back to article Get your Indian Landfill Android One handsets - they're only SIXTY QUID

Three Indian manufacturers have signed up to make Android One budget handsets in India and the devices have been launched today. The Karbon Sparkle V is 6399 rupees (£64), runs KitKat 4.4, has a 1,700mAh battery, 1700mAh removable battery, 5MP rear and 2MP front cameras, quad core 1.3GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM with a slot for up to …

  1. James 51

    "has a 1,700mAh battery, 1700mAh removable battery"

    It has two batteries? If hotswapable interesting concept.

    1. Ian K

      Re: "has a 1,700mAh battery, 1700mAh removable battery"

      From the piccy on the Android site, and reviews elsewhere, it looks very like it's a single removable 1,700mAh battery. Shame.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Just the phone

      Just the phone for teens, if it breaks no problem just get another, if it's lost no problem, get another, if it falls down the loo, flush it away and get another.

      Maybe this is the beginning of the disposable mobile phone....

      1. Lars Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: Just the phone

        "Maybe this is the beginning of the disposable mobile phone...." Judging by my kids that started a long time ago.

        1. DropBear

          Re: Just the phone

          Judging by my kids that started a long time ago.

          Were they, um... paying for those phones...?

      2. John Hughes

        Re: Just the phone

        Not terribly amazing.

        GBP 64 is 81 EUR.

        Free are selling:

        Alcatel POP'C5 for EUR 79.

        Huawei Ascend Y330 for EUR 59.

        ZTE F160 Noir for EUR 9.

        (No contract - those are prices for the phones.)

        (Ok, the ZTE F160 isn't android).

  2. Phoenix50

    "Android One is an amazing, world-changing programme"

    Wow. Been at the Kool-Aid again? Amazing and world changing for Google's advertising revenues perhaps.

    1. Carbon life unit 5,232,556

      Especially the headline where they call it "Landfill" - sheesh

  3. Mikel

    Nice phones

    I could use a few of these. Just in case an existing phone breaks. And in the meantime it would be a cool media device. Maybe even a kid phone with VoIP over WiFi.

  4. RyokuMas
    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Android One...

      Minimum spec.

      The trouble with Netbooks was a certain monopolist requiring a maximum spec.

  5. DrXym

    Don't see what the fanfare is about

    $100-120 would have bought someone a a relatively low spec Android phone for quite some now. What's the big deal here? I guess it brings some form of software quality assurance to the One products which might have been missing previously but that's about it.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Don't see what the fanfare is about

      That's what these are.

  6. Ol' Grumpy
    Pint

    Funny isn't it how these phones all come with some specific features that are vastly under-represented on devices in the "Western" market. Namely dual-sim, SD slot and a removable battery!

    1. Dave Bell

      I agree, it's a pretty decent spec. It's a bit tight on system RAM but there are apps to let you store most of a program on the SD Card. No 4G? I don't get any trace of 4G out where I live.

      It's not so different from the phone I use now, and the Google backing means that the hardware level will be useful for a while. It's a good enough smartphone to sell the idea, and cheap enough it's not wasted if used like a dumb-phone.

      A micro SD slot in a cheap Google-backed phone as standard? What will the next general of Nexus 7 have?

      1. Steve Evans

        Not that tight on RAM

        I think you're mixing up RAM and online storage.

        RAM is what the OS uses to "think". Storage is like your hard drive. It's where things are installed or stored. SD card is your "hard drive"

        1GB is a wonderful thing to see... For ages we've seen budget phones shipping with JB or KK and 512MB, which is impossibly low for those OSs to operate effectively.

        1GB will actually give the OS a chance without it having to resort to terminating everything else just to open Facebook!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Dual SIM was very common even when I lived there 10 years ago - I'd never heard of it in the UK. It was driven IIRC by the byzantine roaming tariffs that covered state to state calls, which could get horribly expensive, particularly as incoming calls were charged. While some states cover huge areas, others don't, so crossing state lines is common, and there were also some examples of calls between some carriers not connecting to others in places as they tried to enforce an especially unpleasant lock in on a seemingly random basis. So even in your own state, SIMs from two carriers was sometimes a good idea.

      I wish they were more common here. It drives me barmy swapping SIMs going to Germany twice a month for the sake of cost, but having to carry another phone 'just in case' for the other SIM.

