Vodafone and Idea to launch 4G smartphones priced less than Rs. 1,500

After the launch of the Airtel Karbonn A40 smartphone, it looks like Vodafone India and Idea Cellular are working on low-cost 4G smartphones. It is said that these upcoming smartphones might be priced around or lesser than Rs. 1,500.

As per a recent report by The Economic Times, both the telecom operators are in talks with domestic handset manufacturers such as Karbonn and Lava to launch their new smartphones in the sub-Rs. 1,500 price bracket. The report citing people familiar with the development claims that these new smartphones might take on the newly launched Airtel smartphone and Reliance Jio's JioPhone.

We already know that Vodafone and Idea are on the verge of finalizing a mega-merger that will make them the country's largest service provider. Following the merger, it looks like they will jointly take the effort to woo the huge smartphone user base in the country. The report hints that companies are looking forward to finalize the deal before Diwali.

The report quotes Gaurav Nigam, the Product Head at Lava, claiming that "We're in discussions with all three telcos but plans have not been finalised". However, the name of the telcos that they are discussing with has not been revealed.

It is said that the manufacturers might not cut down the prices of their existing models but will bundle exciting offers in partnership with the telcos.

Recently, Vodafone and itel teamed up to offer enticing offers for the latter's feature phones. The new alliance is said to be for an entry-level 4G smartphones.

As per Counterpoint Research's research analyst Satyajit Sinha, the customers using a 2G feature phone may find it easier to upgrade to a 4G feature phone than a smartphone as the latter will have a change in the overall experience. So, the feature phone market is going to have great hopes in the coming months.