Gionee unveils two smartphones in India amid revamping

New Delhi: Ending a brief hiatus amid restructuring plans in India, Chinese smartphone maker Gionee on Thursday launched two smartphones with better camera specifications and Full View display in the country.

While S11 Lite will cost Rs 13,999, F205 will be available for Rs 8,999.

"With features like face unlock, fingerprint shutter, bokeh and group selfies with backlight -- coupled with a 'Full View' display, we intend to establish connect with the youth and continue fulfilling their requirements in the times to come," Alok Shrivastava, Director-National Sales, Gionee India, said in a statement.

Gionee S11 Lite with 4GB RAM will compete with the successful Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro.

S11 Lite comes with 16MP selfie camera, a 13MP+2MP dual rear camera, 3030mAh battery and 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8937 octa-core processor. The internal storage is expandable up to 256GB via microSD card.

F205 (2GB RAM+16GB ROM) has 5MP selfie camera, 8MP rear camera, Mediatek Quad Core processor and houses 2670mAH battery.

The smartphones have been launched at a time when Gionee is going through restructuring in the country.

In the first quarter of 2018, Gionee shipped an all-time low of 150,000 units with shipments down 90 per cent year on year, said Counterpoint Research.

According to David Chang, Global Sales Director, Gionee India, the second-tier Chinese handset maker is geared up for a big splash in India with new smartphone launches amid a revamped strategy to be among the top five players in the country.

The smartphone maker said it will adopt a new business model under which distributors across the country would do their own marketing to enhance sales.

"India is becoming the second-largest mobile phone market globally and, for Gionee, it is as important as China or the European market. It is our commitment to invest further in this market to bring major change," Chang told IANS in a recent interview.

He said the company will soon launch several other bezel-less smartphone within the price bracket of Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 -- essentially either selfie-focused or battery-centric devices.