Micromax made the announcement last month when it said the Yu brand of smartphones will
run Cyanogen OS, the commercial variant of the Android-based operating system popular with
the 'hacker' community that loves being in control of their devices. No other details were
shared at that point.
Things became more confusing with a legal tussle over Cyanogen rights in India between
Micromax and OnePlus. Micromax has an exclusive agreement with Cyanogen for distribution
of Cyanogen OS-powered phones in India and other South Asian countries. This meant that
OnePlus, which recently announced in entry in India with the launch of OnePlus One (another
Cyanogen OS powered smartphone, refer previous review) had to halt sales.
While most can't hide their excitement looking at the price tag, we are firmly in the "if
something sounds too good to be true, it usually is" camp. The HTC Desire 820, which has
nearly identical specifications as the Yu Yureka, is being sold at a price tag that's nearly 3 times
that of the Yureka. While HTC usually sells its devices at a bit of a premium, the Desire 820 is
pretty decently priced for the hardware, so you have to wonder how Micromax is planning to
sell a similar device at the fraction of the cost.
It's no surprise then Micromax is inspired by another company that's been selling devices at a
discount compared to ones with similar specifications - Xiaomi. The Yu Yureka will be sold via
the flash sale model made infamous by Xiaomi, wherein customers will need to pre-register at
Amazon India and then compete with each other to complete the purchase. But some get
problem in that also.
Micromax did not answer queries on how many units will be made available for the first and
subsequent sales, but everything points to the fact that the Yu Yureka might be harder to get
than any of Xiaomi smartphones. We hope Micromax is more open about how many Yureka
smartphones will be up for grabs in each flash sale closer to the date, so customers know
exactly what they are getting into, and it's not a case of lakhs of people competing to buy a
handful of units.
While that may sound like music to the ears of those associated with Micromax's Yu Yureka
smartphone, recent history has shown it doesn't take long for what sounds like great. Let's the
coming time tale whole story.
run Cyanogen OS, the commercial variant of the Android-based operating system popular with
the 'hacker' community that loves being in control of their devices. No other details were
shared at that point.
Things became more confusing with a legal tussle over Cyanogen rights in India between
Micromax and OnePlus. Micromax has an exclusive agreement with Cyanogen for distribution
of Cyanogen OS-powered phones in India and other South Asian countries. This meant that
OnePlus, which recently announced in entry in India with the launch of OnePlus One (another
Cyanogen OS powered smartphone, refer previous review) had to halt sales.
While most can't hide their excitement looking at the price tag, we are firmly in the "if
something sounds too good to be true, it usually is" camp. The HTC Desire 820, which has
nearly identical specifications as the Yu Yureka, is being sold at a price tag that's nearly 3 times
that of the Yureka. While HTC usually sells its devices at a bit of a premium, the Desire 820 is
pretty decently priced for the hardware, so you have to wonder how Micromax is planning to
sell a similar device at the fraction of the cost.
It's no surprise then Micromax is inspired by another company that's been selling devices at a
discount compared to ones with similar specifications - Xiaomi. The Yu Yureka will be sold via
the flash sale model made infamous by Xiaomi, wherein customers will need to pre-register at
Amazon India and then compete with each other to complete the purchase. But some get
problem in that also.
Micromax did not answer queries on how many units will be made available for the first and
subsequent sales, but everything points to the fact that the Yu Yureka might be harder to get
than any of Xiaomi smartphones. We hope Micromax is more open about how many Yureka
smartphones will be up for grabs in each flash sale closer to the date, so customers know
exactly what they are getting into, and it's not a case of lakhs of people competing to buy a
handful of units.
While that may sound like music to the ears of those associated with Micromax's Yu Yureka
smartphone, recent history has shown it doesn't take long for what sounds like great. Let's the
coming time tale whole story.
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