I have been a 4G feature phone sceptic since day one. But this low-end phone with high-end connectivity seems to be the flavour of the season, though finding good value in the concept is still hard. After all, in the past couple of weeks, almost all service providers have shown some sort of interest in such a device, though the concept itself is unprecedented. The 4G VoLTE feature phone is a concept that comes out of Reliance Jio’s need to get entry-level customers on board to shore up numbers. Since the cheapest 4G VoLTE phone is still about `3,000, it had hit a wall when it came to raking in customers who can’t afford even this device. Feature phones have traditionally been 2G/3G devices, so a 4G VoLTE feature phone had to be conceived and executed from scratch. My reservation about such a device is the fear that it will not be able to better the experience for the user, who will be stuck with a low-spec phone on a high-speed network. But having used the Reliance JioPhone for a couple of days, I think this phone might just work to the customer’s benefit. Here is why: When it comes to design, the JioPhone is clearly a feature phone, maybe with the exception of the screen which is a bit larger than regular units in this range. It also offers better colours and clarity than most feature phones.
The KaiOS on the phone is unremarkable. But it works, and there is no learning for the users. Inside the app tray is the Jio app where a handful of native apps are on offer. I tried all of the apps and they offer a seamless, smooth experience for the user, from watching movies to listening to songs and playing games. In fact, I tried Jio Movies on the tiny screen, and if I am someone without the option to access a larger screen, I wouldn’t mind flipping the phone over and watching a movie on it. But then Jio has really thought this through by offering the option to cable the phone to a TV to stream movies to a more traditional screen. This is an idea so offbeat, it might just work. Soon we could see affordable 10-inch screens being built to cater to this market.
The next bit is the browser. Having progressed as a user with the mobile phone evolution, I know how bad this experience is on a small screen. But in the JioPhone, the pages do load and with all elements intact. At least a Google search won’t be such a pain on this phone. Still, given the limitations of its form factor, the Reliance JioPhone seems to be able to do a decent job of opening up access to content of all kinds. It will also give the users a good taste of the web, at least when it comes to load time and speed. My inkling is that JioPhone users might progress faster to a larger screen smartphone and that will end up being a good gamble for Jio in the long run.
Now, it is clear that JioPhone offers a good experience because it syncs the high-speed internet and native content piece well on the device. This is where I think the other 4G feature phones that are making a beeline to take on JioPhone will have an issue with. To start with, JioPhone is just another phone if you take the apps out of it. Yes, it might have video calling, but then you need to be sure the other side is also capable of handling it, for not all calls will be Jio to Jio. But then for the feature phone users, the access to content is a huge offering, which the rival companies won’t be able to offer initially. So, it remains to be seen how Airtel, Vodafone and others rise up to this challenge. The advantage they have is that they still have millions of feature phone users and for them it’s a question of whether they can hold on to these numbers. In the midst of all this, the ever-ignored Indian feature phone customer has suddenly become king.
nandagopal.rajan@indianexpress.com
