Google’s Sundar Pichai announced Android One would start in India sometime this year, at Google I/O in June. It looks like September 15 will be the official date, as Google has sent out event invitations to press who can attend the event in India.
In the invite, it says Google will have an “exciting new announcement” and the event will start from Noon on September 15 onwards. No word on if this is Google or Android related, most news outlets see this as the official reveal of Android One.
For those who do not remember, Android One is a new partnership between Google and low-end outlets in India and China, who want the backing of Google’s software expertise and hardware partners, to make incredible low-end smartphones.
Micromax, Spice, and Karbonn will be the first three partners Google will work with in India. Already, India has a large Android following, but Google wants to make Indians sure what phones to buy and what ones to steer away from.
They will do this through a large advertising campaign in India, set to launch after the event. No word on how much Google is looking to spend on the ad campaign, previously Google spent $500 million on the Moto X launch.
It might also be possible that Google will announce the next version of Android at the event. Android L Preview is already out in the wild, but we still are waiting on the official name and release date, two things Google did not disclose at I/O.
India would be an odd place to announce the next version of Android, since all past announcements have happened in the United States, but it could show the movement away from the US, where Android is less dominant in the charts.
Source: NDTV Gadgets
