By David MacDonald I t can be downright angering when you realize that the bulk of the storage space on your expensive new smartphone is already spoken for by a factory-set operating system and pre- installed apps. This can be especially frustrating if English isn’t your first language and the critical apps you want on your phone are country-specific. What would you say to a $30 USD smartphone that comes with a Google certified clean Android OS that lets you shape your experience? According to CNN’s Katy Scott, Johannesburg-based Onyx Connect is poised to launch an entry- level smartphone that doesn’t skimp on what you want: a 3G device with a four-inch screen, front and rear cameras, 1 GB RAM, 8GB ROM, 1.3GHz quad core processor, 30 percent faster charging time, longer battery life, and Android 7 Nougat. It’s being referred to as ‘Africa’s first smartphone.’ But in a twist of irony the phone touted as a response to China’s Huawei and Transsion and South Korea’s Samsung models’ domination of the South African market, the first African smartphone won’t be entirely African. Arthur Gold- struck, the head of World Wide Worx, an African business tech firm, told CNN that Onyx’s noble mission isn’t impervious to the realities of modern economics. Onyx phones will be assembled in South Africa using imported components, save the plastic molding.
Goldstruck believes that once resources like research and development are well-established and showing signs of growth that the Onyx Connect can truly be the first African smartphone.
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MAY 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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