Around 6 million units of the JioPhone were booked during the first three days of pre-booking that began on 24 August, says a channel partner of Reliance Retail.
Deliveries of the "effectively free" JioPhones are planned to start during the Navratri festival which beginns on 21 September, the partner said.
"The pre-booking of JioPhone was put on hold after 6 million units were booked within the first three days. We have been told by the company that the deliveries will start during Navratri," the channel partner, who asked not to be named, told PTI.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, in his previous annual general meeting speech, had said the company plans to sell 5 million JioPhones every week.
The JioPhone can be booked against the payment of a deposit of Rs 500 at the time of booking and the remainder Rs 1,000 to be paid after the phone is delivered.
Ambani had announced that the total amount will be refunded after 36 months when the customer returns the phone. According to the industry source, nearly 10 million people have shown interest in JioPhone.
It was also announced that voice calling for customers of JioPhone would be free and they would get unlimited data for a month against a payment of Rs 153.
JioPhone, which can be operated by speaking out instructions to dial, type messages and the like, will come with pre-loaded Jio apps for messaging and entertainment. The phone can be connected with television sets for watching live TV using the Jio TV app.
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