Reliance seeks repeat of phone success with $184 laptop

NEW DELHI, Oct 03 (Reuters): Reliance Jio will soon launch a laptop priced at just 15,000 rupees ($184) - one of the cheapest on offer in India, aiming to replicate the success of its low-cost phone, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance is known for disrupting businesses with cut-throat price offerings. Jio, its telecoms unit, has been credited with upending the world's no. 2 mobile market with cheap 4G data plans and free voice services in 2016. Last year, it followed that up with its 4G JioPhone that costs $81.
The laptop, to be called JioBook, will be embedded with a 4G sim card. Available to customers such as schools and government institutes from this month, the laptop will likely go on sale to general consumers within the next three months, the sources said. As with the JioPhone, a 5G-enabled version is set to follow.
The sources declined to be identified as the launch plans have not been made public. Jio, India's biggest telecom carrier with more than 420 million customers, did not respond to a request for comment.
The JioPhone has been India's top-selling smartphone priced under $100, accounting for a fifth of that market segment over the last three quarters, according to Counterpoint Research.