$100 IDEOS Android Phone Launches in Kenya
Google and Huawei have launched a very competitively priced Android smartphone in Kenya today, called the IDEOS. It is being sold for 8,000 Ksh (~$100).
It runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) and have access to the Android Market. The IDEOS is a touch-screen phone that comes with bluetooth connectivity, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, up to 16GB of storage and can be transformed into a 3G Wi-Fi hotspot connecting up to eight devices.
2 out of every 3 internet users in Kenya connect through their mobile phone. This is why data is the current battleground in the mobile operator and handset space. Though there are only 6 million internet users in Kenya, the data market though the mobile is huge. Currently, there are 20 million mobile phone subscribers of a total 38 million possible.
Data enabled phones of any type cost a minimum of $40-50 in Kenya, a touchscreen smartphone coming in at $100 is going to be a big deal for a lot of people.
gKenya
Google Kenya started their gKenya conference today. They are meeting with software developers, entrepreneurs and CS students at Strathmore University over 3 days to discuss innovation and growing businesses, as well as discussing their own suite of products.
[An update, after discussions with a bunch of Google employees at the iHub yesterday. The Google team said they didn not know when the phone would be able to be bought in Kenya.]
Android and pre-paid phones
There are two very big issues that the Android team will need to take care of before we see Android being used heavily in Africa.
First, the lack of access to SIM applications is surprising. These are the apps like Mpesa, top-up services and such. These aren’t just “nice to have” features, these are critical and the phone will fail if it doesn’t have them enabled. Your most basic phones can do this, but smartphones running Android cannot? (Note: unless you root your phone)
Second, there are a lot of background services running on an Android phone that use data. That’s fine for people living in an all-you-can-eat world of bandwidth, but here where we have to pay by the megabyte, it doesn’t work. I remember one day when my phone used up 1000 Ksh of credit ($12), that’s unacceptable and will drive users away very quickly.
{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! This is really cool. I wonder, are they making them available at the G-Kenya event? Or is there going to be a distribution partnership with Safaricom?
WOW!
This is too good to be true! Lets wait and see the responses
The price is right this will be BIG.
where can i get this phone? everything about it sounds right.
Is this the first phone that allows you to turn you phone into a hotspot for Kenya? It will be interesting to see how it is received. On a side note huawei is desperately trying to do business in the states.
This is good. Anyone knows where they are retailing?
Awaiting to see the uptake on this phone.
Any one tried it yet? Would love some hands-on review…
Jah Rastafari.
Pliz! avail this product to Tanzania too!
Hey, I have an android phone, and can use MPESA et al. Which particular phones dont support sim applications?
Thats great to hear..am not sure when will they be available in Tz!!
Its really great to hear that, am glad..am not sure when will they be available in TZ
@Edwin – Some Android phones don’t allow access to the STK (SIM toolkit), such as the Nexus 1. It’s unknown if the IDEOS allows it.
Looks like there was some miscommunication between Huawei en Google:
“The Android launch came on the same days as a local operator announced plans to sell an inexpensive Android powered phone in Africa. Let’s be clear – the timing was an accident and not coordinated with us [Google].”
http://google-africa.blogspot.com/2010/09/androiding-in-nairobi.html
This is awsome. They need to correct the sim apps bit. MPESA is a necessity in Kenya.
[...] to access, data and services. They do this with with devices (like this week’s release of the Android IDEOS phone from Huawei). They also engage with major telcos and ISPs to reduce the price of entry for data [...]
How can one acquire this phone, and can it work in other parts of Africa? I am writing from Zambia.
where do we get it??///……………
Yes, great phone for the right market, wd also like to buy one. Afaik, it sells as “T-Mobile Pulse” in .DE for ~ 260,- EUR (if this is indeed the Huawei U8220 as reported by the DN).
“a lot of background services running on an Android phone that use data. ”
This, coupled with the unfortunate combination of a multi-OS like Android (see http://www.themobilefanatics.com/the-truth-about-why-your-smartphone-battery-sucks/ why) certainly is something they will really have to work on. Are ppl really aware of the many services running on the background and how will they control it? What will protect them from malicious apps on the market?
The best part about this phone (except for its low entry price), however is that it will hopefully attract more devs. Thx 4 the info, Erik!
Was the IDEOS only announced or is it already available in Kenya? Didn’t got that. Victor Xu, Huawei’s Chief Marketing Officer, twittered on September 2nd that “the IDEOS will be available in certain markets within a week from now”. I am really fired up for this smartphone and sitting here in Germany where the phone will probably get on the market not before end September, maybe later.
