When Google unveiled its trio of Android One smartphones in India, it had made it clear that although they were to be sold exclusively by online shopping portals then, they will eventually be made available via traditional retail channels. That day has finally arrived, and we can confirm that these devices can all be bought through various offline stores in the country.
This piece of information was brought to our notice by a blogspot post made by iparthsv who observed a change on Google’s official Android One website. While previously, the site showcased just Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal as the optional retailers for purchasing these handsets, it now features a ‘Find a retailer’ section.
In this section, you can enter your PIN code to find out the exact retail stores that are selling Android One smartphones in your vicinity. Their details, complete with their addresses, contact numbers and pinpoint Google Maps locations are displayed there.
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We entered our PIN code, and managed to connect with a retail store in our vicinity. We were indeed told by them that the Micromax Canvas A1, the Spice Dream Uno and the Karbonn Sparkle V are being offered by them at Rs 6800, Rs 6500 and Rs 6500, respectively. Since this is traditional retail territory, prices can vary a great deal, so good luck finding those discounts.
For those out of the loop, Android One phones are designed by Google and built by third-party manufacturers as the perfect low-end devices to showcase the Android OS. They can hence be referred to as cheap Nexus devices; which also means that updates for them are directly issued by Google itself.