Mumbai: Chinese tech giant Lenovo unveiled the country's most affordable 4G LTE smartphone, priced at Rs 6,999 as it looks to cash in on the booming demand for high-speed data services. Lenovo's A6000 was unveiled at the CES in Las Vegas last week. The device has been aggressively priced to compete with Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4G (Rs 9,999) and Yu's maiden device, Yureka (Rs 8,999).
LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals.
"This is perhaps the most value for money LTE device in India, the A6000 promises the perfect balance of speed, performance and ergonomics. With 2015 expected to be the year of 4G LTE, we are committed to take on this new technology and give consumers the best performance," Lenovo India Director Smartphones Sudhin Mathur said.
Lenovo has partnered homegrown eCommerce major Flipkart to sell the device exclusively. Following the flash sale model, consumers will have to pre-register to be eligible for the sale on January 28. The company, however, did not disclose the number of devices that will be put up for sale in the first round.
"According to reports, number of 3G and 4G users is estimated to be over 200 million by 2018 (in the country). That is a huge opportunity. The right picture can be provided by telecom operators, who are offering these services...we are in discussions with operators (for bundling offers)," he said.
Bharti Airtel and Aircel have launched 4G services in a few cities in the country. However, Reliance Jio Infocomm that is only company with a pan-India license, is yet to launch its services.
Lenovo's A6000 supports both LTE bands in India - FDD 1800MHz (Band 3) and TDD 2300MHz (Band 40). Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz quad-core processor, the handset has a 5-inch display, Android KitKat operating system, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory (expandable up to 32GB). It also features an 8MP rear and 2MP front camera and is fuelled by a 2,300mAh battery.
"The A6000 is designed for the youth/millennials who want a trendy phone loaded with future proof features and yet not being heavy on the pocket," he said.
