Google announced its ambitious Android One program at the I/O conference last month. Under this initiative aimed at creating low cost Android smartphone, the company had partnered with three smartphone markers from India viz; Karbonn, Micromax and Spice.
Now, the tech giant has added two more homegrown handset makers for this project viz; Celkon and Intex. Celkon’s executive director Murali Retineni told The Economic Times that the company will be releasing their Android One devices in October this year. He added that the Hyderabad based company is planning to launch Android One devices that are 20 to 30 percent cheaper than their earlier products. Intex has not officially sealed the deal but is in talks with Google for the same and will release more details in near future.
Meanwhile, the report also states that HTC is is also considering to join hands with Google for the same program in an attempt to boost its dropping market share in developing nations. The Taiwanese company’s President of global sales and CFO, Chia-Lin Chang told the publication in an interview.
Under the Android One programme, Indian handset makers will get hardware reference models to create high-quality phones priced below $100 (around Rs 6,000). These devices will run on a standardised version of Android, allowing faster updates. According to Google, Micromax’s first Android One phone will have a 4.5-inch display, FM Radio, dual-SIM support and the latest version of Android.
Moreover, Google also announced recently that it is planning to spend more than 100 crore to with its partners on advertising and marketing of the Android One project.
via:Economic Times