MTN Launches ‘Smart T’ New Budget Smart Phone

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

MTN Nigeria has launched its own line of budget smart phone running on Kai Operating System (KaiOS).

The newly launched phone will help Africa’s largest phone network dominate mobile phones in Africa as well as provide rural communities with access to the internet.

The new phone—MTN Smart T— that was unveiled at MTN Nigeria Headquarters in Lagos has a 2.4-inch screen and is bundled with KaiOS 2.5, a light operating system for smart feature phones.

Speaking at the launch, Rahul De, MTN Nigeria Chief Marketing Officer, described the new device as the first African smart feature phone.

He stated that the essence of developing the technology is to provide connectivity to a large number of people.

“We want to bring connectivity to everybody. We believe that connectivity leads to growth in the nation’s economy. With connectivity, growth of the economy becomes faster.

“Affordability of smart phones has remained a challenge, hence, the reason for a smart phone with so many features selling at N8,000,” he said.

He stressed that the quality of the phone meets the parameter of any other smart phone.

Also commenting, Abiodun Ajayi, Senior Manager, Data & Services, MTN Nigeria, affirmed that the device, which is the result of over a year of development and testing, is specifically designed for Africans with specific advantages over other low-end smartphones in the market.

He disclosed that MTN belief every Nigerians deserve to be connected thus the telecom company is giving 500MB for six months on the device.

The MTN Smart T supports applications like Google voice services, WhatsApp, Facebook, Google Maps as well as KaiOS app store. It has 1.3 MP back and selfie cameras. The device, currently available at MTN stores nationwide, is a dual SIM phone with a 2000mAh battery and it supports WiFi connectivity.

In 2018, MTN Group announced plan to launch smart feature phones in its South African and Nigerian markets by the first quarter of 2019.