Karbonn launches K9 Kavach in India, BHIM app preloaded

Karbonn Mobiles has launched a new smartphone, Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G. The domestic mobile brand boasts of its UPI integration in the form of the preloaded BHIM app, and inclusion of a fingerprint sensor for payment authentication in the smartphone.

The Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G price in India is Rs. 5,290, and it bears entry-level specifications. It will be available to buy through offline retail channels in the country from this week.

Elaborating on the UPI payments integration on the Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G, the domestic brand at its launch event in New Delhi said that the BHIM app’s access and securitisation mechanisms have been integrated at a firmware level, making it safer to use. NPCI officials were also present at the launch event. The company also claims that the preloaded BHIM app has been optimised for user experience and app performance on the K9 Kavach 4G smartphone. The company is also touting the security benefits of the fingerprint sensor.

‘Hakan Nordfjell, Senior Vice President, Digital Banking at Gemalto, adds: “We believe that user convenience is paramount to any digital banking service but also that it should not be at the expense of security. The Gemalto Assurance Hub uses machine learning to analyze end-user behavior which enables banks to adapt authentication procedures to each transaction. By adding BehavioSec’s behavioral technology we are able to provide a flexible hub of risk assessment tools that can easily add banks’ existing solutions but also allows them to evolve with the time and changing consumer behaviors.”

Other OS level integrations on the Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G that are being touted by the company include e-KYC and Aadhaar authentication, Digilocker and e-Gov service access, the ability to perform person-to-person transactions directly from the phonebook, contextual payments within messenger apps, as well as bill payments and utility services.

Getting to the specifications of the smartphone – the dual-SIM Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G runs Android 7.0 Nougat, and sports a 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS display. It is powered by a 1.25GHz quad-core processor that’s coupled with 1GB of RAM. As for optics, the K9 Kavach 4G bears a 5-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and flash, apart from a 5-megapixel front camera.

The Karbonn K9 Kavach 4G comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage that’s expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). As for connectivity options, the smartphone includes 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, Micro-USB, FM radio, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The smartphone is powered by a 2300mAh battery.