Intel
Lexington launchIntel and Kenya’s largest mobile operator, Safaricom, announced
yesterday the introduction of a low cost Android smartphone in Kenya. Called
Yolo, the entry level phone will cost 10,999 Kenyan Shillings (about US $127).
Like recent offerings by competitors in emerging markets, the phone is dual
SIM.
The phone is
part of the Intel inside Smartphones that the processor company announced
earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US. The
platform, Intel says, assures Yolo buyers of “fast Web browsing, impressive
multimedia capabilities and a great Android applications experience.”
The
physical and inside specs: 3.5-inch
touchscreen, 1.2GHz processor, HSPA+ modem support, Android 4.0.
The phone is
not entering an Africa starved of low cost Android smartphones. It will compete
with offerings from Samsung (Galaxy Pocket), Huawei (Ideos Ascend), LG (Optimus
Me), ZTE, and a horde of Asian imitations priced lower - typically below $100. So it may all boil
down to Yolo’s better performance for any winning traction in the market. But
then some early reviews of the new Intel Atom processor that the device is based
concluded the experience is, in The Verge’s words, “lethargic”, so…
It’s
pleasing still to see more low cost and (promised) high performance devices
introduced in emerging markets. The increased choice will give competitors a
run for their money, and we will surely result in improved quality even for the
imitations.
Techzim.com