Google launches Android One smartphones for Rs.6,399

New Delhi Google Monday launched in India the first smartphones under its Android One project priced at Rs6399 an official said hereThe first set of Android One smartphone devices are Micromax Canvas A1 Spice Dream UNO and Karbonn Sparkle V The phones which aim to capture the lowcost segment of the worlds fastest growing smartphone market are available online through Flipkart Amazon and Snapdeal from Monday in India and will be available in retail stores from early October Sundar Pichai senior vice president of Android Chrome amp Apps saidThe phones have features like front and rearfacing cameras 1GB of memory fast quadcore MediaTek processor long battery life as well as features particularly important to Indians including dual SIM slots an FM radio tuner and a microSD card slot for additional storageIf we look at how people are getting online and accessing information today increasingly its through a smartphone While 175 billion people around the world already have a smartphone the vast majority of the worlds population over five billion more do notBy working closely with phone and silicon chip makers to share reference designs and select components were making it easier for our partners to build phones that are not just great to use but also affordable With Android One we not only want to help people get online we want to make sure that when they get there they can tap into the wealth of information and knowledge the web holds for everyone Pichai saidHe said India is the third largest user of the internet globally Still there are 1 billion people in the country who do not have to access to InternetBharti Airtel is offering a promotion to reduce data costs for those who buy Android One phones With an Airtel SIM card Android One users will get free overtheair OTA updates and 200MB per month worth of app downloads from Google Play for the first six monthsAs telecommunication transforms itself into essential services across entertainment healthcare education banking around 100 smartphones are critical for enabling masses to access these services at ease Android One is a step towards this segment that will further augment the proliferation of smartphones in the country and empower public at large Anand Chandrasekaran chief product officer Bharti Airtel saidFollowing its launch in India Android One will be launched in Indonesia the Philippines Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal and Sri Lanka Asked about the timing of the launches Caesar Sengupta vice president of product management at Google said It will happen over the next few monthsThrough Google Play Android One phones have access to over one million apps that allow people to message friends make video calls socialize check news and weather and play games Google apps such as Gmail Google Maps YouTube Google Search and Google Translate will come preloaded on the phonesGoogle also announced that in the coming weeks much of YouTube will be available offline in IndiaPichai also announced an expanded set of hardware partners for the Android One initiative including Acer Alcatel Onetouch ASUS HTC Intex Lava Lenovo Panasonic and Xolo as well as chipmaker Qualcomm