BackBharat 2 Ultra is Micromax and Vodafone’s competition to Jio Phone
Bharat 2 Ultra has an edge over Jio Phone as it offers the experience of an Android smartphone at the price of a feature phone but the cashback conditions mean you are in for the long haul
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New Delhi: Indian phonemaker Micromax has launched an entry-level 4G smartphone called Bharat 2 Ultra, in alliance with telecom operator Vodafone, to take on Reliance Jio and its much talked about Jio Phone. Priced at Rs2,899, the Micromax Bharat 2 Ultra smartphone will eventually cost users just Rs999 after a series of cashbacks. The first cashback of Rs900 will arrive after 18 months while the second cashback of Rs1,000 will come after another 18 months of the first cashback.
However, to get the money back, users will have to buy a minimum recharge value of Rs150 (of any denomination) from Vodafone every month for 36 months. The money will be sent to the user’s Vodafone M-Pesa Wallets and user can withdraw cash from an M-Pesa booth.
For a Jio Phone, users have to pay Rs1,500 at the time of booking. The amount will be refunded after 36 months. However, to get the amount users will have to recharge their phone with a monthly plan of at least Rs153. So a user is only paying for the recharges and nothing for the device.
In terms of the hardware and specs, the Bharat 2 Ultra is a thorough smartphone, compared to the Jio Phone which is essentially a feature phone. The Bharat 2 Ultra is a 4G phone. It runs Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), allows users to download apps from Play Store, has a 4-inch screen with resolution of 800x480p, is powered by 1.3GHz Spreadtrum SC9832 quad-core processor paired with 512MB RAM and offers 4GB internal storage with the option to add up to 32GB more via a microSD card.
The Jio Phone is basically a feature phone with 4G connectivity. It runs on Kai OS (a modified version of Firefox OS), has a 2.4-inch display with resolution of just 320x240p, has a physical keypad and is driven by a 1GHz dual core processor paired with 512MB RAM. It offers 4GB internal storage and accepts microSD cards. What separates it from other feature phones is the availability of 4G and VoLTE calling on it. However, it is a single SIM device and works only with Reliance Jio connections.
The Bharat 2 Ultra is a dual SIM device. The only area where the Jio Phone has an upper hand is the battery backup. A feature phone with 2,000mAh battery is likely to last days on a single charge, while the 1,300mAh battery on the Micromax smartphone will get you through a day of proper use, perhaps a bit more.
Micromax isn’t the only phonemaker which is taking on the Jio Phone. Karbonn is offering an entry-level 4G smartphone, A40, in association with Airtel for Rs1,399. Almost all its elements are similar to Bharat 2 Ultra, except for the fact that it runs Android 7.0 (Nougat) and offers 8GB internal storage. For the Karbonn smartphone, buyers will have to pay Rs2,899 and spend Rs169 every month on 4G recharges for 36 months, after which they will get a refund of Rs1,500.
Bharat 2 Ultra will be available in retail stores and Vodafone stores from November 2017 onwards.
The availability of Android smartphones at the price of feature phones will take the sheen of the Jio Phone, which is after all just a feature phone with 4G support.
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