The Indian mobile operator Jio has developed a super cheap 4G phone that they hope will appeal to those with a very limited mobile budget. The primary idea seems to be to persuade the approximately 250 million Indians still using the country’s 2G network to upgrade and start using 4G, something that many have not been able to do so far due to the cost of 4G phones.
The phone, named “Jio Bharat,” costs only 999 rupees, equivalent to about $12. The phone features a two-inch color screen, a 0.3-megapixel VGA camera, and 48GB of storage memory, which can be expanded using a microSD card. The phone supports mobile payments as well as Jio’s own video calling and music services.
Jio has also introduced a new 4G plan with 14GB of data per month and unlimited voice calls, priced at 123 rupees per month, which is about $1.5 per month. A decent price, in other words.