    3. Fihart

      Dual-sim.

      As long as handset retail is dominated by the telco cartel you won't see dual-sim phones in UK. After all, how would that serve the telco's interests ?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not sure why people are complaining

    Yes, this widens Google's base and makes sure Android continues to grow market share globally. But at the same time, this means a validated basic standard of product quality, on the latest OS, for regions that otherwise had a large percentage of people priced out. connectivity is good for local business development, and it means better choice for consumers. And it means more development for Android apps if it opens up new customer bases. Choice is good, and yes that benefits Google. Turns out companies aren't charities, but complaining when companies try to make money is like complaining about the tide coming in. Why not just accept that sometimes it's also a good news story?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You dare to enpower the world...

    'and never the F*cking twain shall meet' said Apple.

    No hindsight there yet we can now near enough see how it all went.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Do you know what....

    These guys are doing it right.

    An affordable phone with some great features at a fraction of the cost of what we fannies over here pay for stuff like that.

  10. alwarming
    Paris Hilton

    "support for SMS based mobile money in Africa. "

    Isn't that an operator requirement and not manufacturer's.

    Paris, coz she demands the vibrate option...

  11. Aitor 1

    Similar to mine

    I just got a chinese phone.. same Mediatek processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB flash, bigger & higher resolution screen, and cheaper.

    1. Nuno

      Re: Similar to mine

      Yes, and you forgot to mention that yours will be stuck on whatever version of OS they came with...

      1. GlobeTrot

        Re: Similar to mine

        All all the bloatware/ junk that the manufacturer may have installed.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Stating the ovbvious - Rip Off Britain and West

    The makers must be making some profit on these too.

    So proves the point that all the Samsungs and Sonys have been ripping us off for ages. When others can churn out such good phones, and with more features (Dual Sims, good speakers etc) at £ 60, the Samsungs want to charge £600 . ( 10 times the Indian/Chinese price - ditto Apple). Greedy bastards.

    Are they offering us 10 times the phone? OR 10 times a better phone ?

    I can change to different models at least 6 to 8 times (for the price) during the lifetime of a 2 year contract here, and still be better off, with bragging rights to boot.

    Thanks Google, for laying bare the stitch-up by the big boys.

    Go figure.

    1. Tapeador

      Re: Stating the ovbvious - Rip Off Britain and West

      No I think the equivalent phone in the UK is about £80 or at most £130 (Motorola Moto G). The higher end phones you're talking about have 2gb ram, 2.3ghz quadcore processors, 8mp-20mp cameras, and other snazzy bits.

  13. PleebSmash

    radio

    I read that one or more of these phones has FM radio, but I didn't hear anything about AM radio. Has Google encouraged a cricket-listening device or not?

    1. A Twig
      Happy

      Re: radio

      When they bring out the TMS edition which recieves LW then I'll snap it up!

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    MOST IMPORTANT!!!!!!!

    Will they be available in a range of curry flavoured cases???

    1. Tapeador

      Re: MOST IMPORTANT!!!!!!!

      Right, because people in India like to lick and eat their phones.

      :-/

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Brilliant

    great nice little low spec phones and supporting system. And at the same time it is making the only real option even more desirable or should that be fruity? Nice one.

  16. tony2heads

    Ivory Coast are also into android

    http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/04/cote-divoires-tech-solutions-local-problems/

    Their tablet has local spec to resist water splashes, humidity heat & dust. The point is that with android you can pick the features that matter locally & save costs on stuff that are less important to the bottom end of the market.

    It maybe 'landfill' - but if your market is at the 'landfill' level it fits perfectly.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Already available?

    A quick trawl of the prominent online tat-emporiums reveals MTK6582 Mali-400 based phones can already be had for a fair bit less. One with a similar spec to these three; Generic English language Android KitKat, 4.5" 480x854 IPS but an 8MPixel rear camera is currently advertised at £49 delivered.

    If one is prepared to drop down to the PowerVR based, but still quad core MTK6589, then £35 secures a 4" 480x800 but otherwise similar model.

    Is the extra cash worth a few software updates from Google?

    I would be immensely happy to see Canonical specifically targeting their OS at these ultra low-cost phones.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like