Blu announces Dash: trio of super-cheap Android phones

Blu Products recently launched a trio of super-cheap smartphones called Dash. Short and sweet. As you’d expect, these prices are coupled with pretty poor specs but would be well-worth satisfying the feature phone market and other budgeteers. They’re also available in a buffet of different colours.

Dash Jr. is the cheapest and settles the specs between the two and three range — a 3.5-inch dual-SIM phone with 2G-only data, a 2-megapixel camera and running Android 2.3. The price? That would be US$50 (R500). You can literally buy four of these instead of the Nexus 4.

The other parts of the amigo trio had their prices boosted up to either US$100 or US$130 (R1 000 or R1 300) to support slightly bigger displays and sufficient hardware. The Dash Music 4.0 will do its dance for US$100 while having a dualcore 1.3GHz Mediatek CPU running Android Jellybean v4.2. It also has an expandable storage option and dual-SIM functionality.

The Dash Music 5.0 though is US$130 which means you’ll get a slimmer overall design and thinner bezel. Its specifications do not change that much from the Music 4.0 but it will have a 5 MP camera with LED Flash.

Yes, Dash Jr. runs Android Gingerbread with a crappy screen. So what, you’ll have an internet-enabled device in the palm of your hand for US$50. “Almost 1 billion feature phones are going to be shipped this year. Our job is to facilitate the transition from feature phones by bringing affordable internet and smartphone connectivity to consumers without compromise on quality, user experience and overall satisfaction,” says Samuel Ohev-Zion, CEO, BLU Products. “We are doing that with gorgeous devices, available in a variety of colors, and with incredible price points -– our customers are going to be very happy.”