15 Dec, 2013 11:40 AM

Aakash manufacturer Datawind launches 5inch smart phone at Rs. 3499/-

The manufacturer of the government Aakash tablet project, Datawind launched three touch-screen smartphones handsets at a price starting from Rs 3,499. The phones will be equipped with its patented mobile internet technology. The company calls it calls the world's cheapest smartphone with a 5-inch screen.

"We have been able to break price barrier in smartphones. Our phones are about 40 per cent cheaper than other mobile phones available in India in 5-inch screen category," Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told PTI. The dual-sim smartphones, branded as PocketSurfer, are equipped with internet acceleration technology which helps load webpages fast even on 2G networks.

"People are shifting from feature phones to smartphones mainly to access internet easily. We are using our own acceleration technology which can download internet page in 2-3 seconds on 2G network," Tuli said.

The 2G smartphones are priced at Rs 3,499 and Rs 4,999, while the 3G handset carries a price tag of Rs 6,499.

The 2G smartphones have been priced at Rs 3,499 and Rs 4,999, while the 3G handset carries a price tag of Rs 6,499.

The lowest version of PocketSurfer smartphone has Linux operating system which was earlier seen in Motorola phones.

The other two phones, PocketSurfer 5 and PocketSurfer 3GS are built on Android 4.0 platform. The 2G models of PocketSurfer have 1 Ghz processor and 3G model has 1.2 Ghz dual core processor.

The Rs 3,499 DataWind PocketSurfer 5X has a 5-inch WQVGA (480x240 pixels) screen and runs on Linux OS. It has a Cortex A8 - 1Ghz CPU and a front VGA camera.

With a Rs 4,999 price tag, the PocketSurfer 5 includes a higher resolution 5-inch WVGA (800x480 pixels) screen and operates on Android 4.0. It is powered by a Cortex A9 1 Ghz processor. Phone 5 has a front VGA and a rear 2 megapixel camera.

At Rs 6499 the DataWind PocketSurfer 3G5 is the most-expensive phone in the PocketSurfer series. This 3G phone runs on Android 4.0 and has a 5-inch WVGA (800x480 pixels) screen. It has a VGA front camera and a 5 megapixel rear camera. The dual-SIM phone is powered by dual-core Cortex A7 1.2 Ghz CPU.