Now, Micromax launches 4G smartphone

Amidst reports of partnering with Reliance Jio for VoLTE devices, domestic handset manufacturer Micromax on Wednesday launched its first 4G smartphone "CanvasXpress4G" at Rs.6,599.

The world's tenth largest smartphone vendor also announced its long-term 4G devices strategy.

The announcement comes after rivals Samsung and Lenovo featured in market research reports as the top players to sell multiple 4G devices.

"As the market has shifted to 4G, Micromax is also shifting its strategy to bring in more 4G devices. Almost 40 percent of smartphone sold online is 4G.

"Almost three out of four phones that Flipkart, who is also our exclusive online partner, sold was 4G," said Vineet Taneja, chief executive officer of Micromax.

"We currently have 13 4G devices in our portfolio and most of them are in mid-range segment. Micromax's strategy revolves around combining 4G, power of online sales channel and value for money proposition," Taneja explained.

He said an average life cycle of its smartphone across sub-brands like Fire, Nitro, Canvas and Bolt was six to nine months.

Although the company will phase out exclusive 2G models, it will continue to sell feature phones which accounts for 50 percent of the company's sales volume, he said.

The company also said that the XpressCanvas4G will be available only via domestic e-commerce player Flipkart via open sales starting Wednesday.

The new device will be powered by a 1GHz MediaTek MT 6735 processor and a 2GB DDR3 RAM.

It will come with a five-inch HD display, eight-megapixel rear and two-megapixel front camera and an internal storage of 16 GB.