New Affordable Smartphone In Malaysia By April

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 (Bernama) -- A new smartphone, which will be available in the Malaysian market by April, targets the affordable market segment. The phone, costing below RM500 (US$165.48), was developed and manufactured in Malaysia by a local company, DMD Mobile Sdn Bhd. Executive Chairman Dr Mohammed M. Daud said the company was now in talks with telecommunication services providers for the "DMD Android Smartphone Communicator", which has the capacity to support a 3.75G network and 650 Mhz speed for the main processor. "The DMD Android Smartphone Communicator with Near Field Communication and other special features and applications, can be a benchmark for the industry in this country," he said at the smartphone launch here on Tuesday. Mohammed said the phone comes with a complete service platform for the prepaid market, including unified communication and chatting, mobile email and social networking. "It will be bundled with mobile and online communication packages starting at RM10 (US$3.31) per month," he added. DMD Mobile, he said, will also be marketing the phone in South Asia and the Middle East. "We are launching the international marketing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Feb 28," he said. Mohammed said the smartphone was an important milestone and it proved that Malaysian companies are capable of innovating and competing in the mobile phone sector. He said the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) provided Research & Development support for the project. -- BERNAMA