MTN Launches a new Smartphone

• MTN Launches a new Smartphone

In an effort to deepen market penetration and broaden growth, Telecommunication giant MTN has announced a new smartphone.

According to the firm, the mobile device won’t just be about voice services but also data services.

Rahul De, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, who spoke at the launching of the new mobile device on Wednesday in Lagos, said the device was devloped to make smartphones accessible through price affordability and better internet services.

He said the company has set a standard for other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) with the device.

“This is a way to bridge the gap in smartphone penetration by making the devices affordable. This is a very innovative product and we don’t mind if this category of feature phones opens up but we don’t want to propagate the grey market. If eligible companies start making smart feature phones, we wish them good luck,” De said.

“The aim is to make smartphones affordable and to ensure data penetration and not handsets only. It is not manufactured in Nigeria but in the future, if the volumes pick up, we may consider.”

Speaking on the future plans of the company De said more handsets would be introduced in line with emerging technology.

He added, “With this initiative, we are targeting those who are not connected to the Internet. While we are working on the data, we are also working on the device to connect more people to the Internet.”

Abiodun Ajayi, the General Manager, Data and Devices, MTN, said the smartphone, which has 2.4 inches screen size as well as front and rear camera, runs on KaiOS Operating system and had been pre-installed with apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Google Maps, MyMTNApp, FM Radio, Google Assistant, among others.