GE to finance Motorola handsets

In the first of its kind initiative, mobile handset major Motorola has tied up with GE Money for financing handsets at zero per cent interest rates.

"This is the first time that a finance company and a handset manufacturer have allied to offer '0' per cent mobile handset financing to consumers. To begin with the facility will be available in 10 major cities through 200 Motorola dealers," Allen Burnes, Corporate Vice President, Motorola, told reporters.

The plan is to cover 70 cities across the country through 1,500 strong dealer network established by Motorola, he said adding "the tie-up with GE Money is the latest link in our series of pioneering initiatives to re-define channel sales while enabling broader access to best-in-class products for consumers."

Commenting on the deal, Vishal Pandit, President and CEO of GE Money said the company would be offering up to 75 per cent of the handset price and for a period ranging between nine to 12 months.

Handsets available under the scheme are mid and high-end devices, including six feature rich current models including Motoslim, Motorazor V3 and newly launched PDA phones and the scheme would come into effect from today.

With this agreement, Motorola acquires an unparalleled distribution system of handsets sales in India, Sudhir Aggarwal, Director (Sales), Motorola, said, adding "this will address mass-markets by empowering existing and potential customers across largely neglected audiences in the country."