The Reliance JioPhone will be available to a limited number of users for beta testing. The beta testing commences just three weeks after it was announced at the Reliance Industries Annual General Meeting.
Currently, the JioPhone is not available for regular users. It is being tested by Reliance Jio employees. The beta testing is being done to identify and correct hardware or software issues. The commercial roll out of the JioPhone is expected to begin in September.
The pre-bookings for the 4G VoLTE enabled feature phone will begin on August 24 and customers can pre-book their device online as well as offline. Let’s look at everything that we know about the device.
Reliance JioPhone Specifications
The Reliance JioPhone comes with a 2.4-inch QVGA display. The device comes in two variants, a Spreadtrum chipset variant and a Snapdragon 205 processor variant. The JioPhone comes with alphanumeric T9 keypad below the display.
The JioPhone comes with a microSD card slot, camera, headphone jack, torchlight and FM Radio. The number 5 also acts as an SOS button and can be used in emergencies to send an SOS message. The JioPhone will only work with Jio SIMs.
The JioPhone comes with voice recognition that can make calls, send messages and play movies or shows based on voice commands. Reliance Jio has also announced that the JioPhone will also support digital payments. The device will get Tap and Pay support via NFC.
Support for linking bank account, Jan Dhan account, UPI account and Debit/Credit cards will be added in the future with an automatic software upgrade.
JioPhone Plans
The JioPhone comes with a special plan of Rs. 153 per month. Under this plan, you get unlimited voice, SMS and data usage. While there is no cap on voice usage, high speed data will be restricted to 500MB per day. After this limit, the speeds will be reduced to 128 Kbps.
JioPhone Pricing
Reliance Jio is advertising the JioPhone as essentially free. Customers will have to pay a refundable security deposit of Rs. 1,500 while getting the device. This amount will be refunded after a period of three years on returning the device.
JioPhone Availability
The JioPhone is currently under beta testing. The beta testing of the device will begin from today, August 15. The device will be available for general pre-booking from August 24. Customers will be able to get their hands on the device in September.
However, we ventured out to find out if some retailers have started accepting pre-bookings. In our experience, we found out that some retailers had already started registering names of customers interested in buying the JioPhone – a few days before August 15th.
JioPhone Pre-booking
In order to get a JioPhone, customers have to pre-book the device. The device can be booked online as well as offline. Let’s look at how to pre-book the device.
Online Booking The JioPhone can be booked online from here. Here, you can register as an individual or a business. The process for an individual is simple and requires name, email, phone number and pin code.
Coming to registering as a business, the website asks for contact name, company name, pin code, PAN/GSTN number, email, phone number and number of devices required.
Once you fill in the details, you need to accept the terms and conditions and then press submit. You will receive a prompt saying, “Thank you for registering”. Once you’ve registered, you will get updates about the JioPhone via SMS and email.
SMS Booking
You can also register for a JioPhone via SMS. All you need to do for this is send an SMS in the following format.
JP <PIN CODE> <Store code>
Send the above message to 7021170211.
In the above message, you will have to find and enter the Jio store code by visiting the nearest Jio store or a Reliance Digital outlet.
Offline Booking
You can also book your JioPhone by visiting the nearest Reliance Digital or Jio store or other authorized Jio retailers. You will have to submit a copy of your Aadhaar card. In some instances, the retailer may not require you to submit your Aadhaar card, but it’s best to carry one just in case.
