Videocon's zero paise per minute plan

The much publicised Zero Paisa plan from Videocon
Mobile Services has been able to garner a lot of
eyeballs, but as they say, nothing comes free, and
this offer is no exception.
If you buy a Videocon mobile handset from among
the seven models that are part of this scheme you get
to make 10 to 30 minutes of free local calls to any
network, every day for one year.
The amount of money you save, though, depends on
which handset you buy, and at what price.
Here is a list of phones that offer the Zero Paisa
scheme. We also tell you the amount you save and
whether the deal makes sense.
Videocon V202
Videocon V202 is a very basic handset with FM radio
and torch, and is priced reasonably at about Rs 1,500.
You get 10 minutes of local calls free everyday for 6
months. You save about Rs 180 per month or Rs
1,080 over six months, assuming that you utilise the
free talk time every day because left over talk time
doesn’t get carried over to the next day. The phone
can be bought at a discount of Rs 200-Rs 300 without
the offer, so buying it at MRP with the Zero Paisa
scheme is certainly better.
Videocon V1292
Videocon V1292 is slightly better equipped than
V202. It has an MP3 player with 20 mm speakers,
FM radio on loudspeaker with FM recording, dual SIM
support, and an LED torch. But its MRP is more than
Rs 1,900 and the difference between MRP and
market price is in excess of Rs 500. Yet, the offer is
worth considering.
Videocon V1404
With a Videocon V1404 phone, the offer period is
extended to 1 year. V1404 is a dual GSM SIM
handset with a 4.5 cm (or 1.8 inch) display, VGA
camera with video recording, an MP3 player,
expandable memory up to 2 GB, FM radio with
recording, and an LED torch. With savings in excess of
Rs 2,000 (10 minutes per day for 365 days,) this
handset is a better deal compared even to V202, as
savings are even greater than the phone ’s MRP,
which is about Rs 2,000.
Videocon V1428
Videocon V1428 is also a dual GSM SIM handset
with a slightly bigger, 2 inch screen, than that of
V1404. You also get Bluetooth connectivity and
memory expandable to 4 GB. In other respects the
phone is similar to V1404. At an MRP of about Rs
2,700 and the same savings as with V414, it is a
good bet even though it costs Rs 700 after you deduct
savings.
Videocon V1676
Videocon V1676 is another handset that offers 10
minutes worth of free local calls every day for 1 year.
V1676 is a Qwerty device with a 2.4 inch screen, 2
mega pixel camera, EDGE and GPRS connectivity,
and pre-loaded Nimbuzz and Opera mini browser, as
well as a memory that can hold 1,000 phonebook
entries or SMS messages.
With an MRP of more than Rs 4,300 this device is not
exactly cheap. At this price you can buy phones with
similar specifications from established brands such as
Samsung and Motorola. Indian brands Micromax and
Lemon sell the same set of features at Rs 1,000 less.
However, since the savings are Rs 2,000 per annum,
the offer isn’t bad.
For a user in Tamil Nadu, Videocon’s scheme is more
lucrative with 30 minutes of free calls every day and
unlimited locals calls to Videocon Mobile users for 1
year, which translates to savings of more than Rs
6,000 per year.
Videocon V7400
Expensive handsets such as V7400 come with 30
minutes of local calls free to any network, plus
unlimited calls to local Videocon numbers daily for 12
months, translating to savings of more than Rs 6,000.
Videocon V7400 is an Android 2.1, 3G handset with a
2.8 inch touchscreen that has display resolution of 320
x 240 pixels.
The phone uses Wifi connectivity, A-GPS for
mapping, has a 3.2 mega pixel camera, uses
Bluetooth, and its memory is expandable up to 16 GB.
But at Rs 13,000 the phone isn’t a good deal because
Micromax Andro, which has similar specs, is available
for Rs 8,000.
Videocon V7500
Another phone powered by Android 2.1 Eclair, which
is an old version of the OS, V7500 has a 3.2 inch
touchscreen, and comes bundled with an 8 GB micro
SD card. The phone ’s memory is expandable to 32
GB, and it has a 5 mega pixel camera. V7500 works
on 3.5G, Wifi and A-GPS, networks. It has a
preloaded push mail client associated with the Gmail
server.
Where features are concerned, the phone is decent.
But, it ’s outrageously expensive. An MRP of nearly
Rs 20,000 is not justified. V7500 is available at below
Rs 11,000 in the open market, but for the free
talktime you have to pay the MRP, which is not a
wise decision.
You can, in fact, buy a much better Android phone
from manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, LG or
Sony Ericsson for Rs 20,000.
Verdict
While at the lower end, the offer brings substantial
savings, with regard to higher end handsets, it does
not result in any savings at all.
Moreover, there are several plans from service
providers such as Reliance Communications, Uninor
and Tata Teleservices which offer unlimited intra
operator (e.g. Tata to Tata) calls for a small amount,
like Rs 30 per month. Plans that enable free calls to
any network are also available, though the simplicity
of Videocon’s offer can’t be denied.
Note: We have calculated savings based on a call rate
of 1 paisa per second.