Former Apple CEO John Sculley and Ammunition Design founder Robert Brunner have created an inexpensive smartphone for emerging markets. The Obi Worldphone SF1 and SJ1.5 will be sold for under $200, beginning in October. The targeted audience is twentysomethings in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Middle East.
Engadget reports “the phones are filled with components from the usual suspects (Qualcomm and MediaTek processors, Sony camera, Corning Gorilla Glass and Dolby sound), but it’s the look of the phones and their skinned version of Android that matters to Obi.” Silicon Valley analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies says: “The Obi Worldphone no-compromise design and aggressive pricing makes it very appealing to this audience [young people in emerging markets] as the market for smartphones expands and the upgrade market for smartphones accelerates.”
