Reliance Jio Reportedly Led India Feature Phone Market in Q2 2018
Aug. 14, 2018Reliance Jio, the telecom operator and the main driver of the 4G feature phone segmentwith its JioPhones, remained the top vendor in the overall feature phone market in India in the second quarter of this year, according to data from International Data Corporation (IDC).
Reliance Jio, in a bid to clearing its inventory, recently introduced the“Monsoon Hungama“feature phone exchange offer and brought popular apps likeWhatsApp, YouTube on JioPhone.
The company alsolaunched the JioPhone 2that costs significantly more than the first-gen device, but also comes with a number of changes and improvements, with the most striking change being the QWERTY keypad like older BlackBerry devices.
Meanwhile, the 2G feature phone segment continued to decline further as local players struggle for survival in this segment which is losing relevance due to the aggressive push in the 4G feature phone segment by Reliance Jio, the report said.
The entry ofReliance Jiochanged the face of the Indian telecom sector with super-fast 4G connections,ultra-affordable data chargesand free voice calls and text messages. Once the urban middle classes were hooked onto its 4G services, the company introduced the now-iconic 1,500 rupee 4G feature phone in an attempt to bring 4G connectivity to those left behind by the LTE revolution in the country.
With inputs from IANS
Passionate techie. Professional tech writer. Proud geek.
