Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday launched the JioPhone, which he said would be “effectively free” barring a refundable deposit. Customers can get the phone with a Rs 1,500 deposit, which they can claim after three years, NDTV reported.

The “feature phone with a revolutionary device” comes with free voice calls. Users of the JioPhone will also get unlimited data and free text messages at Rs 153 per month.

Ambani launched the phone at RIL’s Annual General Meeting in Mumbai. He said the 4G LTE phone was “made in India for all Indians” and supported 22 languages. It has a microSD card slot and supports voice commands even in Hindi.

JioPhone will be available for beta testing from August 15 and can be pre-ordered from August 24. It will be available to the public from September.

Jio’s new offer

Ambani said Reliance Jio had a new plan for Rs 309 per month for customers who want to mirror content from JioPhone to the big screen. Small recharge packs at Rs 24 for two days and Rs 54 for a week will also be available.