14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8.1 operating system appears to be gaining a lot of traction among mobile phone makers in India, and two more companies here have confirmed plans to release devices running under it in the coming months, namely XOLO and Celkon.
Apparently XOLO will make its Windows Phone 8.1-based handset official as soon as the next month, and will include it in its WIN series of devices.
According to a recent article on Times of India the company has officially confirmed plans on the matter, though no further details on the phone have been provided as of now.
However, rumor has it that the phone will be released with a 4.7-inch touchscreen display, and that it might sport a quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor.
Moreover, it appears that the company is planning to release the new device at a highly appealing price tag of around Rs. 12,000 ($201/€149).
Another interesting thing about this handset is the fact that it might be manufactured entirely in India, though an official confirmation on this has yet to be provided.
As for Celkon, the company has confirmed to GizBot that it is working on a Windows Phone 8.1 device too, and that it is planning on making it official sometime in August.
The handset was also said to sport a price tag below Rs. 10,000 ($168/€124) but no further info on what it will have to offer to its users has been provided as of now.
However, we might see it packing hardware specs similar to those of XOLO’s device, considering the fact that their costs will be somehow similar.
Not long ago, other companies in India were also confirmed to bring Windows Phone 8.1 devices to the market in the coming months, including Micromax, which might unveil two such handsets as soon as Monday, June 16.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it would be offering its mobile operating system for free to handset vendors in India, so as to encourage them not only to release phones running under it, but also to price them affordably.
This will certainly help the platform gain some more market share in India, given the fact that many users here are interested in budget-friendly phones that can also offer an appealing experience.
Undoubtedly, we’ll be seeing more vendors unveiling plans to release Windows Phone 8.1 devices in the country before the end of this year. In the meantime however, we should wait and see what the phones that have been already confirmed will have to offer.