Ex Apple CEO John Sculley launches Obi Worldphone
The two Android phones have striking design and cheap prices, but is that enough to compete?
Former Apple CEO John Sculley (he left the company in 1993) is attempting to make inroads into the crowded smartphone market with his Obi Worldphone range.
The range consists of two new models, self-designed – a marked step away from last year’s Obi offering of five smartphones made with off-the-shelf parts in the United Arab Emirates.
The first phone, the SF1, is a 4G LTE phone with a 5in 1080 x 1920 display that’ll retail for US$199. The second is the SJ1.5, a 3G phone with a 720 x 1280 screen selling for US$129. Interestingly, they’re designed by Ammunition, an agency with some high-profile work under its belt such as the original Beats headphones. One unusual quirk of the phones is their slightly raised screens, which serves to offer drop protection.
As for specs, they’re not at all bad considering the budget price. The SF1 has Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with either 2GB/3GB RAM and 16GB/32GB internal storage and supports an additional 64GB via microSD. The main camera is a Sony IMX214 Exmor 13MP shooter, accompanied by a 5MP front camera with LED flash. Also expect Dolby Audio 7.1 and a 3,000mAh battery.
As for the SJ1.5, it has a MediaTek MT6580 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal memory with the same memory expansion options as the SF1, an 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera, with the same amount of battery juice as the SF1.
They’re certainly not bad-looking phones; it’s just a matter of how much impact they can make in a market currently dominated by giants. But Sculley has some form in that area, having also founded Misfit Wearables.
[Source: The Verge]
Erna Mahyuni
Contributor