Flipkart just launched its first phone

Billion Capture+ starts at US$170. Photo credit: Flipkart.

Following in the footsteps of Amazon’s Fire phone flop, India’s Flipkart today unveiled its first ever phone.

Starting at US$170, the dual camera Billion Capture+ shows India’s biggest homegrown ecommerce store is going after the cheap-and-cheerful sector that’s currently dominated by Chinese brands Xiaomi and Oppo. It goes on sale November 15.

See: In India, Xiaomi is getting close to toppling Samsung

Indian consumers bought an estimated 109 million new smartphones in 2016 amid a swing away from basic flip-phones, according to IDC. This year is likely to be even bigger. Indeed, the nation of 1.3 billion last month surpassed the US to become the second largest smartphone market.

There will likely be more phones from Flipkart now that it has established the Billion brand. It also comes with a patriotic twist.

“By making these products in India, we will create an impact on both the manufacturing ecosystem in the country and the skills of young workers,” said Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal today. “Doing this in fast-growing, high-tech segments like smartphones will magnify this impact on the nation.”

Chinese newcomers like Xiaomi and Oppo are ahead of the curve on this, having already established Indian factories in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for a wave of made-in-India products. Apple manufactures its iPhone SE in India for the local market.

Flipkart, locked in a fierce battle with Amazon for dominance, first dabbled with its own hardware at the end of last year when it released phone chargers and data cables.

Billion Capture+ specs can be found here.