Google officially announces Android One in India

By Harish Jonnalagadda
last updated

Google has officially launched the Android One platform in India. The initiative sees Google collaborating with Indian vendors Micromax, Karbonn Mobiles and Spice in providing an entry-level smartphone that offers a near-stock Android experience and a turnkey hardware solution. The tagline for Android One in India is "Apni Kismat Apne Haath", which translates to "Your fate in your hands."

All three manufacturers will begin selling their handsets from later today, with each vendor choosing a particular ecommerce store where they will be offering their Android One smartphones exclusively. Micromax, for instance, is siding with Amazon India, whereas Karbonn is choosing to go with Snapdeal and Spice with Flipkart. Google has managed to get carriers on board as well, with local carrier Airtel set to offer 200 MB data monthly for up to six months. While the Android One handsets will be offered exclusively online in the beginning, offline availability will commence sometime later this year.

Spice's Android One Dream Uno was briefly listed on Flipkart on Saturday, with a retail price of Rs. 6,999 ($115) and specs that include a 4.5-inch FWVGA display, 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek CPU, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB internal memory, microSD up to 32 GB, dual-SIM connectivity, 5 MP camera with LED flash, 2 MP front shooter, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and 3G connectivity along with a 1700 mAh battery.

Micromax's Canvas A1 and Karbonn's Sparkle V Red share the same specs, with Karbonn aiming for the most affordable price point at Rs. 6,399.

In addition to English, all Android One smartphones will come with support for seven additional Indian languages including Hindi, and users will be able to issue voice commands in Hindi. Google was quick to announce that all Android One smartphones will run Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box, with a guaranteed update to Android L once it becomes available. users do not have to wait for manufacturers to roll out updates as Google will be issuing the software updates as soon as they are available, similar to what it does with the Nexus line and the Google Play edition devices.

While India is ground zero for Android One, Google has mentioned that the platform will launch in Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia and other territories in the South-East Asian region sometime later this year. International manufacturers like Alcatel, Panasonic, Asus, Acer and HTC will also be launching Android One smartphones in due course of time. It looks like everyone but Samsung, Sony and LG are involved in Google's Android One efforts.

What do you guys think of the Android One smartphones?

Harish Jonnalagadda
Harish Jonnalagadda
Senior Editor - Asia

Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.

22 Comments
  • Is there somewhere that I can watch the launch event video?
  • There wasn't a livestream of the event. A few Indian sites liveblogged the launch, but that was it.
  • This is the end of feature phones...
  • Down with Gingerbread!
    Down with feature phones! Posted via Android Central App
  • Indeed ,is better on this way,all user can get the Pure Android Experience on cheap phone like Android One
  • Android One, great way to get the real Google Android Experience out to the masses of the world at a very affordable price.
  • So much data to be collected. Posted via Android Central App
  • > forgot your tinfoil hat Posted via Nexus 7 2013 or Galaxy S5
  • And the underground bunker.
  • The uncomfortable truth.
  • Will any of the other companies be bringing this to Europe or the U.S. anytime soon? Will Motorola be making an Android One phone?
  • There's no point IMO. Just get a Moto G.
  • A Moto G would still cost around $310 US (19,000 rupee). The point behind the Android One phones is they are manufactured in the countries they sell in. The low specs with no overseas importing/taxes is what keeps them low priced. They are also designed to work well over very slow networks.
  • It's $179 in the Google Play Store
  • Or a Moto E.
  • These phones have much better cameras than the moto e. Front and rear facing cameras with auto focus, flash and full hd video recording. Posted via Android Central App
  • Who knew Google could speak Punjabi lol Posted via my Z10 using Android Central App
  • I love the phrase "Apne Kismat Apne Haath" (अपने किस्मत अपने हाथ).
    Just buy a case and make sure not to drop your fate ;-)
  • It's a great idea and hopefully it will do well and raise the overall standard of phones in sub 150USD markets. If the hardware is fairly uniform then there's a good chance that the phones will be supported for a good while with updates. Don't really think it is a programme that would suit someone like Samsung, they have a massive parts inventory that they mix and match for various entry-mid range phones that they release (dump?) on the market. They already know how to make great handsets they just need to learn how to improve their entry-level ones. The other manufacturers like the Indian trio have less experience of making high-quality phones (since they are always trying to fit into a certain budget) so this should help them deliver a better experience.
  • I love the name of Spice's Android One Dream Uno. Probably just because it contains Dream. Reminds me of the HTC Dream/T-Mo G1, the 1st Android phone. I hope Tracfone US gets Android One phones. Their current droid lineup sucks. Posted via Android Central App
  • Finally, some senseful attempt to stop rubbish budget phones that work like s***
  • The only thing I really care about is if Google will be releasing all the code for the Android One devices (including the proprietary binaries and everything, just like the Nexus line). If this is the case, industry would explode because of the cost of these phones and constant updates!