Jio Phone pre-bookings have finally started but it seems not many people are able to book the handset right now. This would come as a disappointment to the millions of consumers who were looking forward to getting their hands on the Jio-branded 4G feature phone since it became official on July 21. The Jio.com website is slow to respond even an hour and a half after the Jio Phone pre-bookings officially started, and the MyJio app – the only avenue to make the booking online apart from the official site – is not allowing consumers to order the handset. This will be a hiccup for the company that reportedly aims to sell 20 crore units of the handset over the next two years.
The Jio Phone pre-bookings were scheduled to start Thursday at 5:30pm IST, with the company finally revealing the specifications and features of the handset on the dedicated page on the website. Some consumers are reporting they still cannot see the Prebook Now button on the MyJio app after opening it, while others who did get to open the pre-booking interface ended up on a blank page.
Here is how and where you can book Jio Phone:
To pre-book Jio Phone using the MyJio app, just open the app and tap on the Prebook Now option. Next, provide your phone number and the pin code of the area you live in, and tap on Proceed. That’s it, you will get a booking ID on the app as well as SMS, which you can refer to while picking it up from the designated retailer. To book a unit for a friend or family member, simply input their phone number and delivery pin code and make the payment. In this case, the SMS will be sent to you as well as your friend’s mobile number, with the address of the retailer and booking ID.
1. Consumers can book Jio 4G phone either online — on jio.com and MyJio mobile application — or offline Jio retailers, multi-brand device retailers and Reliance Digital stores.
2. You can book the phone by paying Rs 500 on the first-come-first-serve basis. The remaining Rs 1,000 can be paid at the time of delivery. Customers can get a full-refund of the security deposit of Rs 1,500 by returning used JioPhone after 36 months.
3. The payment for phone booking can be made through UPI, credit card, debit card and net banking.
4: You can track the status of the booked phones through “My bookings” button on the app. You have to enter the mobile number and delivery PIN code. Once this is done, you can tap on the “Proceed” button.
5. After payment of booking amount, you will get a pop up of confirmation and an SMS will also be sent to the registered mobile number indicating that the device has been booked.
6. Jio today also posted a 5-point checklist for booking the phone.
The 5 point checklist to help you pre-book your #JioPhone. Be ready by 5.30 pm today. #WithLoveFromJio pic.twitter.com/CJtLllLPYl
— Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) August 23, 2017
1) Alpha numeric keypad; 2.4-inch QVGA display
2) FM radio; Headphone jack; Torch light
3) SD card slot; Battery with charger
4) Four-way navigation system; Phone contact book
5) Call history facility; Jio apps
9) Microphone and speaker
The device has a digital assistant along with the support for voice commands and supports 24 Indian languages. Reliance says that users can long press on the ‘5’ key to directly call their near and dear ones. Furthermore, the company will bring NFC feature on Jio-branded phones as well later this year. The feature will arrive as part of a software update.
The company had announced that the users can avail the Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan offer at just Rs 153 per month for free voice and SMS and unlimited data. Apart from that, there is weekly plan of Rs 53, a two-day plan of Rs 23 having same unlimited data, unlimited talk time and unlimited SMS offer.
The launch of Jio services since last September has led to wide-range changes in the telecom market and the today’s ‘cheapest 4G feature phone’ by Jio may continue to bring further disruption in the telecom market.
Over the past year, telecom tariff has fallen 25-32 per cent on average and 60-70 per cent for heavy data users, after Reliance Jio Infocomm entered the market with a free launch offer and ultra-cheap tariffs after the initial months. Analysts and industry insiders feel the tariff may further fall by 25-30 per cent over the next year.
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