Free Internet Subscription for an entire year with smartphones

Suneet Singh Tuli’s technology company Datawind today launched three low-cost smartphones in India which will be offered along with free internet subscription for an entire year. The three phones are priced between Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,500.

Targeted at the major chunk of population who do not have access to internet, Datawind, as first reported by TeleAnalysis, has partnered with Reliance Communications, to offer internet access absolutely free on those devices. However, the free viewing of internet does not include audio or video download from the internet. If downloaded, these type of data will be charged on the customer as per prevailing data package offered by the telecom operator, in this case RCom. Datawind, according to its CEO Suneet Singh Tuli, wants to provide ‘internet’ to first time users through his low cost devices.

The three devices are called PocketSurfer 2G4, 3G4 and 3G5 and uses UbiSurfer browsers which compresses the original data so that it can be viewed with optimum ease and without consuming much data. The PocketSurfer 2G4 is priced at Rs 1,999, 3G4 is priced at Rs 2,999 and the PocketSurfer 3G5 is priced at Rs 5,499.

The PocketSurfer 2G4 is a 3.5 inch, dual SIM, Edge network compatible smartphone and the PocketSurfer 3G4 is a 4 inch, Dual SIM, Dual camera, 3G network compatible smartphone.  Both the phones make use of DataWind’s web acceleration technology to deliver the fastest internet browsing experience through the UbiSurfer browser.

For the distribution of the devices, Datawind has tied up with multiple retail partners. it has partnered with Naaptol, a retail channel on television medium; with Spice Hotspots, and other multi-branded retail stores. These PocketSurfer phones will also be available at other e-retail channels like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon etc.

Source: TeleAnalysis