Safaricom, a small independent company that targets mostly foreign smartphone markets, has released a smartphone based on Intel technology that is fairly affordable even without any subsidized pricing.
This is part of Intel’s attempt to bring low-cost smartphones to a more global market. The Yolo is aimed at cost-conscious, first time buyers, said Intel, who designed most of the phone and the internal parts, including the chipset and screen.
The Yolo has a 3.5” screen and runs on the Intel Atom Z2420 processor. The processor can run up to 1.2 GHz in speed, but it usually clocks in at around 1 GHz in speed tests. Intel also installed their XMM 6265 modem that supports global roaming.
The entry price of the phone is around $125, but currently the Yolo is only available in Kenya. The smartphone also comes bundled with half a gig of free data use to encourage people to start using a smartphone.
The Yolo isn’t the first frugal smartphone of the day – the Xolo (also by Intel) was announced a few months prior to the Yolo. The Xolo is an India-based phone that is being sold for just about the same price.
Though there haven’t been any for-sure announcements, it’s likely that new phones with reasonable unsubsidized price tags will be coming to the US within the next few years.