Tata Tele launches Rs 1,699 phone

Telecom service provider, Tata Teleservices on Thursday launched a Rs 1,699 single-chip ultra thin cell phone to help expand its customer base rapidly.

Tata Group company hopes to sell three million such phones in the first year, Tata Teleservices CEO Darryl Green said."There is a robust demand. I am very bullish on the projections," he said, adding the mobile phone was mainly targeted at first-time buyers.The company expects "large momentum" building in March and April for the entry-level phone.

"We will double in size during the current financial year," Green said in a news conference, adding the company expects to have a customer base of 18 million by March-end.Officials of the company said the device has voice prompts in six languages -- English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.The new cell phone will enable customers to avail double talk time for the first six months valid for one year from the date of activation, company officials said.