JioPhone: Smartphone-like experience on a feature phone?

Reliance Jio has officially taken the wraps off its feature phone dubbed, ‘JioPhone,’ at a starting price of Rs 1,500. As reported by Gadgets 360, the feature is expected to come along with the support of several smart apps. In other words, users will get to see support for rudimentary apps running HTML 5 – just like how a smartphone would function.

Reliance Jio plans on doing this by integrating KaiOS based on Mozilla’s Firefox OS. The telecom giant has reportedly approached creators to pitch their apps for the platform, Gadgets 360 reported. “Sources also confirm the phone will have an app store as well, though details on the revenue split or payment methods supported aren’t known yet.”

Like mentioned previously, Reliance Jio has unveiled its much-awaited 4G feature phone for ‘Rs 0’ at the company’s 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Mumbai. Although the phone has been announced as a ‘free of cost’ device, customers will have to pay Rs 1,500 as security deposit for the device, which the company claims to refund after three years. The company is touting the handset as “India ka smartphone”. The phone will feature a 2.4-inch QVGA display, FM radio, torch, headphone jack, SD card slot and an alphanumeric keyboard. It will support digital payment via NFC, 4G VoLTE calls and data and all Jio apps.

Additionally, the firm has also announced a new set of data plans under Dhan Dhana Dhan offer for feature phone customers at just Rs 153 per month. Under the plan, users will be able to avail for free voice calls and SMS, unlimited data, and also, free subscription to Jio apps.