Vietnamese-made smartphone to make global debut

A Vietnamese tech firm recently unveiled its locally-made Android phone at the CES 2015 trade show in the US.

Vu Thanh Thang, vice chairman of the Hanoi-based Bkav Corporation, told online newspaper VnExpress that some international mobile network operators have already ordered the product, which will only be officially released during the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Spain this March.

A sample model is currently on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas; its design details will not be revealed until the launch ceremony.

Bkav, Vietnam’s top Internet security company, began its effort to manufacture smartphones in 2010.

Since then, it has built a local factory to cover every step of the manufacturing process from design to packaging.

The device, which is being tentatively called “the BPhone,” runs on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop and features a 5-inch full HD display, a glass back, and an aluminum frame.

Bkav was the first smartphone producer in the Southeast Asia to obtain usage rights to Qualcom Incorporated’s latest processor, Thang said.

Although it features a “polished” design and materials as well as a “powerful” configuration, it will be priced economically, according to the spokesman.

Thang says they will sell millions of units over the next one or two years.

They plan to introduce the smartphone’s next versions every six to nine months.

“Bkav’s smartphone will put to rest questions about Vietnam’s ability to create hi-tech products,” Thang said.

Vietnam’s first-ever domestically produced smartphone, Vivas Lotus S1, was launched in 2013 by the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) Group, targeted local middle-income earners. The producer launched two low-cost versions, Vivas Lotus S2 and S2 Eco, last November.

The military-run telecommunications giant Viettel has produced a line of low-cost smartphones since 2013.

Source : http://www.thanhniennews.com/