Monday, February 22, 2010

  Cheapest Mobile - world record set by Vodafone 150

 BARCELONA, Spain -- During the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Vodafone unveiled the Vodafone 150 mobile phone, which has has most of the basic features like voice, SMS and support for mobile payment services and will retail unsubsidized at below $15 , setting the world record for the Cheapest Mobile .
 Photo: Vodafone 150
 ( enlarge photo )

   The Vodafone 150 will retail unsubsidised at below $15 USD and the Vodafone 250 will retail unsubsidised at below $20 USD, depending on the local market.

   The Vodafone 150 and Vodafone 250 both offer excellent voice and SMS services, as well as support for mobile payment services. The two devices share most specification features, the main differences between them being that the Vodafone 250's screen is both color and slightly larger, and it has an FM radio.

 Launching in the first instance in India and six markets in Africa - The Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, Qatar, South Africa and Tanzania - it is in emerging markets such as these that the potential of the mobile phone as a powerful social enabler is most apparent.

Photo: Vodafone 150 (enlarge photo)

   To maximize the availability of the handsets across countries with sizeable and isolated rural populations, the launches will be supported by an extensive logistics infrastructure, reaching deep rural segments where mobile penetration typically remains low.

   In India, it is expected that device availability will reach 60 percent of the population. The UN predicts that mobile ownership will reach 5bn in 2010, with most growth in the developing world.

Photo: Vodafone 250   ( enlarge photo )

   Patrick Chomet, Vodafone's Group Director of Terminals, said, "The cost of mobile handsets can be one of the most significant barriers for people in accessing and benefiting from the growing number of socially valuable mobile services. The lives of people who use these phones - the Vodafone 150 and Vodafone 250 - will be changed and improved as they become part of the mobile society. I am proud of the work we have done and will continue to do in this critical area of customer empowerment."

Photo: Vodafone 250 ( enlarge photo )

   By focusing on a custom-built feature set and packaging design – without any compromise to user experience, quality or safety – and by successfully leveraging vendor and partner relationships along the supply chain, Vodafone and handset manufacturer TCL have been able to significantly reduce the usual manufacturing costs and, therefore, the retail price.

   Nokia has been planning to launch a $10 phone for a long time but the product has still not seen the light of the day.

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