Airtel partners with Celkon to launch another affordable 4G smartphone at Rs. 1349

At an event held in Hyderabad today, India’s leading telecom operator Airtel today announced the launch of Celkon Smart 4G smartphone. Continuing to expand its new range of ultra-affordable 4G LTE capable smartphones to take on JioPhone, Airtel announced a partnership with the Hyderabad-based mobile brand Celkon. Airtel revealed that the smartphone will be a part of its MeraPehla Smartphone, an initiative under which the operator will partner with companies to launch affordable 4G VoLTE capable smartphones.

Launched at a price of Rs. 2,849, the new Celkon Smart 4G is the second such smartphone under this new initiative from Airtel. Earlier this month, the operator announced the Karbonn A40 Indian which would cost Rs. 1399 effectively. Just like the Karbonn A40 Indian, the Celkon Smart 4G is also an Android-powered smartphone.

Celkon Smart 4G offer details

Airtel’s offer on the Celkon Smart 4G is straight-forward. Customers will have to first pay Rs. 2,849 to buy the smartphone, and Airtel will give a total cashback of Rs. 1,500 over the next 36 months, effectively bringing down the cost of the Celkon Smart 4G to Rs. 1,349.

However, to be qualify for this offer, Airtel users will have to recharge with Rs. 169 minimum per month for a period of 36 months, essentially spending Rs. 6,000 minimum over the three year period.

Under the Rs. 169 plan, Airtel customers will get 500MB of data per day along with unlimited voice calls, with a validity of 28 days.

Coming to the cashback, Airtel will refund Rs. 500 at the end of the first 18 months, and another Rs. 1,000 at the end of 36 months.

The Celkon Smart 4G is available at all leading retailers across the country. While the phone supports 4G VoLTE, Airtel is yet to announce VoLTE support in most of the telecom circles in the country. The telco currently offers VoLTE service in Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Gujarat.

Celkon Smart 4G specifications

The Celkon Smart 4G comes with a 4-inch display and runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage, with microSD card support up to 32GB. It offers dual SIM support and the phone is unlocked, meaning you can use it with any carrier right away.

Other connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. It comes with a 3.2MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera and is backed by a 1500mAh battery.