Handset with 'AAA' battery launched
08-03-2010
Aimed at areas where power supplies are erratic
Olive Telecommunications, a local mobile phone company, has launched a low-cost handset that uses commonly available AAA-sized batteries aimed at the hundreds of millions who live in areas where power supplies are erratic.
Priced at Rs.1699 ($35), the phone - called "FrvrOn" which is short for "forever on" - has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery common to mobile phones, but also a facility to include an AAA, dry-cell battery.
"With our phone, all one needs to do is pack a few extra batteries if one is travelling in areas where one expects power supply disruptions" marketing manager Ravi Perti says
He said the phone would run for three hours non-stop on the lithium battery and for another hour with a conventional battery.
Though predominantly for the rural market, the handset "is suitable for the urban user as well. It is aimed at the heavy duty user who would need emergency battery backup".
More than 10,000 Indian villages have no access to grid electricity. Power cuts are common even in the suburbs of cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Input from AFP
Olive Telecommunications, a local mobile phone company, has launched a low-cost handset that uses commonly available AAA-sized batteries aimed at the hundreds of millions who live in areas where power supplies are erratic.
Priced at Rs.1699 ($35), the phone - called "FrvrOn" which is short for "forever on" - has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery common to mobile phones, but also a facility to include an AAA, dry-cell battery.
"With our phone, all one needs to do is pack a few extra batteries if one is travelling in areas where one expects power supply disruptions" marketing manager Ravi Perti says
He said the phone would run for three hours non-stop on the lithium battery and for another hour with a conventional battery.
Though predominantly for the rural market, the handset "is suitable for the urban user as well. It is aimed at the heavy duty user who would need emergency battery backup".
More than 10,000 Indian villages have no access to grid electricity. Power cuts are common even in the suburbs of cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Input from AFP
