NEW DELHI: Google has gone back to the drawing board for Android One and come up with a version 2.0 as it were. Having met with a tepid response for the first phones based on the system in September last year, it appears to be reorienting the strategy toward people who've had smartphones before rather than first-time users, said a person with knowledge of the plan. That involves a shift in pricing as well.
The latest Android One smartphone, made by Indian handset vendor Lava International, will be launched in Delhi on July 14 and will cost about Rs 12,000, roughly twice what the first phones were priced at. The launch is likely to be attended by top Google executives involved with the project. Android One was devised as a set of specifications that allowed companies to build cheap devices that ran smoothly on the operating system and got direct updates from Google.
Another change relates to vendor engagement, said the person cited above. The latest device has been developed in collaboration on hardware and software with Lava and chipmaker MediaTek. Indian handset vendors weren't involved in design and development the first time around.
"The first-phase partners took devices from original device makers (ODMs) in China and had no say over hardware and software. The latest device is controlled by Lava, which would be in a position to provide an enhanced experience," the person said. Not having done so earlier may have been among the reasons for the muted performance.
There hasn't been too much demand for the first Android One phones, which were made by Micromax, Karbonn and Spice. Analysts said the vendors and Google failed to formulate and execute a robust go-to-market strategy. One of the problems was lack of availability in retail stores with the phones mostly available only online.
"We've learnt a lot from the initial round with our partners and they have learnt in terms of device availability, in channel and others," Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management, had told ETin June. "Initially, when we had launched, people couldn't buy them in all channels... In our future (launches) with our partners, we want to make sure that we're truly available everywhere."
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