HTC launches Android phone in India at Rs 30,000

Taiwanese handset maker HTC today launched a handset based on Google's operating system software 'Android' for mobiles and other wireless devices, in the country in partnership with telecom operator Bharti Airtel.     

India's first Android-powered mobile 'HTC Magic' has Bharti Airtel as its exclusive carrier and is priced at Rs 29,900.     

"The handset would be available in the Indian market in the first week of July.We are confident of the product doing well and expect to sell about 25,000 units in the next four-five months," HTC India Country Manager Ajay Sharma told reporters.      

HTC Magic is a touchscreen handset equipped with a 3.2-inch screen, 3.2 megapixel camera and has 3G capabilities.     

"Airtel customers would get free data download of 100 MB per month for six months and also comes equipped with applications like portfolio manager, hello tune manager, weather channel, mobshare, in-mobile search and city search," Bharti Airtel Chief Marketing Officer Raghunath Mandava said.    

The company plans to launch about 7-8 handsets in the second half of this year.    

"Generally, we launch about 10-12 handsets in a year, thats about 3-4 devices a year. This year, we have just launched three handers so far and so the pipeline for the rest of the year is pretty robust," Sharma added.