Chinese Internet company, LeTV, today announced the Le 1S smartphone, at 1,099 Yuan (approx. Rs. 11,000). The device runs on a 2.2GHz MediaTek Helio X10 SoC, along with 3GB of RAM, 32GB ROM and a 5.5-inch FHD display. The phone also has a fingerprint sensor on the back, which LeTV calls a Le Touch sensor that can also be used as the camera shutter button for the 13MP ISOCELL camera on the back. The front has a 5MP camera. The Le 1S also has a full metal unibody design, reminiscent on the company's earlier Le 1 smartphone.
In China, the Le 1S comes with LeTV's ecosystem of apps and content, and runs on eUI 5.5, which is the company's own UI. The company is trying to sell the fact that while the phone is priced in the budget range, it has the specifications of a mid-ranged flagship device. In fact, the Le 1S is a pretty good looking device, that can easily rival some of the best budget phones in India. LeTV has been planning to come to India for a while now. The company first announced its intentions back in April, when it launched the Le 1, Le 1 Pro and Le Max smartphones in its native country.
The Le 1, Le 1 Pro and Max, marked the company's entry into smartphones, but the company still continues its focus on content and ecosystem. In China, LeTV's strength is in the myriad content platforms that it provides, which is also why it calls itself an Internet company. In fact, both company APAC Head, Tin Mok and Co-Founder, Jia Yueting, confirmed that LeTV will be focusing on an ecosystem driven route in India as well. Not only that, Mok also said that the company's main focus is to get local content for its prospective Indian users.
If so, the company has taken up a difficult task, since its collection of Indian content rests at zero at the moment. LeTV though has a fairly good collection of content from Hollywood, along with sports and news content. While LeTV hasn't specified its launch date yet, we're expecting the company to be ready for its India launch some time in December this month.
Further, LeTV also announced the uMax 120 3D 4K television, which is the world's first 120 inch 3D 4K television. Unlike the phone though, the company is targeting the television at celebrities and the ultra-rich, with a 499,000 Yuan price tag (roughly Rs. 50 lakh).