At the launch of its latest smartphone TECNO P3, the fast
growing mobile phone company has decried the ‘China phone’ (otherwise known as
chinko phone) tag which continues to haunt its products, despite its efforts to
meet the rising and varying needs of the nation’s phone users.
China phone (or chinko phone) is a tag used to describe
substandard mobile phone products which are sold at a lower price compared to
the established mobile phone brands.
The Vice President of Tecno group, Arif Chowdhury, said this
yesterday at the launch of the product in Lagos.
“We know the African market and what the people want. We produce
what is in demand and not just sell what we have. We will be launching
smartphones with high screen resolution while improving our after sales
service. With feedback that we have received from our various customers, you
will see a more improved Tecno in Nigeria soon.” He said, adding that very soon,
consumers would accept Tecno mobile as a unique mobile phone brand instead of
the ‘China phone’ perspective.
“Today’s consumers are getting more interested in
smartphones and Nigeria is not left out of the smartphone revolution. Our products
are constantly improving due to our extensive commitment to Research and
Development with the Tecno facility based in France and we will be introducing
top range smartphones to the Nigerian market over the course of the next few
months.” He added
Tecno partnered with Etisalat, a major network provider in
Nigeria and Qualcomm Incorporated, a global leader in next-generation mobile
technologies to launch the latest addition to the Tecno smartphone family, the
Tecno P3 into the country. The duo have been involved before the introduction
of Tecno P3 into the market.
Mr. Chowdhury noted that due to the value they placed in
their image, they are very careful about their choice of mobile network
operator to partner with.
He said consumers who buy the Tecno P3 smartphone will be
able to enjoy free 100 megabytes of internet access for 12 months powered by
easyblaze on the Etisalat 3.75G network. It also comes with 3G internet access
with the support of Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
“It is obvious that cooperation and partnership is a part of
the essential element to boost acceptability and sales. Today’s partnership
will only benefit our numerous customers by providing them with favourable
services,” he said.
The Tecno P3 is an entry-level smartphone that runs on
Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system, and powered by Qualcomm SnapdragonTM
MSM7225A processor to offer users 3G smartphone experience, good battery life,
and easy access to the Internet and multiple social networks.
It is an all touch screen smartphone that is Wi-Fi enabled. It
has shortcuts to Facebook, Google Play Store, Gmail, Yahoo, and Opera Mini etc.”
Above all, it is a Dual-SIM standby model with3G/2G connectivity which makes
internet usage more interesting.
Mr. Chowdhury said the firm “realized that internet savvy
Nigerians are in dire need of a fast, innovative and seamless internet
experience. These experiences are what Tecno P3 smartphone brings, and that
also informs why we partnered with Etisalat.”
He added that consumers can choose either the Etisalat
customized version available at Etisalat experience centres and its partner
retailers, or buy the un-customized version from Tecno’s partner retailers
nationwide, and it comes with the same data bundle offer as the customized
version.
The phone company said it will soon set up a factory in
Nigeria, to compete effectively in the phone market and to create jobs.
“Nigeria is our greatest market in terms of focus, because
Africa is our major focus and Nigeria is like the capital of Africa. We plan to
have a factory in Lagos. Without a plant, we cannot compete. We would do it.
Tecno is Nigeria, Nigeria is Tecno. Apart from positioning to compete
effectively, having a plant here is an avenue for us to give back to the
country; it is a means for us to create jobs. When we work here, we would work
with people here.” Mr. Chowdhury concluded.
[Credit: Premium Times NG]
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Tecno to build phone factory in Nigeria and … erm, doesn’t want you to call it a ‘China phone’ again