[masser1956]

The first Android One-branded budget-priced "high quality" smartphones have been released in India.

The handsets provide a minimum set of features determined by Google, which has sourced several of the components to help cut manufacturing costs.

The company has also teamed up with a local network to make it cheaper to download Android updates and new apps.

Experts suggest the move should help address criticism of earlier entry-price smartphones.

Sundar Pichai, who oversees Android, said the Android One scheme had delivered economies of scale that meant the first batch of phones could be offered for as low as 6,399 rupees ($105; �65) if bought contract-free.

"Our goal was to develop high quality smartphones at an affordable price, with access to connectivity, done at scale around the world," he told the BBC ahead of the launch in Delhi.

"We provide our OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] a menu, effectively.

"They can choose the CPU [central processing unit], the GPU [graphics processing unit], the storage, the type of battery, the type of camera.

Mr Pichai chose India, the county of his birth, as the first nation to get Android One phones
"It really saves them a lot of effort in terms of identifying the right hardware [and] doing all the testing you need to do to get the software to run on this hardware.

"We tune it, we work out the bugs? we keep it secure, we update it and so on."

He added the scheme should soon expand to Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

There are no plans to launch the handsets in the West, but Mr Pichai did not rule it out.

Matching specs

The first Android One devices are made by Micromax - already India's bestselling mobile-phone maker - Karbonn and Spice.

Three Indian companies have released the first Android One handsets, but others are planning other versions
To meet Google's minimum standards they all have:

a 4.5in (11.4cm) display
1GB of RAM (random-access memory)
a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP front one
a quadcore processor sourced from Taiwanese company Mediatek
the ability to run the next version of Android, due for release soon
In addition, they have been tailored to suit the local market by including a micro-SD (Secure Digital) slot, a replaceable battery, a built-in FM radio and the ability to support two Sim cards simultaneously.

If connected to Airtel - one of India's most popular networks - data used to download Android updates will not be subtracted from a customer's allowance for the first six months. Users can also download 200MB worth of apps from Google Play on top of their data plan.

Google said it had also customised some of its own apps for India, including:

the addition of railway bookings and cricket scores to Google Now's card-based results
an "offline" version of YouTube, so videos can be re-watched without incurring extra data charges after the initial download
the introduction of 13 local publications to Play Newsstand
The handset makers are allowed to add services and wallpapers of their own, but cannot run a "skin" on top of Android that significantly changes the user interface - something manufacturers have commonly done in the past to distinguish their models.

"We want to deliver a consistent experience on these devices," said Mr Pichai, adding this should prevent the devices taking a performance hit or being incompatible with software updates.

Word of mouth

About 400 million smartphones will be sold in India over the next five years, according to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers, with the majority bought at Android One's price point.

Posted via CB10

[Playbook007]

That post is a mess. And no, low end android devices don't compete with Passport type devices.

Posted via CB10

[Trini-34]

Are you seriously comparing this:

a 4.5in (11.4cm) display
1GB of RAM (random-access memory)
a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP front one
a quadcore processor sourced from Taiwanese company Mediatek
the ability to run the next version of Android, due for release soon
In addition, they have been tailored to suit the local market by including a micro-SD (Secure Digital) slot, a replaceable battery, a built-in FM radio and the ability to support two Sim cards simultaneously.

To a BB-Passport?

[lmsilvam]

Potentially harmful to sales of the Z3, not the Passport - entirely different targets here.

[Batmark]

<br /> Like Buffy said... =quot I'm not worried =quot. <br/>

Seriously, what happened to this post?

[Troy Tiscareno]

The Passport doesn't target India in the first place, and likely won't sell many units there. It's an expensive, high-end phone designed mostly to appeal to corporate types, which primarily means North America, Europe, the Middle East, and perhaps East Asia.

But as lmsilvam said, the threat to BB is to Z3 sales, which are targeted at exactly the same markets as Android One, with similar specs at twice the price as Android One phones. These Android phones will make it nearly impossible for the Z3 to compete (it was already struggling due to high price). The Z3 was supposed to be the phone that sold many millions in the "BB strongholds" and start growing the BB10 userbase enough to justify developers working on the platform. With the slow rollout and lukewarm reception of the Z3, I think we all recognize that that didn't happen, and now whatever window the Z3 once had is now closing.

[Ment]

These are $100-125 phones for emerging markets where home wifi is not common. Specs are similar to recently released Moto E, includes some free data on the phone plan and commitment for fast OS upgrades thru the Google partnership. Its the way to get the next billion into the Google ecosystem.

[Gilda675]

The problem is not any particular model but the brand name in general. For example...I am the proud owner of a BlackBerry Z3 which is very hard to get a hold of in Europe and have noticed that people stare at it and ask me about it ans what phone it is. As soon as the word BlackBerry comes out of my mouth, they lose all interest and actually look at me like i'm crazy for even considering having one. A few have ever told me straight that I should have gone for an iphone or android as BlackBerry is an obsolete company and its phones are crap. That type of ignorance really annoys me. I mean, it is MY phone and it is ME that has to like it not them. Wtf.

