New $15 smartphone headed to India

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. DataWind, a Canadian manufacturer, and Indian service provider Reliance Communications (RCom) are collaborating on a smartphone for India that will cost 999 rupees (the equivalent of $15, AU$20 or ‎£10) according to the Economic Times. “Armenpress” reports the aforesaid referring to www.cnet.com.

The phone won't be running Android, but will rather be Linux-based, and will likely only support 2G connectivity. The report added that the new device is expected to hit stores in India on December 28.

DataWind and RCom are aiming to sell the phone to those in India who are upgrading to their first smartphone. As of Q4 of 2014, 65 percent of handsets sold in the country were feature phones, according to research by IDC. There's a definite trend of users upgrading, as this figure down from 78 percent at the beginning of Q1 that same year.

DataWind is no stranger to developing cheap hardware. In 2011 it developed the Aakash 7-inch tablet for schools in India, which would end up being sold in the US for $37.99 (AU$55, ‎£25).

Photo by Datawind