Indian carrier Reliance Jio released a simple phone
– the Jio Phone – and it quickly became the 10th largest brand in the world,
not to mention topping the charts in its local market where it’s the largest
featurephone vendor by a large margin. But the company wants more and an exec
(speaking anonymously) offered some details about the third phone.
It will be an all-touch smartphone with a 5” screen.
The chipset is unknown, but it will have 2GB of RAM and a generous 64GB storage
(plus a microSD slot). That’s powerful enough to run Android, but it will be
interesting to see if Jio go for the full version or the lighter Go edition.
As a result, the Jio 3 will be pricier, if you can
call it that – INR 4,500 (US$ 63/€ 55). That’s still more than the INR 1,500 for
the original and INR 3,000 for the QWERTY-packing sequel.
Anyway, the extra cash buys better cameras too, 5MP
on the back and 2MP on the front (up from 2MP/0.3MP previously). The JioPhone 3 is expected to be
unveiled in India this June, pre-orders will start the month after and sales
will commence in August. It will be available through Jio stores, Reliance
Digital stores and through the Jio website.
