HMD announced a collaboration with Rajasthan Royals as their Official Smartphone Partner on Wednesday, April 10. The partnership is for “this year’s high-octane T20 season” which refers to the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Notably, IPL 2024 started on March 22 but Rajasthan Royals did not play their first game of the tournament until March 24 against the Lucknow Super Giants. Today, the Royals, currently ranked at the top of the table, will take on the Gujarat Titans in Jaipur.
HMD explains in a press note that the partnership aims to leverage cricket’s popularity in the country to increase brand visibility in India. This is expected to “bolster HMD’s position as an innovation-oriented smartphone brand.” HMD is presently known as the company that makes Nokia mobile phones. Earlier this year, the company revealed its plan to launch self-branded phones. This move could be chalked up to a foundational marketing campaign for that.
In February this year, HMD officially teased a smartphone with a clear HMD branding on the back panel. It was seen in a matte grey finish and is confirmed to launch in July. This is expected to be the budget N159V model which was leaked earlier and has been tipped to feature a dual rear camera system. Another HMD-branded handset surfaced online with a glossy pink finish and a distinctive black rear camera module. This phone is also said to be similar to the N159V model but will likely feature a 108-megapixel rear camera.
HMD has not yet confirmed monikers for its self-branded smartphones. However, previous reports claim that India is likely to be an important market for the company and that the HMD-branded phones could even see an India launch first before they go global.
A recent report also suggested that the company may unveil a series of HMD handsets. They could carry the monikers of HMD Pulse+, HMD Pulse Pro, HMD Legend, HMD Legend+, and HMD Legend Pro. The firm may also announce a new HMD T21 tablet.
The report added that the rumoured HMD Pulse Pro with the model number TA-1595 was recently spotted on the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) listing. This phone could come in black ocean, glacier green, and twilight purple colour options. Another purported handset, the HMD Pulse+, is tipped to be offered in a midnight blue shade and get a 6.56-inch display. Both phones could support 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, according to the leak.