All of a sudden, we are seeing companies find their way back to the feature phones, though there is no reduction in the demand for smartphones. While that is happening, what is interesting to see is the availability of latest connectivity options in these little phones. It all started with the JioPhone and the 4G connectivity on it, and it is the same VoLTE network that helped make video calls, and offer a lot more. Micromax, one of the well-known phone brands in India had recently come up with the Micromax Bharat 1. A 4G feature phone from the company, it was introduced to compete with the JioPhone and a couple others as well.
Now, there is some confusion regarding the phone to purchase if you are looking for a feature phone having some smart features. Both the phones we are talking about here have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s check out how do they differ.
Both the phones, the Jio Phone and the Micromax Bharat 1 have a 2.4-inch screen on the front. While the JioPhone has a Spreadtrum processor, the Bharat 1 has a Snapdragon chip powering it. When it comes to the other internals, there is 512MB of RAM and 4GB storage on each of these phones, and a 2000 mAh battery is another common specification in them. Also, when we talk about the cameras, there is a 2-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera present on both the phones.
The network support
This is the first one because you won’t always stick to the same network and would want to choose one having the best connectivity. Here, if we are talking about the two phones, the JioPhone as the name says, has the support for only Jio 4G network, while the Micromax Bharat 1 has support for any network. It is just the opposite of each other. While the JioPhone will have only the 4G VoLTE network support, the Bharat 1 can work with not just 4G but also with 2G and 3G networks.
It is also worth noting that the Micromax Bharat 1 has dual-SIM support in comparison to the single SIM support on the JioPhone. While one SIM supports the 4G LTE and VoLTE network, the second one would be limited to the 2G network when the first SIM is active and connected.
The pricing and recharges
The phones themselves are priced differently, where the JioPhone is at Rs. 1500 while the Bharat 1 costs you Rs. 2200. Now, while you are paying a full amount for the phones initially, Jio is going to fully refund the amount back to you after three years only if you bind to the terms, which include recharges equivalent to Rs. 1500 per year for three years.
The Micromax phone doesn’t come with any such offers, as it is a direct buy and no such offers but Micromax has partnered with BSNL to give the users a good plan to use and recharge. A recharge of Rs. 97 gives the user 5GB of data for the month and there is unlimited calling and messaging given along, but a plan of Rs. 153 plan on Jio gives the users 500MB data every day and the calling is free of cost.
While it seems good that Jio is going to refund you the amount of the device back, you are not going to get it that easily. It is about Rs. 4500 that you are going to spend extra during the period of three years to get the refund amount back and you are going to give the JioPhone back to the company for that, which doesn’t seem like a good deal after all.
Content availability
The content available on JioPhone is premium one, similar to how you can access it on the smartphones – in the form of JioCinema, JioTV, JioMusic, and there is a HelloJio smart assistance that takes your voice commands to perform them. On the other side, the Micromax phone doesn’t really have an equivalent amount of goodness offered in the term of apps, but still, the users can enjoy content like live TV and movies on the phone.
Video calling feature right now is much better on the JioPhone when compared to one on the Bharat 1.
Other features and overall value
One of the major features of the Micromax Bharat 1 is the availability of Wi-Fi Hotspot that is missing on the JioPhone. It is a big advantage and helps share the data connection with other devices around, and for a small feature phone to be able to do that is an amazing one.
Also, since Micromax Bharat 1 runs the forked version of Android, apps like WhatsApp can be used on it. That is another big advantage.
The JioPhone on the other side is going to be coming with a Jio Media Cable that is said to be helping in streaming content to the TVs, no matter whichever it is, even an old CRT television.
The overall value right now seems more on the Micromax Bharat 1 because you can also run apps like WhatsApp, thanks to the OS being a version of Android itself, and there is no restriction on the network usage, you can use any SIM you like and not just Jio.
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