Micromax launches Modu T – World’s lightest smartphone!

Micromax has partnered with Israel’s Modu to co-brand and distribute world’s lightest smartphone – Modu T. Before we go any further, the phone weighs 55 gms. I am not sure what a comparable object would be here but I can tell you that it will be very light. The phone looks little bulky for 55 gms. Modu T is priced at Rs. 12,500 and comes in two jackets – camerafy and sportfy. The phone will be available from October 22, 2010 in India.

Micromax is the distributor for Modu T which would bear the names of Micromax and Modu. The phone is designed by Israel’s Modu. It will run on Qualcomm’s Brew operating system and not Android – thank you very much. And this is not the Android phone which Micromax is set to launch.

Dev Moran who pioneered USB Flash drive and sold to Sandisk for $1.6 bn is the founder of Modu.

Modu T’s features :

modu T, is a 3.5G touch phone which was awarded a Guinness World  Record for being the lightest touch phone in the world. The modu T is a thin phone, it has a 2.2 inch touch screen and a memory card with 2GB memory capacity which can be extended up to 32GB. The phone includes extensive functionality which includes web access, Instant Messaging, direct links to different social networks, a built in FM radio, GPS, music player and more. modu T includes a wide variety of applications such as: YouTube™, Google™ Search, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, TuneWiki, eBuddy and Snaptu. (source)

Micromax has filed for a DRHP with SEBI and has briefly mentioned about its partnership with Modu in it.

We plan to target segments in which we are currently not present, such as “Android” and “Touch” phones, and grow our portfolio of CDMA  and 3G products to capitalize on the growth opportunities presented by these categories. We have entered into an exclusive distribution and joint branding agreement with Modu Limited (“Modu”), an Israel based mobile handset company, which has developed modular mobile phones that enable users to personalize their mobile  experience in a simple and affordable way. We will distribute jointly branded Modu-Terimnals, Modu-Mates and other ancillary accessories and services in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka until December 31, 2012. We intend on distributing these handsets through our existing distribution network.

It took a while to assemble all the pieces and fit the puzzle. But it’s worth the effort.

Here’s how Modu T works :

Modu T is the basic touch screen mobile phone which will have 3G capabilities and works like any other smartphone without camera, music player, speaker phone and a keypad. Modu T can then be plugged into various family of devices called as jackets. If Modu is plugged into a CameraFy then it will turn into a smartphone with a 5 megapixel camera. Modu plugged into a sportfy will become a exercise companion, plays your favorite music and tracks your performance online. Boostify is the other modu T jacket which lets you enjoy hands-free calls and songs. If you plug Modu into the Textfy gadget then it will turn into a touch screen phone having a keypad, just like Blackberry Torch. Not exactly, but you get the idea.

There are a total of 4 jackets available on display and possibly many more to come. Textfy won’t be available till 2011. Camerafy and Sportfy are the only ones being offered in India. If Modu launches a tablet then Modu T can be plugged into the tablet turning it into a full fledged 3G tablet. It could look something like this :

What you see in the picture above is the basic Modu and not Modu T. But Modu T is expected to be work in a similar way. In addition modu is scheduled to launch a 2.2 inch touch screen Android device called Modu-W.

Here’s an old video of smaller modu in action :

What Modu is advocating is freedom through a variety of choices. Freedom to connect with variety of devices through a central device which acts as a flash drive with all your data – music, pictures, contacts, movies and more. This central device which is more of a flash drive with phone capabilities can be plugged into any device and extend the device’s functionality with data on central modu. The devices which modu can plug into are jackets or avatars. Something like polymorphism for hardware. Sounds like a neat idea. The only problem I have with this is, modu can be plugged into a jacket which again is from modu. That to me is too much of modu.

May be this idea is a little ahead of time. May be India will find great uses for Modu T. May be India will make it more popular than the dual SIM category. We just have to wait and see. Micromax should be appreciated for trying out something new, each time every time. It sure is living to its tagline : It’s nothing like anything.

The next big hurdle for Micromax is explaining modu to Indian audience. I can’t wait to watch those ads. Who would it be Akshay Kumar or Twinkle? Both? Tum Modu.. Nahi Nahi. Tum Modu… Alright that’s enough. Let me leave it to the creative folks up there.

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