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MANILA, Philippines—As part of its push to promote Internet access
for all Filipinos, Smart Communications has introduced one of the
world’s most affordable and high-quality smartphones.
In a statement over the weekend, Smart announced the launch of Ideos phones made by Chinese phone maker Huawei.
With this device—billed to be the world’s first affordable Android
smart phone—Smart said it would be in a position to strengthen its
leadership in this category by completing its range of smart phones,
from high-end to mass-market handsets.
Smart is expected to offer Ideos within a price range of P5,000 and
P6,000 for prepaid units. It will also bundle a monthly plan of as low
as P500 for postpaid subscribers. Company officials said more Smartphone
models are in the pipeline.
“Mobile Internet usage in the Philippines has been growing steadily,
and is now poised to take off. We will now take it to the next level
with smartphones that are affordable to a broader market. This is in
line with our vision of ‘Internet for all,’” Smart’s chief wireless
adviser Orlando B. Vea said.
Powered by the Google Android 2.2 operating system, the new phones
can be customized with communication, entertainment, productivity and
gaming applications—more than 70,000 of which are available in the
Android Market.
The company said there are over 30 million Internet users in the
Philippines, and majority of these gain access to the worldwide Web
through Internet cafés, Smart said.
Only about 20 percent of the Philippine population had access to personal computers, it added.
And though prices of these devices, including laptops and netbooks,
have fallen in recent years, industry analysts expect that web-enabled
mobile phones will soon become the most pervasive means of accessing the
Internet, especially for lower-income consumers.
“Though we’re ahead in this market, with about 8 million Smart mobile
subscribers accessing the Internet, there is a lot of headroom for
growth if you look at the total Internet market,” said Danilo J. Mojica,
head of Smart’s wireless consumer division.
Social networking, e-mail and browsing are among the most popular mobile Internet applications.
“Filipinos take to the Internet like ducks to water. For Facebook
alone, we have contributed more than 20 million to its total membership.
And this is when many Filipinos still do not have easy access to the
Internet yet,” Mojica said.
“Smartphones, like Ideos, will be especially helpful in promoting
Internet usage because these devices are driven by touch-screen
applications, enabling users to easily access useful, bite-sized chunks
of the Internet like Facebook updates, games, music and other services,”
he added.
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for all Filipinos, Smart Communications has introduced one of the
world’s most affordable and high-quality smartphones.
In a statement over the weekend, Smart announced the launch of Ideos phones made by Chinese phone maker Huawei.
With this device—billed to be the world’s first affordable Android
smart phone—Smart said it would be in a position to strengthen its
leadership in this category by completing its range of smart phones,
from high-end to mass-market handsets.
Smart is expected to offer Ideos within a price range of P5,000 and
P6,000 for prepaid units. It will also bundle a monthly plan of as low
as P500 for postpaid subscribers. Company officials said more Smartphone
models are in the pipeline.
“Mobile Internet usage in the Philippines has been growing steadily,
and is now poised to take off. We will now take it to the next level
with smartphones that are affordable to a broader market. This is in
line with our vision of ‘Internet for all,’” Smart’s chief wireless
adviser Orlando B. Vea said.
Powered by the Google Android 2.2 operating system, the new phones
can be customized with communication, entertainment, productivity and
gaming applications—more than 70,000 of which are available in the
Android Market.
The company said there are over 30 million Internet users in the
Philippines, and majority of these gain access to the worldwide Web
through Internet cafés, Smart said.
Only about 20 percent of the Philippine population had access to personal computers, it added.
And though prices of these devices, including laptops and netbooks,
have fallen in recent years, industry analysts expect that web-enabled
mobile phones will soon become the most pervasive means of accessing the
Internet, especially for lower-income consumers.
“Though we’re ahead in this market, with about 8 million Smart mobile
subscribers accessing the Internet, there is a lot of headroom for
growth if you look at the total Internet market,” said Danilo J. Mojica,
head of Smart’s wireless consumer division.
Social networking, e-mail and browsing are among the most popular mobile Internet applications.
“Filipinos take to the Internet like ducks to water. For Facebook
alone, we have contributed more than 20 million to its total membership.
And this is when many Filipinos still do not have easy access to the
Internet yet,” Mojica said.
“Smartphones, like Ideos, will be especially helpful in promoting
Internet usage because these devices are driven by touch-screen
applications, enabling users to easily access useful, bite-sized chunks
of the Internet like Facebook updates, games, music and other services,”
he added.
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