Huawei Launches New Android Smartphone in Africa
By Ben Omondi
JOHANNESBURG---Huawei Device, a subsidiary of China’s Huawei Technologies, has announced the launch of its new Android-powered handset, the IDEOS U8150 smartphone into the African market during the just-concluded AfricaCom event in South Africa.
The IDEOS U8150, billed as the most affordable entry-level smartphone, is set to retail for about US $ 250, is a new generation and universal-type Android internet-enabled device targeted at the youth market and has been developed in cooperation with Google.
The handset provides a variety of ways to access the internet, as it boasts downlink speeds of more than 7.2Mbps, offers WCDMA and WiFi dual network support and also doubles as a WiFi router for up to six devices at a time, making it an all-in-one solution for a range of wireless connectivity options.
The handset comes with a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen that supports handwriting recognition which performs better in detecting the presence and location of the user’s touch.
Using a smart gravity sensor, it enables the user to switch between the landscape mode and portrait mode quickly by turning the handset and also features a smart dialing system which enables the user to connect with the desired contact easily.
Available in blue, black, yellow, and red, the IDEOS U8150 also supports functions such as voice dialing, voice navigation, social networking and the ability to run applications off the SD card.
Ms Liza de Wet, Huawei Device division marketing director for Africa said in a media release that the company’s focus is on the value proposition to offer intelligent solutions to help telecom operators attract more subscribers and business opportunities and create a simple and fun life for end users.
“The collaboration of Huawei and Google will assist in driving the internet evolution in the emerging markets such as Africa. We are deeply excited about the launch of our U8150, the first of the IDEOS series, and we are confident that consumers will enjoy smarter devices created for a simpler world” said Ms de Wet.
The IDEOS smartphone is set to be available at retail outlets in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola and Zambia among others. The IDEOS U8150 smartphone first launched in September in more than 30 countries including US, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Hong Kong and India, and has already achieved sales of over one million units to date, according to Huawei.
Huawei Device is one of Huawei's four business units, and covers a wide range of products including mobile phones, mobile broadband, convergence terminal and video products. The division currently serves 48 of the world's top 50 telecom operators.