Reliance JioPhone leads feature phone segment in Q4, 2017: Counterpoint

The positioning of JioPhone as a smartphone effectively as a “Free” phone also worked for the company, according to analysts.

Jio carries more than 100 crore GB data per month (Reliance Jio)

Reliance's smart feature phone, JioPhone, emerged the leading feature phone brand in the country in the fourth quarter last year, Counterpoint Research said on Wednesday.

According to Counterpoint Research, JioPhone grabbed 27% market share in terms of shipment. The ₹1,500 JioPhone supplies were higher in the late Q4 and the device managed to bridge the demand vs supply gap, the agency noted.

"One of the key reason for the sale of this phone was record pre-orders (6 million) plus many feature phone users found it a worthy upgrade," Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint, said.

"These users have always used the similar form factor device for voice usage but using data on a similar form factor ensured that users didn't need to go through a huge learning curve when it comes to using data on smartphones," Pathak added.

The positioning of JioPhone as a smartphone effectively as a "Free" phone also worked for the company.

"Additionally, the strategy involving cashback after a couple of years in the feature phone segment makes more sense than cashback in low-end smartphones which don't enjoy such high-shelf life," Pathak added.

The company announced the launch of 4G and VoLTE-enabled JioPhone on July 21 last year, available free of cost with a deposit money of ₹1,500.

Aimed at over 50 crore feature phone users, the 2.4 inch device has 2MP rear camera and houses 2000mAh battery. The JioPhone has a single Nano-SIM slot and a microSD card slot.

According to industry sources, Jio carries more than 100 crore GB data per month.