Reliance Jio’s 4G LTE services debuted with the aim of bridging the connectivity gap in the nation. And it has been working in the favor of the company, as it has signed up over 70 million users in 6 months. But, this is giving Indian device manufacturers a push as well. Lava has today launched India’s first VoLTE feature phone. Dubbed as Lava 4G Connect M1, the phone is priced at Rs. 3,333 and supports Reliance Jio. It will be available via retail stores in India in coming weeks.
The company said Lava 4G Connect M1 is “the very first 4G-enabled smart feature phone in India.” With the launch of this phone, it looks that Lava is alls et to capitalise on the increasing popularity of 4G services in the country, especially free VoLTE voice calling services which are being offered by Reliance Jio.
Commenting on the launch, Gaurav Nigam, Head – Product, Lava International said,
At Lava, we strive to think ahead of the curve w.r.t product innovation and the launch of Lava 4G Connect M1 is a step forward in this direction. The launch of this smart feature phone, we believe, will create possibilities for users as they will now be able to consume digital content and even do digital transactions. Furthermore, a sizeable segment of feature phone users in India who use their phone to only make calls will now be able to access the internet; to their advantage; and that too at affordable price.
The Lava 4G Connect M1, unlike most feature phones, comes with a decent amount of memory and processing power. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, which the company has not specified. It is coupled with 512MB of RAM and is backed by a 1750mAh battery. Unfortunately, the phone bears a VGA camera and there is no front facing camera.
Apart from 4G connectivity, the feature phone also supports 2G voice calling and EDGE connectivity. Further, the phone comes preloaded with Facebook Lite as well as a few other messaging applications. Further, the Lava 4G Connect M1 feature phone “combines the experience of a smartphone and the durability, affordability and battery backup of a feature phone.”
Notably, Reliance Jio is also gearing up to launch its own series of 4G VoLTE-enabled feature phones under its mobile brand LYF. A leaked photo of the said phone has been making rounds. It will also have dedicated buttons for JioTV, MyJio, Jio Music, and Jio Cinema.
