Salman Khan may launch his own brand of smartphones, soon. According to a report by the Economic Times, the actor has registered the ‘BeingSmart’ trademark for smartphones, and the devices will be aimed at the entry and mid-market segments. Sources also told the publication that Khan has already selected the Chinese plant that will manufacture the phones, and that the devices will be powered by Android. The report also notes that these devices will cost less than Rs. 20,000. Khan is reportedly building an operational management team which will be headed by someone who has worked at Samsung and Micromax.
The report notes that the BeingSmart devices would initially be sold online, and will later be available offline via partnerships with certain 'large' mobile phone and electronic retail chains. They may also be available through Salman Khan's Being Human stores.
One of the sources told the publication, “BeingSmart will be positioned against the Chinese smartphone brigade — Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi — at a time domestic handset makers such as Micromax and Intex are facing tremendous competition. And, like the Being Human apparel line, proceeds from the profit will be ploughed back into charity and social work that Salman Khan does with his Being Human Foundation.”
The report also notes that Khan had initially thought about entering the smartphone business two years ago. A few Indian manufacturers had shown interest, but had backed out due to high royalty charges.