Android smartphone for $50 is not far away, says Eric Schmidt

Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is on a whirlwind tour through Asia and the ex-CEO of the search giant said it’s not long before we see a basic smartphone with a web browser and web-client apps for $50 (or approximately Rs 2,700).At a meeting today with journalists in New Delhi, Schmidt said such a phone is certainly a possibility in the near future, while also mentioning that Google has been encouraging manufacturers to bring down the cost of their smartphones. In a way, the company has set an example for others with the Nexus 4, the base model of which is available for $299 (Approx Rs 16,000). And the Nexus 4, which was manufactured by LG, has not skimmed on any major hardware aspect, at least as far as India is concerned. Schmidt said cheap smartphones are the key to giving mobile-based Internet penetration a big push, especially in countries like India. Click here for full story