Google announced today a new line of smartphones called Android One, a series of cheaper devices meant to get smartphones into the hands of people across South Asia.
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Google first talked back in June about this concept of getting smartphones into the hands of the 75 percent of the world that is still unconnected. The idea behind it is to create a range of affordable phones that could allow some of the human population currently without smartphones to join the wide network of information that handheld computers have allowed us to create.
According to Google, the cheapest of these phones start at 6,399 rupees, which converts to just over $100. The phone itself, however, comes with a respectable set of hardware. The phone includes front- and rear-facing cameras, a quad core processor, a replaceable battery and dual SIM cards. Google is also making sure the phones' operating systems are consistently up to date. The phones come with 4.4 KitKat installed and provides automatic Android updates for two years.
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Cheap hardware is only one half of the equation, however. Cheap software is often just as important. To help on the software side of things, Google struck a deal with Airtel, a leading service provider in South Asia and India's No. 1 cell service. Android One users with an Airtel SIM card will be able to cut down on data costs by downloading Android updates free for the first six months. Each month, Airtel users can also download up to 200 MB worth of apps from Google Play without incurring data charges.
By the end of the year, Google plans to introduce Android One across South Asia and into Indonesia and the Philippines. More countries are said to follow in 2015.
