e-commerce
Alcatel’s smartphone ‘Onetouch Fire C’ launches on Flipkart’s Big Billion Day Sale
BENGALURU: A number of companies have said that they are working on the $20-25 smartphone for India. Alcatel Onetouch (Alcatel) has come in close with a smartphone that seems to have features that just about slot it into the smartphone category, a little above the features phone at a price of Rs 1990, or a little more than $30 – the ‘Onetouch Fire C’.
The company is targeting first time users of smartphones that want to upgrade from the basic or the features phone in a very price sensitive market like India. The Onetouch Fire C will be available exclusively through Flipkart starting 6 October, or Flipkart’s Big Billion Day (Sale Day), for which the company has initiated a huge multimedia campaign. Flipkart feels that a lot of first time internet users will access the net on the Big Billion Day and hence push up sales of Onetouch Fire C. Flipkart has not planned a special campaign for individual products which include a Lenovo launch on 6 December 2014.
However, Alcatel plans to push the Onetouch Fire C digitally for now, and through the print media sometime around Diwali. Its creatives are done globally, while media buying is through Ad Syndicate and Zenith Optimedia.
“Even today, 71 per cent of market in India is feature phones, while 29 per cent is smartphones. Of that 29 per cent, between 30-40 per cent of the market is for the Rs 5000 or lower smartphone, and it is this market that we are targeting primarily with the Fire C,” said Alcatel Onetouch regional director APAC BU Praveen Valecha. The Onetouch Fire C is a 2G phone and the company is likely to come up with an upgraded low cost model sometime in November or December this year, which could have 3G or even 4G capability.
“As a launch partner for Firefox OS, we know that our customers love its simple user interface and smooth navigation. We see a great deal of opportunity to bring these benefits to more consumers on a greater variety of devices at most affordable price and we are sure of success as it’s an innovative product selling on Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce platform,” said Valecha.
Here’s what a press release has to say about the Onetouch Fire C:
Offering Firefox OS features at entry-level price; the Fire C is a pocket-sized smartphone that is designed to make sharing simple. Its 3.5” HVGA screen and 1 GHZ processor offer smooth and fast Firefox OS apps experience. Complete with mobile broadband and stereo FM radio RDS, the Fire C2G offers all of the features needed to capture, share and enjoy content. Firefox is totally a web HTML based OS which gives best user experience on-the-go. It constitutes marketplace and best adaptive applications search along with rich media and social messaging apps support. A unique dynamic UI will be a big plus for the phone.
Key features include:
Onetouch Fire C – 2G: OS version – Firefox 1.3, Compact, pocket friendly design, 3.5” HVGA display, dual sim, 1.0 GHz, 1.3 MP camera; Colour – bluish black and dark chocolate; Multilingual support – English, Bangla, Tamil and Hindi languages.
e-commerce
Amazon unveils first Trustworthy Shopping Experience Report
32,000 bad actors targeted, 15 million fake products removed in 2025.
MUMBAI: In a marketplace where trust is the real currency, Amazon is showing its receipts. Amazon has released its first-ever Trustworthy Shopping Experience Report, offering a detailed look at how it polices its vast digital shelves from counterfeit crackdowns to scam detection and review authenticity. At the heart of the report is a four-pronged strategy, proactive controls, risk anticipation, enforcement against bad actors, and consumer protection. The scale is staggering. Since 2020, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit has pursued over 32,000 bad actors globally through litigation and criminal referrals spanning 14 countries.
The clean-up drive accelerated in 2025, with the company identifying and disposing of more than 15 million counterfeit products worldwide. Legal action also led to the takedown of over 100 websites linked to fake reviews and scams, an ongoing battle in the age of algorithmic manipulation.
Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence and machine learning are doing the heavy lifting. Amazon says it monitors billions of daily interactions across listings, reviews, and seller activity to spot trouble before it surfaces. Its predictive systems can even flag potentially infringing listings for trending products before brands raise the alarm.
Tools like Omniscan, which verifies product safety information at scale, and SENTRIX, designed to detect and eliminate phishing websites, are part of this expanding tech arsenal. Together, they aim to reduce risk while keeping the platform usable for legitimate sellers.
That balance between protection and friction is a tightrope Amazon acknowledges. Rohan Oommen, Vice President of Worldwide Customer and Partner Trust, noted that while safeguards are critical, they must not stifle genuine businesses. Features like the Account Health Dashboard are meant to give sellers clearer visibility into compliance and performance.
Consumer-facing measures are also getting sharper. From direct safety alerts to recall notifications and refund guidance, Amazon is leaning into transparency, backed by partnerships with consumer organisations to raise awareness.
The report’s release follows the expansion of Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit into India, signalling a deeper push into one of its fastest-growing markets, with closer coordination planned between brands, sellers, and law enforcement.
In short, as online shopping grows more complex, Amazon is betting that trust built through data, enforcement, and a fair bit of algorithmic vigilance will be its most valuable product yet.
