Zain launches new smartphone, competition heats up (Kenya)
Kenyan mobile market sees tough competition with the launch of Zain-Kenya’s new version of the Black Berry smart phone, an upgrade of the phone in the market. The launch of BlackBerry Bold comes just two weeks after Orange introduced iPhone 3G, which has brought the battle for smart phone supremacy to Kenya.
Zain Corporate Communications Director, Michael Okwiri said the market for smart phones had alot of potential. He further said that the phone is a handy tool for those who want to keep in touch with the daily happenings. “There is a market for the smart phone in the country, which is growing in line with the world trends. In 2004, there were only one million users of Black Berry, but this has grown to 14 million,” he added. The retail price for the handset is Sh65,000. Zain has also introduced a new tariff for its subscribers using the smart phone. “Subscribers will have the option of paying Sh5,000 and access on their phone as well as use it as a modem to access the Net on their personal computers or pay Sh2,000 for accessing the Internet on the phone only,” said Okwiri.
