Handset maker Datawind, of the low-cost Aakash tablet fame, is planning on bringing out a new handset that will offer free "lifetime" internet.
Although the company had announced last September that it was planning on launching a smartphone with free internet by Diwali last year, the plans never really came into motion. However, this time around, things could fall perfectly is place for the company.
However, it is being said that cost of the smartphone has been raised from ₹2,000 to ₹3,000. Apart from that, unlike last year when the company had promised free "lifetime" internet, this time it has re-done the entire deal by promising only "free basis internet services," that too only for one year.
"We are in talks with a private operator to launch mobile phones with free basic Internet services for one year to start with. It should cost around Rs 3,000 a unit. We have raised CAD 30 million (about Rs 150 crores) through our public offer and all that is earmarked for this project," Datawind founder and chief executive officer Suneet Singh Tuli told PTI.
"We are just waiting for signing of the final deal and am hopeful that it should be done by February as they will also gain from the increase in data usage," Tuli added.
While things with a 'free' tag attached to it are usually treated with more excitement than usual, we are still waiting to see the kind of features that will be embedded into the phone to make use of the promised 'free internet' feature. Until then, the phone remains alongside others in the same price range.
Stay tuned for more updates.
