Planning to buy JioPhone? Check out Vodafone's effectively free feature phones before that

Anything with a free label has a unique appeal. You don't think so? Reliance Jio added 100 million subscribers in the shortest period of time and the JioPhone has already crossed 3 million bookings on the first day. Borrowing a page from Jio's book, Vodafone is offering something similar.

After Jio's low-cost 4G data and voice calls offers, Vodafone and other telcos started offering similar plans. Vodafone, which is the second largest telecom operator in the country, is stepping into the race again by partnering with China's itel Mobile to give customers effectively free feature phones.

Clearly, JioPhone's entry into the mobile device market has put telcos as well as OEMs on the edge and counter measures are being taken to resist the Jio's growing dominance. Vodafone and itel Mobile partnership is certainly the first one since JioPhone's launch even though Airtel has been rumoured to launch cheapest 4G VoLTE smartphones with special offers.

While we still wait for Airtel's new smartphones, itel Mobile feature phones bundled with Vodafone sound interesting.

Itel Mobile is coming with feature phones bundled with Vodafone offers where customers get a guaranteed cashback of Rs. 900. Since itel feature phones start at Rs. 800, customers will be able to get the phones for free, effectively.

Vodafone's offer is valid on select itel Mobile phones, including it2130, it2131, it2180, it5600, it5602, it5020, it5040, it5060, it5231, it 5232, it5233, it 5320, it5331, it5611, it5613, it5622, it7100. The feature-packed phones are of great value for those who are looking for a budget device with good looks.

The Rs. 900 cashback won't be given at once. When you buy an itel Mobile feature phone anytime between August 25 and October 31, 2017, you must do a Vodafone recharge worth Rs. 100 or more every month and Rs. 50 worth additional talk time will be added each month for the next 18 months. By calculation, the total cashback will add up to Rs. 900.

It is also worth mentioning that the offer is available in the following cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, UP West, UP East, Haryana, Bihar, Orissa, Kolkata, Rest of West Bengal, Assam, North East, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.