The phone has a stand by battery time of two weeks, in case you have forgotten to recharge it. And you can buy it at a store near you or from your mobile service company at the low price of under Rs 2,000 a piece, making it one of the cheapest mobile phones ever to hit the Indian market.
The sub-$40 (Rs 1,657, at last week’s exchange rate) phones will be unveiled in emerging markets across the globe in April. Motorola’s big stop will be India. With three entry level models (C 115, 116 and 117), the GSMA expects the US telecom company to hawk 2 million to 3 million sets in India in the first six months of the launch.
Says Percy Batlivala, general manager, east south Asia, at Motorola’s personal communications business: “Over 70 per cent of global system for mobile customers use phones which cost below $65 (Rs 2,732). The low cost phone will help to open a new market.”
The demand for the phone here has been overwhelming — and not enough handsets may be rolled out at Motorola’s plant in China.