Airtel and Intex join hands to launch a range of affordable 4G smartphones starting at just Rs 1649

Airtel further expands device ecosystem under its ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative, which has received an extremely positive response from customers 

Continuing to build on the success of its ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative, Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, today said that it has partnered with Intex Technologies (“Intex’), a leading Indian manufacturer of smartphones, consumer durables and IT accessories, to launch a range of affordable 4G smartphones with advanced features.

The Intex Aqua LIONS N1, a brand new 4G smartphone from the Intex stable, will be available to Airtel customers at an effective price of just Rs 1649 (compared to market price of Rs 3799).  The all new Dual SIM 4G smartphone is powered by MTK chipset with a 4” full touch WVGA screen, 2MP Rear & Front VGA camera, 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage which is expandable up to 128GB along with a host of other exciting features.

Customers need to make a down payment of Rs. 3149 for the Aqua LIONS N1. The all new 4G smartphones come bundled with a monthly pack of Rs 169 from Airtel, offering generous data and calling benefits. For details visit www.airtel.in/4gphone. The customer is required to make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs 169 from Airtel. After 18 months, the customer will get a cash refund of Rs 500 and another Rs 1000 after the completion of 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs 1500.

Under the ‘Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone’ initiative, Airtel aims to partner with multiple mobile handset manufacturers to create an ‘open ecosystem’ of affordable 4G smartphones and bring them to market for virtually the price of a feature phone. The partnership with Intex gives further momentum to this initiative which has received extremely positive response from customers looking to upgrade to a 4G smartphone and get on to the digital superhighway with access to all popular apps.

Ajai Puri, Chief Operating Officer (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “We are really pleased to see the continued positive response to our ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative from customers as well as smartphone manufacturers. We are delighted to have Intex on board as a partner and their brand familiarity plus distribution reach will add to our affordable smartphone proposition and offer more choice to our customers. We look forward to working with them towards empowering every Indian with a 4G smartphone.”

Speaking on the collaboration with Airtel, Nidhi Markanday, Director, Intex Technologies, said, “For Intex, consumers come first and we look at the benefits they get from our partnerships and offerings. We are delighted to launch the all new Aqua LIONS N1 exclusively under the ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative to drive the adoption of 4G smartphones. The strategic tie-up with Airtel will help Intex offer very affordable smartphones that will accelerate the shift of feature phone users to smartphone without pinching the pocket.”

In addition to the Intex Aqua LIONS N1, two more affordable 4G smartphones have been introduced under the ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative.

The Intex Aqua A4 comes at an effective price of Rs 1999 (compared to market price of Rs 4999). It is powered by 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM and an 8GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 64GB. It has a 5MP primary camera on the rear and a 2MP front shooter.

The Intex Aqua S3, the most advanced phone in this range, is available an effective price of Rs 4379 (compared to market price of Rs 6649). It comes with a 5” HD IPS display and is powered by 1.3GHz quad- processor. It has 2GB RAM and an internal storage of 16GB that can be expanded up to 64GB. It has a 2450 mAh battery plus 8MP primary camera and a 5MP front shooter with flash for taking great pictures.

All devices are Android powered and offer full access to all apps on Google Play Store, including YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. The smartphones come preloaded with MyAirtel App, Airtel TV and Wynk Music to offer a great self-serve and content experience to customers.

In case the customer does not wish to opt for the Rs 169 bundled plan, she/he has the flexibility of doing recharges of any denomination and validity as per individual requirements. However, to claim the cash refund benefit, recharges worth Rs 3000 must be done within the first 18 months (to claim the first refund installment of Rs 500) and another Rs 3000 over the next 18 months (to claim the second refund installment of Rs 1000).

The ownership of the 4G smartphones is fully with the customer and there is no need to return the device to Airtel/Intex at any point to claim the cash benefit.

With today’s launch, Airtel now offers seven 4G smartphone models under its ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative. It has partnerships with Karbonn Mobiles and Celkon in addition to Intex.