Reliance partners with Lenovo to offer Android smartphones running simultaneously on GSM & CDMA networks

Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM), a fully integrated telecommunications services provider, has announced an exclusive partnership with Lenovo to launch a range of smartphones which will simultaneously work on CDMA and GSM networks. These devices will use Reliance's 'Dual Core' network, which can automatically switch calls between CDMA and GSM, based on the strength and quality of radio frequency signals.

Reliance and Lenovo co-branded smartphones will be available to Reliance CDMA and GSM customers and will run on the latest Android operating system. Each device will be powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor and will be sold by the distribution and retail networks of Reliance and Lenovo (2,500 Reliance stores and 1,000 company stores of Lenovo). However, the pricing and launch date of the devices have not been announced yet.

"The Indian smartphone market represents solid growth opportunities where CDMA/GSM smartphone penetration is still low. With this partnership, we aim to replicate our China success and gain market share in the smartphone market in India," said Liu Jun, president of the Lenovo Business Group.

Reliance claims to have a customer base of around 130 million (including 2.5 million-plus overseas retail customers), covering more than 24,000 towns and six lakh villages. It ranks among the top six telecom companies in the world by number of customers in a single country.

Reliance Communications had earlier (October 2012) entered into a partnership with instant messenger WhatsApp in India, to provide unlimited usage of WhatsApp (and Facebook) to its subscribers across the country. It had also launched two prepaid plans for this purpose. While the WhatsApp Plan offers unlimited access to the instant messaging service for Rs 16 per month (for prepaid Reliance GSM customers), My College Plan offers unlimited social media access to college students for just Rs 16 per month. The plan also allows them to call and SMS (within their specified group) at just five paise and enables them to broadcast a SMS to the entire group for just Rs 3 by texting the message to 51112. Both plans come with a validity period of 30 days and are auto-renewed every 30 days unless unsubscribed.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)