Posted from my Blackberry Z3

[Man_apart]

Google + Android = no security.

From my ? phone

[insandouts]

That post is a mess. And no, low end android devices don't compete with Passport type devices.

Posted via CB10

I think he meant competition to the Z3

[insandouts]

Google + Android = no security.

From my ? phone

same as Blackberry + Android apps = no security
The apps might contain malware it is not the OS that is not secure.

[insandouts]

The Passport doesn't target India in the first place, and likely won't sell many units there. It's an expensive, high-end phone designed mostly to appeal to corporate types, which primarily means North America, Europe, the Middle East, and perhaps East Asia.

But as lmsilvam said, the threat to BB is to Z3 sales, which are targeted at exactly the same markets as Android One, with similar specs at twice the price as Android One phones. These Android phones will make it nearly impossible for the Z3 to compete (it was already struggling due to high price). The Z3 was supposed to be the phone that sold many millions in the "BB strongholds" and start growing the BB10 userbase enough to justify developers working on the platform. With the slow rollout and lukewarm reception of the Z3, I think we all recognize that that didn't happen, and now whatever window the Z3 once had is now closing.

Really makes one wonder where they are going to get the 10 million devices to keep the hardware going. Z3 is going to lose traction thanks to Google and the Passport and Classic are niche products. It does not look good.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Really makes one wonder where they are going to get the 10 million devices to keep the hardware going. Z3 is going to lose traction thanks to Google and the Passport and Classic are niche products. It does not look good.

With BB, it's always the next phone that's going to start selling like crazy, until it doesn't, and then it's the next phone. When the Z10 was released, people said "oh, everyone is waiting for the Q10". When that didn't sell, everyone was waiting for the cheap Q5. Then they were all waiting for the Z30, and then the Z3. Now, people are convinced it is the Passport, or the Classic, or the only-rumored, hope-something-comes-out-next-year Z50. I'm not sure how long BB can keep playing this game, but I suspect the end is drawing near.

[bigbadben10]

Ever the optimist lol lol

Posted with my gorgeous Z30

[Prem WatsApp]

Like Buffy said... =quot I'm not worried =quot.

Seriously, what happened to this post?

If there are any special characters in there, CB app "escapes" the code for security reasons and displays the raw HTML.

Attachment 298163

It's that special character displayed as a string of numbers just after the $105 .... See attached screenshot !

Whenever such a character is in a post, the raw HTML gets displayed in the app. Some whiz please fix that, if it's not too much of a hack...

;-)

? BlackBerry? I premdict the future's gonna be chenomenal! ?

[Loc22]

When will BlackBerry sell a phone at the right price with competitive specs. This Z3 is only a duo core processor while the Android 1 is a Quad core processor. The rest is almost the same.

Posted via CB10

[ranzabar]

I future, there for I paste

Posted via CB10

[ranzabar]

Darn auto correct

Posted via CB10

[SaurabhIb]

When will BlackBerry sell a phone at the right price with competitive specs. This Z3 is only a duo core processor while the Android 1 is a Quad core processor. The rest is almost the same.

Posted via CB10

They never price the things right. And then they say we are not a mobile company, we are a software company.
They never accept their mistake.

Android one will kill BlackBerry Z3.

And their Os 10 is not that great as they applause. And remember they only have 0.5 percent share in world.

[Cozz4ever]

With BB, it's always the next phone that's going to start selling like crazy, until it doesn't, and then it's the next phone. When the Z10 was released, people said "oh, everyone is waiting for the Q10". When that didn't sell, everyone was waiting for the cheap Q5. Then they were all waiting for the Z30, and then the Z3. Now, people are convinced it is the Passport, or the Classic, or the only-rumored, hope-something-comes-out-next-year Z50. I'm not sure how long BB can keep playing this game, but I suspect the end is drawing near.

You're right on point. They seem to take a loss on every new phone they release. So why not lower prices from the first day to move more so they don't have a massive write off later. Heck, even selling them at break even prices for the 20%-40% gain in sales almost insures no write off later on.

Posted via CB10

[shaleem]

The problem is not any particular model but the brand name in general. For example...I am the proud owner of a BlackBerry Z3 which is very hard to get a hold of in Europe and have noticed that people stare at it and ask me about it ans what phone it is. As soon as the word BlackBerry comes out of my mouth, they lose all interest and actually look at me like i'm crazy for even considering having one. A few have ever told me straight that I should have gone for an iphone or android as BlackBerry is an obsolete company and its phones are crap. That type of ignorance really annoys me. I mean, it is MY phone and it is ME that has to like it not them. Wtf.

Posted from my Blackberry Z3

Don't you just love it when people make statements based on nothing but what they may have heard? How many people, including some on Crackberry, make comments about products without having any experience with them? And why is there an ad for an iPhone 6 Elite 24ct. gold phone asking me to preorder now right next to my post? LOL!