Huawei aims Windows Phone at Africa

Huawei has been selected as the exclusive smartphone partner for Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative, launching the first Windows phone that specifically targets the African market.

Telecommunications equipment provider maker Huawei today launched the first Windows Phone 4Afrika. Exclusively selected to help boost mobile accessibility and adoption within the fast-growing African continent, the Huawei 4Afrika will be available in Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Angola, Morocco and South Africa towards the later part of the 1st Quarter of 2013.

‚”We are thrilled to be partnering with Microsoft to ensure that more people have access to leading technology, communications and information services,‚” said Mr Peter Hu, Managing Director of Huawei Device, Eastern & Southern Africa. ‚”By launching the Huawei 4Afrika we will be bringing leading technology within reach for more people in Africa, thereby giving them access to a world of new opportunities.‚”

The Huawei 4Afrika is a customised version of the HUAWEI Ascend W1, launched earlier this year at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. The smartphone is 10.15 mm thin and features a 4-inch IPS LCD 480 x 800 touchscreen with Zero-Gap Touch technology. With a 1730 mAh Li-Polymer battery and unique power saving technology, the Huawei 4Afrika phone provides up to 420 Hours of standby time and up to 560 minutes of talk time on 3G. The higher efficiency hardware design ensures power-saving up to 20%. It is powered by the high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon‚Ñ¢ S4 MSM8230 dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and Adreno 305 GPU. Additionally, the phone includes a 5 MP Auto-Focus Camera and VGA Front Camera, and comes in an array of bold colors including blue, black and white initially and red to follow in the next couple of months.

Available exclusively for the African market, the Huawei 4Afrika phone features a customised Store in Store with a variety of applications and exclusive content including those built and designed by Africans for Africans. The Windows Phone 8 start screen allows users to customise the Windows OS Live Tiles with topics of personal interest, providing real-time updates unique to their needs. Assisting with all business requests on-the-go, the Huawei 4Afrika phone features Microsoft Office and Skydrive for easy access to files. The Huawei 4Afrika phone marries great technology with a fashionable design, at a price that is right for its customers.

‚”The Huawei 4Afrika phone is a fantastic addition to our Windows Phone product line, and we’re particularly proud to be introducing it as an exclusive offer for the African Continent today as part of the launch of the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative,‚” said Ali Faramawy, corporate vice president for Microsoft Middle East and Africa. ‚”We believe strongly that improved access to affordable and high quality smartphones in Africa can have a strong impact on the continent’s overall economic development and competitiveness, and we are confident the Huawei 4Afrika phone will help deliver on this.‚”

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