Google has released the 1st family of Android One smartphones in India, claiming the move belongs to a “larger initiative to bring high-quality smartphones to as many people as possible.”.
The search engine giant released the first Android One mobile devices – the Karbonn Sparkle V, Micromax Canvas A1, and Spice Dream Uno – are going to be in the market from their particular online retail industry partners in India from 3:30 pm on Monday, with physical sell store accessibility in the beginning of October.
The Karbonn Sparkle V will be offered in Magnum Blue, Mild Grey, Wild Red and Pearl White color variants only via Snapdeal at 105 $, and the Spice Dream Uno will be available in Black and White color variants exclusively via at Flipkart at 103 $. The Micromax Canvas A1 will be available in Black and White color alternatives only via Amazon, priced at 106 $.
Google claims the Android One mobile phones provide a high-quality experience, running the Android 4.4 KitKat. The company added these phones will be the very first to receive the Android L release, and update that Google says will offer the new “material style, improved battery longevity, enhanced security features, and more intelligent notifications.” All 3 mobile phones bear similar features hardware specifications, as well as “features specifically essential to Indians” – dual SIM card slots, a FM radio tuner, and a microSD card slot for additional storage space. Google apps including Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Search, and Google Translate will appear pre-loaded on the mobile phone.
Aside from those noted above, common specifications of the Micromax Canvas A1, Karbon Sparkle V, and Spice Dream Uno incorporate: a 4.5-inch (480×854 pixels) IPS FWVGA screen; 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek processor; 1GB of RAM, 4GB of integrated storage; expanding storage support via microSD card (up to 32GB); a 5-megapixel rear digital camera with LED flash; a 2-megapixel front cam; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, GPRS / EDGE, 3G, and a 1700mAh battery.
Google also announced that Airtel is offering a promotion to reduce data charges for those who buy Android One phones. With an Airtel SIM card, Android One users will get totally free over-the-air (OTA) updates, and 200MB per month worth of app download and install from Google Play for the first six months – all without counting toward their mobile data plan. Additionally, Google is touting the a data compression setting feature on Android One’s Chrome browser.
The search giant also announced that in the coming weeks the YouTube app definitely will get offline video playback in India, permitting users to keep videos via Wi-Fi on their Android device, and enjoy them afterwards without having data connectivity. Sundar Pichai, Google Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome & Apps, announced an expanded set of hardware associates for the Android One project, involving Acer, Alcatel Onetouch, Asus, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic, and Xolo, as well as chipmaker Qualcomm. The company also declared that Android One phones will launch in Indonesia, the Philippines, and more countries in Southern Asia by the end of the year.
As Google launched the Android One operating system on Monday, Sundar Pichai Senior Vice President, Android, Chrome and Apps at Google spoke exclusively to NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra.
This particular launch is one of the biggest we’ve accomplished anywhere, not just India, Pichai related NDTV. “For us Android One was a journey to test and reach the next 5 billion people. And India accounts for a considerable part of the share. Android One was realized profoundly with India in mind,” he said.
India is the first country that is receiving Android One mobile phones. Android One is a reference design for low-priced Android phones. The goal of the program is to save upcoming brands money and time spent in designing an affordable mobile phone. Google accomplishes this by offering them a reference design, which the producers can use to make smartphones.
Pichai said he had been using an Android One gadget as his primary mobile phone and named it a “high-end computing device in every sense of the term”.
“With Android One we set the bar to be a great software experience and a great device. We really want to bring in a whole new set of people who have never tried a smartphone before,” he pointed out.
On the similarities among the initial Android One gadgets, Pichai said, “The initial set of devices share common hardware because they are based on the reference platform. You will see an increasing range of devices as we expand this program.”.
He stated Android One also makes things easier for producers to design phones. “You can think of Android One as a menu we provide to our partners and they can just pick and choose the components they want and it’s easier for them to build the phone,” Pichai mentioned.
Android One was announced back in June at Google I/O with only these 3 launch associates, though more Indian companies have apparently participated since then.
Article Source (http://gadgets.ndtv.com)
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