Aircel partners Micromax for 3G music phone

Aircel in association with Micromax, on Wednesday, announced the national roll-out of Canvas Beat to strengthen its 3G portfolio.

Talking to newsmen Aircel Strategic Business Unit Head K. Sankara Narayanan said that it had a subscriber base of 2.5 crore in Tamil Nadu, of which 60 per cent were using smartphones. Through the launch, it was planning to lure the remaining subscribers to switch over to data-enabled handsets.

“Compared to 2012, Aircel reported 100 per cent growth in data in 2013, and we are witnessing the same trend in the first-half of the current year too.

“The upsurge in 3G data requires smartphones and devices of a substantial screen size and relevant content and applications. We zeroed in on Canvas Beat as it will be driving affordability in data growth,” he said.

Huge features

Priced at Rs.9,990, Canvas Beat comes with five inches screen, 1.2GHz Quadcore processor, Android 4.2.2 Jellybean and 8 MP camera. It offers enhanced 3D in-built surround speakers, free headset and ear phone, 1,000 free songs through Aircel app, full talk time of Rs.118 on a recharge of Rs.118, local calling and STD @ one paisa/second for six months and 1GB data per month for 30 days.

4G roll-out soon

Aircel is gearing to launch the 4G services shortly. “All the necessary steps have been taken, and we have written to the regulatory authorities seeking permission to roll it out. The tariff and other details will be disclosed at a later date,” said a company official.