HIGHLIGHTS
JioPhone Lite will come to the market as a cheaper version of JioPhone.
The JioPhone Lite will have no Internet connectivity.
Jio could sell it for Rs 399 and offer recharge plans for as cheap as Rs 50.
It has been a few years since the original JioPhone launched and since then, there have been upgraded versions in the market, with rumours of an affordable smartphone joining the lineup eventually. However, the original JioPhone soldiered on, outselling the JioPhone 2, this proving that the simpler variant appealed more to the masses. Reliance now wants to capitalise on the idea by bringing a cheaper version of the JioPhone.Reliance is now working on a JioPhone Lite – a cheaper version of the JioPhone. The JioPhone was already cheap and it’s easy to wonder how that could be made even cheaper. The report says that the JioPhone Lite will strip off all the ‘smart’ features and will essentially be just a mobile phone capable of making calls- no internet, no apps and nothing.
The report goes on to mention that JioPhone Lite will have a small display and an alphanumeric T9 keypad. There’s no mention of a presence of the camera or FM Radio in the rumoured JioPhone Lite.
While the presence of no modern features is worrisome for most users, Reliance is said to do that because of the price. The JioPhone Lite is expected to be priced as low as Rs 399 in the market, which is much cheaper than the regular JioPhone. The extremely low price is aimed to appeal to those users who cannot spend much on a phone and need a device just for calling.
Reliance is also expected to bring extremely affordable prepaid plans for the JioPhone Lite. Jio could end up offering a plan worth Rs 50 that could offer a validity of 28 days. Calls from Jio to Jio will be free but calls made to other networks will be charged. Users could also expect 100 free SMSes but since the phone won’t support Internet, the plans won’t offer any data.
