 04:29 · Score: 1
  
  Well... Yes. All technology corporations try their best to bring technology to more people than before.
  I couldd swear that Microsoft has been trying hard at the exact opposite...
  
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"One"? Seriously? by Wootery · 2014-09-15 02:51 · Score: 1

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?
I guess they'll loosen Microsoft's hold on the "One" name, but really, this is just stupid.
1. Re:"One"? Seriously? by Threni · 2014-09-15 03:04 · Score: 1
  
  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.
2. Re:"One"? Seriously? by Thanshin · 2014-09-15 03:06 · Score: 1
  
  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.
3. Re:"One"? Seriously? by Chrisq · 2014-09-15 03:09 · Score: 1
  
  Do you think the number one is unlucky, or something?
  One does ... oh wait!
4. Re:"One"? Seriously? by Lab+Rat+Jason · 2014-09-15 05:24 · Score: 1
  
  http://youtu.be/Sme4BaANIxg
  
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Where's the tech support joke? by damn_registrars · 2014-09-15 03:04 · Score: 1

There should be a Dell tech support joke attached to this somehow... how long would it take for a Dell support tech to pay for a $100 phone at the rate Dell pays?

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Interestingly by kilodelta · 2014-09-15 03:08 · Score: 1

The phone I carry is running Android Jelly Bean. Retailed for $49.
1. Re:Interestingly by davek · 2014-09-15 04:19 · Score: 1
  
  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.
  
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Launch here please by iamacat · 2014-09-15 03:12 · Score: 1

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.
1. Re:Launch here please by narcc · 2014-09-15 05:38 · Score: 1
  
  SF Bay Area, the birthplace of smartphones,
  What?
  
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2. Re:Launch here please by iamacat · 2014-09-15 15:23 · Score: 1
  
  J2ME? Palm/WebOS? iPhone? Android?
It's not just about the hardware by feranick · 2014-09-15 03:23 · Score: 1

Many of the 2 year old "good phones" run 2 year old Android. As good as the hardware is, the software matters too. Android One is after that, by providing good enough hardware on current software.
Wonder if they'll use ART out of the box? by daboochmeister · 2014-09-15 04:03 · Score: 1

To compensate for the low specs. Though, to be honest, 1GB RAM and any of the recent quad MetiaTek 1.3GHz processors, it won't be too bad - as long as the other components don't bottleneck it.

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1. Re:Wonder if they'll use ART out of the box? by symbolset · 2014-09-15 05:20 · Score: 1
  
  Compare to the SGS3. http://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_...
  
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Lumia 5 series by Frankie70 · 2014-09-15 04:19 · Score: 2

Solidly built phones. Doesn't look cheap. No lag. Good camera. Good Battery life. Costs around 110-120$ depending on the model.
Re:Firefox OS is now totally irrelevant. by narcc · 2014-09-15 04:45 · Score: 1

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.

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Will it support Whatsapp ? by maitas · 2014-09-15 06:07 · Score: 1

Will it support Whatsapp ?