Intex Promises Android Phone for Rs. 5500

Intex Promises Android Phone for Rs. 5500

Samir Makwana, Dec 27, 2010 1702 hrs IST

Will have 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen, Android 2.2 Froyo and 3.2 megapixel camera

Computer peripherals and inexpensive handset maker Intex has announced plans to join the Google Android bandwagon. "We will launch an Android 2.2 phone in the first week of February and it will be priced around Rs. 5,500," said Sudhir Kumar, asst. general manager of Telecom Division for Intex, TelecomYatra. So India will soon get yet another sub Rs. 10,000 Android phone, but again with resistive touchscreen display.

We already have Micromax's Andro A60 that runs Android 2.1 by default on 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen. In order to keep the cost under control, the resistive touchscreen display replaces the capacitive one for most sub Rs. 8000-Rs. 10,000 phones in India. Intex's Android 2.2 Froyo running phone would have a 3.2 megapixel camera and a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen display.

A resistive touchscreen phones that provides Android for less than Rs. 10,000 does seem appealing at first, but in the long run, the resistive touchscreen wouldn't respond appropriately. This would force consumers, who unaware of the difference between resistive and capacitive screens, compare their phones with capacitive touchscreen. In the coming year, we can expect to see more inexpensive entry-level Android phones in India.