A new digital dawn

Though the cell phone revolution is one of the fundamental disruptive changes that has defined Indian transformation, one of its drawbacks has been its overwhelming dependence on English. Those who can read, write or understand English can comfortably navigate most of the content of the advertisements and apps that are encountered in cellphones. Now with Google and Jio joining hands to launch JioPhone, this English barrier might be overcome to give rise to a second cellphone revolution. The new phase might be marked by an explosion in the use of Indian languages in the uses and applications that could help Indian businesses to reach out to the huge population who cannot read, write or understand English, but are comfortable in their mother tongue. It would help entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and transform the society and take it in a digital age.

In one sense, it could also democratise the content. If applications can be designed in Indian languages it would help in increasing the reach of companies, marketers and their products overnight by appealing to the vast multitude who are comfortable in their mother tongue. It would help entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and transform the society and take it in a digital age.

JioPhone Next will have features of automatic read aloud of text on screen and other voice assistance. It would be of great help to a number of first-time users. Analysts are of the opinion that the alliance between the two companies can usher in another level of disruption in the cellphone market. Google boss Sundar Pichai has also said that the new phone marks a journey beyond English into other language constituencies. He has hoped for a three-year to five-year timeframe to make a mark in the market. The pricing, too, will be made affordable to cater to this segment of the market.