@jke: The Pulse is an older T-Mobile branded Huawei U8220, launched about a year ago, originally only with Android 1.5, but a good (480 x 320 px) and quite big screen (3.5 inch). The announced U8150 is “labelled” as IDEOS, it has a 2.8 inch screen with 320 × 240 px. [= Wrong caption or old photo of linked Business Daily article?]
I still waiting this gooood item come to Indonesia
@Martin: ah, ok, thx!
[...] in their hands. (Perhaps translating to more time spent on Facebook by more Kenyan youth?). Erik Hersman writes: 2 out of every 3 internet users in Kenya connect through their mobile phone. This is why [...]
The “IDEOS” phone seems to have good specs and the price is right. The other Android offerings by Safaricom are weak. I mean, come on, the U8220 is running Android 1.5 and it costs, what, 27,000? I’d rather buy an iPod and then use my mulika mwizi to make phone calls. Mobile Safari + WiFi is better than anything on Android, I hate to say.
One thing is certain, though: root ni lazima.
Also, why do companies “launch” stuff we can’t readily go out and buy?
this is the way to go, spent the whole weekend on my android and very little time on my computer which was right next to it.
Wow! Now its very easy for Kenia people to taste of Android phones, why not Google offering such tie up for Indian market.
[...] is for Android: Google and Huawei launched the relatively affordable IDEOS Android Phone in Kenya last week, will this fragment ICT development in [...]
so,where can i get it and is it really 8000 bob?
1000 Shillings on background data consumption a day! Holy Crap i might have to rethink on this one! advice plz
Has anyone been able to find this phone in the wild? I couldn’t find one in Nairobi a few days after the launch. Very interested in picking one up. Thanks!
Hello,
I have been desperately trying to find this phone in Kisumu and thought it must be available in Nairobi but as far as I can tell nobody in phone shops knows about it, and most places they don’t even know what Android is. I did find the Huawei/Vodafone 845 Android phone at Safaricom shops for 16,499 shillings. This is running Android 2.1. Is this what has actually been released instead of the IDEOS? Any ideas?
At Josephine..
The Phone is not in the market yet. But its expected probably this month. Its already been released in singapore and some Asian countries so its coming this way soonest. And no don’t confuse it with Huawei/Vodafone 845 That was released way back. Cheers
[...] $100 IDEOS Android Phone Launches in Kenya (whiteafrican.com) [...]
it’s a great deal! i know technology can’t be resisted let it come by its very own wave, welcome android.
Ok, the camera is 3.2mpx only + fixed focus, LAKINI this one is ~ 81 EUR + the data package while the same phone sells for 190 EUR in Germoney.
Crazy.
[...] forget that the elders on the tech scene in Africa saw this coming , the likes of Whiteafrican , Afrinnovater , MosesKemibaro and ICTWorks. Android Mobile [...]
Hi i love the phone & its feutures espe google maps
ha ha ha ha ha
have it already and am experiencing a problem with it as in when making a call the other end can hear me but on my side i can hear them, and when i connect the hands free i can hear is the ear piece the problem or thea is a setting miss? please help
The phone is serving me alright except i can not forward a message. Any help???? Uses airtime fast though….
hi,i will like to know how i can get one in ghana?thanks
[...] in the ICT4D space, esp. when companies like Huawei are selling fully-featured devices like the Android IDEOS phone in [...]
I need one
[...] as low as $50 by end of 2012. This was quite some news given that we were all recovering from the $100 IDEOS craze that had been brought upon us by Safaricom and Huawei. The market embraced this change and IDEOS [...]
[...] 80 US$ IDEOS Android smartphone has found its way into the hands of 350,000+ Kenyans, an impressive sales number [...]
I have heard of this phone and I really want to know whether it’s good because I’m buying it on Monday. Is it good?
Why is my ideos phone keeps on loosing network while browsing?
Am enjoying the Ideos phone. Its loaded and yet cheaper though in Zambia we are getting it at $200
it came and i was among the first group to buy the first batch but barely three months it let me down. Though the operator made it under warranty it ever made me worry of it failing especially when the message” android system in …..(certain app)…… is not responding force to close…. wait” i mean what is this?
how much is ideos pnone i want 1
how much is the ideos phone i want 1 this weekend
I bought ideos x5 phone and is really fantastic to use. One handicap it has is that the battery discharges so fast that the phone disconnects you with the rest of the world. Is it possible to develop another more advanced battery for this phone?.
This product has also been released in Zimbabwe. Am going to hav a go at it! Sounds good though the launch price in Zim, US$165, is slightly higher than Kenya.
does the ideos support the normal SIM CARDS?
[...] many of these things could still happen, and some are a lot closer than you think. At $80, the Ideos smartphone, launched in Kenya in 2010, is the cheapest smartphone yet. Promising, yes, but these devices need [...]
i’m in looooove with this phone!!!!!!!!!
[...] [...]
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