Spice Mobile does a Nano, unveils ‘People’s Phone’ at Rs.800

Close on the heels of world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano, another breakthrough cost innovation has been achieved by Spice Mobile which has launched a “people’s phone” priced under $20 at the World Mobile Congress, Barcelona.

The handset developed is a basic phone without a screen and non-essential features targeted at the very lowest end of the market. Globally 20% of overall mobile market is represented by sub $40 phones and this segment has been dominated by Nokia uptil now.

Currently, there are 3 billion mobile phones worldwide and this figure is expected to add another billion in next 3 years. The bulk of this additional billion would come from Asia, Africa and South America. Even mobile subscribers in India are expected to double in next 3 years.

Spice Mobile certainly stands to gain from its strategy as Western markets are becoming saturated and there is huge demand in developing nations.

Spice aims to sell 10 million $20 phones in its first year by retailing it initially in Asian countries. And if the company is to be believed, then we may soon get to buy phones for as low as $10.