We have talked about Kai OS for a while now and how we expect the operating system built to make basic phones smarter. Think of a basic phone (more commonly referred to as kambudzi) running WhatsApp, YouTube, Google and Twitter. Sounds exciting.
Well, Econet wants in on the Kai OS pie and announed the 3G Smart KaMbudzi feature phone via Twitter this morning.
Whilst Econet didn’t outrightly mention that the phone is running Kai OS we know from the fact that it can run WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and Google on such a basic phone it is probably using that OS (99% sure).
In addition to being able to run all these applications on such a phone, Econet is also giving away 6GB free data when you purchase the 3G enabled phone.
From the Twitter material the phone is advertised as having 2 day battery life and knowing how these kind of phones tend to last in terms of battery life – that’s a reasonable claim for Econet to make.
How much will it cost?
3G Smart KaMbudzi’s will set you back ZW$3000 at the time of writing and at that price point this is a very attractive phone. Smartphones tend to set people back US$80+ (ZW$8000) and so having such an affordable phone that can run WhatsApp is a game-changer.
Nothing new under the sun
For avid Techzim readers (or those of you who keep up with tech news) you’ll probably be having a sense of deja-vu. This is because MTN launched their own Kai OS enabled feature-phone back in March of 2019.
Before that, Reliance Jio of India launched a similar phone and by March 2018 they had sold 25 million units. Hugely popular is an understatement. I cannot wait to get my hands on one of these for review purposes.
What’s your take?