Google launched the Android One series in India at an event back in September. Now the Karbonn Sparkle V, the company’s first Android One smartphone is on sale in the UK via Amazon for £129.99 or £99 as part of a Black Friday promotion. This becomes the first Android One smartphone to sell in the UK. It was launched in India for Rs. 6,399 and got a price cut to Rs. 5,999 last month. Pricing in UK is definitely a bit more compared to India.
Google has already promised to upgrade all the Android One smartphones to Android 5.0 (Lollipop), but no details about the timeframe for the roll out yet. Google has not announced rollout outside of India, so there has been no apparent support from Google for Android One’s arrival in the UK with Karbonn, says ZDNET.
After Romania and Spain, UK is the third European market where Karbonn’s Android one handsets have gone on sale. It is expected to launch in France and Italy next year. The Karbonn Titanium S6, Octane Plus, A19 and the A5S smartphone starting from £49 have gone on sale in the UK. These smartphones will be sold only via Amazon until the end of the year, after which these would be sold through retailers and operators as well.