'Android One devices aimed at making smartphones affordable'

Introduction of Android One phones in the Indian market is aimed at making powerful smart phones with latest technologies accessible and affordable to the people of the country, Google said today.
"By working closely with phone and silicon chip makers to share reference designs and select components, we're making it easier for our partners to build phones that are not just great to use, but also affordable," Sundar Pichai, senior vice president, Android, Chrome & Apps at Google said in a blog posted on the company's website.
Indian-American Pichai said the Android One phones launched in India have lots of processing power, so that users can get information quickly.

"They have high-quality front- and rear-facing cameras. And for all those pictures, along with your apps and videos, Android One phones will have expandable storage. We also added features that people in India will find particularly useful, like dual SIM cards, a replaceable battery and built-in FM radio," he said.
To help ensure a consistent experience, Android One devices will receive the latest versions of Android directly from Google,, he said, adding that as a result the users will get all the latest features, up-to-date security patches, and peace of mind knowing your stuff is always backed up.
"It also means Android One devices will be some of the first to be updated to the Android L release later this year.

"For our hardware partners, they'll be able to create customized experiences and differentiate their devices without having to change the core software," he wrote.

Pichai announced that in an effort to reduce data costs, if an user has an Airtel SIM card, they will get these software updates for free for the first six months.
"As part of this same Airtel offer, you'll also be able to download up to 200MB per month worth of your favorite apps (that's about 50 apps overall) from Google Play-all without counting toward your mobile data usage," the top Google executive said, adding that this is just the "beginning of the Android One journey".

The first phones, from Google hardware partners Micromax, Karbonn, Spice and chipmaker MediaTek, are available starting today in India from leading retailers starting at Rs 6,399.
"We're also excited to welcome more partners to the program, including phone manufacturers Acer, Alcatel Onetouch, ASUS, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic, Xolo, and chipmaker Qualcomm. "We expect to see even more high-quality, affordable devices with different screen sizes, colors, hardware configurations and customized software experiences," he said.
"Finally, we plan to expand the Android One program to Indonesia, the Philippines and South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) by the end of the year, with more countries to follow in 2015," Pichai said.

"Access for access's sake is not enough. With Android One, we not only want to help people get online, we want to make sure that when they get there, they can tap into the wealth of information and knowledge the web holds for everyone," Pichai said.