Huawei and Microsoft bring Windows Phone 8 to Africa

Huawei and Microsoft have teamed up to produce a Windows-run smartphone exclusively available in Africa, reports the BBC. Launched today, the modified smartphone is part of the Microsoft 4Afrika initiative for what is considered one of the fastest growing technology markets in the world.

The smartphone is a modified derivative of the Huawei Ascend W1 handset displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, and sports a display of 4-inches with a resolution of 480 x 800, a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU, 4GB of internal storage and an exemplary stand by time of 480 hours. Prices have not been announced yet, but rumours are it will cost in the region of US$150. The handset is set for release in South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire and Angola.

Director of Microsoft Windows Phone division in the Middle East & Africa Gustavo Fuchs told the BBC that: “Our aim is to be the most affordable Windows phone in Africa. Affordability is important but without the right local content we believe a lot of users will not see the benefit in the change from a basic feature phone to a smartphone”. Even though technology is growing fast on the continent, most users still use feature phones instead of smartphones. With the correct price, this handset could take off with a bang.

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