India’s leading telecom company Reliance held its 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today at Birla Matushri Sabhagar at Mumbai’s Sir Vithaldas Thackersey Marg. In this occasion chairman of the Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani announced the much awaited 4G feature phone, which is named as “JioPhone”. Along with that, he has also announced its cable TV device, it’s an accessory device.
Users will be able to connect Jio phone to any TV and not just smart TV but even the old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TVs that you have. All Jio phone users can enjoy viewing their Jio content on their phones from their TV screens, Ambani said.
Reliance Jio Finally Launches Jiophone with 4G Feature
RIL Mukesh Ambani said that all these Jio feature phones would be made in India. The phone, targeted at 50 crore feature phone users in the country, will be available for pre-booking from 24 August on payment of a refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500. This deposit will be refunded after 36 months on return of the phone, he said, adding that the price of the phone will be “effective zero”.
He used the occasion to introduce his twin children, Akash and Isha, who presented the phone features that include calls and text messaging on voice command, Internet surfing and cable to connect the device to TV to view content, including videos.
“JioPhone will make the 2G feature phone obsolete,” Ambani claimed, adding that the company is looking to bring 5 million phones to the market a week.
The JioPhone will be available for user testing in beta mode from 15 August and for pre-booking from 24 August.
JioPhone Specifications
The Jio 4G feature phone supports 22 Indian languages and incorporates the entire suite of Jio content apps including Jio Music, and Jio Cinema.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat app, will be present Live Speech at every month on the device.
2.4-inch QVGA display, FM radio support, a microSD card slot and a torch are present.
The voice input feature phone responding to voice inputs in Hindi as well as English. With help of Voice commands, we can be used to get the phone to place calls, send messages, play music in apps, respond to queries, etc.
One of the highlights is a safety feature, pressing and holding the five button will send a message with your location to your emergency contacts.
Interestingly, the device also includes NFC, which will be enabled via a software update. A user can link their bank accounts, UPI, and other such payment options with the phone and use it for digital transactions.
A “Jio Phone TV Cable” accessory for the phone will enable any user to connect the device to any TV, even if they have an ancient CRT unit. Content from the phone will be directly viewable on the TV via this accessory.
Highlights of the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) AGM Meeting:
Mukesh Ambani said, Jio is a young organization and Akash and Isha, our Directors, both 25, lead a large contingent of highly talented professionals.
- The Highlights of the big announcements so far
- Jio phone will be available for an effective price of Rs 0
- A one-time refundable deposit of Rs 1,500 will be collected with every JioPhone. This deposit is to prevent its misuse. This means that the JioPhone is free with a refundable deposit of Rs. 1,500 (for 3 years)
- Jio has made India the number 1 data-consuming country in the world
- Jio will soon cover 99% of India’s population with 4G displacing 2G as biggest coverage
- Introducing the JioPhone which will offer free data calls and unlimited data @ Rs 153 a month
- Jio consumers use 125cr Gb of data every month, 165cr hours of video every month. Jio now the largest mobile video network
- Mukesh Ambani said in 40 years, our market capitalization has multiplied by an astounding 50,000 times
- Reliance Foundation has emerged as the largest corporate Foundation in India and reaches out to 12 million people: Mukesh Ambani
- In fuel retail, we re-commissioned 142 new outlets during the year: Mukesh Ambani
- 371 new retail stores were opened last year, an unprecedented expansion in India by any retailer.
Reliance Announces 1:1 Bonus on Shares
RIL CEO Ambani says the board has recommended a bonus issue of 1:1 share. This means that all shareholders will get one bonus share for every share held. This is believed to be the largest bonus issue in India.