Creo forays into smartphone market with Mark 1 at Rs 19,999

Consumer technology startup Creo today forayed into heavily-contested smartphone market in India with the new device, Mark 1, priced at Rs 19,999.

The sequoia India-backed firm, which makes media streaming device Teewe, said it is looking at partnering other handset makers for its proprietary operating system, Fuel.

"We've been working long and hard to put out a product that redefines the way we look at hardware. More than making a smartphone with great specs, the focus was on building an operating system that will give users a new phone experience every month with features that deliver performance and functionality," Creo CEO and co-founder Sai Srinivas said.

He added the company is now in discussions with other handset makers to install the Android-based operating system in their smartphones. He, however, declined to name the companies.

Mark 1 will be available from next week on the company's website and Flipkart.

The handset comes with OS-level features like 'Retriever' that allows users to track their phones even after factory resetting and 'Echo', which is a voice-based answering machine system independent of carriers and devices.

It also comes with 'Sense' that allows users to search for what they are looking for by double tapping the screen.

"We are aiming to make the OS available on one million devices in the next one year... We also also working on allowing users to download the OS on their phones, though that is still some time away," he said.

The company, in January, had received USD 3 million (over Rs 20 crore) funding from Sequoia India, Beenext Ventures and India Quotient. The Bengaluru-based firm had said it will use the funds to produce smartphones by developing a proprietary software OS and the device as well.

Formerly known as Mango Man Consumer Electronics, Creo first product offering was an HDMI media streaming device - Teewe - that was launched in September 2014. With Teewe 2, launched in May 2015, the company sold over 50,000 units across India.

The Mark 1 has a metal body, 5.5-inch screen, 21 MP rear and 8MP front camera, 1.95 GHz True Octa Core Helio X10 processor with 3GB RAM and a 3100 mAh battery. With 32GB of storage (expandable up to 128GB), Mark 1 has dual SIM Slots enabled with 4G connectivity.

According to research firm IDC, about 9.3 million smartphones were shipped in India in October with 4G-based devices accounting for more than half of the share.

Samsung leads the smartphone market, followed by Micromax, Lenovo and Intex.