Google has partnered with a smartphone manufacturer and will offer low-priced phones to six African countries: Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Morocco.
The search giant announced on Tuesday that its new Hot 2 phone, an Android phone, will be made by Infinix with a recommended price of $88.
Nigerians can get the phone in stores and citizens of those other nations will be able to get the phone from online retailer Jumia.
The phones being released in Africa are bare-bones models and won’t be able to do as many things as more expensive phones.
Jumia listed the phone for $98 and it promptly sold out.
This initiative is part of Google’s Android One which debuted in India last year and is part of Google’s move to offer smartphones in developing nations where computers are considered a luxury.
Broadband access is limited in those parts of the world yet Google sees potential.
A couple years ago, Google built a fiber-optic network to provide faster Internet access in Kampala, the capital of Uganda
To reach Africa and other developing markets, expanding smartphone access is the first step as Google, Facebook and other tech companies realize.
Google is partnering with device makers to build cheap phones that can still run the latest version of its Android software.
Infinix’s phone will be sold with an Android release that came out last year under the nickname “Lollipop.” It will be capable of running the next upgrade of Android, called “Marshmallow,” due out this fall.
H/t Herald Online
