Remember JioPhone's old sibling RIM CDMA handset? Yes, the one with Viru's 'Kar Lo Duniya Mutthi Mein' advert

Not many may remember, but Reliance had launched a cheap phone way back in 2003. The phone was a success, and so was the advertisement for the product which featured Indian batsman Virender Sehwag who was then at the peak of his career.

The advertisement showed Sehwag struggling at the crease, before he receives a call from his mother on RIM CDMA handset. The phone came with a monthly charge of Rs 600. A membership charge of Rs 3,000 was proposed but was later withdrawn.

The cheap voice calling plans charged outgoing calls at 15 paise for 10 seconds for local calls, whereas STD calls were charged at 40 paise.

This was the time when mobile phones came with a price tag north of Rs 10,000 and every call was for Rs 2 or more.

No fees were charged for incoming calls, which was the convention back then. Value added services like voice mail, call waiting, call hold, call diverting, call identification, call locking, and text messages were offered without any extra charges.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani today launched the JioPhone technically for free, with buyers asked to pay refundable deposit of Rs 1,500. For comparison's sake between the old and the new, network strength is one field where JioPhone might lag behind the RIM CDMA network.

While the popular 4G network still suffers from weak signal strength, the RIM CDMA network was reportedly considered to be a reliable one by its users.

Some reports are also expressing reservations as to how will the less tech-savvy users, say, those from the rural areas, will adapt to the high-end features like voice command, NFC, and digital transactions offered with the JioPhone. This might hinder the plans of Reliance Jio to take the high-speed 4G network to the far reaches of the country, something which did not worry RIM back in the day.