Google launched a $105 smartphone in India on Monday, the first device from its "Android One" initiative.
The new initiative is aimed at boosting sales in emerging markets through cheaper prices and better quality software, according to Reuters.
The Mountain View-Based company partnered with Indian handset makers Spice Mobiles, Karbonn, and Micromax, to release the 6,399 rupees phone.
The new phone is powered by Google's operating system and targets the low-cost segment of the fastest growing smartphone market in the world.
Google said that it also plans to expand Android One to Indonesia, Philippines, and other South Asian countries before the end of 2014. More countries will be added in 2015, according to Reuters.
Companies like Acer Inc, HTC Corp and Panasonic Corp, are working with Google to build more devices under Android One, Sundar Pichai, who heads Google's Android and Chrome units, told reporters at the India launch event in New Delhi.
"When (handset companies) look to make a phone, they will get a menu. They can put together a device in a much quicker fashion, knowing we've already tested the software," he said, according to Reuters.
Google is looking to improve the quality of hardware and software with Android One, by giving handset makers a frame of reference. Strong sales could mean more Internet access and more usage of Google's products.
Pichai said future software upgrades on the Android One phones would come directly from Google. This allows the company to better control the operating system and guarantees users will get a consistent service.
"After China and the United States, India is the third largest smartphone market in the world and Google won't like to leave such a huge market in control of brands looking to use a custom-forked Android OS as is happening in China," said Neil Shah, research director for devices and ecosystems at Hong Kong-based technology research agency Counterpoint Research, according to Reuters.
Just 10 percent of India's population currently has a smartphone, a figure that is likely to double the next four years, brokerage Nomura said in a recent research note.
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