Edgars unveils Windows smartphone

Edgars has unveiled its first Windows Phone 8.1 device, the Verssed W1 smartphone, which will be locally available in select retail outlets from 15 December.

The Verssed W1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and offers connectivity via Wi-Fi 801.11n plus Bluetooth 4.0, and fast download speeds (HSPA+ speeds of up to 42 Mbps). The smartphone offers a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and a VGA front camera. Good battery life is also part of the Verssed W1’s appeal thanks to its decent-sized 1420 mAh battery. Edcon is making the Verssed W1 available at select Edgars, Jet and CNA retail outlets for a recommended retail price of R899.95.

Modern smartphones enable users to boost their productivity, multitask, navigate to their destinations with live traffic info to avoid jams, and enjoy their favourite media or mobile games on the go,” says Jurgen Schreiber, Chief Executive Office at Edcon. “Price should not be a barrier to putting this kind of functionality into the hands of more users.

Whilst the Verssed smartphone brand as a whole makes all of the functionality of modern smartphones available to more users thanks to their affordable pricetags, the Verssed W1 differentiates itself by being the first to run on Windows Phone 8.1. The Verssed W1 delivers the same quick, seamless, and quality Windows Phone experience to the end user regardless of the hardware powering the device.

As a Windows Phone 8.1 device, the Verssed W1 includes features like Live Tiles that surface information important to the user: Action Center, which show new activities and notifications at a glance: and Senses, a suite of features that takes the work out of managing data use, storage space and battery life. Despite the affordable cost of the Verssed W1, it still offers local users all of the same advantages of the Windows Phone ecosystem, including access to all the apps on the Windows Phone Store.

The Verssed W1 smartphone is the first Windows Phone partner device to become locally available,” says Melanie Botha, Consumer Channels Group Executive at Microsoft South Africa.

We understand that each market is different and our partner device programme has been specifically designed to help original equipment manufacturers and original device manufacturer partners build Windows devices that meet local demand as well as develop local brands. The focus caters to the needs of our consumers by encouraging device manufacturers and other partners to deliver low-cost devices with an uncompromised Windows and Microsoft Services experience.

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