After successful completion of the trials, for the first time, WhatsApp will be available for JioPhone across India. WhatsApp has specifically built a new version of its private messaging app for JioPhone, running the Jio-KaiOS.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

To get started, JioPhone users only need to verify their phone number and then they can begin chatting with other WhatsApp users one-on-one or in groups. The app will be rolled out to all JioPhone users by September 20.

Mr. Akash Ambani, Director, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, said, “During this movement of connecting the unconnected, many partners came forward to strengthen the cause. One such partner who has really stood by us from the beginning is Facebook and its ecosystem. The result of one such partnership is out for the world to see today. We will be providing WhatsApp, the most used chat application in the world, on all JioPhones starting today. Jio wants to thank the Facebook and WhatsApp teams for making this happen.”

“Millions of people across India can now use WhatsApp private messaging on the best-in-class JioPhone across India,” said Mr. Chris Daniels, Vice President, WhatsApp. “By designing this new app for KaiOS, we hope to expand the ability for people to communicate with anyone in India and around the world by offering the best messaging experience possible to JioPhone users.”

To recall, the JioPhone 2 comes with a 2.40-inch display with a 240 X 320 pixels resolution and 512MB of RAM. The phone packs 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Jio Phone 2 packs a 2-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 0.3-megapixel front shooter for selfies. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Global Positioning System (GPS), Bluetooth, Near-field communication (NFC) and frequency modulation (FM). The Jio Phone 2 runs KAI OS and is powered by a 2000mAh battery.

On the other hand, the JioPhone, which launched last year, comes with a 2.4-inch QVGA display and will be powered by a dual-core chipset clocked at 1.2GHz. It comes with a 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage that is further expandable via microSD card.

A powerful camera performance shall not be expected from the JioPhone but it will feature a 2-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera for video calling. It houses a 2,000mAh battery which is said to offer 12 hours of talk time and 15 days of standby. For connectivity, it has Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity to facilitate contactless payment solution.