Well... there is no easy answer.
The views expressed here are just what I perceive or what I understand from the advertisements and what I understand
from the answers given to my questions after dialling 30333333(Reliance’s hotline no.).
By this time, everyone should be aware of what the package is and how much each package cost a person. So, I’m not going to delve deep into that. Let’s look only at the usability & credibility of this mobile.
They say that you get 400 mins of talk-time per month but you pay Rs. 600 pm. Therefore, it turns out to be Rs. 1.50/- per minute. So, is Reliance’s promise a humbug. ’’No!’’ is the answer and you’ll understand if you read further...
Here’s some of the little known detail of how your 600 rupees/month is split.
Rental: Rs. 240
Talk time: Rs. 160 (for 400 mins @ 40p/min)
Club privilege: Rs. 100
Finance charges: Rs. 100 (Interest @ 10% pa)
Total: Rs. 600
Assuming that the rental fee would be used against the free mobile phone, one ends up paying Rs. 8, 640/- towards the mobile phone. Considering the fact that the mobile costs Rs. 10, 500/- this in anyway is a Rs. 2000/- in savings.
The feature that I best like in this mobile is the connectivity to Internet. You’re always online wherever you go. This is fascinating.
There were rumours that its not possible to send SMS from a RIM to a non-RIM mobile. This is NOT TRUE. I took a demo RIM(demo centres are available across the country) and sent an SMS to an RPG mobile and it did receive the message.
I was told by a Reliance executive(thru the hotline no.) that if I make inter-operator calls(within the state), I’ll get a bill at the end of every month asking me to pay for the inter-operator charges. Isn’t this against the advertisement that all STD calls to non-reliance phones within the circle will be charged only at 40p/min? Reliance has to clear this issue by mass advertising.
Also, its a known issue that Reliance and Tata Indicom are not mutually accessible. This, again, is a big hurdle as both of them are dominant players.
Now, I hear questions like.. ’’So... What are you going to do?’’. I’m going to follow the wait-and-watch policy as of now. I have time until March 31. I already have a couple of friends who’ve booked the reliance mobile. They should be getting their handset by 1st week of March and I’ll have atleast 20 days’ time to analyze the merits.
If you think any of my ideas are on the contrary with yours, please do drop a comment.
Update (31/04/2003): -
Reliance phone users have been enjoying free trial period all these days. Yes, all local/STD calls made are absolutely free. It is possible to make calls to other GSM cellular providers. Also, I was able to SMS them and get the same back!
The coverage is not everywhere. For example, I cannot use it while I’m in my office or while I’m on the move in a remote area. Reliance service coolly replies that it cannot fix this problem until they start counting the minutes of talk-time! The R-World feature is very bad. Its down most of the times. Even if you’re lucky enough to get a connection most likely, it will disconnect in a minute or two.
Verdict: RIM is still not a good buy. Play the waiting game...