Chinese technology company Lenovo will bring the much-awaited modular smartphone Moto Z to the Indian market this festive season. The Moto Z, which was unveiled globally in June this year, allows users to attach a set of accessories called Moto Mods to the back of the device that adds various functionalities to the device.
"We will launch 8 new devices, of which six we have already announced, in this festive season... This includes the Moto Z," Lenovo India Executive Director Mobile Business Group Sudhin Mathur told PTI.
While Mathur declined to comment on the timeline of availability of Moto Z in India, sources say that the product could be launched in the first or second week of October.
Moto Z is currently available in markets like the US, the UK, and Latin America in three models (Moto Z Play, Moto Z, and Moto Z Force).
Lenovo, which had acquired Motorola from Google in a $2.9 billion deal in 2014, is betting on India to contribute significantly to its global growth. Last year, Lenovo's revenues from India grew about 90 per cent while its overall revenues were up 68 percent.
According to research firm Gartner, smartphone sales are expected to slow down in 2016 globally, rising only seven percent compared to double-digit growth seen in previous years. This is on the back of slower sales growth in mature markets like Europe and Japan. India, on the other hand, remains an opportunity and presents the highest growth potential, Gartner said.
In a bid to acquire new customers, BSNL is offering an introductory unlimited broadband plan at Rs 249 a month.
The plan is called the Experience Unlimited Broadband 249 (BB249) plan and is a postpaid plan offering 2Mbps speeds up to 1GB of usage, and 1Mbps speeds thereafter. The good news is that the plan actually is unlimited and there's no FUP.
BSNL will offer this plan from 9 September onwards. Installation charges will be waived during the introductory period. The plan is only valid for six months, however. It's also applicable only to new customers. Post the 6-month period, BSNL expects people to migrate to their ULD 499 plan which offers 2Mbps speeds up to 2GB of use and then 1Mbps thereafter.
Both plans offer unlimited calling to any network on Sundays and every day between 9PM and 7AM. Regular call rates are to Re 1 per 3 minutes for calls on the BSNL network and Rs 1.20 per 3 minutes outside the network.
Many see this move on BSNL's part as an attempt to maintain market share in the wake of Reliance Jio’s announcement of unlimited data and voice calls on the Jio network. It's also to be noted that Reliance Jio intends to provide 1Gbps broadband services in at least a 100 Indian cities in the near future.
At the Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai, Mukesh Ambani launched the highly-anticipated Jio services. Starting 5 September, the services will move out of the beta phase. Jio has announced a new Welcome Offer, which will let you continue to enjoy the 90 days benefits (free voice, apps, and 4G LTE data) that were announced in the Preview, until December 31, 2016. Jio data plans have been optimised to cost as low as 5 paise/MB, which would mean up to Rs 50 for 1GB.
The company has announced tariff plans starting at a base price of mere Rs 19 to up to Rs 4999. Here’s a quick look at each one of them:
XXS Plan – Rs 19
This plan offers 0.1GB 4G data with unlimited 4G data at night and unlimited SMS. Users get 0.2GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot with the validity of the pack for one day. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250 along with free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India.
XS Plan – Rs 199
0.75GB 4G data with unlimited 4G data at night and unlimited SMS. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250 with 1.5GB JioNet Hotspot data. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India. The plan is valid for seven days.
S Plan – Rs 299
Users get 2GB 4G data with unlimited 4G data at night and 1.5GB JioNet Hotspot data. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250. Free unlimited voice calls and SMS – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India. The plan is valid for 21 days.
S Plan – Rs 149
Users get 0.3GB 4G data and 100 SMS. Free access to Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India.
M Plan – Rs 499
4GB data with unlimited 4G data access at night and 8GB JioNet WiFi Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
M Plan – Rs 999
With this plan, you will get 10GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 20GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
L Plan – Rs 1499
At Rs 1499, the plan brings 20GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 40GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
XL Plan – Rs 2499
This plan gives you 35GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 70GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
XXL Plan – Rs 3999
With this plan you will get 60GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 120GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
XXXL Plan – Rs 4999
With this plan you will get 75GB of 4G data + unlimited 4G access at night. 150GB of Wi-Fi JioNet Hotspot access. Free unlimited voice calls – local as well as STD roaming to any network within India, unlimited local/STD SMS and Jio apps subscriptions worth Rs 1250.
The plans (Rs 149 S to XXXL Plan) are valid for 28 days each. Besides the above mentioned plans, students can avail of special additional 25 percent more data on producing a valid student identity card. Jio’s app booking, a subscription worth Rs 15,000 will be made available for free till 31 December 2017. Jio already covers 18,000 cities and towns, and 200,000 villages. It plans to expand to 90 percent of the population. It also plans an e-KYC system and its VoLTE smartphones start at Rs 2,999.
